“My partner and I are building a new business around a great product for independent pharmacists. We have initial customers and we’re ready to grow.

“We had a plan for bringing in a surge of new customers by leveraging a speech I’d be giving at an important industry event. Because it was so important for us, we asked Dov Gordon to help us with the details.

“From our initial meeting with Dov, I realized that our plan was what you might call pie-in-the-sky.  We had a very high target – but no real plan to make it happen.

“Let me emphasize that we thought we had a plan. We were just too close to see all its holes.

“Dov helped us design a multi-step sales process that flows naturally with the psychology of our ideal customers. Then on the day we left for the conference he sent us a copy of his brand new, just completed manual, ‘How to Systematically and Consistently Attract First-Rate Customers’ which is an excellent compilation of the exercises he had walked us through and a lot more.  It made both the big picture and the specific next steps crystal clear.

“We came back from the conference with 60 high quality leads. In the weeks since then, we’ve closed deals with a dozen of them and several dozen more are likely to close in the coming months.

“Looking back it’s clear that had we done it our way, we wouldn’t have gotten any leads. No interest. No new customers.  I would have come back with my tail between my legs and the future of the business would have been a real question mark.

“If you are serious about getting a steady flow of first-rate customers, I recommend you get your copy of the Dov’s sales system Manual.  Even better – see if he has any open slots for his free “Attract First-Rate Customers Strategy Session.”

Dr. Joel Yaffa

www.personalhormones.com

“A cat who sits on a hot stove will never sit on a hot stove again.

But he won’t sit on a cold stove, either.”

- Mark Twain

When the know-it-all pontificator looks down her nose and says “Never make the same mistakes twice!” I grunt and run.

Yeah, right. Like any of us haven’t made the same mistake again, and again, and again before FINALLY figuring it out.

Like Mark Twain’s cat, if I sit on a hot stove, I won’t sit there again. But that’s because it suddenly became crystal clear that I did something stupid – and I know exactly what it was.

But when you’re growing your business and dealing with all that’s involved in creating a great product and then actually selling it – you’re not talking about sitting on a stove.  You’re talking about walking confidently forward because the path looks clear – only to crash through a glass door you couldn’t see.

And so it’s only those of us who persevere long enough to make the same mistakes many, many, many times who wake up one day and suddenly “get it.”

That’s how I learned to speed up the sales process…

For years I thought that if I show people how smart I am they’ll want to buy from me. So I gave great advice.  And people saw how smart I was.  But they didn’t buy.

I made this mistake many, many times before I finally realized what I was doing: I was asking my prospects to skip a step.

There are four psychological “Levels” your prospects must pass through before deciding to buy:

1. Your prospect ‘raises his hand’ because something you said or did piqued his curiosity. You connected with him in a way that leads him to want to hear more.

2. Your prospect learns more about you, your company and products.  He comes to feel that yes, you folks know your stuff.

3. Your prospect shares his personal situation. He needs to get to a place where he feels you really understand him.

4. You make a recommendation and close the deal.

These four levels are just reality. It doesn’t matter what you sell, your prospect must pass through each of these Levels  - in order. If you sell coffee it may take a minute.  If you sell military helicopters, it may take a year or more.  But they MUST ALWAYS pass through these Levels.

I was losing deals because I couldn’t see this simple breakdown of reality. Since I couldn’t see the ‘hot stove’ I didn’t know what I was doing wrong. And when you can’t see reality, you break yourself against it again and again and again – until you do.

Today, my mistake is clear: I was recommending – a Level 4 activity – before my prospect had passed through Levels 2 and 3.

Now, the glass door you keep walking through may be different from mine. But what’s happening is that in your own way, you’re breaking yourself against reality and it’s hurting  your sales.

To speed up the pace of your sales, slow down and walk your prospect through one Level at a time. Refuse to talk about your product before they’ve passed through Levels 2 and 3.  And when you do this, your sales will happen faster.

—

I’m going to create some more free training that will teach you how to systematically and consistently attract more first-rate customers, but I need to know what you want me to include. So please answer the 3 questions here.

Al had been in the air force, overseen a national tragedy and then went on to be CEO of a mid-sized manufacturing company.

And there he was – sitting at a meeting I had organized with a dozen other CEOs.  They’d come to share their thorniest dilemmas and be reminded that their businesses and their troubles are not as unique as they liked to imagine. Whatever it was, someone else had already conquered it.
—

Amazingly, I got to nearly all of these heavy hitters by cold calling. At first I was shocked at who you can reach by phone when you first put some thought into it.  But then I remembered that just about anything can be done when you put some thought into it.

And so, my CEO peer advisory group met about two dozen times over a couple of years in board rooms up and down the country.

I had a real problem though: It wasn’t turning into enough business. And so eventually, I was forced to end the group.
—

So yes, I know what it’s like to be smart, talented, know you have a lot to give through your products and services – and to be desperately frustrated at your inability to get the customers.

Sure, I had some of the critical pieces down to a system.  The cold calling, for example. That’s what prompted Al’s “chutzpah” comment. He had been impressed with the way I got through to him. Impressed enough to meet for coffee and then join my group.

But I never did get a decent project with his company, nor most of the others.
—

In the years since then, I’ve figured out what I was missing:

An end-to-end sales system.

Turns out, most business owners have lots of the pieces, they’re just not putting them together in a useful way.  It’s like having all the parts for a slick sports car stacked in your driveway. It ‘aint going to get you anywhere.

You need the big picture first.  Then you know where each piece fits.
—

And so much of my work recently has been with small business owners who love what they do, are exceptionally smart and talented, KNOW that their products are important and improve the lives of
many – but they’re having trouble actually getting those great customers.

Which is why I recently created a MANUAL that teaches business owners how to create your own end-to-end sales system.

It walks you through the five main steps in a sales system that actually leads to consistent, predictable sales:

1. Your ideal customers ‘raise their hands.’ They self-select and essentially say “Hey, that sounds
interesting.  Tell me more.”

2. Your ideal customers come to trust you and your company.

3. You earn the right to lead them and make a recommendation – your product.

4. You close a profitable deal.

5. You generate consistent back-end sales.
—

So if you’re looking for more than just compliments on your products - or on your chutzpa - and you want actual sales, go have a look at my new sales system manual.

But DON’T BUY it right away!

Since you’ve been on my list for a while, if you read the sales letter and you think “This may be just what I need right now” send me an email with your story.  Tell me WHY you think it may be just what you need right now.

And if you’re thoughtful and open, I may just send back a coupon code to knock that price down a bit for you.

I care. And I appreciate that you’ve been reading my emails.

And if you need some help and I can give it to you - I’m eager to do so.

As always, consider this a dialogue.  You can post a comment below.  Or by email.

Looking forward,
Dov Gordon

Do you ever tell yourself “I need to…“, or “I don’t have a choice…“, or just feel frustrated that you’re not yet the person you really want to be?

Here’s what I learned: It’s critically important to be unreasonable.

Unreasonable defined:  When you want – and expect to get – something you can’t have.

Being unreasonable is an entrepreneurial necessity.

When you think “I need this sale” you’re being reasonable.  Stop it.  Try this thought on instead:

“I need a business where I’m not needy of anything.”

“I need this employee.” Cut it out.  Try this:

“I need a business where no one employee will make us or break us.”

“I don’t have time.  That’s why I need to work 12 hours a day.”  You’re lying again.

“I choose to work the hours that I do.  And if I had 36 hours, I’d tell myself the same lies.  What if I only had 6 hours to work?  How would I guard and use every one of them? How would I be different?  What would I do differently?”

Is it unreasonable to think you could get it all done if you only had 6 hours? Well, there we go again. It’s time to start being unreasonable.  Be the person you WANT to be, but “can’t” be for whatever reason.

As far as I can tell, when you are unreasonable:

• – You focus your thoughts and energy on what you CAN control now.
• – You focus on what you CAN do TODAY.
• – You accept responsibility for your life, for your choices and behavior.
• – You focus your thoughts and mind on images of the person you WANT to be instead of dwelling on your weaknesses and who you’re not.
• – You start acting that way right now.
• – You FIRST figure out where you want to go, and THEN you work to get there.
• – You make time for what’s truly important to you FIRST and let everything else fall into place.
• – You refuse to allow others to make irrational demands of you.
• – You expect life to be DIFFICULT and so you don’t shrink in the face of possible failure or hardship.
• – You refuse to accept “advice” and guidance from people who don’t have your best interest in mind.
• – You don’t allow others to get you worked up or upset. You remember that they are just being who they are in the moment and you can’t change them. So you focus on what you can influence.
• – You refuse to give into pressure to rush when you know that the natural order of things will insist that you either go with the flow, or drown in it. (For example: You can’t rush a sale because you need the money.)

Looking back, this whole idea about being unreasonable is sounding very reasonable!

What do you think? Where have you started being unreasonable? And how has that improved your entrepreneurial life? Talk back below.  And consider using the retweet button over there—–>

If you’ve been here a while, you know that I’ve given away some really powerful free training to my subscribers, including what is now a $149 product called “How to Win Your Customers’ Hearts – by Reading Their Minds.”

I’m now creating some more free training for you that will teach you how to systematically and consistently attract more AAA / first-rate customers to your business, but I NEED to know what you need me to include in this training.

So please answer 3 short questions to help me to help you.

All questions are optional and  it should only take you 3 minutes if you’re brief, but please keep in mind that the more you tell me about what you want, the more I can give to you.

Thank you,

Dov Gordon

PS – If you’ve found any of my articles or insights to be helpful – AND if your business will be more satisfying and profitable when you have more AAA customers systematically and consistently closing deals with your business – please help me to help you by answering these 3 short questions now.

Business authors often conjure up the most bizarre management theories and then “prove” them by pointing to current business media darlings like Google, Apple and _____ (who will it be today?).

Book after book and article after article points to what this or that company did to achieve their success – and advises that you and I do what they did to succeed.

The problem is that no one company can stay on top forever. So it’s very tempting for the average author to attempt his 15 minutes of fame by showing how the advice in last year’s bestselling book no longer applies. And unless you listen to HIS brilliant new ideas, your company is doomed as “likely to be a victim of the next market shift. At least you’ll be in good company in the history books.”

Such was the advice of consultant Adam Hartung in a recent Forbes.com article.  Hartung advised that you “Stop focusing on your core business. It has become the fast track to oblivion.” He then proves it with stunningly shallow analysis during which he writes off both “Good to Great” by Jim Collins and “In Search of Excellence” by Tom Peters.

His article included gems such as “When markets can shift quickly, focus simply loses its value.” And “If you’re trying to improve your returns with execution, you’re likely to be a victim of the next market shift.”

What does Hartung advocate instead?  I had to visit his website to find out. Turns out he advocates his “Phoenix Principle” and something called “Disruptions and White Space.” I’m not going to comment, because I haven’t spent enough time to know what he means.

But astute reader “dave” commented politely that

“…Won’t the time come, if it hasn’t already, that Disruptions and White Space will go the way of ‘the Kraft approach’ or RIM’s ‘app-oplexy’? I seem to recall that ‘In Search of Excellence’ was viewed as the great salvation for business at one time. I assume you don’t believe that there won’t be a successor to the Phoenix Principle?”

“dave’s” comment still awaits a response.

Here’s my thinking on all this:

It’s important to study “Best Practices” because it gives you tactical ideas. But far more important is to study and master “Best Thinking.”

Best practices were best for a company in a particular industry at a particular time.  And they were probably the result of careful thought and analysis.

Then 98% of business people go out and thoughtlessly imitate what the model company “did,” forgetting that what they “did” was preceded by clear thinking.

At The Alchemist Entrepreneur™ we focus on clear thinking first, and then on wise practice. As you read through the articles here or go through any of our programs, you’ll start to notice that.  My tagline has long been “Clear thinking is your most valuable work.”

Here is the comment I left at Forbes.com below Mr. Hartung’s article:

There are so many problems with this analysis. Where to begin?

1. It is a waste of time to study “best practices” if you haven’t first studied “best thinking.”

A “best practice” that made one company a star, was probably the result of some really good behind the scenes thinking.  To imagine that you can imitate the practice without the thinking is not a very mature approach to business or life.

Yet this article, as well as the books it criticizes, focuses on what practices do and don’t “work.”

2.  To say “When markets can shift quickly, focus simply loses its value” is plain silly.

“Focus” is not a specific enough concept. Even the author must agree that focus is not an on-or-off switch, but a continuum.  At one end would be tunnel vision while on the other would be excessive diversification.

So how can you write an article saying that something as vague as “focus” is either good or bad?

3.  This author, like so many others, uses the scare tactic that “Times have changed. What worked yesterday doesn’t work today!  Listen to me or you’ll be doomed!”

This, too, is shallow.

Yes, some of the “best practices” that worked in 1975 may no longer work, but the Best Thinking is timeless. What worked for King Solomon works for us.

At The Alchemist Entrepreneur™ http://DovGordon.net we teach Best Thinking first, and best practices second because when you learn to quickly zero in on the key issues and decisions of your business, you have no need to mindlessly imitate today’s business darling.

Dov Gordon

PS – Isn’t it interesting that after a couple of minutes of clicking around on the Forbes billionaire list I came across James Leprino at # 374.  How did he make his billions?  Cheese. He’s the largest manufacturer of mozzarella cheese in the world. Would the author advise James to start selling sauce or pizzeria tables?

My point: You can always find a company to illustrate one practice or another.  So be smart and train yourself in clear thinking. Clear thinking is your most valuable work.

Are you struggling with profit, satisfaction, or both?

Some business owners are doing what they love, but not making money.  Others are making money, but get no satisfaction. Many make no money and get no satisfaction. But they sure do put in many hours!

Then there are the few, the artists, the Alchemist Entrepreneurs™, who both make money and feel immensely satisfied. They approach their business as a work of art.

In the best works of art, every element fits. Think of your favorite song. Every note fits. Every instrument adds something and together it’s magical. When you hear it, it lifts you up.

Your business can and should give you, your employees and customers the same feeling. Think of Warren Buffett who likes to say that he and his partner Charlie Munger enjoy what they do so much that they “tap dance to work each morning.” And look at what they’ve built.

Let me tell you why most business owners never achieve the rank of artist…

The answer is simple: They’re in a rush.

You can always justify your rush. One day it’s the competition and you need to keep pace and stand out. Another day it’s a demanding but important customer. Still another day, it’s your cash flow.

But whatever the explanation, this frantic rushing rarely gives you the profit and satisfaction you really want.

To build a business work of art, you DO need a sense of urgency.  Things are constantly changing and if you’re not moving, you’re falling behind. Move fast and you learn, adapt and turn ho-hum systems into systems that hum.

So what’s the distinction between rushing, which stifles and traps you and a sense of urgency which is a basic ingredient?

Rushing: When you try to make things move faster than they’re meant to move. For example, trying to make a sale before you really understand your prospect.  Or throwing someone on a job without proper training because you “don’t have a choice.”

A sense of urgency: When you’re committed to not let things take any longer than they absolutely need to. All this while acknowledging and respecting the reality that some things do need to evolve, mature and ripen.

To the point: If you want more profit and satisfaction from your business, don’t rush. But do act with a sense of urgency. That’s the way of Alchemist Entrepreneur™.

Has this clarified something for you? I’d love to get your reactions in the comments section below.

Hi Dov

This is just a quick email to express my appreciation for the Alchemist Entrepreneur’s Crash Course.

Prior to doing the course, I wasn’t very serious about building my business.  In fact, I was frequently being distracted and wasn’t getting that much done.

After going through your course, I’m glad to say I’ve been so much happier… and productive!  So much so I’ve got a queue of work at the moment – your session on time management has been a great help for me in managing all that (especially the client relationships).

Also, I’ve been reviewing the materials in the past week, and realised how the concepts between each session were so well interlinked.  It wasn’t just a bunch of random tools and techniques… it’s a whole mind shift which addresses the logical & emotional issues that many entrepreneurs face today.

“By the way, apologies about the coaching session. Turns out I don’t need much coaching right now. It seems like the Course already sorted out most of it!”

Thanks again, I know you’re onto an epic win with this!

Kind Regards

– Chris Khoo

Quark Speed Solutions

Free “Attract First-Rate Customers” Strategy Session

One area where small companies struggle is in attracting first-rate customers who gladly do business with your – on your terms.

If you are tired of small orders, B-grade customers and one-off sales your next step should be to claim your free  45 minute “Attract Great Customers” Strategy Session with me.

In this session you will:

• – Create a sense of clarity about the AAA customers you really want to have

• – Find out the essential building blocks for having the first-rate customers you’ll love to work with

• – Discover the #1 thing stopping you from having the AAA-repeat-customers you want

• – Identify the most powerful actions that will move  you towards the customer base you desire

• – Complete the consultation with the excitement of knowing EXACTLY what to do next to create the loyal customers you truly want

“I highly recommend Dov Gordon’s complementary ‘Attract AAA Customers’ strategy session.  In just 45 minutes Dov helped me zero in on the one thing that can really help my sales team right now.

“We began to use Dov’s insights immediately.  After just one week, my sales team is spending far less time on the wrong prospects.  This, of course, freed up much more time for the right ones.

“Thank you, Dov.”

Shai Etzion,

EMEA Sales, Clarizen

Clarizen.com

To reserve your private 1-1 session, email me at dovgordon@gmail.com or call +972-2-992-0396.  Include your contact information and time zone.  We’ll get back to you to schedule your session ASAP.

It happened not too long ago. You were talking with your Ideal Prospect and you could just about feel yourself holding the check that would make him your newest Ideal Customer.

Suddenly, something went very wrong and somehow you lost control of the conversation.

Your product and service were exactly what he needed.  It didn’t matter.  Your Ideal Prospect got stuck in the quicksand of distractions, “what ifs” and “second thoughts.” You tried to pull him out with your best answers, explanations and efforts to “overcome objections.” But nothing worked.

In the end, he was sucked under with a loud “sluuuuuuuuurp” and went straight to the Place where the best lost deals go.

Why did you lose control? And how can you be sure that next time you will confidently direct the conversation to a closed deal?

*

If you want to attract and close deals with first rate customers, you need to be highly skilled at controlling and directing conversations. Not in a stifling way, but in a way that exhilarates your AAA prospects. A way that leaves them  feeling free, understood, and hopeful because of the new possibilities you helped them see for themselves.

“Robert,” who is currently enrolled in my “12 Weeks to Your Perfect Business” one-on-one coaching program, recently had some frustrating conversations with a few active customers.  (If you feel stuck on a plateau; if your business no longer gives you the satisfaction it used to, email me to schedule a private 1-1 consultation to explore if this coaching program is right for you: dovgordon@gmail.com)

It turns out that Robert’s combination of outsourced products and services had done such a good job that:

“All my clients now talk about, ‘Geez, I really need a full time person, Robert. I need somebody in my office.’

“They don’t need anyone in their office, but that’s what they’re thinking…”

Hiring someone full time would make Robert’s company unnecessary. So I asked Robert how he responds.

“I say, ‘Really!  You haven’t even maximized this, and now you think you need a full timer, which is $80,000+ in salary, and that’s not including all the technological infrastructure…’”

I could almost hear the dreaded sluuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrp.

*

Here’s the simple secret for controlling and directing conversations:

You need see beyond what your customer SAYS to what she really MEANS.

So Robert’s customer SAYS

“Your XYZ has proven so important, that we need someone in-house to run it going forward.  And since you can’t be here yourself, we may need to find someone who can…“

BUT, what Robert’s customer MEANS is

“I can see how valuable this is. And we’re only just scratching the surface. And that’s the problem! I don’t like the feeling of not getting all I can from this.

“Help me figure out how we can get even better results with you so that I’m not tempted to look elsewhere!”

If Robert responds to what his customer SAYS, he’ll talk about how his company’s solution is really much cheaper than someone in house.  And about how it doesn’t pay for them to invest in all the infrastructure.  And about how if the customer would do just a bit more of what Robert was telling her, she would see that there’s no need for someone in house.

But none of this answers the customers REAL frustration, what she MEANT.

Here’s how you respond to what the customer MEANT:

“Customer, this is what I live for!  I love when someone gets it like you do.  You’re so pleased with the results so far, and frustrated with your inability to really maximize your results, that you want to explore ways that we can help you more easily get the full benefit that my products can bring to you, isn’t that right?”

If you have a good relationship, and you did correctly hear what your customer really wants, this kind of sentence will make your customer FEEL GREAT because you’ve just articulated what she really wants far better than she could ever do it herself.

*

POP QUIZ FOR MY REGULAR READERS: There is a simple “structure” lying beneath what Robert’s customers have been telling him. Robert didn’t see it, so he almost broke himself over it.  I did see it, and therefore I was able to formulate a powerful reply.

What’s the structure?  Post your thoughts with an explanation in the comments section below.

“Hi Dov,

“I would like to express my great gratitude for the 6 week “Alchemist Entrepreneur’s Crash Course in Advanced Management Skills” training.

“Just weeks before I was close to giving up my current role as Sales Director, Shareholder and member of the Senior Management in my company. I was disillusioned, frustrated and hugely unbalanced.  So your “Crash Course” came just in time.

“I learned new skills and refreshed old ones that had gone missing. I learned to see the underlying structure that motivates people to behave and act in certain ways and my communication is much improved.  Previously, most of my conversations with my partners were really confrontations. Sooner or later they would degenerate into accusations on both sides. Real decisions weren’t being made and nothing was changing.

“Now my partners let me do more and more things the way I think they need to be done, without me needing to get their input. They trust me more and the business is doing better.

“A recent success after the training: I closed the biggest deal in my company’s history!

“For all these insights I want to thank you.  And I hope that anyone reading this who feels the way I did about my business will seriously consider working with Dov Gordon.”

– Axel Baumgarten,  Partner and VP Sales, Securicorp Components Ltd.

Free “Attract First-Rate Customers” Strategy Session

One area where small companies struggle is in attracting first-rate customers who gladly do business with your – on your terms.

If you are tired of small orders, B-grade customers and one-off sales your next step should be to claim your free  45 minute “Attract Great Customers” Strategy Session with me.

In this session you will:

• – Create a sense of clarity about the AAA customers you really want to have

• – Find out the essential building blocks for having the first-rate customers you’ll love to work with

• – Discover the #1 thing stopping you from having the AAA-repeat-customers you want

• – Identify the most powerful actions that will move  you towards the customer base you desire

• – Complete the consultation with the excitement of knowing EXACTLY what to do next to create the loyal customers you truly want

“I highly recommend Dov Gordon’s complementary ‘Attract AAA Customers’ strategy session.  In just 45 minutes Dov helped me zero in on the one thing that can really help my sales team right now.

“We began to use Dov’s insights immediately.  After just one week, my sales team is spending far less time on the wrong prospects.  This, of course, freed up much more time for the right ones.

“Thank you, Dov.”

Shai Etzion,

EMEA Sales, Clarizen

Clarizen.com

To reserve your private 1-1 session, email me at dovgordon@gmail.com or call +972-2-992-0396.  Include your contact information and time zone.  We’ll get back to you to schedule your session ASAP.