September 18, 2023 • 21 mins
Unlock the secrets of simplified, agile business growth with Simon Severino, the innovative mastermind behind Strategy Sprints. This episode promises to provide not just a conversation, but a transformative journey, as Simon takes us through his unique approach to simplifying complex business operations, right from the palm of your hand.
Prepare to be enlightened as we venture into the world of strategy sprints, an easy-to-use business operating system, and learn the importance of adopting a winning mindset in today's fast-paced business environment. We'll tackle the fundamentals of scalability, the incredible concept of 'return on luck', and the power of being consistently present for your community. Finally, we'll wrap up with a deep dive into the secret ingredient for a thriving business—a simplified sales system. Join us for this mind-expanding episode with Simon Severino and accelerate your business growth one sprint at a time.
Start for FREE
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
This episode is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something.
===========================
⚡️PODCAST: Subscribe to our podcast here ➡ https://elevatemedia.buzzsprout.com/
⚡️Need post-recording video production help? Let's chat ➡ https://calendly.com/elevate-media-group/application
⚡️For Support inquires or Business inquiries, please email us at ➡︎ support@elevate-media-group.com
Our mission here at Elevate Media is to help purpose-driven entrepreneurs elevate their brands and make an impact through the power of video podcasting.
Disclaimer: Please see the link for our disclaimer policy for all our episodes or videos on the Elevate Media and Elevate Media Podcast YouTube channels. https://elevatemediastudios.com/disclaimer
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Elevate Media Podcast with your
host, chris Anderson.
In this show, chris and hisguests will share their
knowledge and experience on howto go from zero to successful
entrepreneur.
They have built theirbusinesses from scratch and are
now ready to give back to thosewho are just starting.
Let's get ready to learn, growand elevate our businesses.
And now your host, chrisAnderson.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
All right, welcome back to another recording of the
Elevate Media Podcast.
I am Chris Anderson, your host,so we're going to dive right
into it.
Simon Severino is on the showtoday.
We're going to be talking aboutstrategy sprints and how that
can help us increase ourbusinesses, keep them more agile
.
So, simon, you do a lot.
You are CEO and founder ofStrategy Sprints, ford's
(00:47):
business council member,contributor entrepreneur
magazine, a member of Dukecorporate education and the
author of Strategy Sprints 12Ways to Accelerate Growth for an
Agile Business.
Who could have done anythingwith your career, with the
direction, with the book, andyou wrote Strategy Sprints.
Why Strategy Sprints?
(01:07):
Why did you choose that?
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Strategy Sprints came out of my own frustrations when
I was a business owner firsttime and I was looking for help
because there are so many movingparts.
There's marketing, there isclient onboarding, client
delivery, sales, it, legal and Iwas doing all of these things
(01:30):
and I was getting overwhelmed.
So I was looking for a coach.
Hey, can somebody help me?
And I find specialists fordifferent things.
Yes, I can help you with coldemails.
Yes, I can help you withLinkedIn.
And I realized, wait a moment,if we break it down that way, I
will need like 120 coaches.
Are you kidding me?
Where is the actual help for abusiness owner?
(01:51):
I need an operating system.
Tell me what works in marketing, in sales and in operations.
Let me start there.
I didn't find that broken downin those three buckets.
Then I found it and they had tofly to my city or I had to fly
to their seminar, and so I waswaiting 30 days and I was in
planes and I was starting tobecome a father, so I didn't
(02:15):
want to be in planes anymore andI go.
This thing is broken.
So if a business owner needs acoach, a business owner is busy.
They're in action, they're likeIronman, they're doing stuff
they don't have time.
I'm telling Captain Americaright, you know it, avengers are
busy.
If you want to coach them, youdon't say hey, stop fighting,
(02:37):
come for eight hours in a roomin a Hilton, we'll talk for
eight hours.
Ironman goes are you kidding me?
I have to break through thatwall and then I have to rescue
that city and then I have to flyto the next city.
Do you have an idea of what mylife looks like?
(02:58):
I don't have time to read books, to come to your courses or to
talk to 110 differentspecialists.
So either you have somethingthat works or you haven't.
And if you have it, please letme have it right now, here on my
phone.
The phone is the only thingthat I have with me all the time
, and so strategy sprints was myanswer to these frustrations.
I need a coach now that makesthings simple Just marketing,
(03:22):
sales and ops and how to do that.
And I want to reach them.
I don't want to stop being inaction.
I stay in action and I canquickly go.
Hey, coach, should I kick thisdoor or that door?
And they go.
Oh, let me have a look.
Do the left door?
And then, hey, coach, should Isend this email subject line or
(03:42):
that subject line.
Oh no, no, no, that goes tospam.
Try this one.
So sometimes I will have fivequestions per minute, and
sometimes I will have three daysno questions at all.
I'm in action.
I was missing that as abusiness owner, and this is how
entrepreneurs start when you'remissing something, you go OK,
let me build it.
(04:02):
And so I built it.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
So what was that process like?
Obviously, when you buildanything, there's going to be
challenges, obstacles, struggles.
How did you overcome theobstacles that were part of that
journey?
Speaker 3 (04:14):
You know that there are almost no obstacles into
building right now.
You don't need money, you don'tneed knowledge.
Actually, the only thing that Ineeded was Wi-Fi, the
willingness to ask people whatthey actually need.
So it's a mindset Wi-Fi andmindset.
It's all you need.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, can you break that down?
So what does that mindset looklike?
To be able to succeed and buildsomething.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Break the script.
So if everybody thinks thatcoaching must be in a specific
way, go back to first principlesand say let me forget
everything that I know aboutcoaching.
If I would design the coachthat I really need, how does
that look like?
How do I contact them?
Oh, I click on the phone.
Are they a human being or arobot?
(05:00):
Or they are a human being?
What did they do before theyhave scaled a small business
themselves?
Because otherwise they have noclue.
And so if you start from firstprinciples, then you realize
wait a moment, I just needsomething that works on the
phone, has a human being on theother side who was scaling
something themselves and is inthe same time zone so that guys
(05:20):
can reach each other.
And then that person needs aset of tools that's ready so you
can pull them Videos, googleDocs, google Sheets.
So when you ask me, hey, I havean outbound system, but I don't
have an inbound system, how doI build an inbound system, my
first inbound sales system Thenyou pull from the Sprint
(05:42):
University in this case, I builtthe Sprint University.
You pull that and say, hey, dothis and put in 30 minutes max.
Show me your first draft,upload it on your phone.
I will give you feedback.
You implement the feedback,then you ship it to three
clients, then we review and Ihope that's in two days, three
days, if you can make that, thatwould be amazing.
(06:02):
Yes, it's about the respondingto what is instead of planning,
instead of setting up a project,responding to what is.
We are entrepreneurs.
I don't know what I needtomorrow.
If you are my coach and we arescheduled for tomorrow, I will
(06:22):
know what my question is to you,coach, 10 minutes before the
call, because maybe an hourbefore my CRM dies or my team or
I realized that my team is notcalling anyone.
So then the agenda changes.
So if you are a good coach, ifyou really want to help me, the
best thing is next week you showup without an agenda and you
(06:45):
ask me what do we need to solveright now?
And I will tell you oh my God,nobody on my team is calling
anybody.
And then you say, all right,let's look at the script, let's
look at how you run the meetings, let's look at your overall
process.
And because we have to findwhat makes them so low energy,
low motivation.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Yeah, like basically what you're saying is there's no
real cookie cutter or waiterapproach things.
You have to be fluid and ableto adapt to what needs done.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Yes, I think a good coach is like a tailor.
Every week they measure yourstats Again.
Every week they say, okay, tellme your marketing number, sales
number, ops number.
Where is the problem?
Where should we focus this hour?
And then you say, all right,marketing is fine, sales it blew
up in my face.
(07:35):
I don't know what to do.
Oh, I have this opportunity inthree days.
I have to pitch.
Can I show you my plan and youpoke holes into it?
That's a really good coachingprocess for an entrepreneur.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Yeah, I think that's a good way to look at it,
because I think we can sometimesget put in boxes or put in
specific.
This is what this person didexactly and that might not work
for us.
So being able to really breakthose things down and see where
there are the issues and find aunique solution to those
problems is, I think, reallyimportant.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Oh, my God, thank you for saying that, because what
I'm seeing right now is a viruswhich is doing what the others
do because the others do it.
So I have 12, 13 people whojump on my calendar per week.
Simon, I need more leads.
Okay, why do you think you needmore leads?
Yeah, because everybody's doingthis lead gen thing now.
(08:28):
With this, now you can insertClubhouse with X we linked in
insert whatever you want.
It's usually the newest shinything.
And then I say, okay, maybe youneed leads.
But before we go there, let'slook at your current funnel.
I don't have a funnel.
Okay, let's map it out.
People who you talked to overthe last three months past
(08:53):
clients, current clients,friends of your current clients
who also happen to need what youhave, people who came to one of
your events over the last sixmonths.
And then we map them out and werealize, oh my God, that's 700
people.
Are you sure you need 700 more,or would you prefer to call
those 700 first?
And since it's 700, what aboutwe onboard somebody?
(09:17):
You call 350, they call 350.
There is half a million in yourfunnel right now.
You don't need an additionalsystem, just a proper follow up
system a basic sales system.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Yeah, I think a lot of times we want to add things
on instead of fixing what theroot of the problem really is,
that bottleneck.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Yes, and people they look for far away and hard to
get goals, and I help them andsay, hey, let's sit down for a
second, let's breathe.
Now tell me about the groundyou are sitting upon.
So that's usually theirpipeline.
Maybe there are already someflowers here.
They just need a little bit ofwater.
And then I go check list peoplewho are in your events, people
(09:56):
who watched your podcast, peoplewho downloaded something from
your website, people whosubscribed to your email list oh
yeah, but I don't have theirphone numbers.
It's easy to find their phonenumbers.
Should we show you how you dothat?
So that's basic follow-upsystems with a six-stages
relationship funnel, likeinterested people, engaged
(10:19):
people, people who did something, people who jumped on my
calendar, people that I knowwhat they need, people that I
know what they need and arewilling to invest in, and then
it's either closed or not closed.
That's a sales funnel and nowyou bring in your relationships
into these six stages.
You have already pretty goodsituation to run a small
(10:39):
business.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Yeah, and that's a good point.
Keeping it simple is, I think,really key.
We sometimes make it way toocomplicated, especially at the
beginning, and a lot of timeswith that.
You hear some of these reallysuccessful individuals mention
the luck a lot within theirjourneys and I know you coined
the term return on luck withinyour systems.
(11:03):
So break that down what isreturn on luck and how can we
get a little bit more lucky?
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Yes, return on luck was coined by Jim Collins and I
loved the term, and he startedasking the question everybody's
giving their best.
Why do some teams crush it andother teams don't?
And so I continued looking atteams that I meet every week
(11:29):
with that land, and if you goback to that example, you have
700 people basically in your CRM, in your world that you are
related to.
Who do you think will win?
The team that calls, thoughthat splits them into 350, 350,
okay, it's two people, let'scall them over the next 10 days.
(11:51):
Or the team who says let'sbuild a complicated funnel and
buy some software and haveexperts coming in, do an
analysis of a month and then animplementation month.
The first team will win, andthe reason is they go the direct
path.
They have more surface to theclient, to the possible client,
(12:12):
to the possible chiking, and sowhen you have more surface area
to the chiking, this is what'sgoing to happen, because where
you bring your attention, energygoes.
Where energy goes, stuffhappens.
So it's really only exposingthe surface area to the
possibility of winning deals.
That's why I love sales so much,because sales is the direct
(12:32):
path.
I have fun with marketing, Ilike marketing, but sales is the
chiking.
If I had limited resources andlimited time, I would just focus
on sales, because this is whereyou create your surface area
and sales might be just callingall past clients.
Hey, how are you doing what'sup right now?
Can I help?
Oh no, I can't.
(12:53):
Do you know somebody that needsmy help?
Oh cool, yeah, can youintroduce us?
That's it.
Do this a couple hours a day.
You have a sales system.
Use our templates that you canget free from our book, from our
website.
You have a repeatable salessystem.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Yeah, I think being able to replicate something is
crucial as well, especially asyou are scaling and bringing
people on, because it's easilydigested by a new person and
they can follow those steps.
Again, going back to keeping itsimple, I think that's another
reason why that's so importantas well.
So simplicity and scalabilityare two huge pieces.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
Yes, if it's complicated, your team, you in
the first place.
You are not gonna consistentlydoing day by day, week by week,
you will stop doing it.
A great example is you go withthis fancy CRM.
Oh I have hot.
Okay, you have hotspot.
I know already, in three monthsyou are gonna stop using it.
(13:48):
It's too fancy, it's toocomplicated.
Yeah, I go with the very cheap,very simple ones that cost 20
bucks a month per seat and thatwork on the phone, because you
will be mostly using it on thephone, like you use your
favorite social media andespecially if you're like me,
you have three kids, Most of thestuff I do on the phone,
(14:11):
because that's realistic.
If you keep it simple, youincrease the probability that
you will do it every day.
If you do it every day, youwill do it every week, every
month.
That compounds and that createsa reliable sales pipeline.
You are also at some point youwill bring in a team, Like I am
scaling across countries rightnow in my company.
(14:32):
So the team looks at Simon.
We have every Tuesday and everyFriday we have our sales
meeting.
They look at my behaviorbecause I am a role model for
them.
So if every time they tell meabout an opportunity and I put
it in our CRM in front of themsharing screen.
They are also more likely to doit on their phone.
(14:56):
So now we are five people andeverybody has this habit of
starting conversations,following up on conversation,
writing down what they want totalk about, following up a
couple of days later.
Now you are multiplyingyourself.
You have five people doing arepeatable sales process.
Now you have a resilient Imight say even a company.
(15:17):
Now you are a company fivepeople with a culture of
opportunity creation and aculture of follow-up.
You are two steps ahead of yourcompetitors.
You have a resilient system.
Whatever happens out thererecessions, stock flesions,
pandemics you have somethingthat works.
(15:37):
You will navigate all watersand all weather with this simple
system Five people startingconversations, following up on
conversations.
Your competitors will goinsolvent year by year.
You will stay in the game.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Why do you think so many starting out?
I did, when I started out, butfrom your perspective, why do
you think people overcomplicateit so much?
What do you think that is?
Speaker 3 (16:01):
I think that's human nature we get bored quickly.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Yeah, at the great point, I think we want results
so fast sometimes that we thinkthat we need to implement
something else instead of justkeeping going with what works.
But it works long term morethan the short term.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Look from my own ADHD .
I could just buy an apartmentper year and have that compound,
or put every month whateversurplus there is into S&P 500
and have them double every 10years.
But it is so boring that I lookat Tesla every day and what
(16:42):
they're doing.
And that's the biggest position, why it's much more interesting
.
It's adrenaline, it's riskreward and human nature is not
just looking at flowers andenjoying them grow.
That's plant being.
But human being is actuallyAvengers Champions League.
Will Tesla fail or not?
(17:03):
Can they create the firstself-driving cars?
That's exciting because it's abet on humanity and humanity's
evolution.
So it's exciting.
It's tribal.
It's we, the innovators.
Will we win or lose against theother forces that don't want
innovation?
It's excitement.
(17:24):
It's competition in a positiveway Science competing,
scientists competing, engineerscompeting which team will win?
It's like a Champions League.
It's exciting.
We like that excitement.
Human nature is not just being,it's also evolving, exploring,
daring adventures.
(17:44):
I think that's our nature.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Yeah, I think I'm with you on that for sure.
So, simon, this has been agreat conversation.
As we wind this down, we'd loveto ask you one more question.
It's off topic a little bit.
It has to do with what mostentrepreneurs are about Making a
difference, leaving a mark,changing the world, things of
that nature For you.
When everything is said anddone for you here on earth and
(18:07):
you could have and leave anymark, be known for anything or
be known for doing whatever whatdo you hope that mark is?
Speaker 3 (18:16):
So it's like what people write on my, on my grave,
yeah, what what?
Speaker 2 (18:20):
what difference in the world Will you make if you
could do anything and beremembered for it?
What would that difference be?
Speaker 3 (18:27):
Oh, that's a great question and I can only answer
it week by week, day by day.
So this week, I am absolutelyproud that Two of my three
children will run a marathonwith me this weekend their first
junior marathon and we woke upyesterday in the morning Before
breakfast there eight and fiveand before breakfast they they
(18:51):
were doing their marathontraining with me 500 meters the
five-year-old and 800 meters the80 year old, and I was so proud
of them and I was proud ofmyself because in the end, my
legacy, it's not in my control.
If they become good citizensNot so good citizens, good
scholars, not good scholarsthat's absolute, outside my
(19:13):
control.
What is it?
Of course I want them to bedecent human beings and be fun
and Contribute to a betterplanet, but it's not in my
control.
What is in my control is when doI wake up?
Five, eight, eleven, that's inmy control, so I prefer five and
I do that every day.
Then what is in my control?
(19:34):
What do I do after waking up?
Is it emails or is it yoga andrunning, running with with
friends, with family, and thenbreakfast, and which choices I
do it's a healthy breakfast ornot so healthy.
That is actually in my control.
So if you ask me what is thelegacy when I'm gone, it's what
(19:57):
I'm doing today in the morningwhen I wake up, tomorrow in the
morning when I wake up, and thatWill compound love it.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
I appreciate you sharing that.
Again, simon, thanks so muchfor this conversation.
I think it's been a a good one.
To help entrepreneursunderstand not to complicate
things.
Keep it simple, take action andjust use what works.
So if you want to reach out toyou, connect with you, where's
the best place for them to dothat?
Speaker 3 (20:22):
If they like reading books strategy sprints.
The book is on Amazon and it'sa very practical Set of tools
how to do marketing, how to dosales, how to do client on
boarding and how to do hiring.
If they want to talk to us andsee if we might be their Jarvis,
their coach, then they go tostrategy sprintscom and and
(20:47):
click to talk to us, lend on ourcalendar and then we can
explore.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Yes, everything.
If you're interested, checkthose resources out, get
connected with Simon and histeam.
Again, simon, thanks so muchfor being on the elevate media
podcast today.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Thanks so much, chris , for showing up for your
community with consistency Overlong period of time.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Absolutely appreciate that.
So thanks again.
We'll talk soon.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Thank you for listening to the elevate media
podcast.
Don't forget to subscribe andleave a review.
See you in the next episode.
Welcome to the Elevate Media Podcast with your
host, chris Anderson.
In this show, chris and hisguests will share their
knowledge and experience on howto go from zero to successful
entrepreneur.
They have built theirbusinesses from scratch and are
now ready to give back to thosewho are just starting.
Let's get ready to learn, growand elevate our businesses.
And now your host, chrisAnderson.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
All right, welcome back to another recording of the
Elevate Media Podcast.
I am Chris Anderson, your host,so we're going to dive right
into it.
Simon Severino is on the showtoday.
We're going to be talking aboutstrategy sprints and how that
can help us increase ourbusinesses, keep them more agile
.
So, simon, you do a lot.
You are CEO and founder ofStrategy Sprints, ford's
(00:47):
business council member,contributor entrepreneur
magazine, a member of Dukecorporate education and the
author of Strategy Sprints 12Ways to Accelerate Growth for an
Agile Business.
Who could have done anythingwith your career, with the
direction, with the book, andyou wrote Strategy Sprints.
Why Strategy Sprints?
(01:07):
Why did you choose that?
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Strategy Sprints came out of my own frustrations when
I was a business owner firsttime and I was looking for help
because there are so many movingparts.
There's marketing, there isclient onboarding, client
delivery, sales, it, legal and Iwas doing all of these things
(01:30):
and I was getting overwhelmed.
So I was looking for a coach.
Hey, can somebody help me?
And I find specialists fordifferent things.
Yes, I can help you with coldemails.
Yes, I can help you withLinkedIn.
And I realized, wait a moment,if we break it down that way, I
will need like 120 coaches.
Are you kidding me?
Where is the actual help for abusiness owner?
(01:51):
I need an operating system.
Tell me what works in marketing, in sales and in operations.
Let me start there.
I didn't find that broken downin those three buckets.
Then I found it and they had tofly to my city or I had to fly
to their seminar, and so I waswaiting 30 days and I was in
planes and I was starting tobecome a father, so I didn't
(02:15):
want to be in planes anymore andI go.
This thing is broken.
So if a business owner needs acoach, a business owner is busy.
They're in action, they're likeIronman, they're doing stuff
they don't have time.
I'm telling Captain Americaright, you know it, avengers are
busy.
If you want to coach them, youdon't say hey, stop fighting,
(02:37):
come for eight hours in a roomin a Hilton, we'll talk for
eight hours.
Ironman goes are you kidding me?
I have to break through thatwall and then I have to rescue
that city and then I have to flyto the next city.
Do you have an idea of what mylife looks like?
(02:58):
I don't have time to read books, to come to your courses or to
talk to 110 differentspecialists.
So either you have somethingthat works or you haven't.
And if you have it, please letme have it right now, here on my
phone.
The phone is the only thingthat I have with me all the time
, and so strategy sprints was myanswer to these frustrations.
I need a coach now that makesthings simple Just marketing,
(03:22):
sales and ops and how to do that.
And I want to reach them.
I don't want to stop being inaction.
I stay in action and I canquickly go.
Hey, coach, should I kick thisdoor or that door?
And they go.
Oh, let me have a look.
Do the left door?
And then, hey, coach, should Isend this email subject line or
(03:42):
that subject line.
Oh no, no, no, that goes tospam.
Try this one.
So sometimes I will have fivequestions per minute, and
sometimes I will have three daysno questions at all.
I'm in action.
I was missing that as abusiness owner, and this is how
entrepreneurs start when you'remissing something, you go OK,
let me build it.
(04:02):
And so I built it.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
So what was that process like?
Obviously, when you buildanything, there's going to be
challenges, obstacles, struggles.
How did you overcome theobstacles that were part of that
journey?
Speaker 3 (04:14):
You know that there are almost no obstacles into
building right now.
You don't need money, you don'tneed knowledge.
Actually, the only thing that Ineeded was Wi-Fi, the
willingness to ask people whatthey actually need.
So it's a mindset Wi-Fi andmindset.
It's all you need.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, can you break that down?
So what does that mindset looklike?
To be able to succeed and buildsomething.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Break the script.
So if everybody thinks thatcoaching must be in a specific
way, go back to first principlesand say let me forget
everything that I know aboutcoaching.
If I would design the coachthat I really need, how does
that look like?
How do I contact them?
Oh, I click on the phone.
Are they a human being or arobot?
(05:00):
Or they are a human being?
What did they do before theyhave scaled a small business
themselves?
Because otherwise they have noclue.
And so if you start from firstprinciples, then you realize
wait a moment, I just needsomething that works on the
phone, has a human being on theother side who was scaling
something themselves and is inthe same time zone so that guys
(05:20):
can reach each other.
And then that person needs aset of tools that's ready so you
can pull them Videos, googleDocs, google Sheets.
So when you ask me, hey, I havean outbound system, but I don't
have an inbound system, how doI build an inbound system, my
first inbound sales system Thenyou pull from the Sprint
(05:42):
University in this case, I builtthe Sprint University.
You pull that and say, hey, dothis and put in 30 minutes max.
Show me your first draft,upload it on your phone.
I will give you feedback.
You implement the feedback,then you ship it to three
clients, then we review and Ihope that's in two days, three
days, if you can make that, thatwould be amazing.
(06:02):
Yes, it's about the respondingto what is instead of planning,
instead of setting up a project,responding to what is.
We are entrepreneurs.
I don't know what I needtomorrow.
If you are my coach and we arescheduled for tomorrow, I will
(06:22):
know what my question is to you,coach, 10 minutes before the
call, because maybe an hourbefore my CRM dies or my team or
I realized that my team is notcalling anyone.
So then the agenda changes.
So if you are a good coach, ifyou really want to help me, the
best thing is next week you showup without an agenda and you
(06:45):
ask me what do we need to solveright now?
And I will tell you oh my God,nobody on my team is calling
anybody.
And then you say, all right,let's look at the script, let's
look at how you run the meetings, let's look at your overall
process.
And because we have to findwhat makes them so low energy,
low motivation.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Yeah, like basically what you're saying is there's no
real cookie cutter or waiterapproach things.
You have to be fluid and ableto adapt to what needs done.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Yes, I think a good coach is like a tailor.
Every week they measure yourstats Again.
Every week they say, okay, tellme your marketing number, sales
number, ops number.
Where is the problem?
Where should we focus this hour?
And then you say, all right,marketing is fine, sales it blew
up in my face.
(07:35):
I don't know what to do.
Oh, I have this opportunity inthree days.
I have to pitch.
Can I show you my plan and youpoke holes into it?
That's a really good coachingprocess for an entrepreneur.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Yeah, I think that's a good way to look at it,
because I think we can sometimesget put in boxes or put in
specific.
This is what this person didexactly and that might not work
for us.
So being able to really breakthose things down and see where
there are the issues and find aunique solution to those
problems is, I think, reallyimportant.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Oh, my God, thank you for saying that, because what
I'm seeing right now is a viruswhich is doing what the others
do because the others do it.
So I have 12, 13 people whojump on my calendar per week.
Simon, I need more leads.
Okay, why do you think you needmore leads?
Yeah, because everybody's doingthis lead gen thing now.
(08:28):
With this, now you can insertClubhouse with X we linked in
insert whatever you want.
It's usually the newest shinything.
And then I say, okay, maybe youneed leads.
But before we go there, let'slook at your current funnel.
I don't have a funnel.
Okay, let's map it out.
People who you talked to overthe last three months past
(08:53):
clients, current clients,friends of your current clients
who also happen to need what youhave, people who came to one of
your events over the last sixmonths.
And then we map them out and werealize, oh my God, that's 700
people.
Are you sure you need 700 more,or would you prefer to call
those 700 first?
And since it's 700, what aboutwe onboard somebody?
(09:17):
You call 350, they call 350.
There is half a million in yourfunnel right now.
You don't need an additionalsystem, just a proper follow up
system a basic sales system.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Yeah, I think a lot of times we want to add things
on instead of fixing what theroot of the problem really is,
that bottleneck.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Yes, and people they look for far away and hard to
get goals, and I help them andsay, hey, let's sit down for a
second, let's breathe.
Now tell me about the groundyou are sitting upon.
So that's usually theirpipeline.
Maybe there are already someflowers here.
They just need a little bit ofwater.
And then I go check list peoplewho are in your events, people
(09:56):
who watched your podcast, peoplewho downloaded something from
your website, people whosubscribed to your email list oh
yeah, but I don't have theirphone numbers.
It's easy to find their phonenumbers.
Should we show you how you dothat?
So that's basic follow-upsystems with a six-stages
relationship funnel, likeinterested people, engaged
(10:19):
people, people who did something, people who jumped on my
calendar, people that I knowwhat they need, people that I
know what they need and arewilling to invest in, and then
it's either closed or not closed.
That's a sales funnel and nowyou bring in your relationships
into these six stages.
You have already pretty goodsituation to run a small
(10:39):
business.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Yeah, and that's a good point.
Keeping it simple is, I think,really key.
We sometimes make it way toocomplicated, especially at the
beginning, and a lot of timeswith that.
You hear some of these reallysuccessful individuals mention
the luck a lot within theirjourneys and I know you coined
the term return on luck withinyour systems.
(11:03):
So break that down what isreturn on luck and how can we
get a little bit more lucky?
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Yes, return on luck was coined by Jim Collins and I
loved the term, and he startedasking the question everybody's
giving their best.
Why do some teams crush it andother teams don't?
And so I continued looking atteams that I meet every week
(11:29):
with that land, and if you goback to that example, you have
700 people basically in your CRM, in your world that you are
related to.
Who do you think will win?
The team that calls, thoughthat splits them into 350, 350,
okay, it's two people, let'scall them over the next 10 days.
(11:51):
Or the team who says let'sbuild a complicated funnel and
buy some software and haveexperts coming in, do an
analysis of a month and then animplementation month.
The first team will win, andthe reason is they go the direct
path.
They have more surface to theclient, to the possible client,
(12:12):
to the possible chiking, and sowhen you have more surface area
to the chiking, this is what'sgoing to happen, because where
you bring your attention, energygoes.
Where energy goes, stuffhappens.
So it's really only exposingthe surface area to the
possibility of winning deals.
That's why I love sales so much,because sales is the direct
(12:32):
path.
I have fun with marketing, Ilike marketing, but sales is the
chiking.
If I had limited resources andlimited time, I would just focus
on sales, because this is whereyou create your surface area
and sales might be just callingall past clients.
Hey, how are you doing what'sup right now?
Can I help?
Oh no, I can't.
(12:53):
Do you know somebody that needsmy help?
Oh cool, yeah, can youintroduce us?
That's it.
Do this a couple hours a day.
You have a sales system.
Use our templates that you canget free from our book, from our
website.
You have a repeatable salessystem.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Yeah, I think being able to replicate something is
crucial as well, especially asyou are scaling and bringing
people on, because it's easilydigested by a new person and
they can follow those steps.
Again, going back to keeping itsimple, I think that's another
reason why that's so importantas well.
So simplicity and scalabilityare two huge pieces.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
Yes, if it's complicated, your team, you in
the first place.
You are not gonna consistentlydoing day by day, week by week,
you will stop doing it.
A great example is you go withthis fancy CRM.
Oh I have hot.
Okay, you have hotspot.
I know already, in three monthsyou are gonna stop using it.
(13:48):
It's too fancy, it's toocomplicated.
Yeah, I go with the very cheap,very simple ones that cost 20
bucks a month per seat and thatwork on the phone, because you
will be mostly using it on thephone, like you use your
favorite social media andespecially if you're like me,
you have three kids, Most of thestuff I do on the phone,
(14:11):
because that's realistic.
If you keep it simple, youincrease the probability that
you will do it every day.
If you do it every day, youwill do it every week, every
month.
That compounds and that createsa reliable sales pipeline.
You are also at some point youwill bring in a team, Like I am
scaling across countries rightnow in my company.
(14:32):
So the team looks at Simon.
We have every Tuesday and everyFriday we have our sales
meeting.
They look at my behaviorbecause I am a role model for
them.
So if every time they tell meabout an opportunity and I put
it in our CRM in front of themsharing screen.
They are also more likely to doit on their phone.
(14:56):
So now we are five people andeverybody has this habit of
starting conversations,following up on conversation,
writing down what they want totalk about, following up a
couple of days later.
Now you are multiplyingyourself.
You have five people doing arepeatable sales process.
Now you have a resilient Imight say even a company.
(15:17):
Now you are a company fivepeople with a culture of
opportunity creation and aculture of follow-up.
You are two steps ahead of yourcompetitors.
You have a resilient system.
Whatever happens out thererecessions, stock flesions,
pandemics you have somethingthat works.
(15:37):
You will navigate all watersand all weather with this simple
system Five people startingconversations, following up on
conversations.
Your competitors will goinsolvent year by year.
You will stay in the game.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Why do you think so many starting out?
I did, when I started out, butfrom your perspective, why do
you think people overcomplicateit so much?
What do you think that is?
Speaker 3 (16:01):
I think that's human nature we get bored quickly.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Yeah, at the great point, I think we want results
so fast sometimes that we thinkthat we need to implement
something else instead of justkeeping going with what works.
But it works long term morethan the short term.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Look from my own ADHD .
I could just buy an apartmentper year and have that compound,
or put every month whateversurplus there is into S&P 500
and have them double every 10years.
But it is so boring that I lookat Tesla every day and what
(16:42):
they're doing.
And that's the biggest position, why it's much more interesting
.
It's adrenaline, it's riskreward and human nature is not
just looking at flowers andenjoying them grow.
That's plant being.
But human being is actuallyAvengers Champions League.
Will Tesla fail or not?
(17:03):
Can they create the firstself-driving cars?
That's exciting because it's abet on humanity and humanity's
evolution.
So it's exciting.
It's tribal.
It's we, the innovators.
Will we win or lose against theother forces that don't want
innovation?
It's excitement.
(17:24):
It's competition in a positiveway Science competing,
scientists competing, engineerscompeting which team will win?
It's like a Champions League.
It's exciting.
We like that excitement.
Human nature is not just being,it's also evolving, exploring,
daring adventures.
(17:44):
I think that's our nature.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Yeah, I think I'm with you on that for sure.
So, simon, this has been agreat conversation.
As we wind this down, we'd loveto ask you one more question.
It's off topic a little bit.
It has to do with what mostentrepreneurs are about Making a
difference, leaving a mark,changing the world, things of
that nature For you.
When everything is said anddone for you here on earth and
(18:07):
you could have and leave anymark, be known for anything or
be known for doing whatever whatdo you hope that mark is?
Speaker 3 (18:16):
So it's like what people write on my, on my grave,
yeah, what what?
Speaker 2 (18:20):
what difference in the world Will you make if you
could do anything and beremembered for it?
What would that difference be?
Speaker 3 (18:27):
Oh, that's a great question and I can only answer
it week by week, day by day.
So this week, I am absolutelyproud that Two of my three
children will run a marathonwith me this weekend their first
junior marathon and we woke upyesterday in the morning Before
breakfast there eight and fiveand before breakfast they they
(18:51):
were doing their marathontraining with me 500 meters the
five-year-old and 800 meters the80 year old, and I was so proud
of them and I was proud ofmyself because in the end, my
legacy, it's not in my control.
If they become good citizensNot so good citizens, good
scholars, not good scholarsthat's absolute, outside my
(19:13):
control.
What is it?
Of course I want them to bedecent human beings and be fun
and Contribute to a betterplanet, but it's not in my
control.
What is in my control is when doI wake up?
Five, eight, eleven, that's inmy control, so I prefer five and
I do that every day.
Then what is in my control?
(19:34):
What do I do after waking up?
Is it emails or is it yoga andrunning, running with with
friends, with family, and thenbreakfast, and which choices I
do it's a healthy breakfast ornot so healthy.
That is actually in my control.
So if you ask me what is thelegacy when I'm gone, it's what
(19:57):
I'm doing today in the morningwhen I wake up, tomorrow in the
morning when I wake up, and thatWill compound love it.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
I appreciate you sharing that.
Again, simon, thanks so muchfor this conversation.
I think it's been a a good one.
To help entrepreneursunderstand not to complicate
things.
Keep it simple, take action andjust use what works.
So if you want to reach out toyou, connect with you, where's
the best place for them to dothat?
Speaker 3 (20:22):
If they like reading books strategy sprints.
The book is on Amazon and it'sa very practical Set of tools
how to do marketing, how to dosales, how to do client on
boarding and how to do hiring.
If they want to talk to us andsee if we might be their Jarvis,
their coach, then they go tostrategy sprintscom and and
(20:47):
click to talk to us, lend on ourcalendar and then we can
explore.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Yes, everything.
If you're interested, checkthose resources out, get
connected with Simon and histeam.
Again, simon, thanks so muchfor being on the elevate media
podcast today.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Thanks so much, chris , for showing up for your
community with consistency Overlong period of time.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Absolutely appreciate that.
So thanks again.
We'll talk soon.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Thank you for listening to the elevate media
podcast.
Don't forget to subscribe andleave a review.
See you in the next episode.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.