$100M Leads

![rw-book-cover](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71+pAHXTcfL._SY160.jpg) ## Highlights - make more money, you’ve gotta grow your business. You can only grow your business in two ways: 1) Get more customers 2) Make them worth more That’s it. I grow our portfolio companies with this exact framework. $100M Leads focuses on number one - getting more customers. You get more customers by getting: 1) More Leads 2) Better Leads 3) Cheaper Leads 4) Reliably (think ‘from lots of places’). ([Location 465](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=465)) - My business model is simple: 1) Provide better free products than the marketplace’s paid products. 2) Earn the trust of entrepreneurs who make over $1,000,000 per year in profit. 3) Invest in those entrepreneurs to fast-track their growth. 4) Help everyone else for free, for good. ([Location 512](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=512)) - To cut the suspense, a lead is a person you can contact. ([Location 617](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=617)) - Seven Steps To Creating an Effective Lead Magnet Step 1: Figure out the problem you want to solve and who to solve it for Step 2: Figure out how to solve it Step 3: Figure out how to deliver it Step 4: Test what to name it Step 5: Make it easy to consume Step 6: Make it darn good Step 7: Make it easy for them to tell you they want more ([Location 755](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=755)) - 1) Reveal Their Problem. Think “diagnosis.” These lead magnets work great when they reveal problems that get worse the longer you wait. ([Location 810](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=810)) - Samples And Trials. You give full but brief access to your core offer. You can limit the number of uses, time they have access, or both. This works great when your core offer is a recurring solution to a recurring problem. ○ Example: You hook them up to your faster server and show their website loading at lightning speed. They get more customers from your faster load times. If they want to keep it, they need to keep paying you. ○ Example: You give a free adjustment for their bad posture and they experience relief. To get permanent benefits, they must buy more. ([Location 823](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=823)) - One Step Of A Multi-Step Process. When your core offer has steps, you can give one valuable step for free and the rest when they buy. This works great when your core offer solves a more complex problem. ○ Example: This book. I help you get to $1,000,000+ per year in profit. Then you’ll have new problems we can help you solve, and scale from there. ([Location 835](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=835)) - Reply using the A-C-A framework: Acknowledge what they said. Restate it in your own words. This shows active listening. Ex: Two kids. And you’re an accountant… Compliment them on whatever they tell you. Tie it to a positive character trait if you can. Ex: …Wow! Supermom! So hardworking! Managing a full-time career and two kids... Ask another question. Lead the conversation in whatever direction you want. In this case, to a topic closer to your offer. Examples: Therapy/Life Coaching: …Do you get time for yourself? Fitness/Weight Loss: ...Do you have time to get workouts in? Cleaning Services: ...Do you have anyone who helps you keep the house tidy? ([Location 1345](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=1345)) - My recommendation - whenever you launch a new product or service - make the first five free. The exact number matters less than knowing why you benefit from it. Here’s why: You get the reps in and become comfortable with making offers to people. It’ll calm your nerves knowing you’re just helping…for free…for now (winky face). You probably suck (for now). People are far more forgiving when you haven’t charged anything. Because you probably suck, you need to learn how to suck less. You suck less by doing more. It’s better to have a few guinea pigs to get the kinks out. You’ll learn a ton from the people you help for free, I promise. Even though it may not feel like it now, you’re getting the better end of the deal. If people get value, especially for free, they’re far more likely to: Leave positive reviews and testimonials. Give you feedback. Send their friends and family. And if that’s not awesome enough, free customers can make you money in three other ways: 1) They convert into paying customers. 2) They send you paying customers via referrals. 3) Their testimonials bring in paying customers. ([Location 1463](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=1463)) - What if they say no? Often, the most expensive part of what you sell isn’t the price–it's the hidden costs. Hidden costs are the time, effort, and sacrifice it takes to get results from the thing you sell. In other words, the bottom part of the value equation. ([Location 1490](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=1490)) - Step #1 Softwares: I subscribe to as many softwares as I can that scrape leads from different sources. I search them all based on my criteria. The software then spits out names, job titles, contact information, etc. I try out a representative sample, say a few hundred from each software I use. Then, if the contact information is up to date, the leads are responsive, and they are the type of person the software claims them to be, bingo! Then I get as many leads as the software will give me. But if I can’t seem to find the right audience, I move onto step two. Step #2 Brokers: I go to multiple list brokers and ask them to make me a list based on my audience criteria. They then send me a sample. I test out sample lists from each of the brokers. If I get good results from one or more brokers, I stick with their lists. And if I still can’t find who I’m looking for, I move to step three. Step #3 Elbow Grease: I join groups and communities that I think have my audience. When I find people that meet my qualifications, I check to see if they have ways to contact them in the group’s directory–like links to their social media profiles, etc. If they do, I add them to my list. If they don’t, I can reach out to them within the platform hosting the group. I prefer to find contact information outside the group so I don’t come off as someone solely trying to milk the group for business but I will if I have to. ([Location 2560](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=2560)) - They Don’t Know Us→Personalize (Act Like You Know Them). To get more leads to engage, we want the message to look like it’s from someone they know. The best way to do that is to actually know something about the person you are contacting. In essence, we want our cold reach out to look like a warm reach out. …Imagine your phone rings from an unknown number and area code. Are you likely to pick it up? Probably not. What about if the number is from your area code? A little more likely. Why is that? Because it might be someone you know. So to take this concept further, imagine you pick up the phone... …The person says “<Your name?>” then pausing (like a normal person). You’d say, “yea…who’s this?” Now, if that person then went on to say, “it’s Alex…then pauses…I watched a few of your videos and read that recent blog post you wrote on dog training. It was killer! Really helped me out with my doberman. She’s a beast! That peanut butter trick really helped. Thanks for that.” You’d still be wondering what’s going on. But you know what you wouldn’t be doing?…hanging up. Then you hear, “Oh yea, sorry, I got ahead of myself. I work for a company that helps dog trainers fill up their books. We like to partner with the best in the area. So I’m always on the lookout. We worked with someone about an hour north from you…John’s Doggy Daycare…heard of them?” You’d respond yes or no (it doesn’t matter), and they’d say, “Yea, we ended up getting them 100 appointments in 30 days using a combination of text email and some ads. Do you offer similar services to them?” To which you’d probably say yes. Then they’d say, “Oh that’s perfect. Then we’d be able to use that same campaign in your market and drive leads over to you. If you got a boatload of high paying new dog training customers you wouldn’t be upset with me would you?” You’d laugh lightly. “Okay great. Well…tell ya what…I can walk you through the entire thing soup to nuts later today. Will you be around at 4?” And you’d say - sure - or whatever. The point is, if that person had started the call with “hey man, wanna buy some marketing services?” you’d probably have hung up. Personalization is what gets your foot in the door to get the sale. Basically one to three pieces of information we can find that a friend might know about the prospect. Then we want to complement them on it, and ideally, show them how it benefited us. People like people who like them. Even if someone doesn’t know you, they’ll give you more time if you know something about them. This comes in handy for personal subject lines on emails, the first few messages in chat, or the first few sentences someone hears. Even if someone doesn’t know you, they will appreciate the time you took to research them before contacting them. This tiny effort goes a long way. Action step: Do a little research on each lead before you send them a message. We can do this ourselves, pay people to do it for us, or use software. Batch this work. Then, use… ([Location 2592](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=2592)) - They Don’t Trust Us→Big Fast Value. The key difference between people who know you and strangers is…strangers give you far less time to prove your worth. And, they need a lot more incentive to move towards you. So make your life easier by “giving away the farm.” We’re not trying to tickle their interest, we’re trying to blow their minds in under thirty seconds. Like warm reach outs, you can directly make your offer, or offer a lead magnet, or both. It gives the person a strong reason to respond. I specifically call out ‘big fast value’ rather than “your lead magnet” as a reminder that it needs to be BIG FAST VALUE. If it’s not, or it’s mediocre, you’ll blend in with the ocean of people trying to get their attention. And they’ll treat you the same–they’ll ignore you. Here’s how much it matters: ([Location 2628](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=2628)) - Let’s use the three chunks to make an ad. 1) Call Outs - I need to get them to notice my ad 2) Value - I need to get them interested in what I have to offer 3) Calls to Action - I need to tell them what to do next 1) Call Out: People noticing your ad is the most important part of the ad…by a lot. The purpose of each second of the ad is to sell the next second of the ad. And the headline is the first sale. As David Ogilvy says “After you’ve written your headline, you’ve spent eighty cents of your advertising dollar.” Focus your effort front to back. As crazy as this sounds (and all the pros are nodding their heads), my advertising became 20x more effective when I focused the majority of my effort on the first five seconds. We need the audience’s eyes and ears just long enough for them to realize “this is for me, I’ll keep paying attention.” This “first impression” is the part of the ad I test the most. Imagine you’re at a cocktail party in a big ballroom. Lots of people talking in groups. Loud music playing in the background. In all that noise, a single sound pierces through it all and you turn around. Wanna know the sound? Your name. You hear it, and instantly look for the source. Scientists call it the ‘cocktail party effect’. In simple terms, even when there’s tons of stuff going on, a single thing can still catch and hold our attention. So our goal with callouts is to harness the cocktail party effect and cut through all the noise. After all, if they never notice your ad, nothing else matters. A callout is whatever you do to get the attention of your audience. Call outs go from hyperspecific - to get one person’s attention - to not at all specific - to get everyone’s attention. Let me explain. If someone drops a tray of dishes, everyone looks. If a child yells “MOM!”, then the moms look. If someone says your name, only you look. But again, they all get attention. And I try to make my call outs specific enough to get the right people and broad enough to get as many of them as I can. So pay close attention to how advertisers use call outs, especially the ones targeting your audience. Here’s what I look for with verbal callouts- using words to get attention: 1) Labels: A word or set of words putting people into a group. These include features, traits, titles, places, and other descriptors. Ex: *Clark County Moms* *Gym Owners* *Remote Workers* *I’m looking for XYZ* etc. To be most effective, your ideal customers need to identify with the label. a) People automatically identify with their local area. So with local ads, the more local, the better. A local ad with “LOCAL AREA + TYPE OF PERSON” callout is still one of my all-time favorite ways to get someone’s attention. It worked two hundred years ago, it works today, and it’ll work tomorrow. So think: Americans < Texans < Dallas Residents < Irving Residents. If you live in Irving, you’ll immediately think this ad could affect you. So, it catches your attention. 2)… ([Location 3025](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=3025)) - Personal Lessons from Paid Ads Don’t Confuse Sales Problems With Advertising Problems. The cost to get customers doesn’t only come from advertising (it just mostly does)… For example, a company I invested in spent twelve weeks and $150,000 to run paid ads. They were getting the right leads on the phone, but they weren’t buying. The owner said advertising didn’t work. But the ads worked fine, great even, their sales sucked. The owner threw up his hands and gave up…six inches from gold. Frustrating. Confusing an advertising problem with a sales problem cost them an estimated ~$30M in enterprise value. If your engaged leads have the problem you solve and the money to spend, and they’re not buying, then your ads work fine–you have a sales problem. Your Best Free Content Can Make The Best Paid Ads. Some of the best paid ads I’ve ever run came from free content. If you make a free content piece that generates sales, or performs very well, nine times out of ten it’ll make a great paid ad. User Generated Content (UGC). If you can get your customers to create testimonials or reviews using your product, post them. If they perform well as free content, they often make killer ads too. Having a system in place to encourage these public posts from customers is my favorite way of getting a steady stream of potential ads. And - the best part is - it’s no extra work. If You Say You Suck At Something, You Will Probably Suck At It. Never say “I’m not techy” or “I hate tech stuff.” It just keeps you poorer than you should be. I said it for…wait for it…FOUR YEARS. Then one day, I snapped because I hated my website designer more than I hated tech itself. “If this idiot can do it, so can I.” Four years of wasting time and lost money reversed with four hours of concentrated effort. ([Location 3554](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=3554)) - Simply stated: 1) You can do more of what you’re currently doing. 2) You can do what you’re currently doing better. 3) You can do it somewhere new. ([Location 3670](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=3670)) - Here’s how I get better: I test one thing per week per platform. ([Location 3758](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=3758)) - We sell $500 programs. Our cost to get a customer is $200. For every friend someone refers, we give them $100 cash, and give their friend $100 off signing up. Good for up to 3 friends. This worked really well for my local businesses. ([Location 4384](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=4384)) - think about and actually approach training with this 3Ds mental model: document, demonstrate, duplicate. Here’s how it works. Step One - Document. You make a checklist. You already know how to do the thing. Now you just need to write down the steps exactly as you do it. You can also have other trusted observers watch you and document what you do. Bonus points if you record yourself doing the thing multiple ways and in multiple shifts. This way, you can watch yourself as an observer rather than breaking your flow by pausing to take notes while you go. Once you’ve got everything put into the checklist, bust it out on your next work block and only follow those steps. Can you do an A+ job only following your directions exactly? If you can, you have the first draft of your checklist for the job. Step Two - Demonstrate: You do it in front of them. Just like your parents taught you how to tie your shoes. You sit down and walk them through the checklist step by step. This may take a while depending on how many steps it takes to complete the thing. If they stop you, or slow you down to understand something, adjust your checklist for that. Now you have the second draft ready for them to try. Step Three - Duplicate: They do it in front of you. Now it’s their turn. They follow the same checklist you followed. Except this time, they’re the one doing, and you’re the one observing. We just want them to duplicate what we did. So if the checklist is right, the outcome will be the same. And if the checklist is off–you’ll find out fast! Fix your checklist until it’s right. Then, have them follow it until they get it right. And once they nail it, you now have a bonafide lead-getter on your payroll. Congratulations! ([Location 4662](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=4662)) - Some helpful notes on training: A helpful way to look at this training style is: If they get it wrong or get confused then we got it wrong or made it confusing. If we have to explain what a step means then the step is too complicated. Or, more likely, we tried to put multiple steps into one. If they only appear to “get it” after a longish explanation or multiple demonstrations then, again, we’ve got some work to do. Business owners that ignore this run into chronic training problems. And, word to the wise, you can probably force an inferior checklist to work, but this turns into a nightmare when somebody else takes over your training for you. There is a difference between competence and performance. In other words, they can know exactly what to do and not be that good at it yet. If that’s the case, then your instructions are fine and they just need practice. Using an analogy from the fitness world–think “slow then smooth then fast.” You don’t need to change anything, they just need more reps. Focus on your employee’s ability to follow directions more than whether they get the right result. This is super important because if you train your employees to follow directions then… they will follow directions. And, if they follow directions and get the wrong result… then you know it’s the directions. That’s good. You have a lot more control over that. Everytime they do a step successfully–let them know they did it right. And if they respond to praise, praise them! And if they goof, that’s OK too. That’s what training is for. Don’t take over for them when they mess up–simply pause, take a step back, and let them try it again. Fast feedback cycles to get people to learn faster. If they follow your directions exactly and get the wrong result–still praise them for following the directions. Praise them, then make the corrections to your checklist on the spot. Avoid punishment or penalties of any type for doing stuff wrong during training. As a rule of thumb–reward the good stuff you want them to do more of and they'll do more of it. Learning a new skill is punishing enough, we don't need to add to it. It’s hard to fix multiple things when you've never done something before. Give feedback one step at a time. Give one piece of feedback at a time. Practice until they get it right. Then, move to the next step. Whenever there is a major dip from normal performance, retrain the team. They stopped doing an important step in the process (often because they didn’t know it was important). Once you figure out the step, reward people for following it going forward. How to Calculate Returns From Lead-Getting Employees ([Location 4691](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=4691)) - Total Payroll / Total Engaged Leads = Cost per engaged lead. ○ Ex: $100,000 / 1000 leads = $100 per engaged lead ● If one out of ten of the engaged leads become customers then our CAC is $1000 ○ ($100 per engaged lead) x (10 engaged leads per customer) = $1000 CAC ● If each customer has an LTGP of $4000 then you have an LTGP : CAC of 4:1 ○ ($4000 LTGP) / ($1000 CAC) = 4:1 For example: at the time of this writing, I get about 30,000 engaged leads ([Location 4732](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=4732)) ![rw-book-cover](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71+pAHXTcfL._SY160.jpg) ## Highlights - make more money, you’ve gotta grow your business. You can only grow your business in two ways: 1) Get more customers 2) Make them worth more That’s it. I grow our portfolio companies with this exact framework. $100M Leads focuses on number one - getting more customers. You get more customers by getting: 1) More Leads 2) Better Leads 3) Cheaper Leads 4) Reliably (think ‘from lots of places’). ([Location 465](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=465)) - My business model is simple: 1) Provide better free products than the marketplace’s paid products. 2) Earn the trust of entrepreneurs who make over $1,000,000 per year in profit. 3) Invest in those entrepreneurs to fast-track their growth. 4) Help everyone else for free, for good. ([Location 512](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=512)) - To cut the suspense, a lead is a person you can contact. ([Location 617](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=617)) - Seven Steps To Creating an Effective Lead Magnet Step 1: Figure out the problem you want to solve and who to solve it for Step 2: Figure out how to solve it Step 3: Figure out how to deliver it Step 4: Test what to name it Step 5: Make it easy to consume Step 6: Make it darn good Step 7: Make it easy for them to tell you they want more ([Location 755](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=755)) - 1) Reveal Their Problem. Think “diagnosis.” These lead magnets work great when they reveal problems that get worse the longer you wait. ([Location 810](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=810)) - Samples And Trials. You give full but brief access to your core offer. You can limit the number of uses, time they have access, or both. This works great when your core offer is a recurring solution to a recurring problem. ○ Example: You hook them up to your faster server and show their website loading at lightning speed. They get more customers from your faster load times. If they want to keep it, they need to keep paying you. ○ Example: You give a free adjustment for their bad posture and they experience relief. To get permanent benefits, they must buy more. ([Location 823](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=823)) - One Step Of A Multi-Step Process. When your core offer has steps, you can give one valuable step for free and the rest when they buy. This works great when your core offer solves a more complex problem. ○ Example: This book. I help you get to $1,000,000+ per year in profit. Then you’ll have new problems we can help you solve, and scale from there. ([Location 835](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=835)) - Reply using the A-C-A framework: Acknowledge what they said. Restate it in your own words. This shows active listening. Ex: Two kids. And you’re an accountant… Compliment them on whatever they tell you. Tie it to a positive character trait if you can. Ex: …Wow! Supermom! So hardworking! Managing a full-time career and two kids... Ask another question. Lead the conversation in whatever direction you want. In this case, to a topic closer to your offer. Examples: Therapy/Life Coaching: …Do you get time for yourself? Fitness/Weight Loss: ...Do you have time to get workouts in? Cleaning Services: ...Do you have anyone who helps you keep the house tidy? ([Location 1345](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=1345)) - My recommendation - whenever you launch a new product or service - make the first five free. The exact number matters less than knowing why you benefit from it. Here’s why: You get the reps in and become comfortable with making offers to people. It’ll calm your nerves knowing you’re just helping…for free…for now (winky face). You probably suck (for now). People are far more forgiving when you haven’t charged anything. Because you probably suck, you need to learn how to suck less. You suck less by doing more. It’s better to have a few guinea pigs to get the kinks out. You’ll learn a ton from the people you help for free, I promise. Even though it may not feel like it now, you’re getting the better end of the deal. If people get value, especially for free, they’re far more likely to: Leave positive reviews and testimonials. Give you feedback. Send their friends and family. And if that’s not awesome enough, free customers can make you money in three other ways: 1) They convert into paying customers. 2) They send you paying customers via referrals. 3) Their testimonials bring in paying customers. ([Location 1463](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=1463)) - What if they say no? Often, the most expensive part of what you sell isn’t the price–it's the hidden costs. Hidden costs are the time, effort, and sacrifice it takes to get results from the thing you sell. In other words, the bottom part of the value equation. ([Location 1490](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=1490)) - Step #1 Softwares: I subscribe to as many softwares as I can that scrape leads from different sources. I search them all based on my criteria. The software then spits out names, job titles, contact information, etc. I try out a representative sample, say a few hundred from each software I use. Then, if the contact information is up to date, the leads are responsive, and they are the type of person the software claims them to be, bingo! Then I get as many leads as the software will give me. But if I can’t seem to find the right audience, I move onto step two. Step #2 Brokers: I go to multiple list brokers and ask them to make me a list based on my audience criteria. They then send me a sample. I test out sample lists from each of the brokers. If I get good results from one or more brokers, I stick with their lists. And if I still can’t find who I’m looking for, I move to step three. Step #3 Elbow Grease: I join groups and communities that I think have my audience. When I find people that meet my qualifications, I check to see if they have ways to contact them in the group’s directory–like links to their social media profiles, etc. If they do, I add them to my list. If they don’t, I can reach out to them within the platform hosting the group. I prefer to find contact information outside the group so I don’t come off as someone solely trying to milk the group for business but I will if I have to. ([Location 2560](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=2560)) - They Don’t Know Us→Personalize (Act Like You Know Them). To get more leads to engage, we want the message to look like it’s from someone they know. The best way to do that is to actually know something about the person you are contacting. In essence, we want our cold reach out to look like a warm reach out. …Imagine your phone rings from an unknown number and area code. Are you likely to pick it up? Probably not. What about if the number is from your area code? A little more likely. Why is that? Because it might be someone you know. So to take this concept further, imagine you pick up the phone... …The person says “<Your name?>” then pausing (like a normal person). You’d say, “yea…who’s this?” Now, if that person then went on to say, “it’s Alex…then pauses…I watched a few of your videos and read that recent blog post you wrote on dog training. It was killer! Really helped me out with my doberman. She’s a beast! That peanut butter trick really helped. Thanks for that.” You’d still be wondering what’s going on. But you know what you wouldn’t be doing?…hanging up. Then you hear, “Oh yea, sorry, I got ahead of myself. I work for a company that helps dog trainers fill up their books. We like to partner with the best in the area. So I’m always on the lookout. We worked with someone about an hour north from you…John’s Doggy Daycare…heard of them?” You’d respond yes or no (it doesn’t matter), and they’d say, “Yea, we ended up getting them 100 appointments in 30 days using a combination of text email and some ads. Do you offer similar services to them?” To which you’d probably say yes. Then they’d say, “Oh that’s perfect. Then we’d be able to use that same campaign in your market and drive leads over to you. If you got a boatload of high paying new dog training customers you wouldn’t be upset with me would you?” You’d laugh lightly. “Okay great. Well…tell ya what…I can walk you through the entire thing soup to nuts later today. Will you be around at 4?” And you’d say - sure - or whatever. The point is, if that person had started the call with “hey man, wanna buy some marketing services?” you’d probably have hung up. Personalization is what gets your foot in the door to get the sale. Basically one to three pieces of information we can find that a friend might know about the prospect. Then we want to complement them on it, and ideally, show them how it benefited us. People like people who like them. Even if someone doesn’t know you, they’ll give you more time if you know something about them. This comes in handy for personal subject lines on emails, the first few messages in chat, or the first few sentences someone hears. Even if someone doesn’t know you, they will appreciate the time you took to research them before contacting them. This tiny effort goes a long way. Action step: Do a little research on each lead before you send them a message. We can do this ourselves, pay people to do it for us, or use software. Batch this work. Then, use… ([Location 2592](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=2592)) - They Don’t Trust Us→Big Fast Value. The key difference between people who know you and strangers is…strangers give you far less time to prove your worth. And, they need a lot more incentive to move towards you. So make your life easier by “giving away the farm.” We’re not trying to tickle their interest, we’re trying to blow their minds in under thirty seconds. Like warm reach outs, you can directly make your offer, or offer a lead magnet, or both. It gives the person a strong reason to respond. I specifically call out ‘big fast value’ rather than “your lead magnet” as a reminder that it needs to be BIG FAST VALUE. If it’s not, or it’s mediocre, you’ll blend in with the ocean of people trying to get their attention. And they’ll treat you the same–they’ll ignore you. Here’s how much it matters: ([Location 2628](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=2628)) - Let’s use the three chunks to make an ad. 1) Call Outs - I need to get them to notice my ad 2) Value - I need to get them interested in what I have to offer 3) Calls to Action - I need to tell them what to do next 1) Call Out: People noticing your ad is the most important part of the ad…by a lot. The purpose of each second of the ad is to sell the next second of the ad. And the headline is the first sale. As David Ogilvy says “After you’ve written your headline, you’ve spent eighty cents of your advertising dollar.” Focus your effort front to back. As crazy as this sounds (and all the pros are nodding their heads), my advertising became 20x more effective when I focused the majority of my effort on the first five seconds. We need the audience’s eyes and ears just long enough for them to realize “this is for me, I’ll keep paying attention.” This “first impression” is the part of the ad I test the most. Imagine you’re at a cocktail party in a big ballroom. Lots of people talking in groups. Loud music playing in the background. In all that noise, a single sound pierces through it all and you turn around. Wanna know the sound? Your name. You hear it, and instantly look for the source. Scientists call it the ‘cocktail party effect’. In simple terms, even when there’s tons of stuff going on, a single thing can still catch and hold our attention. So our goal with callouts is to harness the cocktail party effect and cut through all the noise. After all, if they never notice your ad, nothing else matters. A callout is whatever you do to get the attention of your audience. Call outs go from hyperspecific - to get one person’s attention - to not at all specific - to get everyone’s attention. Let me explain. If someone drops a tray of dishes, everyone looks. If a child yells “MOM!”, then the moms look. If someone says your name, only you look. But again, they all get attention. And I try to make my call outs specific enough to get the right people and broad enough to get as many of them as I can. So pay close attention to how advertisers use call outs, especially the ones targeting your audience. Here’s what I look for with verbal callouts- using words to get attention: 1) Labels: A word or set of words putting people into a group. These include features, traits, titles, places, and other descriptors. Ex: *Clark County Moms* *Gym Owners* *Remote Workers* *I’m looking for XYZ* etc. To be most effective, your ideal customers need to identify with the label. a) People automatically identify with their local area. So with local ads, the more local, the better. A local ad with “LOCAL AREA + TYPE OF PERSON” callout is still one of my all-time favorite ways to get someone’s attention. It worked two hundred years ago, it works today, and it’ll work tomorrow. So think: Americans < Texans < Dallas Residents < Irving Residents. If you live in Irving, you’ll immediately think this ad could affect you. So, it catches your attention. 2)… ([Location 3025](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=3025)) - Personal Lessons from Paid Ads Don’t Confuse Sales Problems With Advertising Problems. The cost to get customers doesn’t only come from advertising (it just mostly does)… For example, a company I invested in spent twelve weeks and $150,000 to run paid ads. They were getting the right leads on the phone, but they weren’t buying. The owner said advertising didn’t work. But the ads worked fine, great even, their sales sucked. The owner threw up his hands and gave up…six inches from gold. Frustrating. Confusing an advertising problem with a sales problem cost them an estimated ~$30M in enterprise value. If your engaged leads have the problem you solve and the money to spend, and they’re not buying, then your ads work fine–you have a sales problem. Your Best Free Content Can Make The Best Paid Ads. Some of the best paid ads I’ve ever run came from free content. If you make a free content piece that generates sales, or performs very well, nine times out of ten it’ll make a great paid ad. User Generated Content (UGC). If you can get your customers to create testimonials or reviews using your product, post them. If they perform well as free content, they often make killer ads too. Having a system in place to encourage these public posts from customers is my favorite way of getting a steady stream of potential ads. And - the best part is - it’s no extra work. If You Say You Suck At Something, You Will Probably Suck At It. Never say “I’m not techy” or “I hate tech stuff.” It just keeps you poorer than you should be. I said it for…wait for it…FOUR YEARS. Then one day, I snapped because I hated my website designer more than I hated tech itself. “If this idiot can do it, so can I.” Four years of wasting time and lost money reversed with four hours of concentrated effort. ([Location 3554](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=3554)) - Simply stated: 1) You can do more of what you’re currently doing. 2) You can do what you’re currently doing better. 3) You can do it somewhere new. ([Location 3670](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=3670)) - Here’s how I get better: I test one thing per week per platform. ([Location 3758](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=3758)) - We sell $500 programs. Our cost to get a customer is $200. For every friend someone refers, we give them $100 cash, and give their friend $100 off signing up. Good for up to 3 friends. This worked really well for my local businesses. ([Location 4384](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=4384)) - think about and actually approach training with this 3Ds mental model: document, demonstrate, duplicate. Here’s how it works. Step One - Document. You make a checklist. You already know how to do the thing. Now you just need to write down the steps exactly as you do it. You can also have other trusted observers watch you and document what you do. Bonus points if you record yourself doing the thing multiple ways and in multiple shifts. This way, you can watch yourself as an observer rather than breaking your flow by pausing to take notes while you go. Once you’ve got everything put into the checklist, bust it out on your next work block and only follow those steps. Can you do an A+ job only following your directions exactly? If you can, you have the first draft of your checklist for the job. Step Two - Demonstrate: You do it in front of them. Just like your parents taught you how to tie your shoes. You sit down and walk them through the checklist step by step. This may take a while depending on how many steps it takes to complete the thing. If they stop you, or slow you down to understand something, adjust your checklist for that. Now you have the second draft ready for them to try. Step Three - Duplicate: They do it in front of you. Now it’s their turn. They follow the same checklist you followed. Except this time, they’re the one doing, and you’re the one observing. We just want them to duplicate what we did. So if the checklist is right, the outcome will be the same. And if the checklist is off–you’ll find out fast! Fix your checklist until it’s right. Then, have them follow it until they get it right. And once they nail it, you now have a bonafide lead-getter on your payroll. Congratulations! ([Location 4662](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=4662)) - Some helpful notes on training: A helpful way to look at this training style is: If they get it wrong or get confused then we got it wrong or made it confusing. If we have to explain what a step means then the step is too complicated. Or, more likely, we tried to put multiple steps into one. If they only appear to “get it” after a longish explanation or multiple demonstrations then, again, we’ve got some work to do. Business owners that ignore this run into chronic training problems. And, word to the wise, you can probably force an inferior checklist to work, but this turns into a nightmare when somebody else takes over your training for you. There is a difference between competence and performance. In other words, they can know exactly what to do and not be that good at it yet. If that’s the case, then your instructions are fine and they just need practice. Using an analogy from the fitness world–think “slow then smooth then fast.” You don’t need to change anything, they just need more reps. Focus on your employee’s ability to follow directions more than whether they get the right result. This is super important because if you train your employees to follow directions then… they will follow directions. And, if they follow directions and get the wrong result… then you know it’s the directions. That’s good. You have a lot more control over that. Everytime they do a step successfully–let them know they did it right. And if they respond to praise, praise them! And if they goof, that’s OK too. That’s what training is for. Don’t take over for them when they mess up–simply pause, take a step back, and let them try it again. Fast feedback cycles to get people to learn faster. If they follow your directions exactly and get the wrong result–still praise them for following the directions. Praise them, then make the corrections to your checklist on the spot. Avoid punishment or penalties of any type for doing stuff wrong during training. As a rule of thumb–reward the good stuff you want them to do more of and they'll do more of it. Learning a new skill is punishing enough, we don't need to add to it. It’s hard to fix multiple things when you've never done something before. Give feedback one step at a time. Give one piece of feedback at a time. Practice until they get it right. Then, move to the next step. Whenever there is a major dip from normal performance, retrain the team. They stopped doing an important step in the process (often because they didn’t know it was important). Once you figure out the step, reward people for following it going forward. How to Calculate Returns From Lead-Getting Employees ([Location 4691](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=4691)) - Total Payroll / Total Engaged Leads = Cost per engaged lead. ○ Ex: $100,000 / 1000 leads = $100 per engaged lead ● If one out of ten of the engaged leads become customers then our CAC is $1000 ○ ($100 per engaged lead) x (10 engaged leads per customer) = $1000 CAC ● If each customer has an LTGP of $4000 then you have an LTGP : CAC of 4:1 ○ ($4000 LTGP) / ($1000 CAC) = 4:1 For example: at the time of this writing, I get about 30,000 engaged leads ([Location 4732](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0CFDR3TYV&location=4732))