“How to build confidence?” is a question many people looking to grow a network marketing business ask me when they’re just starting out.
I really do know what it’s like to not feel confident enough to be able to go out there and recruit or prospect new people to join your business or sell your product to.
Lack of self-confidence can be detrimental to your business and success.
I am passionate about helping women create their dream lives and that’s why I felt it would be so beneficial to write about this topic.
In this article, I will explore confidence-building tips and exercises I’ve used, as well as my favourite books on building self-confidence — so you can take the network marketing world by storm!
What is Self-Confidence?
This version of myself didn’t just bloom overnight, it took work and many times you just have to “fake it until you make it”. When you do something enough you start to fully embody it. It takes consistent practice of putting yourself out there.
Self-confidence can be so different for everyone and it’s largely based on your own personal experiences of life—how you’ve been brought up, what you’ve been taught, the influence people had on what you believed to be true about yourself etc.
All of this conditioning can affect what we believe about ourselves and other people. So we often have to unlearn a lot of this in order to embrace the confidence that’s already within.
Confidence and Behaviour
Have a look at the examples in the table below, which shows a comparison between confident behavior and behavior that correlates with low self-confidence.
Which examples do you recognise in yourself?
This is a good way to gauge where your current confidence levels are at:
Tips on How to Build Confidence
Improved self-confidence can help you in all areas of your life.
It can help you become a better communicator that can better your relationships both personally and professionally.
It can help you become a better leader and people person which are skills required to build a successful network marketing business.
The below tips provide some helpful ways to build your confidence.
Remember that practice and consistency are key to progress in any area!
Read “23 Reasons Why Network Marketing is the Biz To Be In Right Now”
1. Use Confident Body Language
Your body language can convey so much before you even open your mouth. Think of someone whose confidence you admire.
How do they carry themselves?
You wouldn’t see them slouched or with their arms crossed.
Learn to command a room with just your body language by standing tall, with your chest open. Shake someone’s hand firmly. Own the space you occupy.
Physiology really is everything when learning to be confident.
2. Embrace a Growth Mindset
Confidence is not something you find outside of yourself and it doesn’t just arrive when you become successful.
Being confident means that when you do fail, you understand that it’s only a minor setback that can propel you forward.
You can easily pick yourself back up and keep going.
Adopt a growth mindset and make a commitment to your personal development.
Read books, listen to podcasts, go to seminars.
3. Planning and Preparation
The more you learn and understand something the easier it becomes and the more confident you will feel about it.
So when it comes to prospecting a new person into your business, make sure you understand the business model properly.
You could even practise your presentation with your upline until you feel comfortable.
Same goes for selling a product.
Get to know that product so well that when you speak about it, it comes across as authentic because you’ve done your due diligence.
4. Practice Positive Thinking
This is a lot easier said than done as it will take some time for you to learn how to reframe your thoughts. The first step is awareness and then from there you can refocus.
As Tony Robbins says “where focus goes, energy flows,” so it’s really important to begin to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.
This is not about bypassing real issues you may be facing, it’s simply bringing awareness to what thoughts we are having and replacing the negative with positive.
When you do this, your internal focus changes your external focus and this changes your overall state of being which will make you feel more confident.
5. Find Yourself a Confidence Role-Model
Whose self-confidence do you want to mirror?
Think of someone either in your life, like your upline or mentor, or someone well-known who you can look to as a role-model.
Use this person as an expander of the confidence you wish to exude. Using others as an inspiration can be a powerful driving force in one’s life.
6. Create Your Own Testimonials
Create your own testimonial for a product you’ve really benefited from or earning your first bit of income from your business.
This will help to increase your confidence and show you what’s possible.
It will make you excited to share when prospecting.
7. Be Assertive, But Avoid Arrogance
Being a people pleaser or pushover is not how you build confidence.
Be assertive when it comes to bringing your message across or when speaking in public.
There’s a difference between being confident and arrogant. Remember to always stay humble and treat others with respect and compassion.
8. Look After Your Health and Wellbeing
It’s imperative that you look after your health and wellbeing.
Make sure to exercise regularly and eat a well balanced diet.
How well you look after yourself will directly affect how confident you feel.
If you’re not moving your body and eating rubbish, you can’t expect to feel confident at all.
9. Speak Slowly
Confidence really shows in your ability to speak confidently, coherently and slowly. This is how you can show people you are trustworthy.
Would you sign on to someone’s business if they couldn’t at least explain the business model to you properly?
It’s not about being perfect, it’s just important to be clear.
10. Improve Your Self-Talk
This one is hard, I’m not going to lie.
Especially when we’ve been telling ourselves lies about who we think we are for a very long time.
Start by bringing awareness to how you are talking to yourself throughout the day.
When you catch yourself saying something negative about yourself, reframe it to its positive opposite.
For example, “I’m too old, no one will want to listen to me,” — reframe to “ I may be older, but that means I have more wisdom to share.”
This one will take some practise, but one you cultivate that awareness you’ll be able to a lot more mindful with what you say to yourself.
11. Think of Something that Excites You
Get laser focused on your WHY.
Why are you building this business?
Why do you want to make more money?
My why was I wanted to be able to pay for my kids to go to private school, support them completely and have time to be a full-time mum to them.
Once I was clear on my why, nothing was going to stop me getting in the way of this, not even my low self-confidence at the time.
So I did whatever I had to, to become the confident person I am now.
12. Make Eye Contact
Always make eye contact.
You don’t need to stare a person down, but nothing says “I’m confident” like looking a person in the eyes when speaking.
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13. Adopt a Power Pose
This one is such a powerful tip and can literally make you feel more confident in a matter of seconds!
My go-to power pose is the superwoman pose.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and place your hands on your hips with your chest slightly puffed.
Do this pose now and observe the difference it immediately makes.
It makes me feel like a total boss babe who can do anything!
You could even stand like this just before you’re about to go prospect someone for that boost of confidence.
Or if you feel like someone is talking down to you, change your posture to this and feel into whether or not you’ll carry on taking their nonsense.
Be inspired by my article ‘15 Badass Women in Business Every Working Mum Can Learn From’ here.
Confidence Building Exercises
While the tips above can help you embody more confidence, below are practical exercises you can do to put yourself out there so that you can begin to develop your confidence skills like a muscle.
When we feel out of our comfort zone or a resistance to something, that is usually a sign of an area of growth we can embrace.
I’ve provided some examples below, but feel free to create your own list:
- Start a task or project that you’ve been putting off for a while. It’s so easy to put things off because they initially seem very overwhelming, but most often than not it’s starting that’s the hardest step. By simply taking initiative to just begin, you can boost that confidence within yourself and get it done.
- The next time you are at a restaurant and there’s an issue with your order, kindly report it to the manager and leave a constructive complaint. Many people hate to do this, but it’s a good way to improve your confidence and assertiveness skills. This is a really good exercise for those that usually avoid doing this at all costs. Another option would be to say something positive and ask to see the manager or chef so you can tell them personally how much you enjoyed your meal. The point is to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
- When you are in a public meeting or group setting stand up and ask a question. By doing this you are making yourself the centre of attention for a few minutes.
- Volunteer to give a presentation or make a speech. When you first start recruiting people for your business or selling your products it’s going to be scary. You may not be great the first few times, but as the old adage goes, practice makes perfect.
- Introduce yourself to a new person. This could be anywhere – in the queue while you are waiting to get coffee or at the gym.
- Stand out by wearing something attention grabbing – such as a statement piece of clothing or garish colour. People with low self-confidence and self-esteem avoid being the centre of any kind of attention, so this is a good way to boost that.
- Meet new people and put yourself out there by joining a group or class in your local community.
- Mirror work – this may seem awkward at first, but talking to yourself in the mirror is a powerful way to build confidence. You can either say self-confidence affirmations to yourself or you could practice talking as if you were prospecting a new person or selling a product.
10 Books on How to Build Confidence
You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes
Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life by Gary John Bishop
Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
How to Talk to Anyone by Leil Lowndes
Ready to Embrace the Confidence Within?
The journey to embracing your confidence is what will propel your growth and ultimately make you a better leader.
The confidence you desire is already within you, it’s just about learning to tap into it.
I truly hope you found value in this article and that’s given you some helpful tools on how to develop your confidence.
I’d love to hear from you, so please leave your comments below and feel free to ask me any questions you may have around building confidence.
Please click the social icons below to share this article with all the amazing mums in your inner circle that you feel it will bring value to, until next time.
With love,
Nat
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