Author: Garth Beyer

By default, when you work to start a business, you’ll be having conversations with a lot of smart(er) and already-successful people.

The soul purpose of these conversations will be to discover how they can help you.

You’ll be asked it a lot. “Great. I love your idea. How can I help?”

Will you have answers?

Unfortunately, “I don’t know what I don’t know,” doesn’t quite cut it.

Here are two actions to take so you’re not frazzled when asked how another can help and, more importantly, you get the help you need.

1) Most new meetings come from references. “Have you talked to Kevin over at X Business? He’d be a great guy to chat with.” Now you have a name, but it’s your responsibility to ask more. Something like, “Thanks. Where do you think his expertise is in relation to my business?” Essentially, you’re asking the person referring Kevin what they think Kevin can help you with. There’s your answer when Kevin asks you how he can help you.

2) Put the person you’re meeting in your shoes by asking them, “With the experience you have now, if you were starting my business, what would you focus on? What would you make sure that you would do?” When you put them in the driver’s seat, they’ll focus on doing right what they already know how to do right.

 

Stay Positive & You Don’t Always Need To Have Answers, But You Do Need To Have Questions

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There’s a man who is a successful doctor, but he doesn’t want to remain a doctor. His heart has shifted. He’s now in love with the piano even though he has never played the piano, or any instrument for that matter.

A situation like this isn’t uncommon.

There are more people with the urge to change their profession than ever before, but they always ask, how?

The answer is the same way the man became a doctor in the first place: studying and practice.

Genetics, friends who are already involved with a hobby, a parent who does what you want to do all help, but they are not essential. What’s essential is studying and practice.

 

Stay Positive & The True Test Of Passion Is Your Willingness To Do Them Consistently

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Quick test of your brand’s stability and clarity of messaging:

If you dialed it two…three…ten notches down, would people still know what you stand for? Would they believe your product or service fits within the narrative they have made for themselves? Do you retain a competitive advantage over the others?

You, personally, might not let it go down a notch, but you can’t stop outside sources from making it happen. Are you prepared? Do you have a buffer? Are you pushing yourself to do and be more to counter those unforeseen forces hoping to bring you down?

 

Stay Positive & Might Be Time To Dial It Up

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A Facebook for business webcast I watched talked about the upcoming holidays. The big takeaway? Posting (uh hum, and promoting) more frequently is the sure-fire way to get more conversions.

Yes, frequency matters, but it’s nothing without value, impact and care.

You can post a photo of a vacuum every day, but until you show how it fits into the story the target is telling herself, even if she buys the vacuum, it won’t matter. You will not have acquired a brand loyal customer.

Vaynerchuk rants endlessly about how the number of followers you make means nothing. The same goes for customers.
The goal of any post on any platform should be to acquire quality customers.

If you care about making a conversion today, by all means, post away. But if you care about the life-time value of those who purchase your product or service, you’re better off focusing on impact and storytelling instead of awareness and frequency.

 

Stay Positive & Maybe Spend That Extra $ On Increasing You Customer Awareness

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“I don’t know what I’m passionate about” doesn’t fly with me.

For years you have done more of what you like to do and less of what you don’t like to do. Those who say they lack passion or interest in anything just haven’t observed their feelings.

One of my passions is connecting with new people as I work toward a goal (starting a business currently). The amount of preparation I do before a meeting doesn’t turn me on. The possibility of me screwing the conversation up doesn’t get me excited. But I always leave first meetings on a high. “Damn, did that feel good,” I think to myself.

The same goes for you. There are moments after completing a task that you feel good.

You don’t lack passion. You lack recognizing the moments you feel good and doing more of them because, by default, anything you’ll ever be passionate about will be risky, uncomfortable, full of fear.

 

Stay Positive & Remember The Feeling

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There will be several times in your life that you begin as the trainee and quickly turn into the trainer.

At work, with friends, in business, in relationships–everywhere.

The problem is that not many will set you up for success as a trainer. They (wrongfully) assume that since you were trained and do the task well, that you can then train anyone.

That’s not the case.

Knowing how doesn’t mean you can teach anyone. Training is its own artform.

While the following list isn’t going to be all-encompassing. It’s a start for what you need to think about as you make the transition from being the trainee to becoming the trainer.

1) Aggressively take notes as you’re being trained on everything the person training you has done right and has screwed up. Own to never make the same mistakes and be sure to repeat the successful tactics.

2) Don’t dive into training someone. Get to know them better. Don’t assume what way they work. Ask them. The way you train person A will be different from the way you train person B. One might need to drive while you watch and critique versus them watching you.

3) Whether in doubt or not. Follow up with an email of everything you said. Most of the time you’ll realize something you missed or it’ll spark that additional question from the trainee that will make for better work.

4) On that note, make it clear that you expect them to make the work or process better. It’s not just about executing the same thing over and over.

5) To help them do so, they truly need to know why they are doing what they are doing. If I were you, I’d practice this before you train them. Don’t try to give them an off the cuff reason why the work they are doing is important. Know what you’re going to say beforehand.

More tips to come in a future post. Put these into action now.

 

Stay Positive & What Training Tips Do You Have For Those Becoming Trainers?

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What if you invested an hour to write a sell sheet for yourself.

Not a resume, but a sell sheet that covers your capabilities, how someone can benefit from partnering with you, what your mission or your legacy is when boiled down to a paragraph, and what action you want people who interact with you to take?

What would it read?

You’ll quickly realize the sales sheet is more beneficial to you than to anyone else.

 

Stay Positive & Sometimes We Have To Sell Our Own Abilities To Ourselves, Don’t We?

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