Spend your money on diesel and coffee

[Ing]

Nice reminder.
Mine is only my job, but yes, visiting customers for a coffee allways pays with positive return of invest.

 

[Andy Black]

I made my way through the sales thread the other day, and actually even took notes to implement into my sales process.

Now I'm curious. Care to share those notes in that thread?

 

[Nomads]

Now I'm curious. Care to share those notes in that thread?

Sure will! A lot of it is repeating what you've already said with my little comments - but may be useful for some.

 

[Paul David]

But what if I don't like Coffee?...... tastes like what I can imagine crude oil to taste like. ha anyway enough of my weird taste buds.

On a serious note there's so much gold in this thread from Andy and others. I think it's even more relevant these days when everyone is getting hounded from all angles with people selling them something before they even know they need it.

I've been following a guy on linkedin (Josh Braun) for a while now who creates some valuable posts around this whole concept of reaching out and seeing if there's a problem, starting a conversation without just launching into a pitch. I particularly love the term he uses, that prospects can smell your commission breath when you start pitching right from the off.

I used this strategy myself just yesterday, I reached out to a potential client on linkedin (and they don't usually hang around on that platform but thought I'd test it) and asked him

Hi Tom, Mind if I ask you an unusual question about your company reviews?

He replied Hi Paul, I will be honest I'm not very good at getting customer reviews, I'm good at my job but not so good at being my own boss.

So he's told me he's got a problem that my app solves and I haven't even told him about it yet. People like to be asked not told. Otherwise they enter what Josh calls the Zone of resistance.

Would love to see some more examples from others about how they initial start conversations with prospects to get the conversation started whether thats in person or to get them on a zoom call like Andy now does.

PS: @Andy Black I see Periscope has now ceased to exist, I'm sad I'll never be able to drop into you on there whilst you're singing in a bar again. What a time to be alive that was!

 

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[Paul David]

I prefer building relationships.

Yes I do agree, I think the key is to get that initial conversation starter correct. Whether thats on SMS, phone call, in person meeting.

I think there's always going to be some scepticism when someone you don't know approaches and asks any question even if it's about them.

Do you think theres context needed in addition to why you're asking a question?

Personally when someone reaches out to me and asks something even if its about me, in the back of my head I'm thinking why are they asking this?

 

[GuestR401x3]

"Spend your money on diesel and coffee"
(Blaise Brosnan of The Management Resource Institute Wexford)


Just getting started?

Wondering what to spend your time and money on?



Hustle.

Build relationships.

Make stuff happen.

You'll be amazed what happens when you get out of the building.



EDIT: Added the source. I'm not smart enough to have come up with that, just smart enough to recognise its brilliance.


EDIT2: Added a video version (2 mins long):

EDIT3: TRANSCRIPTION

I was on a course a couple of days ago, 20 business owners in a room and Blaise Brosnan.

Blaise was instilling his wisdom from the center of the room telling little stories and anecdotes, and it was brilliant.

This was the first of ten courses on a Tuesday morning 8:00 to 11:00, and Blaise had a power point presentation that he was going to go through with us, and he just gave [us] his presentation at the end - he hadn't done it.

What he'd done instead was round-robin through each of the attendees and get us to introduce ourselves and our business and one piece of advice to everyone else.

To be on this course you have to have attended the initial ten-week course with Blaise previously, and Mandy's piece of advice to everybody in the room, was something that Blaise had said in the previous course, that she'd picked up on and lived by, which was to "spend your money on diesel and coffee".

At the start when you're trying to grow your business get out there - meet people for coffees, chat to people, create relationships, try to help people, let them know what you're doing as well, that's how you get going.

Apparently when AirBnB was getting started they were talking to the guys in Y-Combinator, people like Paul Graham from paulgraham.com (his stuff is excellent) and there's a story about how they got going. They'd realized that a lot of their initial BnB hosts were in New York, and they literally went to stay at the hosts. And meet them, go out for dinner and talk to them.

And by doing that they found out that some of the properties, the houses, were amazing but the photos didn't do them justice. They asked some of the hosts, "Would you be happy if we send a photographer around to take pictures of your property?" The hosts were delighted, and then the next day a photographer came round, took pictures and made much better job than the actual hosts could do of taking pictures.

A lesson there is to "do things that don't scale", you're not going to do that later on in your business, but when you're small you can afford to do things that don't scale.

And another lesson is something Gary Vaynerchuk says, that, "One is greater than zero." Getting one extra customer is better than having zero.

Grow your business one customer at a time, which brings me back to my favorite quote from Mother Theresa, "Never worry about numbers, help one person at a time and start with the person closest to you."

Great advice, thanks! Focus on the one person.

 

[Andy Black]

I think this is a perfect format for what we talked about. I opened the thread and skimmed the transcript to see if it’s something I’d be interested in... then when I realized it was, I put on the video, to listen to it and do something else while listening.

All of the benefits of a normal thread, all of the benefits of Audio.

@MJ DeMarco - this may be a hit format.

Did it need the transcript, or could the “show-notes” introducing the video have done the same job?

 

[Andy Black]

Such a fascinating thread.... and the video format is cool, but I agree... I do not want to get into a 15 mins boring chat, so the summary and the transcript convinced me that it was worth watching the video.

Interesting. I’ll add the length of the video to the CTA, because it’s not 15 mins.

 

[LittleWolfie]

There are plenty of people that have started where you are.

That's awesome. I want to hear about them instead of this guy then. Any links?

But you have to start helping yourself.

I am, and I posted in my thread, what I am doing. If you want to help then give me a link or a post detailing how people in my situation did this or how to get the same results via spending your money on internet bills.

Not every piece of advice will be applicable, and nothing here is a set of instructions.

Yup, this is one that is inapplicable to me. What alternatives are there? I have moved on from forums/reddit/facebook/whatsapp. Got more leads with bumble but nothing closed yet. Trying out new cold emailing strategy and slack. for networking. (Does spending money on slack work?) Dow e have examples.

Go trade your time for money

What do you think I have been doing for the last year? While I have been away?

Please stop playing victim to circumstance.

It’s weird, you think that a simple statement of facts is playing victim to circumstances.

If you want to help me and not every piece of advice is applicable then surely the first thing to work out would be to establish my circumstances?

If you know those first, then you will never suggest inapplicable advice, I will never have to reject it and avoid the appearance of me automatically dismissing everything.


I’m trying to avoid antagonising, you here I literally never see people who are just “making excuses” so I’m completely unable to comprehend it. The AI I am using to screen my text, missed it too. So it would be really good learning data, if you can explain why I appear to be "playing victim to cirumstances" I can address the issue (It seems to be perception, more than an actual fact)

 

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[Lyinx]

Did it need the transcript, or could the “show-notes” introducing the video have done the same job?

I've seen a few videos with the complete transcript there, I love the idea! I rarely listen to a video, most times will just read it over. I've found a lot of videos used to be the first 1/3 was fluff/talking about what they do, the 2nd 1/3 was the actual info, and the last 1/3 is a sales pitch. Having a transcript makes it WAY easier to filter

 

[Andy Black]

Hmm. I made opposite experiences. Back in the days of our consulting business, we spent so much time and money on diesel and coffee (or rather lunch) and exchanging business cards. My takeaway from this was that 97% of "meetings" or meetups amount to nothing more than one more business card.

But experiences obviously vary.

Did those chats not end up in building longer term relationships or those people then referring you to other people?

 

[Andy Black]

But what if I don't like Coffee?...... tastes like what I can imagine crude oil to taste like. ha anyway enough of my weird taste buds.

On a serious note there's so much gold in this thread from Andy and others. I think it's even more relevant these days when everyone is getting hounded from all angles with people selling them something before they even know they need it.

I've been following a guy on linkedin (Josh Braun) for a while now who creates some valuable posts around this whole concept of reaching out and seeing if there's a problem, starting a conversation without just launching into a pitch. I particularly love the term he uses, that prospects can smell your commission breath when you start pitching right from the off.

I used this strategy myself just yesterday, I reached out to a potential client on linkedin (and they don't usually hang around on that platform but thought I'd test it) and asked him

Hi Tom, Mind if I ask you an unusual question about your company reviews?

He replied Hi Paul, I will be honest I'm not very good at getting customer reviews, I'm good at my job but not so good at being my own boss.

So he's told me he's got a problem that my app solves and I haven't even told him about it yet. People like to be asked not told. Otherwise they enter what Josh calls the Zone of resistance.

Would love to see some more examples from others about how they initial start conversations with prospects to get the conversation started whether thats in person or to get them on a zoom call like Andy now does.

PS: @Andy Black I see Periscope has now ceased to exist, I'm sad I'll never be able to drop into you on there whilst you're singing in a bar again. What a time to be alive that was!

Ah yes. I remember that pub. I was even there yesterday watching Newcastle get slaughtered by Man City.

Have you tried posting helpful content or replies and then reaching out to people who Like or respond?

 

[Paul David]

Ah yes. I remember that pub. I was even there yesterday watching Newcastle get slaughtered by Man City.

Have you tried posting helpful content or replies and then reaching out to people who Like or respond?

Not yet, I've only really just started on linkedin. Been focusing on cold outreach.

What's your opinion on surveys Andy?

As in reaching out for someone for help, but instead of asking them for time on phone seeing if they would complete a short survey?

 

[Andy Black]

Not yet, I've only really just started on linkedin. Been focusing on cold outreach.

What's your opinion on surveys Andy?

As in reaching out for someone for help, but instead of asking them for time on phone seeing if they would complete a short survey?

I prefer building relationships.

 

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[Andy Black]

It took so long to understand this, one of the best threads I've seen.

Love what @Primeperiwinkle said

Thanks Mike. Glad it makes sense now.

Funnily enough, I literally just posted a tiny note about this on TikTok. I suspect people won't get it.

TikTok - Make Your Day

 

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[miguelst]

I wonder, when reaching out to people for a chat and a coffee, if they won't be thinking that you have a hidden agenda (which is not the case) I completely agree with the providing value to people first!
I know a few entrepreneurs from the old days, I'm going to reach out to them, just not sure how to phrase it so it doesn't sound like a sales conversation

 

[Andy Black]

reaching out to people for a chat and a coffee,

I don't reach out to people suggesting we have a chat or coffee. The chat and a coffee is a natural progression from being in conversation already.

 

[miguelst]

For me, face-to-face could be a Zoom call.

I got on a Zoom call last night with @Antifragile. He asked in the Random Chat Thread what folks were using instead of Slack. I replied saying I preferred Basecamp and would be happy to show over a Zoom. We were on Zoom an hour later where I showed him Basecamp, and where we both now know each other a bit better. Easy.

I see! Online there's a lot of opportunities to connect with people, I just wonder if your method could translate into offline conversations, as I've read from your posts regarding the coffee and diesel approach, It might be good to start with friends and friends-of-friends, and see who can be helped.