Sales Trigger 7: Invoke Fear

Fear is an incredibly powerful motivator. You’ll see everyone from marketers to politicians to bosses to parents using fear to get people to take some specific action. They do it because it works.

Now, I’m not saying you have to act like Freddy Krueger from the horror movies and scare the bediddles out of your prospects. Not at all. Instead, all you have to do is lightly touch the fear trigger to make a significant impact.

Here’s how to do it:

Create a Fear of Missing Out

This phrase (fear of missing out) has become so popular recently that it has its own acronym: FOMO. Typically this applies to people who can’t stop looking at their smartphones because they have a fear of missing out on some Facebook post, pop culture trend, or even an invitation to go out.

You can take this natural fear and funnel it into your sales system by creating a somehow limited offer. For example:

• Limit the proposal to a set number of people. For example, perhaps you set up a PLR membership site with a strict membership limit of just 250 people. Or you can offer a bonus or discount to the next 100 people who order now.
• Offer a discount or bonus for a limited amount of time. For example, you can offer a 50% discount that ends in 72 hours.
  As you can see, there are many different ways to create scarcity, boost urgency and in general, develop a sense of fear. These include:
• Coupons.
• Discount sales.
• Flash sales.
• Dime sales (the price goes up every day or after every purchase).
• Early bird offers.
• Introductory special rates.
• Holiday sales.
• Grand opening sales.

I could go on with this list. In all cases, the offer is somehow limited. This creates a fear of missing out on a great deal, which in turn boosts your conversion rate.

Here’s the second way to create fear:

Remind People of Their Fears

One of the best examples of this comes from the marketing you see from insurance companies. They get prospects to imagine what it would be like if they lost everything in a fire, and they didn’t have insurance.

You don’t need to sell insurance to remind people of their fears. No matter what you’re selling, you can remind people of what might happen if they don’t order now. For example:

• If you choose to do nothing and leave this sales page, you won’t lose weight. The ridicule might continue. People might give you disapproving looks when you’re out on the street. You’ll hate what you see when you look in the mirror.
• This problem is not going to get better if you ignore it. Those few fleas you see on your dog now might multiply. Soon your entire house might be infested. Insects might infiltrate the carpet, the furniture, and even your bed.

Do you see how this works? Create a limited offer or remind people of their fears, and you’ll see a boost to your conversion rate.
Now the next conversion-boosting triggers:

Sales Trigger 8: Radiate Authority

You’ve probably heard of the old Stanley Milgram psychology studies, where average people were told by an authority figure – which was a researcher in a white coat — to deliver electric shocks to someone else whom they couldn’t see.

Of course, there weren’t real shocks getting delivered, but the subjects of this experiment didn’t know that. They got told the shocks were real, and they could even hear someone screaming and pleading in the next room over not to shock them. Yet these research subjects kept delivering shocks, all because an authority figure told them to do so.

I’m not suggesting you run around trying to get people to deliver electric shocks to others. Rather, you can use any authority you might own to help build your credibility, get people to listen to you, and get people to do what you want.

Here’s how:

State Your Credentials

If you have some position of authority in your niche, then be sure others know about your credentials. This might be a degree or career paths, such as a doctor, lawyer or law enforcement. If you have a photo to back this up – such as you in judge’s robes or a uniform – include this with your content.

Borrow Other People’s Authority

If you don’t have a position of authority, you can still use influence to your advantage by borrowing other people’s position of authority. How? By doing joint ventures or even just getting testimonials from authority figures.

For example, maybe you have a diet guide. You can have medical doctors and nutritionists review it and offer their testimonials.

TIP: This is like the advertisements where they state something like, “four out of five dentists agree.” That’s using borrowed authority to boost sales.

Radiate Authority

You don’t have to have any specific credentials to position yourself as an authority in your niche. If you’re an expert, then act like one. Be a strong leader. For example:

• Speak (write) with confidence. The more confident you sound in your articles, sales letters, blog posts, and other content, the more likely it is people might follow you without question.
• Position yourself as an authority. This means blanketing your niche with content. Write guest blog posts. Write and publish a book. Give talks. The more people see your excellent content, the more they’ll associate you with authority in a niche.

So the bottom line is thus to set up yourself as an authority, show your credentials when applicable, and borrow other people’s authority when possible.

Together, these tactics could boost your conversion rate.

Next up:

Sales Trigger 9: Be Honest

I know it seems like common sense that you should be honest. But the truth is, a lot of people seem to think that marketers and salespeople aren’t trustworthy. Just ask anyone what their impressions are of used-car dealers. That’s an entire profession where everyone tends to get lumped into the “dishonest” pile. Those writing ads of any kind aren’t far behind.

Of course, salespeople don’t help their own image. While the majority don’t tell outright lies, many of them skirt around the truth with “errors of omission.” In other words, these marketers and salespeople don’t let prospects know what’s wrong with the product.

Now here’s a trick to boost your conversion rate: be honest with your prospects, tell them all about the flaws, and then turn these perceived flaws into assets.

Just that you’re being honest about a product or service is going to make people trust you more, which in turn boosts sales.
However, the other part of this is that you’re handing an objection by turning a perceived flaw into an asset. As you learned earlier in this report, handing objections is another good way to boost your conversion rate.

Let me give you a real-life example of turning a liability or flaw into an asset.

Listerine is a mouthwash that’s known for having a strong taste. Scope (a mouthwash competitor) directly attacked Listerine by saying that using Scope produces fresh breath without “medicine mouth.”

So now Listerine is having a perception problem in that prospects think their product is going to taste yucky, like medicine. Listerine responds with ads that say this: “Listerine: You can handle it. Germs can’t.”

Boom. Listerine is saying in these ads that the strong taste is what kills the germs. And by inference, they’re saying that any mouthwash that doesn’t have a strong taste probably isn’t killing bacteria.

See how that works? Listerine didn’t hide the fact that they have a strong-tasting mouthwash. Instead, they turned that perceived weakness into a strength of the product by suggesting their product tastes strong because it kills germs.

Now you can boost your conversion rates and sales using this same strategy. Simply be honest no matter what you’re selling (your product or an affiliate product), and turn perceived flaws into assets when possible.

For example, maybe you’re selling an ebook that seems a bit thin compared to other ebooks on the topic. Some people might feel like they’re not getting their money’s worth if the book is too short. You can turn this perceived flaw into an asset by saying this book is for busy people – there’s no fluff, no filler, just meat.

So go ahead and think about what’s wrong with your products and the affiliate products you’re selling. Don’t hide these flaws in your sales copy and product reviews. Instead, put ‘em front and centre, and turn the perceived deficiencies into strengths.

Next up:

Sales Trigger 10: Evoke Consistency

People don’t want to view themselves as wishy-washy flip-floppers who change their mind when the wind blows. People like to see themselves as consistent and committed. You can use this psychological fact to boost your sales.

How? By using the foot in the door technique.

It works like this:

You get your “foot in the door” by getting your prospect to perform some small action or do you some small favour. Then later, you ask them for a bigger favour. Since they want to appear consistent, they’re likely to do your bigger favour.

Researchers have examined this psychological trigger, and they’ve found it truly works. Researchers started by asking people in a neighbourhood to put a big, ugly sign in their front yard. Naturally, the majority of people said no.

Then these researchers did a test with another group of folks. They asked this second group to put a small placard in their window that promoted picking up trash or some other neutral activity. Many people said yes because it was an easy way to support beautifying the neighbourhood.

A couple of weeks later, researchers returned to those who displayed the placard and asked if they’d also display a yard sign. You got it – that yard sign was the big, ugly one. And you know what? A bunch of these people said yes because they wanted to stay consistent.

So here’s the point: if you ask for a big favour right away, people will outright say no. But ask them for a small, easy favour first to get your foot in the door, and these folks are more likely to say yes when you ask for a bigger favour later.

For example:

• Ask people to join your mailing list first (easy favour), and then later ask them to buy your entry-level product.
• Ask people to buy your entry-level product, then ask them to buy your home study course.
• Offer an upsell to those who’re in the process of buying your course.
• Ask people who’ve “liked” your social media content to share it with their friends.
• Propose a small, easy joint venture with a partner first, and then later propose a more significant joint venture project.
• Ask your prospects to enter your free contest, and then later ask them to register for a webinar.

You get the idea. Get your foot in the door with small requests and see if you too don’t get a bigger response rate when you make larger requests.

Now let’s wrap things up:

Conclusion

What you’ve learned in this report is like pulling back the curtain to see how the world’s best marketers, salespeople, and politicians seem almost magically to lead people to do what they want. And now you too can boost your sales and response rates by employing the following ten psychological sales triggers:

• Reciprocity
• Curiosity
• Specificity
• Objection-Handling
• Credibility
• Conformity
• Fear
• Authority
• Honesty
• Consistency

Now the key here is to not cherry-pick through these methods and merely use a few of them. Instead, put as many of these methods to work for you every time you write a sales letter, publish a newsletter, post something on your blog, or write any other type of persuasive content.

These are potent triggers that researchers have proved time and again work like crazy to boost your response rates. But don’t take my word for it – try them for yourself to see what kind of results you’ll get. I think you’ll be amazed!

Just in case you miss the first two chapters:

Chapter 1 covers Reciprocity, Curiosity And Specificity.

Chapter 2 covers Handle Objections, Credibility and Social Proof.

Publisher’s note – this article was originally published at Richtopia as A Comprehensive Guide on the Psychology of Marketing and Sales.

The post Sales Psychology – 10 Triggers To Become Highly Influential (Part 3) appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Sales Trigger 4: Handle Objections

If you’re selling something, then your prospects are already figuring out reasons why they shouldn’t buy it. These are called objections.

Common objections include the following…

The price is too high. Here the person may be able to afford the product or service, but he still thinks the price is high compared to the value you’ve demonstrated.

You can fix this by demonstrating more value (sharing benefits) and clearly stating your USP (unique selling position). You can also explicitly give people a reason the price is so high.

For example: The price for this inner circle membership is higher than what you’ve seen elsewhere because we only want serious business owners in this élite group.

TIP: Want to see how to prove high prices? Then start reading ads for luxury goods and services, such as Rolex, Mercedes, Bentley, Armani and similar goods. In most cases, you’ll see the price justification is based around their branding and USP.

The price is too low. Low prices sometimes get equated with the product or service being “cheap” or “junk,” so this objection makes people wonder why you’d price the item so low. That’s why you need to justify low prices, too.

For example: I know what you’re thinking – this price is crazy low! You might even be thinking something is missing from this package.

Nope, you get the FULL course for a fraction of the price.

Why?

It’s because I want to make this course affordable to everyone. It’s not fair if only rich people can afford this course. So for a limited time, you can get this course for a song – but hurry before this special offer ends!

I can’t afford it. This objection isn’t that the price is too high, but instead that the prospect is thinking he shouldn’t spend his money on that particular item right now. Sometimes that may be true. Sometimes that’s just an objection you need to handle because it’s nothing more than an excuse.

The solution? Justify the price. An excellent way to do this is to compare it to other activities or products which show why your product is a good value.

For example: If you hired a ghostwriter to create this report, you’d pay at least $750 for it. But if you’re one of the first 100 people to act now and get a PLR license, you get full rights to this report for $50. You can’t afford to pass up this steal of a deal!

Another example is to point out how the item is comparable to some small thing the person regularly purchases.

For example: You get this complete report for the price of a small pizza. You won’t find a better way to invest $9, so click the order button below now.

I’m not sure if it will work for me. For this objection, you offer a guarantee (AKA risk reversal).

For example: I’m so confident you’ll love this product that I’m willing to back this offer with an iron-clad 100% money-back guarantee. If you’re unsatisfied for any reason whatsoever, email me, and I’ll promptly issue a full refund – no questions asked.

So you can see how this works. Be sure to handle those common objections you just learned about. However, you need to take it a step further: you’ll need to look at your specific product and figure out what people might object to so you can handle those objections as well.

Next trigger:

Sales Trigger 5: Build Credibility

You need to give your prospects a good reason. In other words, you need to build your credibility. Whenever your prospects are reading your sales letter or other content, they’ve got their defence shields up. They’re sceptical. And one of the thoughts that will be floating through their head is this: “Why should I listen to this person?”

You need to give your prospects a good reason. In other words, you need to build your credibility.

Let me give you some examples of credibility-building statements:

• Why should you listen to me? Simple: because last year my business generated $1,117,922. I know how marketing works, and now I want to share my secrets with you.
• I lost 50 pounds using this diet plan, and I’ve kept it off for three years. I’ve helped 388 other people just like you lose at least 50 pounds too. This plan worked for me, it works for others, and it will work for you too.
• My books have soared to the top of the USA Today Bestseller’s lists three times in the past 18 months – so you know this novel-writing course is the real deal.
• I’ve spent ten years honing my copywriting skills. My sales letters have pulled in $200 million worth of frontend sales and created countless backend opportunities. Now you too can put my experience and expertise to work for you.
• Dr Simon has spent the last two decades learning everything to know about human metabolism. You won’t find a better-researched book or a medical doctor with more experience in this field.

So the bottom line here is to give your readers a reason to listen to you. Do you have experience? Credentials? A degree? Specific results in the field? Awards?

Whatever it is, build your credibility by sharing it with your readers.

Next up:

Sales Trigger 6: Use Social Proof

Here’s something to understand about your prospects:

They’re unsure of themselves. They’re not sure what to do. They prefer to see what others are doing and then follow along.

That’s right; people tend to be a little conformist.

I’m not making this up. Scientists have proven that people like to conform with others. For example, let me ask you which line is longer:

Line A: —————

Line B: —————————

There’s no question, right? Obviously, Line B is longer. You can show these lines to anyone with normal vision, and they’ll all tell you that Line B is longer.

So let’s imagine you have a guy named Joe who’s judging line length. Three other people in the room are also judging line length, and all three of them say that “Line A” is longer. These three people are shills – they work for the researcher.

After Joe hears all these other people say Line A is longer, he now has to give his answer.

Guess what?

Joe is more likely to say “Line A” is longer, even though you can see it in his face that he knows that’s not true. He is merely conforming with the group because it makes him feel more psychologically comfortable to go along with what everyone else is doing and saying. (Hint: This is why “peer pressure” makes such a significant impact on people.)

You can use this tendency to conform to your sales process. All you have to do is show your prospects that everyone else is buying your product, joining your mailing list, or “liking” your social media posts. This is called social proof.

Let me give you specific examples:

• Testimonials. Your prospects don’t always believe you (they figure you’re biased), which is why testimonials work so well to boost sales. What’s more, testimonials help trip that conformity reason as well, which also pushes people towards the conformity button.
• Tickers. This is where you show people buying a product or joining your site in a live ticker. Of course, you can’t share specifics, but you might have something such as “John from London just joined… Suzy from
  California just joined…” If you have a lot of sales, subscribers or registrations coming in each day, it’s a powerful way to use social proof to boost your conversion rate further.
• Numbers. Think of how McDonald’s Restaurant signs used to say things such as, “Over one billion hamburgers served.” That’s social proof using numbers.

Social media has social proof built right in. For example, anyone visiting your Facebook Page can see how many fans you have, and how many people like, share or comment on your posts.

You can share other numbers as well, such as how many customers you have, how many subscribers, etc. E.G., “3287 satisfied customers can’t be wrong, so order now!”

So here’s the bottom line: show your prospects and visitors that OTHER people are buying your products, subscribing to your newsletter, following you on social media, and other activities. This social proof will get even more people doing the same thing.

Chapter 3 covers Fear, Authority, Honesty and Consistency.

And just in case you missed, Chapter 1: Reciprocity, Curiosity And Specificity.

Publisher’s note – this article was originally published at Richtopia as A Comprehensive Guide on the Psychology of Marketing and Sales.

The post Sales Psychology – 10 Triggers To Become Highly Influential (Part 2) appeared first on Head Of Sales.

A lot of marketers look at successful sales letters and then try to mimic the words they think will boost sales.

That’s right; they use a swipe file. And then they wonder why their swipe-filled sales letter isn’t generating any sales.

Here’s the thing:

If you don’t understand the psychology of selling, then the words are going to fall flat if they’re not used in the right context.

If you put the components of a sales letter in the wrong order, sales will tank.

If you’re not pushing the right psychological triggers at precisely the right time, the conversion rate could be pretty low.

The point is, to start getting more subscribers and sales, you need to understand why your prospects behave the way they do, what they’re thinking, and how you can get them to act in the desired direction.

That’s precisely what you’re about to discover in this report, where we’ll look at ten psychological sales triggers you can put to work for you starting as soon as today.

You can use these mental triggers in your sales letters, blog posts, newsletters and more.

You can use them to get more subscribers, get sales, get referrals, or whatever else you need to grow your business.

Sounds good, right? Let’s jump in.

Sales Trigger 1: Evoke Reciprocity

Reciprocity works like this: if you give your prospects something valuable, they’ll feel obligated to provide you with something in return. This “something” might be a referral, a sale, an email address, or something else of value to you.

The reason this works is that we tend to get psychologically uncomfortable when we feel like we owe someone something.

TIP: This doesn’t work on everyone. Some people have an entitlement mentality, and you could deliver valuable stuff to their door all day long. And yet they’d have no feeling whatsoever that they owe you anything.

On the flip side, you can’t be a conditional giver. In other words, you can’t give with the expectation of receiving something back. So give freely and don’t worry about whether others are giving you anything in return. Help your prospects, even if you aren’t rewarded for it. If nothing else, this will give you a great reputation in your niche (which, in turn, will boost sales).

Let me give you a real-life example:

Let’s imagine you call up a couple of friends and invite them out to dinner tonight. You take them to a lovely restaurant, and everyone enjoys appetisers, a nice meal, and even dessert. When the bill comes, you snatch it off the table and insist on paying. Your friends argue a bit – after all, this was a lovely meal – but eventually, they relent and then graciously thank you for the meal.

So what happens next?

If you guessed that your friends are going to take you out for dinner some night, you’re right. If they didn’t, they’d start to feel psychologically uneasy. Their unease would grow if you did something else nice for them in the meantime, like bought them a cup of coffee or took them out to the movies. They only way they can get rid of this psychological discomfort is by returning the favour.

Listen, your prospects are the same way. If you do nice things for them, they’ll feel a compulsion to return the favour.

So how do you work this into your marketing?

The easiest way to do this is by offering a free lead magnet product, and then sending good content to your mailing list. You can also share good content on your blog and social media platforms. These simple steps will trip the reciprocity trigger.

Take note:

The key to making this work is to remind people of the trigger when you ask them for a favour.
For example: “Since I’ve given you this free video, I’d like you to do a favour for me – click this link to tell your friends about the video. They’re sure to love it just as much as you!”

See how that works? You remind people what you’ve given them, and then you ask for what you want. It’s an “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” sort of concept. And yep, it works like crazy to boost response rates.

Now let’s have a look at the next sales trigger…

Sales Trigger 2: Arouse Curiosity

Curiosity is a powerful motivator. That’s because when you inject it into your content, it’s like creating an itch that your readers need to scratch. And the only way they can scratch this itch is by taking some specific action (such as joining your list or buying a product).

Do you ever remember the original BluBlocker sunglasses and their advertising? Marketing expert Joseph Sugarman eventually took over the marketing for these glasses, and they sold tens of millions of pairs. One thing Sugarman did was create curiosity in the original TV ads.

How?

By showing the reactions of real people as they looked through the sunglasses for the first time. They usually exclaimed, “Wow!” And then they’d go on to talk about how everything looked so amazing, and how they’d never worn sunglasses like this before.

Sugarman admitted that they could have slipped a BluBlocker lens over the camera lens to show the home audience what it’s like to look through those sunglasses. But they didn’t do it, because they wanted to arouse the home audience’s curiosity about what it’s like to look through those glasses.

The only way to scratch that curiosity itch was to order the sunglasses by mail. It worked! The BluBlocker company sold millions of pairs of sunglasses in their first few years.

Now you too can use curiosity. Let me give you a few examples:

Example 1: Use curiosity to make sure people keep reading.

Whether it’s a blog post, email, report or even a sales letter, you can evoke curiosity in the beginning or even the middle to keep people reading until the end.

Let me give you a few specific examples:

• Build anticipation in the introduction. This works well for content such as blog posts, newsletter articles, and reports. Simply tell people what they’re going to learn in the story or article, and arouse curiosity in the process.
  For example: You’ll find out what exercise the world’s most élite militaries have used for 500 years to train their best soldiers!
• Tell a story, but don’t quite finish it. This arouses emotion, which is a good thing. But if you don’t finish the story right away, it also arouses curiosity.
  For example: So you’re probably wondering if Jane met her goal and lost 50 pounds. You know what? I think the results are going to surprise you. I’ll tell you all about them in just a few minutes. But first, let me share with you the #1 mistake dieters make that stalls your progress.
• Wet their appetite for what’s coming. You can do this anywhere in a sales letter, article or report.
  For example: Jane got amazing fat-loss results using the same secret your favourite Hollywood celebrities use when they need to shed the fat fast.

You’ll discover this secret in just a moment. But first:

Example 2: Make people curious about a product.

Let’s say you’re selling a book about how to get traffic. You might arouse curiosity by saying something like this:

You’ll discover the closely guarded traffic source that’s never been revealed before – wait till you see how much traffic it could bring!

You can bet anyone interested in getting more traffic will be a bit curious about this little-known traffic source.

Here’s another example that would make a great benefit statement in a bulleted list:

You’ll find out which common herb reduces fine lines and wrinkles – you may already have it in your cupboard!

So you can see how this all works. Make people curious, and you’ll keep them hooked on your content, joining your list and buying your product to satisfy their curiosity.

Now the next powerful sales trick:

Sales Trigger 3: Be Specific

People are always a little sceptical when they’re reading bold claims in ads or other content. However, there are ways to cut their scepticism and make them more likely to believe what you’re telling them. One of these ways is by being specific about your claims.

The best way to explain this is with an example. Take a look at these two statements:

Statement 1: You’ll find out how Jorge made $5000 last month with Facebook ads, and how you can too!

Statement 2: You’ll find out how Jorge made $5223 last month with Facebook ads, and how you can too!

Those statements are precisely the same, except for the dollar amount. The first one is an even $5,000, where the second statement is unequivocal.

Guess which statement is more compelling?

If you guessed Statement 2, you’re right. That’s because it’s highly unbelievable that someone made precisely $5000 last month. It’s far more believable that they made $5223. Because the claim is specific, it seems more plausible.

This sales trick doesn’t just work for dollar amounts – it works for almost anything where you can be specific about a number. This includes:

• Length of time. For example, “31 days” is more accurate than “one month.”
• Weight. “Jack lost 63.5 pounds” is more specific and believable than “Jack lost 60 pounds.”
• Other dimensions, such as length and width. “The plants grew 13 inches tall” is more specific and believable than saying they “grew about a foot.”
• Number. For example, “15,955 subscribers” is more specific and believable than “about 16,000 subscribers.”

So you get the point. Whenever you can be specific about a number or any other detail, do so because people are more likely to believe particular claims.

Chapter 2 covers Handle Objections, Credibility and Social Proof.

Chapter 3 covers Fear, Authority, Honesty and Consistency.

Publisher’s note – this article was originally published at Richtopia as A Comprehensive Guide on the Psychology of Marketing and Sales.

The post Sales Psychology – 10 Triggers To Become Highly Influential (Part 1) appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Many know Grant Cardone as a speaker who provides sales training.

Yet over the past two decades, he has established a real estate empire worth over $1.8 billion in multifamily properties across the United States.

Before the private jets, luxury cars and million-dollar homes, Cardone was an unemployed person addicted to drugs who “had no self-esteem at all – felt terrible for who [he] had become”.

It is, therefore, extraordinary that five years after leaving rehab, he became a millionaire.

Cardone is a living example that anyone could seek success regardless of their background or circumstances.

This billionaire’s story is not a fairy-tale of overnight success; it is a real-life story of rags-to-riches.

During his childhood, Cardone and his father enjoyed visiting different pieces of property as a fun family activity.

This curiosity sparked his interest in buying buildings, an action that still pleases him.

At 22, Cardone graduated with an accounting degree and wanted to acquire properties immediately. However, he had to delay for some years to grow the money to invest. But instead of shelving his dreams, he took this time to study the real estate market as much as he could.

How did Grant Cardone start?

Cardone’s first deal came seven years after graduation.

Today he has real estate holdings in Alabama, Arizona, Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida and other parts of the US.

Asked about how his tremendous success came about, Mr Cardone often responds that he saved himself by stopping his obsession with drugs and turning his mind to business. He stopped following the crowd and started paying attention to ‘an inner superhero’.

Rather than following the conventional path, Grant Cardone questioned the norms and strived to become extraordinary.

Cardone agrees that he is an unusual person who loves putting himself in front of people (he is all over social media) so that they never forget him.

For years, he admits to having been stuck in a sales job that he hated and was struggling to earn a living.

Thanks to creativity, courage, and commitment, Cardone now owns four companies and is an aspiring billionaire.

From his story of failure to success, and then back to collapse and even greater success, it is easy to understand that staying down after falling is a bad idea.

Cardone openly says if he had to start over, he would do it gladly as long as he still can roam the planet.

It sounds easier said than done, but a person like Cardone with financial success could most likely do it again considering his robust network and experience. For example, his first real estate deal was a failure, but he took the lessons and used them to build a high net-worth.

To teach people about success, Cardone has adapted into a 21st-century entrepreneur by taking advantage of modern tools alongside traditional ones.

Cardone developed many sales programmes and became known globally for Information Assisted Selling, a technique which helps people sell effectively in this day and age.

Many, including Fortune 500 companies, are using Cardone’s selling systems to boost their bottom-lines.

Cardone speaks globally to CEOs and entrepreneurs in different industries, offering guidance on subjects like management, sales and leadership, to name a few. He is led by the belief that salespeople, not customers, are the barriers to a closed deal.

This interview is an opportunity to hear the story about Cardone’s humble origins and some of the insights he gained on the paths to business success. Now let’s get the ball rolling.

Grant Cardone Interview (Q&A Special)…

What does being a successful entrepreneur mean to you?

An Entrepreneur is, by definition, a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks to do so.

The reason to take on greater than normal risk is for something bigger than just income from a job or meeting basic needs. Whether your goal is to have financial freedom, leave a legacy or make the world a better place, it is the entrepreneur who is able to achieve these lofty goals.  

If you could spend a day hanging out with three people from history for advice, who would they be and what would you ask them?

So many but I would love to go back to the day of the guys who built the monster empires like Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan.

While they have been demonized for voracious appetites and brutal actions, I would be interested to know how they funded and managed their massive expansions. 

What kept these guys going for more when they had so much and what were their biggest challenges?   

Then there are the wealth magnates like John D. Rockefeller.

Here’s a guy who went from raising turkeys and selling potatoes to his company refining ninety per cent of the USA’s oil. Here is a man who went from nothing to this massive wealth, and having this on-going legacy. It’s pretty damn interesting.

What is your key idea in life? (In one sentence or quote)

“Success is my duty, obligation and responsibility.” – Grant Cardone

Why do people need to pay attention to solving global problems?

Regardless of our race, religion or background, we all live on the same planet. We are all brothers and sisters who have very similar motivations and challenges.

We all want similar things – security, love of family, health, choices and the search of our personal truth and fulfilment of potential.

Regardless of whether you think a person lives once or many times, we all need help at some time in our lives, and I believe we want to help others.

You can’t do anything on this planet by yourself. No one who has ever made a difference in a big way has.

And the bigger the problems you solve, the more people you help, and the more successful a person can be. The problems the entrepreneur solves for himself are the same problems billions of others are having as well.

So, think global not just local.  

If you could put a percentage on the satisfaction in your life from 0% to 100%, what would it be?

I would probably give myself an 88%.

And by the way, those last 12 points would take me into the stratosphere.

I simply have thought too small for too long.

Now I am worried I don’t have time to get my score into the high 90’s.

What are the best marketing practices/tools you always rely on for business development, digital marketing and personal branding?

The thing that works for me is MORE. I still have not figured out my message.

I do it wrong most of the time, but it is the wrong that allows me to figure out what my message is and what people are willing to hear and not hear.

The game is OMNIPRESENCE, and that requires never having a favorite channel to distribute on but the commitment to be wherever the prospect might be.

Social mediums are a perfect fit for a guy like me because I can use them endlessly without much interference.

The only thing that limits me is imagination and energy.

I’m willing to communicate and take on the haters when they come — and they always come.

Why is financial education and sales so important? And what are your favourite sources for expanding your financial and sales knowledge? (This could be a list of podcasts, videos, documentaries, courses, and blogs to name a few)

I know great sales people who become average only because once they made a little money they quit being great.

Unless you are properly educated about money and especially financial freedom and independence, you can never be a great salesperson or entrepreneur.

America lives under the hypnotic spell of financial misinformation.

Over 50% of Americans consider themselves middle class, where 76% are living paycheck to paycheck and have no money in savings.

We as a society have been fed so many lies about money by the media, government, wall street – it’s insane.

We are constantly being told about how great the middle class is and how you should be aiming for that.

The middle class is a myth at best. Most people get their financial knowledge from their parents, AND when asked about it, they’d give their own parents the grade of “D”.  

I have been studying the wealthy for thirty years and how they handle money is almost 180 degrees different than how the middle class does. I could talk about this for days at a time.

Buying a home, college debt, 401k’s all marketed to the middle class as a way to freedom when all they did was benefit Wall Street and the banks.

The wealthy aren’t buying homes saving money and investing in retirement accounts; they are using money to invest in businesses that create more money or equity. 

For example, when I was considering buying a jet so I could reach to other parts of the world and bring my family and staff with me, almost everyone I checked with thought it was a dumb move.

The only two people who thought it was brilliant of me were both billionaires. One said, “with your work ethic and global reach you’re crazy if you don’t.”  

How have you gone about having more than $1.8b of Assets Under Management (AUM), and what are your top recommendations for beginners and experts in business to increase their AUM?

In the simplest terms, it is really a result of what I write about in The 10X Rule.

I just wasn’t thinking big enough.

First, you have to commit to multiplying by the number 10.

Whether it is where you are at the present time or whether it’s your goals.

Simply create a plan based on 10X and then reverse engineer what you would need. People, deals, money….. and then create the platform to start moving in that direction.  

First, commit then start getting attention from those who can help you 10X.

Who has the deals? Who has the money? Who can help me get there? What do I need to know?

And then surround yourself with people who believe in you and your mission even more than you do.

When I started doing these simple things my businesses exploded.  

Which books do you recommend people to read?

I’m not going to lie and it’s not my ego talking but people need to read all of my books.

•    How to Become a Millionaire,
•    Sell or Be Sold,
•    If You’re Not First You’re Last,
•    Be Obsessed or Be Average,
•    The 10X Rule,
•    How to Create Wealth Investing in Real Estate.

By others: Then after mine, you have to read every book you get your hands on. I can read anything.

Even if you don’t like reading – read.  

It won’t hurt you and it’s a great discipline.

I remember reading The Millionaire Next Door and realized one thing from reading that book, I didn’t want to be the millionaire next door who only earns enough money that he calculates how much he can save for retirement by not drinking coffee or buying new cars.

Now back to what I would read, any book about successful people won’t hurt you. But I would suggest reading all of a person’s works, not just one piece. 

What is the most effective method for individuals and organisations to discover and nurture their uniqueness?

Go public on social media by using it to see how unique you are and how much you know and don’t know about it.

Go live on Instagram or YouTube three to five times a week.

Get out of your head about your introversion, lack of courage or whatever your human condition might be — and share live until you figure out what your true gifts and talents are.

Everyone has something unique to bring to the world but most never discover it because they are too busy thinking and not doing. 

What are some of your aims for the next ten years?

Professionally, I want to disrupt the investment world and give the little guy alternatives to 401ks, ETFs and Wall Street.

My goal is to build a multi-billion-dollar business that will shake up Wall Street, where the goal is to provide ordinary people access to extraordinary deals for the first time.  

Second I want to travel the world with my wife and kids to meet and make friends with people from EVERY country on this planet.

I want to help others achieve financial independence. That means I need to have my programme translated to probably 50 languages.  

I also want to help kids who are growing up without fathers.

It is a massive problem in society today with validation that kids without fathers have many more problems than kids raised with dads. I created the Grant Cardone Foundation to do this and want to work with other groups to help mentor both girls and boys (of all ages) without fathers.

Lastly, I want to spend as much time as I can with my wife and kids going around the world. 

Personally, I want a legacy. I won’t be remembered because of the money I made but hopefully how many people I help. I am working on how I will be remembered in 2100.

Publisher’s note – this article was originally published at Richtopia by Derin Cag.

The post Grant Cardone And Secrets Behind His Success (Exclusive Interview) appeared first on Head Of Sales.

According to a study by the University of Central Florida (UCF), victims of business-related abuse can become effective leaders when presented with influential positions of authority by becoming aware of their bad bosses practices.

Although there are many negatives a bad leader could bring to an organisation, including its potential demise in the worst-case scenario. They also carry a small positive by indirectly teaching subordinates what to avoid as a potential future leader.

Success magazine states that common traits of bad leaders include lacking transparency, understanding, communication, listening, consistency, and empathy.

What makes a bad leader?

Bad leaders are not good at adapting to new conditions, developing their teams, valuing potential, or praising good behaviour.

They have an abundance of blame, rules, ego, closed-mindedness, gossip and work to go around.

Bad leadership traits include being phoney, autocratic, opportunist, narrow-minded, greedy, malicious, moody, arrogant, or any combination thereof.

So surely growing the opposite of these bad leadership traits could be the cure-all?

If only it were that simple.

Not only must authentic leaders have the opposite traits to bad leaders, but they must also be realistic and work on improving their flaws.

Following their self-assessment, they must work towards undoing as much damage as possible by bringing negative traits to zero out of ten over the long-term.

For example:

• If you blame others for mistakes or failures five times out of ten, how can you work towards interpreting situations more practically?
• If you do not value the potential of employees with less experience six times out of ten, how can you work towards giving “noobs” more value?
• If you are hiding your flaws and acting like someone else nine times out of then, how can you work towards being more genuine?

A glimmer of hope for those feeling stuck with a bad leader:

As important as it is to learn from bad leaders, it is also important not to become one.

Unfortunately, most of modern society is busy looking for cures to complex problems, which are partially or entirely caused by lousy leadership or their examples.

Instead, society could be finding ways to prevent complex problems from happening in the first place.

This trend of people concentrating on cures could be read daily on newspapers about both business and life in general, from actions taken by celebrities and small businesses to national governments and multinational corporations.

It seems the media dinosaurs of the 20th Century have ingrained in people a mass hysteria of seeking or creating villains to look down upon – so that powerful “super-heroes” could come and save the day.

In reality, instead of fueling these so-called “super-heroes”, which are predominantly in aggressive re-active mode, and breaking multiple laws. The correct action would be to learn from the mistakes of past-villains and assertively preventing those mistakes from being repeated by others.

Achieving this correct notion of stability revolves around improving education, media, psychology, compliance, policing and entertainment-centric systems.

As good as being a “super-hero” is for the short or medium-term branding of a company or country, having no villains in the first place is better for long-term branding and sustainable development.

An exemplification of a good leader taking the correct and stable approach is that of Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, and her government, following the terrorist attack at Christchurch in March 2019:

Ardern actively praised the local community in-person for being reliable and sticking together in the face of adversity. Her government then passed a gun-law reform less than a month after the tragic event to prevent such villains from rising in the first place.

She could have been a bad leader by playing the “super-hero” card and concentrating her FULL efforts on the villain or blaming others such as the police or intelligence services for months on end.

Instead, Ardern ensured the villain got prosecuted quietly without giving him the light of day, which is evidently what he desired.

She then moved on towards selflessly listening to the community, and transparently preventing such horrific tragedies from happening again.

(Image Source: Flickr)

The aforementioned study by UCF discovered that people who trusted their sound-judgements, strict morals and sincere uprightness to challenge evil leadership customs felt inspired to prevent them from happening again.

Although lousy leadership is not expected to disappear anytime soon, people who set good examples or work towards solving complex issues lead the way in effective leadership. And this is the most efficient when applied from the top-down.

Or as Friedrich Nietzsche put it; “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”

The first lesson when teaching good leadership in every school of thinking starts with fixing problems in constructive ways — not destructing communities or alienating whole groups of people.

This piece of wisdom goes back millenniums, yet it seems many people have skipped the class.

Hopefully, more people set good examples moving forward.

Publisher’s note – this article was originally published at Richtopia by Derin Cag.

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