Doing $75,000 USD Per WEEK (Service Business)

[Raoul Duke]

But also, not many people on here are looking to grow a sales team so they won't have very specific questions.

Even if you were looking to build a sales team. @csalvato has done a very good job outlining a process just for that.

GOLD! - Building a team around you that will follow you to hell and back.

 

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[458]

Here's my view... been lurking in this thread and just reading... I haven't replied or asked anything because I run ecommerce businesses and I don't know what I would ask.

The problem is I don't know who the 50 people you've done calls with are. What Chris is saying is that we don't really know what you do. From what I've gathered you are selling something that costs $3500 through direct sales via phone calls and that something has to do with real estate.

Yea, I understand that what you are selling doesn't really matter. But I don't know if I should ask you about employee management, email marketing, sales, etc... It's kind of tough, but @ZCP is doing a good job at it. But also, not many people on here are looking to grow a sales team so they won't have very specific questions.

Selling a service that is not in real estate. I'm really here for the young, new kids, that are interested in getting help from someone live that doesn't want to sell them anything.

 

[Get Right]

FYI: I was sent a screenshot of a merchant account without any rebuff. While I'm well aware that screenshots can be faked/doctored, I have no reason to believe it was.

Thanks @458 and MJ! This validation will go a long way to helping the exact people you wish to see succeed. I for one am very grateful for your time.

I also very much enjoy providing employment to top talent and watching them grow into a role they truly love and enjoy while making more money than they thought they would ever make..

At some level this must get you back to the point of helping your employees see beyond the typical "poor" mentality. My nature is to slip back into that mindset so I have to fight it. Can you share how you teach/coach this?

 

[csalvato]

Even if you were looking to build a sales team. @csalvato has done a very good job outlining a process just for that.

GOLD! - Building a team around you that will follow you to hell and back.

Thanks for the shoutout. The approach I outline is more abstract, and I think it can definitely apply to hiring a sales team. If all goes well, we are planning on hiring a sales team in 2019, so I'll be able to apply the principles to a sales team (I've only applied it to engineering folks before) and report back... :fingers_crossed:

 

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[LightHouse]

Yeah, sorry, my response wasn't directed at you. I should have been more clear, it was just meant for what you were pointing out. Thanks for clarifying your point though.

I appreciate your apology, that speaks a lot about your character over all.

To help get this thread back on track, and potentially become a gold thread...

Can you give us a bit more clarity on what you excel at in detail? (maybe a mod can add the snippet in the OP)

You've stated a high ticket item and you lead the sales team, but maybe explain a bit about what you excelled at to get you there.

Was it hiring and inspiring the sales team?
Building sales team infrastructure?
Cohesion between sales and production/fulfillment?

Anything that can narrow us in to how we can ask calibrated questions that set you up to really help out these new guys?

 

[458]

Thanks for the shoutout. The approach I outline is more abstract, and I think it can definitely apply to hiring a sales team. If all goes well, we are planning on hiring a sales team in 2019, so I'll be able to apply the principles to a sales team (I've only applied it to engineering folks before) and report back... :fingers_crossed:

And i did not want to offend anyone about that thread, it is very detailed and obviously took a lot of time to put together. However, i have literally hired and fired hundreds of sales people over the years and the reason my advise is so condensed is because I am just giving the meat that is necessary for success. Just the stuff that will make or break you when you go about putting together a sales team.

 

[458]

I appreciate your apology, that speaks a lot about your character over all.

To help get this thread back on track, and potentially become a gold thread...

Can you give us a bit more clarity on what you excel at in detail? (maybe a mod can add the snippet in the OP)

You've stated a high ticket item and you lead the sales team, but maybe explain a bit about what you excelled at to get you there.

Was it hiring and inspiring the sales team?
Building sales team infrastructure?
Cohesion between sales and production/fulfillment?

Anything that can narrow us in to how we can ask calibrated questions that set you up to really help out these new guys?

I will respond shortly to this with something nice and detailed. For me it is hard to distill because things get very abstract and I want to make sure I give you information that is useful to members here, not ego fluff.

 

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[458]

Thanks @458 and MJ! This validation will go a long way to helping the exact people you wish to see succeed. I for one am very grateful for your time.



At some level this must get you back to the point of helping your employees see beyond the typical "poor" mentality. My nature is to slip back into that mindset so I have to fight it. Can you share how you teach/coach this?

It took me a minute to think about the best answer for this.

I think the most important thing you can do to keep your team moving forward into any mentality you want is to ALWAYS, NO MATTER WHAT, FOLLOW THROUGH WITH WHAT COMES OUT OF YOUR MOUTH. If I say it, i do it, period.

This creates a cycle of accountability within yourself as well because now when you don't do what you say you were going to do you feel guilty for letting everyone down.

The exception to this is if it is truly bad for the team and you realize afterwards.

You are probably wondering, but how does that relate to having a poor mentality? It doesn't.. It relates to habits. Having a poor mentality is a bad habit and getting OTHERS out of that mindset is impossible by force, the only thing you can do is showcase to them how you operate(with a rich mentality that you follow through on) and then they follow suit.

Monkey see monkey do.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Thanks @458 and MJ! This validation will go a long way to helping the exact people you wish to see succeed. I for one am very grateful for your time.

Just an FYI: I've been able to validate a bit more as well, the real name of 458, the service -- looks all legit. And I see ZERO indication that a $10K coaching program is going to come next.

Carry on and thanks @458 for giving back.

 

[Envision]

AGAIN!

ASK THE 50 PEOPLE I HAVE DONE SKYPE CALLS WITH..

I don't talk like this to people on my calls, the people tapping my balls won't get on calls with me, they never ever PM me. They just want to look tough in public because they actually care what everyone thinks of them on here. I am here for no other purpose than to give back to the few people like myself who would have really appreciated a call from someone much more experienced and much higher up when i was in a position of just starting out and trying to find my own way being a new entrepreneur. There is an EXTREME lack of quality mentoring in this space because almost everyone is actually full of sh*t , doesn't actually do $75k a week and doesn't actually want to give back.

I couldn't care less if anyone here likes me or not, i don't plan on meeting anyone here or ever disclosing who I am. I do the calls because i enjoy giving back and actually helping people that want help. I don't care about the people who just wanna try and call me out because of whoever else in the past has been full of it on here trying to take money out of members pockets.

Dude, you're attracting the same energy you're putting out. When you come across as arrogant and all knowing people are going to push back on that and wonder who you are and what you do...

Dont get butthurt when YOU asked for questions and the questions asked are completely relevant to the situation you put yourself in.

My question:
- Were you arrogant (or confident however you view it) before you had money?
- Do you think earning money gives you an edge and a variance in how you respond or view people?
- Do you think you can fail?

 

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[458]

Dude, you're attracting the same energy you're putting out. When you come across as arrogant and all knowing people are going to push back on that and wonder who you are and what you do...

Dont get butthurt when YOU asked for questions and the questions asked are completely relevant to the situation you put yourself in.

My question:
- Were you arrogant (or confident however you view it) before you had money?
- Do you think earning money gives you an edge and a variance in how you respond or view people?
- Do you think you can fail?

1. Yes I would say the same amount of confidence prior to having money. I started with about 10k and went all in without hesitation, prepared to lose it all and go into massive debt. I was willing to do whatever it took and I wasnt going to listen to anyone tell me no or that I couldn't do whatever I wanted. Not my friends, family, girlfriend. You couldn't tell me anything, I was going to fail until I made it.

2. No, money does not give you an edge that's why I stay waking up at 4am and grinding 12 hours a day. The second you stop doing what works and what got you where you are is the second you are going to learn a very valuable lesson.

3.Yes, I fail all the time and most of the time it's my fault. Failure is a part of the game. If your asking about bankruptcy type failure, sure it's possible. Nothing is guaranteed and everyone is going to die.

I am definitely not all knowing, I just know a lot about a specific type of process that has worked out well for me. Sometimes you have to come off a certain type of way to attract attention, good or bad. If I wrote boring, non provacative threads, no one would pay attention..

ABC, always be closing

 

[GuestUser4aMPs1]

@458 what is the end game, and why?

No, money does not give you an edge that's why I stay waking up at 4am and grinding 12 hours a day. The second you stop doing what works and what got you where you are is the second you are going to learn a very valuable lesson.

Needed this. Thank you.

 

[458]

@458 what is the end game, and why?



Need this. Thank you.

Financial & non financial end game:

1. A net worth over 100m
2. Ring the NYSE opening bell on my own IPO
3. Create and grow something in a big boy space like real estate and be considered one of the best (think Stephen Ross or Sam Zell)
4. Start a non profit that helps people and keeps me from getting bored long term

Really, once your net worth/income is at a certain level, its all about finding something you can do and strive for so you don't go mad with boredom. For example, I have been reef keeping for about 10 years now and I am still not a master at the craft because there is always more to learn and perfect.

Side note for new entrepreneurs: If you want to learn the tools you need to be a great entrepreneur, get into the reef keeping hobby. It will teach you everything: patience, commitment, consistency, attention to detail, thirst for more knowledge, a lot of failures before you get semi decent at it, etc etc.

 

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[Kid]

Hi @458 !

Thanks for this informative thread.

I hope i won't sound like a troll:

As a beginner, what question should i ask?

(It's AMA,so i guess its "anything" part)

 

[csalvato]

Hi @458 !

Thanks for this informative thread.

I hope i won't sound like a troll:

As a beginner, what question should i ask?

(It's AMA,so i guess its "anything" part)

This is the smartest, most self aware noob question I’ve ever seen.

 

[ZCP]

Hi @458 !
Thanks for this informative thread.
I hope i won't sound like a troll:
As a beginner, what question should i ask?
(It's AMA,so i guess its "anything" part)

Wow. I'm w/ @csalvato ..... that is a solid question.

 

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[Leeroy Savage]

Rental cardbox furniture. For dressing up houses app

 

[biophase]

[QUOTE="458, post: 740219, member: 6143”]For example, I have been reef keeping for about 10 years now and I am still not a master at the craft because there is always more to learn and perfect.[/QUOTE]

Interesting, I imported corals and fish from Fiji over 20 years ago. I sold them in AOL chat rooms.

I’ve always wanted to grow live rock in the ocean. I don’t keep anymore tanks because I travel so much.

I want to have an indoor reef pond lit by sunlight here in AZ. The hardest part is keeping the water cool in the summer.

 

[Deleted5250X]

What are the keys to a successful cold call?


Thanks @458 for your time.

 

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[Phikey]

Background:
I have a PPC marketing agency (early stages, just transitioned from freelancer) targeting Ecommerce store owners (particularly those on the shopify platform but not limited to that). Right now doing $8k Monthly Recurring Revenue, just outsourced all operations to whitelabele
agencies, and now I'm focusing on sales and growth. All current clients have come through referrals because I've made businesses A LOT of profits - often scaling them up from $5k in monthly sales to over $60k/month with big profit margins.
My question: How would you go about getting new clients? What process? Cold emailing, cold calling, linkedin?

 

[458]

Hi @458 !

Thanks for this informative thread.

I hope i won't sound like a troll:

As a beginner, what question should i ask?

(It's AMA,so i guess its "anything" part)

Good question. I usually answer this the same way for every single beginner that doesn't know where to start in this game.

There are basically two main questions that you need to ask and both of them you have to ask them of yourself, not of me or anyone else.

The two main questions to ask yourself are:

• 1. Is it truly in my blood and soul to be an entrepreneur? (I firmly believe myself that this game is not for everyone, it is for a few people that truly have it in them to build something of substance on there own. Since a very young age I have known that in my heart of hearts I am a natural born entrepreneur with ice running through my veins. This is not to say you cannot try, but if the answer you give to this question is maybe, you still need to answer yes to the next question.)

• 2. Am I willing to work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, for the next 5 years and earn $10k per year? (No matter what your answer is to question number one, this second question is all that really matters. Without the willingness and then execution to follow through on ONE venture of your choice, with EVERYTHING you have, over a 5 year prior, there is a 90-99 percent probability that you will fail at whatever you attempt.)

If you answer positively to the above two questions, then the next question to ask is:

• 1. In what space or niche do I personally have the highest probability of success if I dedicate the next 5 years of my life working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. (Again, this is a personal question which took myself about 6 months to drill down to. You want to be in a space where you have some type of knowledge, possibly a bit a natural talent for. Something that is not trendy, there is not a lot of competition, does not require a ton of upfront capital to get started, etc etc. Take the next 3-6 months and do your research, do not rush this question as it will determine in large part, whether you become successful or not. The last thing you want to do is work your a$$ off for 5 years for nothing because you were too impatient in the beginning and didn't take the time to figure out the best space to compete and ultimately dominate in.

Good luck!

 

[458]

[QUOTE="458, post: 740219, member: 6143”]For example, I have been reef keeping for about 10 years now and I am still not a master at the craft because there is always more to learn and perfect.

Interesting, I imported corals and fish from Fiji over 20 years ago. I sold them in AOL chat rooms.

I’ve always wanted to grow live rock in the ocean. I don’t keep anymore tanks because I travel so much.

I want to have an indoor reef pond lit by sunlight here in AZ. The hardest part is keeping the water cool in the summer.

Believe it or not, you could actually have a nice little business with growing live rock in the ocean. Tampa Bay Saltwater (Live Rock - Tampa Bay Saltwater Aquacultured Live Rock) is where I bought my live rock for my current tank and they are basically the only option when it comes to buying high quality live rock grown in the ocean. They have a lease in Tampa and ship it by plane overnight in bags of water so nothing dies before it gets to you. The guy that owns the business definitely has a nice little monopoly on his hands. The rocks I bought have been amazing and the only issue I had was I had to pick out a few Gorilla crabs out of the tank in the beginning, other than that, top quality stuff and I highly recommend them to anyone starting a tank.

In regard to traveling so much, things have changed over the years and you can basically setup a tank that runs and cleans itself if you have the money. The Apex Controller is truly amazing and with a little design preparation upfront you can plumb the tank to perform automatic water changes without any outside assistance. Also, a wifi connected camera system goes a long way with peace of mind while your away traveling.

If you want some help getting back into the hobby just shoot me a PM and ill bring you up to speed real quick. Can help you with the reef pond setup too, there is definitely a cheap way to keep it cool, you just have to plumb it right.

 

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[458]

What are the keys to a successful cold call?


Thanks @458 for your time.

There are many, but the main ones that every beginner needs to master is:

• 1. Not letting rejection get to you in any way.

• 2. Never saying the word "Um". Harder than you think to do. Record your calls and you'll see what I mean.

• 3. SLOW DOWN! Again, record your calls and you'll see what I mean.

• 4. A written script that you follow and do not deviate from that leads you from opening, to middle, to close.

• 5. A written script that is coherent and not all over the place. Remember, you need to be able to build the product or service in the mind of the person without confusing the shit out of them. This is harder to do than you think. Again, record your calls.

• 6. Listen to your recorded calls every day.

After that, its all repetition and fine tuning. 500 dials a day minimum over a year period is what it will take to become half decent at it.

 

[458]

Background:
I have a PPC marketing agency (early stages, just transitioned from freelancer) targeting Ecommerce store owners (particularly those on the shopify platform but not limited to that). Right now doing $8k Monthly Recurring Revenue, just outsourced all operations to whitelabele
agencies, and now I'm focusing on sales and growth. All current clients have come through referrals because I've made businesses A LOT of profits - often scaling them up from $5k in monthly sales to over $60k/month with big profit margins.
My question: How would you go about getting new clients? What process? Cold emailing, cold calling, linkedin?

First, I need to know why you wouldn't want to do what you know works and has worked for you in the past to get your revenue from your current $8k to $60k. If you can give me the answer to this, then I can more accurately respond to your question.

 

[Phikey]

First, I need to know why you wouldn't want to do what you know works and has worked for you in the past to get your revenue from your current $8k to $60k. If you can give me the answer to this, then I can more accurately respond to your question.

Because getting to $8k was basically a process over the last 6 months where I would do great work for a client for 2-3 months and ask for a referral, and repeat with the 1 or 2 clients they would give me. The problem is that it's not scalable, fast or predictable. I can continue doing this but it means it would take me a very long time to get to $60k, when my goal is to get to $100k MRR by the end of next year.

 

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[jcvlds]

• 1. In what space or niche do I personally have the highest probability of success if I dedicate the next 5 years of my life working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. (Again, this is a personal question which took myself about 6 months to drill down to. You want to be in a space where you have some type of knowledge, possibly a bit a natural talent for. Something that is not trendy, there is not a lot of competition, does not require a ton of upfront capital to get started, etc etc.
  
  ...
  
  because you were too impatient in the beginning and didn't take the time to figure out the best space to compete and ultimately dominate in.

Thanks for giving back to the community @458

I wanted to go deeper into the ‘really niching down’ concept. How niche do you believe is best to drill down into? How do you think one can effectively find the balance between too niche yet still being a sizable market? What ways niching have you undertaken (eg vertical/industry, product space, category space, etc)?

Thanks in advance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Successful Steve]

@458
I have tried different businesses but have not stuck with them like you did with yours or realized they would be unprofitable or was screwed over by business partners.
I now have 4 ideas and deciding which next venture I should start.
I currently have my own business related to my career field that affords me the time and opportunity to come up with a brand and need that the market wants.
My questions: 1 of my ideas is product related and searching for the material to sample it and manufacture it and another one is app related which I have no idea how to even do an app and 2 other ideas are website related selling other peoples products.
Is that the only business you put all your effort into or did you fail at many others?
Is having a lot of ideas in my head of various businesses I can start hurting my chances of success?
And any tips on picking quality business partners?

 

[Get Right]

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite threads. Notable worthy @MJ DeMarco

 

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[biophase]

Believe it or not, you could actually have a nice little business with growing live rock in the ocean. Tampa Bay Saltwater (Live Rock - Tampa Bay Saltwater Aquacultured Live Rock) is where I bought my live rock for my current tank and they are basically the only option when it comes to buying high quality live rock grown in the ocean. They have a lease in Tampa and ship it by plane overnight in bags of water so nothing dies before it gets to you. The guy that owns the business definitely has a nice little monopoly on his hands. The rocks I bought have been amazing and the only issue I had was I had to pick out a few Gorilla crabs out of the tank in the beginning, other than that, top quality stuff and I highly recommend them to anyone starting a tank.

In regard to traveling so much, things have changed over the years and you can basically setup a tank that runs and cleans itself if you have the money. The Apex Controller is truly amazing and with a little design preparation upfront you can plumb the tank to perform automatic water changes without any outside assistance. Also, a wifi connected camera system goes a long way with peace of mind while your away traveling.

If you want some help getting back into the hobby just shoot me a PM and ill bring you up to speed real quick. Can help you with the reef pond setup too, there is definitely a cheap way to keep it cool, you just have to plumb it right.

When I was in reefkeeping, none of those Florida aquaculture places were open yet. I had 2 kiddie pools, each lit with a 400w MH light 5500k bulb and I grew live rock in my basement. I've thought about how to use the AZ sun to get this type of business going, but realistically the margins just suck.

What I think would be really cool is to grow things like tridacna clams or goniaporas. Are these still hard to raise in today's world?

Anyway, I know that alot of things can be automated now. But if I'm not there to look at the tank, there's really no point. I'm sure you know that sitting in front of the tank and staring at things is the best part of reefkeeping. BTW, the way my life is heading I will probably have 3 places and live in each place 4 months out of the year. So there's just a slim chance that I'd ever had a fish tank again.

 

[biophase]

I have a PPC marketing agency (early stages, just transitioned from freelancer) targeting Ecommerce store owners (particularly those on the shopify platform but not limited to that).

All current clients have come through referrals because I've made businesses A LOT of profits - often scaling them up from $5k in monthly sales to over $60k/month with big profit margins.

Sorry to jump into your thread @458, but I have to ask @Phikey a question here.

If you are taking your clients from $5k to $60k a month... why don't you start a business so you can put your skills to work on your own business? I've often wondered this as I've hired SEO companies for $2k/mo and they get my site to page 1 within a year. I wonder, why don't they get their own site to page 1 instead?