I just finished reading “Game On” by Emmitt Smith, Hall of Fame Running Back, Dancing with The Stars Champion, and Philanthropist.  I picked up this book in the clearance section of a local book retailer for $3 (I always look for biographies and business books in the clearance section).  “Game On” was well worth my meager $3 investment, as a former varsity football athlete, the book had additional interest to me as I could relate to the football aspect of Emmitt’s life.

Read the rest of this entry »

Click below to listen to my interview with Gary V

Some of the questions that I asked Gary:

1. When did you realize that you had the sales DNA?
2. What was the most difficult sale of your career (business venture, client or other)? Why?
3. Would you encourage all salespeople to become entrepreneurs?  Why is it that so many salespeople transition into entrepreneurs?
4. What percentage do you think sales and entrepreneurship is DNA vs. Skill development?
Additionally, to get a copy of Gary’s latest book check out the link below:

Book: Jab Jab Jab Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy, Social World
by Gary Vaynerchuk

Recently, I’ve been experimenting with sales strategy and have come to the conclusion that you could benefit from “Accelerated Selling”.  My thesis for “Accelerated Selling” is that sales momentum can be leverage to produce even greater results when you accelerate the speed at which you are selling.

Let me clarify exactly when I mean when I say “the speed at which you are selling”.  On average, the part of the sales process that takes the longest period of time is initially engaging the prospective client.  Once the client is engaged, you then move them to the next step in the sales process (which generally takes place in a smaller time frame), and this continues until the deal is closed.  By accelerating the speed of a sale, I am taking about decreasing the time frame of each step in the sales process exponentially.  If it took a week to get in touch with the client, your goal should be to respond to the client with the necessary details to move them to the next step in the process in half or a quarter of the amount of time it took to initially contact them.

Step 1 –> Step 2 –> Step 3 –> Step 4
(7 Days) –>(2 Days ) –> (1 Day) –> (Same Day)
Read the rest of this entry »

I had the privilege to interview Gary Vaynerchuk, E-Commerce Pioneer, Founder of VaynerMedia and Author of “Crush-it” and “The Thank You Economy”.

I have been prospecting to get this interview since January 2013, and was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview Gary today.  I just wanted to provide some context prior to posting the audio interview.

Here is a previous interview that Gary did with Entrepreneur Magazine:

You can expect my interview with Gary to be posted shortly.

I just finished reading/listening to “Knockout Entrepreneur” by George Foreman.  I picked up this book in the U.S. at the Seattle Premium Outlets in Tulalip for a sum of $4.99 which I must say is an incredible deal.  One of the first things that I noticed when I picked up the book was that the book includes both eBook format and audiobook as well as the hardcover book.  I have never seen this before, but must say that I really like the idea as I was able to read a chapter, then listen to a chapter while driving and go back and forth.  As someone who is often driving to appointments and servicing clients, I really appreciated the consumption flexibility.

George Foreman Grill

I knew George Foreman from both his professional boxing career as well as the famous “Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine” endorsed by George Foreman.  “Knockout Entrepreneur” is a very easy read and you can expect to learn while being entertained.  Foreman shares lessons that he learned from boxing about overcoming adversity, discipline, studying opposition and strategy and explains how these lessons translated to his entrepreneurial endeavors.  George also shares about his upbringing and how it shaped him as an individual and the transformation he experience when he “Met the Good Lord”.

The caring personality of George comes through in the  “Knockout Entrepreneur” and he writes about his motivation to help others overcome adversity and achieve their goals.  If you are interested in learning more about entrepreneurship and have any interested or appreciation for the sport of boxing, “Knockout Entrepreneur” is a must read.  Even if you are not a fan of boxing “Knockout Entrepreneur” is worth a read or listen.
Read the rest of this entry »

I just finished reading Rules of The Hunt by Michael D. Johnson and must say that it is one of the more interesting books I’ve read.  The first thing that I noticed when I started reading Rules of The Hunt was the structure and layout of the book.  Michael D. Johnson’s book is essentially a summary of all of the life lessons that he has learned through over 30 years of entrepreneurial experience.  The book is divided into sections dealing with everything from sales and marketing to avoiding pitfalls.

I found this book initially, somewhat challenging to read as it is formatted significantly differently than your typical book.  However, once I got comfortable with the format and layout I really enjoyed reading the book and found many valuable insights.  It is refreshing to read a book that is not all theory, and deals with real life scenarios and experience.  I did not agree with every insight that Michael shared, but there were several that will save me hundreds and even thousands of dollars in avoided mistakes.

Here is one of my favourite excepts from the book:

ENTHUSIASM IS CONTAGIOUS
“Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn. – John Wesley, English Preacher and Founder of The Methodist Movement

I worked with a firm whose marketing manager would yell, “Yes!!” or, “Sweet!!” every time an order came in over the internet.  The larger the order, the louder he would yell.  He would sometimes emerge from his office to excitedly announce the details.  As undignified as this may seem, his reaction amused and excited the members of his team, and their work reflected this.  They were having fun.  You don’t have to yell, but your excitement about your company’s progress, plans, prospects, and product sends an irresistible message to customers and employees alike. ”

The Bottomline:
Who should read this book: Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, Sales and Marketing Professionals
-You can read this book small sections at a time and use the book as a reference in your library.  Rules of The Hunt also has a good sense of humor and is an easy read.

Click to buy

One of the ways in which a leader is judged, is by their ability to cope with and manage the unexpected.  Change is inevitable, whether it be good or bad, it is not this change that defines a leader, but the way they respond to the change.  Poor leaders allow the unexpected to dictate the way that they behave, while great leaders analyze the change and the current situation and dictate to the change.  Those who follow leaders are also impacted by how the leaders handle change, if a leader handles change poorly, the followers will also struggle with this change.  On the other hand, if a leader embraces the change and does not react negatively to it, the followers will have certainty and confidence in continuing to follow.

Take inventory of how you have dealt with change recently, have you reacted or have you embraced the change and determined how you were going to minimize the negative impact and maximize the benefit of this unexpected change.  Embrace the unexpected and respond to the unexpected with certainty!