A few weeks ago, we were honored with the privilege of being chosen by a pigeon to nest on our porch…in an empty flower pot on top of a storage bin.
After some research, we found that this is quite common (who knew? oh yeah, google).
Now I grew up out in the country here in Texas with horses, dogs and cats, but I’ve never raised a bird 🙂 I had no idea what we were in for in the next few weeks.
The eggs finally hatched to reveal the tiny, very ugly baby pigeons, with tiny little yellow feathers here and there. Nestled in the flower pot, the mom and dad pigeons came and fed them, then flew away everyday to hunt for more food. We watched as they fed, which looked more like they were trying to kill each other than eat 🙂 What is really happening is the baby pigeon takes the food out of the adult’s mouth, including liquids.
They kept growing and growing, with the normal pigeon feathers filling in. Day by day, they grew very rapidly. One day though, we noticed the male baby pigeon wasn’t doing so well, then later he actually died (survival of the fittest I guess). so now the female baby pigeon, all alone, kept growing in the flower pot.
One day, she finally stepped out of the pot, but not for long. Back in she went til the next day.
After that though, we started noticing the male (daddy)Â pigeon come to our porch, make noises to the baby, but stayed on the floor and would not bring the food to her. We kept peeking through the window as the male pigeon kept cooing for her to come down to where he was. The poor little baby was distraught and very hungry, pacing back and forth on the top of the storage bin, as if to say “come up here, please!”
The male pigeon stayed on the ground and finally the baby female took the leap…and flew! for just a few feet 🙂
This was so incredible to witness. We could see wings on the baby, and we knew she could fly…but she didn’t for quite some time. The male knew that he HAD to get her to jump out of the nest to learn.
His best leverage was, of course, the food.
Once she jumped down, she ate, then walked around on the floor of the porch. She had found a new world! She was still hesitant for a little while, taking small flights from the flower pot, to the floor and back again, trying out her new-found wings.
Very shortly after that, I saw her on the roof, walking around with her parents. She would fly off with them during the day, then come back at night to rest, as she built up her strength. They were never very far away, keeping an eye on her. I actually caught some of it on video here:
Then one day, she was gone! I saw a group of pigeons on the grass, feeding, and realized they were now teaching her how to find her own food…leading by example.
So what on earth does this have to do with network marketing, you may be wondering?
I believe it has EVERYTHING to do with it.
Why?
Everyone needs a push sometimes, just like the baby female pigeon. The flower pot was where she was born, what she knew… safe.
Her parents knew that if they didn’t help her get out of the flower pot, she would really never survive, so they went to work, gently leading her with what she wanted (food) everyday towards her progress to becoming independent.
When we help a new team member get started, we want them to have the best opportunity to succeed. The way that happens is by helping them become independent of us as soon as possible. Eric Worre talks about this in his book, Go Pro, in the game-planning interview.
1. You can start by leading them with what they want…THEIR WHY. ~~ That means you have to find out what it is, so you can lead them with it! This should start happening in your very first conversation in prospecting, so you know if you have someone who will be serious about building their business.
2. You help them by SHOWING them how to do the business, step by step. ~~ Telling them does not work, showing does. Make some calls with them, coach them right after and help them make the tiny little tweaks that can make ALL the difference.
3. Take baby steps ~~ Don’t “firehose” your new team member either. Remember how little you knew when you started? Okay, remember that and give them only 1-2 steps at a time and have them report back. Building a network marketing business is like building a muscle. It can take time to learn and it takes consistency, so be patient with your newbie 🙂
It’s so exciting when you see that newbie turn into a professional network marketer and you knew…you had something to do with it 🙂
Did you like this post about the baby pigeon? Let me know by leaving me a comment below, would love to hear from ya!
Have an awesome day!
Your Mama Pigeon,
E
P.S. Are you looking for tools for your team (and yourself) to get better results?
Check out this all-in-one training platform for our profession that a lot of the top producers are using: CLICK HERE
