Would you like to build a large, profitable downline that is motivated to do what it takes to succeed? If so, use this acrostic to help you remember the principles that will help you build a high-retention team. It's called the power of GIVE.

G stands for get personal. What I'm about to write applies for your existing team members if you haven't taken this step yet. When you find a new team member, don't rely on a canned email welcome letter. Call him to introduce yourself and let him know how to reach you. Offer to answer any questions he might have, and make it your business to get to know him. Take time to understand his goals and dreams. Don't assume that he's building a business for the same reason that motivates you. In addition, make a note of his spouse's name as well as those of his children. These are the people who are important in his life, and you should be aware of them as you build your team. Keep in touch with each team member in a way that's comfortable for them. It's ok to take notes if you're not a natural people person or don't remember things like names very well. In fact, I keep a file with index cards to remind me of birthdays, spouse names, spouse birthdays, my team member's goals, and his general personality type. This system supports me well in an area of business where I was weak.

I stands for invest your time and knowledge with your team. If you've learned how to do things, teach your team members. Don't keep the information to yourself, assuming that they'll figure it out eventually. Show them which software you use, where you got your business cards, and how to talk to potential team members. If you're new to the business yourself, teach them what you know. Then invest your time in learning from your sponsor. Take an extra ten minutes to call your team members before their first conference call to be sure they know where to call. Remember that you are growing a team as much as you are building one.

V stands for vision. Having an idea of how you want your team to grow and what you want from your business will make a big difference to your success. Sharing that vision with your team and asking about their vision will help you all stay focused and on track when there are setbacks. There will be setbacks; that's just part of life. At these times, your team needs to remember why they're working at it, why they want to build their own businesses. It's rarely just money that they want, and it's your job to find out what makes each team member tick. Do you see how the G, I, and V work together so far? Now let's add the e, the match we strike to light the flame of success.

E stands for encouragement. Encourage your team members in some way each time you have contact with them. If you look for it, you can find at least one honestly worthwhile comment to make to each person on your team. One of my upline commented once that I ask good, insightful questions. I felt like a million bucks after that. I felt so good about myself that I plucked up the courage to tell someone about my products because I thought they'd help him. I'd been feeling shy and afraid to talk to him because I'd told myself that I was too new to my business to talk to anyone. The next time I talked to my upline, I told him what I'd done. He was excited and cheered me on. What I did probably seemed like a small step to him, but he knew that I had taken a big leap of faith to speak up. His reaction to me was like putting a match to kindling for a fire. Every time I see this man, whether it's face to face or on a packed training call, he's busy encouraging someone. I smile in anticipation when I know he'll be around. I have seen this power transform shy people into successful networkers and turn on the power of creativity where people had seen themselves as too practical for such things.

Are you ready to build your downline team? You do have what it takes if you'll commit yourself to success. Use the power of GIVE and watch your business blossom.