Fake Leads

•   A long time ago, I attended a business networking meeting where only one person from every industry is allowed, (big red flag) and everyone is under pressure to give our leads / referrals every week. They actually COUNT the leads, and nobody gets a commission! Anyway, I received a LOT of fake leads, because people were too gutless to admit they didn’t have any leads to give out, and they feared losing their place in this group of broke, desperate, self-employed salespeople.

No Intention of Ever Co-operating

•   I asked someone to send out an e-mail to their database to promote one of my events a few years back. I “salted” their database (entered it anonymously, using a fake name and e-mail address) and the e-mails were never sent out. They didn‘t want to tell me that they never intended sending it out.

People Who Can’t Say “No”

•   People promise to show up at places, do things, make calls, promote stuff, attend meetings – and they never do – they offer weak, transparent excuses, because they can’t say “No”.

Sounds familiar, does it?

In our gutless, politically correct world of passive aggressive, anal-retentive, wanna-be entrepreneurs, it’s hard to find people who don’t fear “rejection” by simply saying, “NO.”

(It’s even harder to find people who actually do what they say before their laziness and stupidity overcomes them, but I digress).

So What’s the One Fear?

The one fear that will sabotage your business life more than most others is the fear of saying, “NO.”

You don’t have to explain and say, “NO – I don’t want to deal with you. BECAUSE

• I don’t like you”
• I don’t trust you”
• Your offer is ludicrous and one-sided”
• You’re an idiot”
• You’re cheap”
• You dress like a second-hand car salesman cum trailer park manager”
• You stink of tobacco…”

Just say, “No, thanks, this is not for me – I don’t see a fit.”

Instead of wasting your time trying to make losers happy and justifying things, instead of trying to be popular with wankers.

Just, say, “NO.” You don’t have to explain.

The Frog Prince Analogy

You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince. You can’t marry every frog because you’re afraid of “rejection”.

The more selective you are, the more distinct your criteria for accepting business offers is, the more sophisticated your approach, and the more successful you are, and the better known you are, the more offers you will have to reject, so get used to it.

So far, we have rejected 24 applications to our $20,000 DollarMakers Certified Business Mentor Training program, which meant we turned down and rejected $480,000 in sales. We are very proud of that. Few people would do that. But we see the big picture.

If the fit isn’t right, we say, “NO.” And everybody wins, because we’re honest.

Tell the Truth

Think of it this way:

“I am not in business to make other people happy, to build their egos, to be accepted and feel important, or to become popular. I am not here to please other people. I am in business to make the maximum amount of net profit with the least cost, risk, time, and effort, and I only work with people whom I like, trust, and respect. I don’t have to do anything, and I will tell the truth.”

Fearlessly, audaciously, courageously, tell the truth.

Your self-respect will increase as you discipline yourself to be honest, and, as a result, you will make more money, because we earn money in direct proportion to our self-esteem.

How can you even look at yourself in the mirror when you’re controlled by the whims and opinions of others, keeping up with the Joneses, and trying to impress losers?

Realize this: NOBODY CARES. Get real and get honest; say “NO.”

Consider What is Important

Here’s the good news:
It’s more important to be respected than to be liked.

People know that I don’t give a damn whether they like me or not, and I refuse to conform to this climate of slimy, politically correct, dishonest, back-stabbing hypocrisy.

I don’t care if the truth offends people or if they’re uncomfortable. And people know that they can trust me because of my approach.

The more selective and direct I become, the more money I make. It works. Try it. Thicken your skin.

Instead of “Got Milk?” how about, “Got GUTS?”

Believing in Yourself

When you truly believe in yourself and your product or service, it shows.

You become

• self-confident,
• strong,
• relentless,
• audacious,
• and unstoppable.

You become a

• straight talking,
• proud walking,
• King of the Kool Kat Klan.

You have pep in your step and a glide in your stride when you believe.

When you’re absolutely certain and focused,

• you’re circulating and percolating,
• making the contacts and writing the contracts,
• and moving and grooving.

The One That Makes The Sale

Believers don’t doubt for a single second that they will make the sale.

They don’t apologize or agonize – they have that killer instinct that makes them close like a bear trap on a sickly kitten. They are the steel fist in the iron glove, the warriors, the closers.

If you’ve seen the movie, Glengarry Glenross, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

When two people are belly to belly, one is always selling. You’re either buying your prospect’s lies and excuses, or you’re selling, baby.

And the one that is convicted at the deepest level is the one that will make the sale. That’s just the way it is.

Believers Win Big

You can’t fake belief – people instinctively recognize if you’re a poser or a Player.

And you can’t be a part-time Champion.

You can, perhaps, fool a few fools at a time, but

in the long run, the believers win big.

Immersed, Convinced, and Convicted – 24/7/365

True believers are

• totally immersed, convinced, and convicted – 24/7/365.
• They are passionate about what they do.
• They eat, sleep, and drink their product.
• They are a “product of the product”; you can’t drive Hyundai and sell Lexus.

You can’t sell what you’re not, and people buy YOU before they buy what you’re selling, because, ultimately, you’re selling yourself.

Part-time, sideline, half-time clock watchers are never sales champions.

You can’t serve two masters. People won’t by from timid, tentative, trembling types –

they buy from people who are absolutely uncompromising in their belief.

True believers are not

• rough,
• disrespectful boorish,
• or loud.
• They don’t
• talk over others,
• pressurize,
• or hard close, because they don’t have to.

Their power is in their belief, and they attract sales like a powerful magnet. If people are not buying from you, it has nothing to do with your product or service, the pricing, the competition, the weather, the holidays, the recession, demons, or your skanky ex-wife.

The reason why people are not buying from you is because you don’t BELIEVE in yourself and your product enough.

So stop whining and start winning. Stop making excuses and start making money!

Get yourself some serious belief and watch your closing ratios soar like an F18.

After we left the army at the end of our conscription, he didn’t know what to do with himself, so he became a psychiatric nurse. I remembered it well – we use to have drunken parties at his apartment on the very grounds of the mental institution, and anyone who observed our intoxicated, wild antics have assumed we were patients.

Then he married a female nurse who turned out to be gay. Then he became a medical sales representative and did very well.

Getting Rich is Akin to Getting Physically Fit

While Kobus was a sales rep, he started a plastics company in his garage, making desktop penholders to sell to the doctors along with the drugs, then he manufactures basins and bathtubs, and then bought a women’s clothing store, and so on. We remained good friends and played squash and sailed together, and here we were reminiscing.

I asked him, “Koebs, when did you become a millionaire? It must have been a very exciting day for you!”

And here was his answer: “Rob, I didn’t even realize it when I became a millionaire – it sort of creeps up on you – money starts flowing naturally when you’re in the right head space.”

I later experienced the same thing, but the way he described the process of getting rich is akin to getting physically fit. Like the day when you suddenly realize you have just pedaled three kilometers without even realizing it, because you were so busy thinking about other things.

In the beginning, every turn of the pedal is a concerted effort, tiring, and even exhausting. But if you persevere, one day you realize that you’re finally fit.

Are You A Quitter?

Ninety-seven percent of people quit so easily that it would be laughable if it wasn’t so sad. There is such a dearth of self-respect, self-discipline, and self-esteem out there that it is frightening.

People seem to have got to a point where they have even less shame than manners. I would be mortified if I had to cancel a meeting at the last minute or show up late for an appointment, but most people hardly blink.

Winners are tough on themselves, and they will endure pain, blisters, rejection, and difficulty without complaining or making excuses, UNTIL they succeed.

Not As Scary as it Seems

One night, Kobus and I were camping in the bush after leaving the army. I had my dad’s .38 special snub-nosed revolver, and he was armed with a hunting knife. In the middle of the night, we heard someone approaching our tent.

I cocked the revolver, Kobus unsheathed his knife, and we sprang out of the tent to confront our attacker, who turned out to be a large frog that was hopping around and bumping our cooking utensils.

Often, the threats we perceive in business are not close to as scary and dangerous as we think they might be. There are scarier things out there.

The Measure of A Great Man

Kobus died a few years back, but I have wonderful memories of him as a man of character and substance – a real man, whether we were fighting for our lives in Angola in the army, doing business, or having fun. He was a man of his word who had my back, and men like him are few and far between.

Strategizing the Target

Shane heard about an entrepreneur who could help him move a large amount of products. This entrepreneur (I’ll call him Dennis) was busy, successful, in demand, and very selective. Many people continually vied for Dennis’s attention, and salespeople spent a lot of time trying to sell him stuff. Shane took a month to do some serious due diligence and information gathering on Dennis –

• his family,
• business,
• employees,
• goals,
• background,
• philosophy,
• hobbies,
• you name it.

Then he paid a detective to gather even more information. When he was properly prepared, he spent a thousand dollars buying and using Dennis’s products and services.

Now Dennis knew who Shane was – a respectful client.

Setting the Bait

Shane knew that Dennis’s family was very important to him, so he paid a photographer to do a professional photo shoot of Dennis’s family. Then he invited Dennis to go deep sea fishing with him and a few carefully chosen friends.

He spent another month working on his relationship with Dennis until Dennis regarded Shane as a friend. This included buying Dennis a new guitar. Up to this point, Shane didn’t try to sell Dennis anything.

Catching the Fish

Three months to the day after Shane targeted Dennis, he closed the deal. Shane’s total investment, he told me, was five thousand dollars, which was tax-deductible. The deal made him forty-thousand dollars NET profit after deducting the five thousand. And Dennis made twenty thousand.

What Shane did was to strategically get the maximum amount of credibility and leverage before introducing his deal.

He told me that, at any time during this three-month process, if he felt the deal wasn’t going to work, he would have cut bait and walked away.

A General, Not a Soldier

That was ten years ago, and Shane and Dennis are still doing business. (I called Shane to make sure.) How different from the desperate posers who push their scruffy little business cards at you without even knowing you. Shane makes a lot of money, because he is a general, not a soldier. He is:

• rational,
• professional,
• unattached,
• reliable,
• respectful,
• and skillful.

He values relationships, and he takes nothing for granted. You would never see him in a “Business Networking Group” or a Chamber of Commerce meeting.

Many Ways to Achieve the Same Results

Of course, it doesn’t always take five thousand dollars to position yourself for a successful deal / Joint Venture. There are many ways to accomplish the same results for pennies on the dollar, and even for nothing but time and effort, but I like this illustration. As Ayn Rand said,

“Wealth is the product of man’s capacity to think.”

The emphasis is on THINK – something most so-called entrepreneurs avoid in favor of desperate sales pitches and their blind fumbling for a quick buck.

Which do YOU want to be?

Soldiers will grab a gun and rush out shooting. Generals plan before executing. They use:

• military intelligence,
• spies,
• reconnaissance,
• and input from other people.

They coordinate the activities of others.

Which do YOU want to be? Soldier or general?

To learn more about the Joint Venture Broker approach to wealth, which Shane understood so well, visit www.jvwisdom.com.

1.  Outdated Advice:

“Look at me,” purrs the seminar leader, “I’m rich because I invested in real estate in Florida. Do what I did, and you’ll get the same results.” Fine, except that the real estate market, the money situation, laws, mortgages, and a host of other things have changed dramatically in the past eight years since the guru made some money. And did he make his money in real estate, or in the seminars he’s been running to teach others how to do it? The same goes for Internet Marketing, foreign exchange scams, investments, and on and on.

2.  Motive:

What does the presenter of the advice have to gain or lose when you accept his advice? What is his vested interest and agenda?

3.  Authentic Knowledge:

How do you know this person advising you actually has the authority and insight to offer you good advice? At the end of many of the talks and seminars I present, I have people slithering up to ask me if they can give me some “Constructive Criticism.” I ask them how long they have been presenting seminars, how many people they have spoken top in the past 23 years, and how much money they have made, before they advise me on my presentation. Most of them are passive aggressive losers who wish to castigate me for calling people “fat” or using the word “loser”. Go figure. Someone once said, “Never take advice from someone who doesn’t already have what you want”. I would add, “And make sure they earned it themselves, under the same circumstances you currently face.”

4.  Consider the Source.

Consider the source of the advice.  A bank manager or a teacher can’t tell you how to get rich – they aren’t making money themselves! Never take advice from people who even are more screwed up than you are. And let me assure you, truly wealthy people will NEVER tell you how much money they have, and they seldom flaunt it. Read “The Millionaire Next Door”. Anyone can put doctored income statements and fake checks on the internet as “proof” of how much money they made. The Internet is a dangerous place; it’s where the worst people hide. You can be anything you like on the Internet.

5.  Consider the Setting.

Are you being offered incentives, meals, drinks, and holidays in order to get you to hand over money? Are you getting whipped up into an emotional frenzy and told that if you don’t invest quickly, you will lose? Is there pressure to buy NOW? Are you being wined and dined, patted on the back, and manipulated? Is religion being used? Wake up and smell the coffee.

6.  Beware of Statistics.

Be very aware and careful of the use of statistics. Have you heard the one about the river-crossing statistician who drowns after determining that the water is, on average, only three feet deep? This, says author Sam L. Savage, is just one example of the “Flaw of Averages.”

7.  Manipulation Tactics.

Be careful of social manipulation, “Group Think”, peer pressure, greed, the use of sex, and quick, but short-term financial relief.

Personally, I have seen enough conmen and scammers to last me a lifetime, and the worst of them appear on seminar stages, behind pulpits, and at Franchise Shows. They come in all guises, always smiling and hugging.

Remove Risk

I hate risk, so I use Joint Ventures to create wealth. I do business with little time, no risk, no cost, no overhead, no marketing or sales budget, no selling, no employees, no inventory, and no sleepless nights. I create multiple streams of residual income so that I don’t have all my eggs in one basket, nobody can control of manipulate me, and everything I earn is 100% pure profit. If that appeals to you, check this link.

They say seventy percent of Americans are one paycheck away from bankruptcy. Actually, I think the number is much higher.

How to get out of debt?

1. First, what do most people do? They focus on the debt. It’s like a huge depression magnet. How happy, courageous, enthusiastic, creative, and innovative can one be when focusing on your biggest problem?
2. They associate with other people who are also in debt. Crazy! That just perpetuates the situation!
3. They seek silly, quick-fix solutions, like network marketing (it works, but it takes years) and risky schemes that cost a lot to get involved with. Remember, only take advice from someone who already has what you want, and that the biggest scammers are found running seminars and behind pulpits.

Someone once said that if you know what 97% of people are doing and you just consistently do the opposite, you can’t help succeeding in life. That’s because most people are losers. That’s a proven statistic; 97% of people will never get rich. So you have to go with the 3% if you want financial freedom.

My real life, tough love, unapologetic recipe for getting out of debt:

1.  Stop Unnecessary Spending.

Stop spending money you don’t have on things you don’t need to impress people who don’t care.

• You don’t NEED to lease the latest, shiny new car.
• You don’t need to eat out in restaurants all the time.
• You don’t need to belong to service clubs and networking clubs if they’re not making you money, and factor in all your costs – your time, gas, meals, parking, etc.
• You don’t need a Blackberry – I seldom use my old cell phone, and I do just fine.

Even if you’re the “President”, resign right now. Get real, and get over your ego and your need for acceptance. If you’re a dirty little smoker, it’s costing you at least $300 per month, offending people who don’t like stinking of foul tobacco, and telling everyone you’re a loser. Stop it. Winners don’t smoke. If I’m offending you, I don’t care.

2.  Flock with Winners.

Surround yourself with winners who have money. Cut the losers, whiners, and parasites in your life loose – NOW. That’s around 97% of people.

3.  Improve Your Focus.

Focus on profits, not sales, awards, or titles. You may be a Double Diamond Executive Champion in your network marketing company, but if you’re only earning $1,000 per month from it, you’re delusional. If you’re a business owner, moving your focus from sales to profits is a major shift in focus. Fire any employee who isn’t profitable, even if it’s a relative. You’re not a socialist. If your business isn’t working, scrap it. You’ll have to get tough if you want to get rich.

4.  Take Responsibility.

Stop making excuses and take full responsibility for your financial future. You have to adapt to your circumstances and stop blaming them. Change your sails and use the wind to propel you towards your goals. Your present life and financial status is a mirror of your choices and thoughts. YOU created it.

The past is irrelevant, so stop talking about it. Nobody cares how successful you say you were in the past. You can’t drive to the bank looking in the rear-view mirror. Depend only on yourself, and decide that you will reach your goal of financial freedom no matter what it takes or how long it takes – no turning back – total commitment. 24/7/365.

Move from being a worrier to a warrior, from victim to victor. You can be popular of you can be rich. Decide what is most important to you. If you want both, your achievements will be short-lived and mediocre at best.

5.  Find a Truly Successful Mentor.

Find a mentor with money and without a hidden motive. That disqualifies 99% of “coaches” and “consultants” and all bank managers and “Financial Planners”. Take his or her advice, and don’t second-guess them, or they will cut you loose. They will watch you, and if you’re not consistently taking action and applying their advice, you will suddenly find it hard to get hold of them. Atlas will shrug. Your Mentor will provide you with a SYSTEM for making money, and you have to stick with it UNTIL it works.

My Motto

Remember this – it is my motto for life, from Paul J. Meyer:

“Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon, must inevitably come to pass.”

Winners NEVER quit.

That’s it. Simple. The best system I have found to create financial freedom for anyone, regardless of their age, circumstances, background, education, or experience, and that can allow them to retire in one year with more residual income per month than they need to live on, is Joint Ventures.

DollarMakers is designed to help you and mentor you to this goal without risk, and you can do it part-time. We have a 23-year track record, and we practice what we preach. Get the fantastic Joint Venture Coupon Strategy tool for free now. That’s a good place for you to start.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself, in order to move from tactician to strategist, and from selling your time to using your head:

1. What else could your customers buy, before, after, and during their purchase from you, and who could you arrange that they buy that from, while you receive a piece of all the resulting, ongoing transactions? Back end = 100% pure profit.
2. If you gave them an incentive, how many businesses / people could you arrange to enthusiastically, systematically, and consistently refer business to you? Unlimited, qualified referrals from a trusted source with a high closing ratio is the result.
3. How much extra value would you like to add to your current transactions at no cost or risk to you? This can increase transaction values and closing ratios and drop your attrition rate through the floor.
4. How could you piggyback on the distribution, excess inventory, unconverted leads, marketing, sales, and other resources of twenty other businesses? Scrap that marketing budget.
5. How can you arrange to stop paying for promises and only pay for results, which will essentially allow you to have an unlimited marketing budget? Fire those coaches and consultants right now.

When business owners realize that they’re working too hard and too long for too little, and that they’re only realizing around 10% of their potential profit, they suddenly open their eyes and start thinking like real business owners instead of broke, self-employed, salespeople who BS themselves even more than they do everyone else.

You can move from the soup kitchen to the Four Seasons faster than you think. Stop paying for a Rolex and getting a Timex. But remember that the man who wears a Timex can’t teach you how to buy a Rolex.