“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

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.

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.

Years ago my brother-in-law was driving across the U.S. with a friend. After half a day of driving through the Midwest, they pulled over at a truck stop to rest and stretch their legs.

They were getting back into the car when a middle-aged man came up to them.

“Hey, fellas, can I have a lift?”

“Where do you need to go?”

“New York.”

“Sorry, we’re going to LA.”

“Hey, that’s good too.”

They looked at each other.  There was no way they wanted to be stuck in a car for the next few days with someone who had no idea where he was going.

“Uh, sorry bro. It ‘aint gonna work.  Maybe the guy behind us is going to New York.”

Most small business owners are settling for what they have instead of creating what they want.

You’re settling if you look at where you are today, at the options you see available to you today, and you choose.  “You have a ride to LA?  OK, I’ll take it.  I’ll go to New York another time.”

You’re settling if the customers in front of you are not the customers you really want. You’re settling if the products you buy, sell or build are not the kinds of products you’d LOVE to buy, sell or build.  You’re settling if the people working for you are the ones who were available when you needed to hire and not the ones you really want.

But you can’t “settle” your way to a business that makes you proud and free. You need to create it.

“Creating” is when you say “I really want to be in New York.  I don’t know how, but I’m going to figure it out.”

When you stop settling, you’re creating time, life and freedom.

To create a business that gives you time, life and freedom, a business where you lead with your mind, not minutia, you first get really clear as to what you want.

Often we’re too busy with the details to step back and think it through.  Are you making time to think through what you really want? Do you really know what you want in a customer?  Is it clear enough that you come to work with a single minded focus?  Is it clear enough that you’ll walk away from someone who doesn’t meet your standards?

The first step to building your freedom through entrepreneurship is to be clear about what you want – not settle for what you have.

—–

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

“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.Shai EtzionEMEA Sales, ClarizenClarizen.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.

Two clients.  Each runs a small company.  One is hiring and the other is firing. What’s the difference?

Both are in multi-billion dollar markets.  Neither can blame the recession because each only needs a fraction of a percent of an enormous market to double or triple in size.  So it’s not the economy.

As an outside consultant to both these owners I see the difference and it’s simple: Passion.

The owner of the growing company is passionate about what he’s doing.  He loves it and loves helping his customers.

The other owner wants to make money. He doesn’t have any special fondness for his products or customers and is guided by what he believes will earn the company more money.

Interesting, isn’t it, that he’s the one hurting and laying people off?

Several years ago another client asked if I thought it was important that he have passion for what he was doing.  “Umm, yes.  Absolutely!” He confessed that although he enjoyed his job, he wasn’t particularly passionate about it.

The company wasn’t doing so well then and things haven’t improved much. They continue along from one crises to the next, with just enough successes to keep them alive.  Market value is lower than ever.

I once served as chairman of the board for a non-profit. When I joined I was enthusiastic and passionate.  But I soon discovered things I had not known before joining the board and this new awareness completely sapped my passion.  So I resigned.

If you lead a company that you aren’t passionate about, either get passionate about it fast (real, sustained passion) or get out – fast.  You owe it to the shareholders.  You owe it to the employees.  But most of all, you owe it to yourself.  Why spend your life in a role that doesn’t thrill you?

Long before Ronald Reagan was president of the United States, when he was climbing the ladder of Hollywood celebrity, he wrote the following:

“Lots of kids write and ask my advice about how to make their mark in an indifferent world… So what I’d like to tell ‘em is this: Look, you must love what you are doing. You must think what you are doing is important because if it’s important to you, you can bet your last ducat that other people will think so, too…”

What can you do if you’re stuck in a business you don’t have the passion for?

It will depend on why you don’ t have passion, of course.  Common reasons include:

- Values: You don’t believe in what you’re doing.  It’s not consistent with that you believe is important.

- Confused: You don’t know what you want to do.  You don’t know what you’re passionate about.

- Pessimism and / or Disillusionment: You simply don’t see how this business will give you what you want.  You continue because you don’t see a better option.  You thought things would develop faster.

Let’s start with these.

1.  Values: In some ways this is the easiest. In other ways, this is the hardest.

It’s easiest because you know it’s time to move on.  It’s hardest because you’re probably need to leave a comfortable situation.

What you need most here is (1) an unambiguous decision to move on and (2) personal courage and the support of your loved ones and close friends.

2. Confused: If you don’t know what you’re passionate about, here are a few suggestions:

- Often people who say they don’t know what they are passionate about, really do know WHAT they’d LOVE to do.  They just don’t see HOW they could make it happen.

Other times, they really don’t know WHAT it would be.

If your situation is the former, then keep your goal clearly in mind and your eyes open for omens, ideas and opportunities to take small steps in that direction. Take them.

If the latter, commit to do what’s in front of you today with excellence. People who don’t see a direction often drift.  This is a killer because they feel unproductive.

When you do what’s in front of you as well as you can do it – TODAY – you feel good about yourself.  And the better you feel, the more opportunities will begin to prevent themselves.  Try it if you doubt me.

3. Pessimism and / or Disillusionment: This may have a variety of symptoms.  But my bold claim is that the root here is that you’re too worried about yourself.

Focus your mind on your customer, on others you can help, on ways you can make a positive impact and things will soon fall into place for you as well.

Are you stuck in a business without the passion?  Did you successfully move out of one?  Do you have a different view on the subject?

Chime in below.