Making a Sea Change
About a month ago I did a sea change and moved to Nelson Bay. It's a popular holiday destination two and a half hours north of Sydney known for it's crystal clear waters and laid back lifestyle...
My Two Bosses
Back in 2000 I was working as a software developer in Sydney. We were a small company of 8 people with offices on the 4th floor of an old brownstone walk up opposite Darling Harbour. There was no air conditioning so in summer you'd be dripping with sweat by the time you made it up …
[Taking Action] Concurrent Vs. Sequential
"To be more productive you should focus on one thing at a time." This sequential action is what most people will tell you to do. And it's generally good advice. IF you want to be more productive. But I've found there's a big difference between being productive and being effective...
What’s your story?
"What's your story?" That's one of my favourite questions to start a conversation with a potential client. Another is: "So, how'd you get into this business anyway?". At which point they will begin to tell you their story...
Why can’t you do it for yourself?
If you're still working a J.O.B. then this is a must-read email. And if you've already made the leap into entrepreneurship you'll get a kick out of it too. Here's an extract from a conversation I had recently:
$70,000 new business in 1 week
"Btw, closed the door on $70K in business just this week... you're the man." Gotta love getting emails like this from the Consulting Tycoon clan. Seventy. Thousand. Dollars. One week. Let that sink in.
Productivity Porn
"Productivity porn." One of my coaching clients used that phrase on a call yesterday. Ever heard it before? I hadn't. But it immediately resonated with me.
The 4 Goals (Sneak Peak Video)
I just uploaded a 4-minute sneak peak video from my Advanced Sales Training for you. Watch it now to discover the 4 simple goals for a successful sales call. Video Highlights 0:07 - Goal #1. How to establish authority and make the prospect feel at ease. 0:28 - Goal #2. Digging for gold. 1:00 - …
5 reasons why you should AVOID working with clients
Do you want more clients? Almost everyone answers "YES!". But who -- exactly -- are you looking for? When I ask this question most people come up blank. Or at best have only a vague idea...
1 Simple Idea For Increased Sales
Ever notice how a single idea can change your perception forever? You might study a topic for years and have a certain view about it. Then one day you learn something new... hear a concept explained in a unique way... are shown a pattern you'd previously missed... or discover a metaphor that gives new insight... …
Why Consultants Suck at Sales
In a coaching call last week a client told me how his biggest weakness is sales. He knows he can provide massive value to his market. Has no problem putting up a website, driving traffic, and getting a lead generation machine going. But when it comes to getting on the phone and asking for money, …
Question from Norway
Great question from a client and subscriber from Norway: "Just read your latest post Door To Door Fails. I know what you mean when you are describing someone as a "young introverted computer geek who doesn’t even like talking to strangers on the phone".
Marketing Without Money
Yesterday we were talking about building marketing systems that bring clients to you. Today I want to answer a question I get all the time. In fact this one came in via Facebook just the other day: "I don't have any money for advertising right now. What you would do in such a situation?" Well...
Door To Door Fails
My palms were sweaty. Hands shaking. Throat dry. I'd been standing at the front door practicing opening lines in my head for 9 minutes. Too scared to go in. Too fed up to walk away again.
When to pivot into a more profitable market?
Have you read The Lean Startup by Eric Ries? It's about agile startups -- getting a minimum viable product to market, collecting data, and constantly iterating products based on market feedback. In the book he talks about the concept of pivoting vs persevering. (He describes a pivot as a "structured course correction designed to test …
The results are in! (Dan Kennedy book winner revealed.)
In Friday's email I asked a simple little question: Why after 2 years of doing all the "right" things hadn't my friend been able to quit his job? And in the next few hours my inbox BLEW UP with responses...
Doing all the right things but it isn’t working
Yesterday I had a quick coaching session with the friend from my last email. The guy who was struggling to figure this all out on his own. Turns out he is doing a lot of the right things:
Inappropriate Behaviour from Clients
Recently I was speaking with one of my TIC members about inappropriate behaviour from some of her clients. She told me: "I didn't filter hard at the start so I now have clients trying all sorts of stuff that is inappropriate." What kind of inappropriate things?
Stop focusing on your “skill set”. Do this instead…
Chatting with a friend recently who is struggling to find a way to do his own thing, and he said this to me: "I feel like at this point, I know my skillset pretty well. I've got a ________, a _________, I'm good with _________, and I understand how to use ___________ to automate life …
Stop focusing on your “skill set”. Do this instead… Read More »
Curse of the Slow Sales Cycle
Two months. Two freakin' months! That's how long our sales cycle was back when I worked in the web development business. From the time we initially made contact via a business developer's cold call... through initial meetings, strategy sessions, wireframe mock ups, business case presentations, and boozy lunches... to a signed contract.