Revenue Engineering
Random Thoughts
Just a bunch of crap that I have floating in my head.
If You Believe It, Is It True?
Aug 5th
A blog post from Feld Thoughts, The Illusion of Progress, got me thinking about the power of our belief. Brad is wondering if he is being naive about his positive outlook. "I can’t decide if it’s me and my innate optimism, if there’s an illusion of progress, or if there’s a massive disconnect between reality and what mainstream media reports." But does it matter? Don’t we all just want to believe that life could always be completely fulfilling if we just made up our mind to do so by our beliefs?
I have a plethora of "sticky tweets" that I like to send out into the Twitter stream just to get things heated up a little bit. One I like to use is "What would John McCain do?". Another is "Is anybody NOT in sales? Anybody?". And a fan favorite is "81% of all statistics are made up!" These always get somebody to reply with something.
Since the recession hit I have been periodically sending out this sticky tweet: "The recession is over!! If we all believed it, would we be in one?" It gets retweeted often and I also get a lot of replies. Most replies are in agreement but sometimes I’ll get the "just because somebody believes something doesn’t make it so!"
I argue that if you do believe, and I mean REALLY BELIEVE something is true, it is. Even Jesus said "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him." Was Jesus on to something? I think so – and perhaps this explains the testimonials about his miracles. Perhaps he had a God-like capacity to believe. And I bet he did.
What do you think? Do you believe?
A Better 30 Second Commercial
Jul 17th
I was on my way to another “networking event” and it had been awhile because I’ve always felt like I was being perceived no differently than the other guy – and at least I wanted to sound different. I called up my friend and business mentor, a very successful financial planner that works BRO (By Referral Only), and asked him off the cuff, “What do you do?”. He asked me “What would you say if I told you I was a ‘wealth advisor’?” I said, “I’d ask you what a ‘wealth advisor’ is?” He said “Exactly! And that is what you want.”
What my friend does that most of his peers do not is spend time with his clients up front to understand their underlying and guiding core values as well as goals. And not until he has these most important personal pieces of information, which usually takes four to six weeks of work, would he present a strategic plan that outlines the potential positives as well as risks – all in accordance to the core values originally discovered. He is not like most of his industry peers that launch into recommending a myriad of financial products during the first meeting.
In my friend’s introduction, if he were to merely introduce himself to new contacts as a ‘financial planner’, most people will automatically put him in a box. In other words, the paradigm and perception that new contacts would have of my friend would be of typical financial planners…. usually not the image that is wanted.
Avoid being boxed in. Separate yourself from the mediocre peers of your profession on the first impression. Give yourself a chance to enter into a deeper conversation. How? Be vague in your pitch with the intent of getting asked “what is that?”
Beware the ‘Homework Givers’
Jun 18th
To get your start-up off the ground you need to meet a lot of people who could potentially help you. Partners, beta customers, investors, etc. are among the targets of people you should contact and meet. Many have great ideas and are helpful in the advice or referrals they give. There are also the people that have what you want, such as investment money or a partnership contract, and even lead you to believe that they’re willing to provide you what you need. Unfortunately, some of these people also come with strings attached and won’t “move forward” without you having to doing an infinite amount of work to satisfy them. I call them ‘homework givers’, and they are of the breed of people that take wind out of your sails.
Indeed there are legitimate reasons your contact should ask to provide initial research, or perhaps a key relationship in place before helping you further. But if you know you’ve done the necessary work to get your concept off the ground and walk out of a meeting feeling completely overwhelmed and behind the eightball, then you have just met with a ‘homework giver’.
Working with Talus, we met a gentleman several times who is very successful and had some great advice. However, he seemed to always give us information that either completely changed what we had going, or had ideas that would take some serious time, i.e. months, to complete. This led to doubting what we were doing, and with a feeling that we were way off track, which is the last thing we needed while pushing through all the crap necessary to get the darn business off the ground.
Don’t get derailed. Don’t even get sidetracked. Be cautious of the ‘homework givers’ and stay your course!
Nothing Like a Custom Suit
Apr 17th
NOTE: I admit up front I don’t know how to speak to the women about this topic.
Perhaps the same advice applies!
If you frequently wear a suit, I HIGHLY recommend investing in custom made suits and shirts. I’m not talking about the suits off the rack at Foley’s or Men’s Warehouse where the salesman says they your suite will be ‘custom tailored’. I’m talking about going into a reputable little boutique and going through the process with a professional haberdasher to get every little part of your body measured so that what you get fits perfectly and, most importantly, comfortably.
After you’ve done all the measurements (which stay on file for future purchases), it is time to discuss the type and color of the fabric of the suit. A good haberdasher will ask you good questions about what and who you’ll be talking too (almost sounds like a good salesperson doesn’t it?) and make the proper recommendations. After this you’ll do the same thing for shirts.
What you get is a perfect fitting wardrobe. The cuffs of your suit sleeves are perfectly aligned with the cuffs of your shirt, which is the perfect length of your arms. The shoulders of your suit matches the contours of your shoulders – likewise your back, your stomach, your butt, etc.
Now that you have a nice suit, don’t spoil it with lousy shoes! Invest in some Allen Edmonds or something like that. Pretty comfortable, affordable, and great looking.
Yes it will cost money, but trust me, it is one of the BEST investments I’ve made in myself. I’m so glad I took my friends advice about getting a custom suit. It truly has paid off.
Milton Friedman Talks Common Sense
Mar 20th
I’m gonna make my post this week simple. Watch the following short video.
Abundance vs. Scarcity… which do you claim?
Feb 20th
You either think there is enough, or not enough… you get to decide!
When you believe in your heart that everything is in abundant supply, and that you and everybody else in this world is entitled to as much as they really want, and that nothing is in short supply, then you start behaving differently. You start living a life of less worry and actually start attracting LIFE to you. I’m not just talking about money, but personal happiness, health, relationships… you name it.
On the other hand, when you live with a scarcity mindset, you believe the world and its offerings are finite, and you believe you’re entitled to a little piece and that’s all you’ll ever get. You’ll tend to be very competitive. You’ll have a hard time being happy for other people’s success. You’ll not want to share recognition or profits or credit for success, even when you received help… and when don’t you? In fact, you’ll tend to not ask for help when needed, furthering your demise.
How to Overcome Scarcity
I used to have a scarcity mentality. I used to suffer from all the things above and it was a hard rut to get out of. My sales coach saw that I suffered from scarcity thinking and introduced me to SalesMind – short, subconscious affirmations that help you change your thoughts. It literally changed me! If you think you have a scarcity mentality, I recommend you run, don’t walk, to buy SalesMind … I promise it will change the way you think!
SalesMind can also help you with these negative sales scripts you may also have:
- Low money tolerance
- Fear of rejection
- Asking tough questions
- Talking about money
- Fear of the phone
- Fear about asking for the business
- Low self esteem
- Need for approval
- Control emotions
Along these lines I highly recommend reading Killing Sacred Cows: Overcoming the Financial Myths That Are Destroying Your Prosperity . It is a great book that speaks to these issues.
