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The first session I attended at Affiliate Summit West 2011 was Randy Cassingham‘s Creating a Successful Mastermind Group.
I’ve been in a Mastermind Group in the past, and have organized one as well, which I didn’t feel worked as I had hoped it would. So I was looking forward to learning how to create a group that really worked for all involved.
The hope for a mastermind group to work is that there should be mutual brainstorming and accountability. If you state a deadline, and miss it, the group should hold you accountable. As an affiliate marketer who doesn’t really work with others on projects, I definitely need this.
The group should be between 25-50 like-minded individuals, and communicate regularly via an e-mail list. Of course, members of the group should not directly compete with each other, and their specialties should be at an advanced level to best help other members of the group.
A strong group leader is necessary, and everyone in the group needs to buy-in
to the plan. Before you start the group, ask yourself, What are we here for?
Groups that fail typically lack a strong leader, lack buy-in, or lack significant dues. That’s right: if you’re starting a Mastermind Group, you should charge your members! If members are willing to pay, they’re getting value from the group. This, in turn, makes for a stronger group.
While groups may be spread geographically all over the world, they should try to meet in person semi-annually. This can be done as a private meeting at an event that people are already are attending (such as Affiliate Summit), or as a stand-alone meeting.
Create a private website for reference information, but do NOT use a forum.
Everyone must participate in the group; if not, they are asked to leave. Once the core of the group is established, the only way new members may be added is if they are sponsored by another group member.
While writing this recap, I realized I got a lot of good, useful information out of the session. However, while I was sitting in the session, I wasn’t that impressed, and I wasn’t alone:
#asw11 Mastermind Groups session – 20 minutes in I’m still not sure what it is
chrisclarkson
er whats happening in mouton 1? masterminds session seems like a MLM talk?!? #asw11
matthewwood
I left after about 20 minutes, and went into another session: Affiliate Improv!
