I witnessed an interesting encounter recently.
A former colleague of mine was in West Palm to conduct a meeting and he called me to have lunch. While we were out, he asked me to pull into a cell phone dealership so he could purchase an extra battery.
We approached the counter to pay, and a 30 something lady smiled and said to my friend, “Will that be all?” My friend nodded and asked her, “Would you consider yourself an energetic entrepreneur?”
She looked him over and cynically replied, “If I were, do you think I’d be standing behind this counter?”
He smiled and handed her his credit card and we soon left.
Once in the car, I said, “That’s it? That’s how you find new people? You didn’t even try to give her more information…”
He turned his head, looked at me and said, “Don’t you think she knows herself better than I do? I’m not a social worker. I don’t try and change people. I’m looking for that 5% of the population that is self-motivated and hungry for a new business.”
“Okay,” I said, “what if she had said ‘Yes, I am! I’m just here because my last business didn’t make it and I’m in transition.’ ”
“If they say yes,” he responded, “I ask a second question, ‘I’m expanding my business in this area and I’m looking for energetic entrepreneurs. Would you take 15 minutes and look at it?’ ”
I asked, “What if they ask, what is it and how does it work?”
“Then I say,” he continued, “Can you sit down and focus for 15 minutes right now? If not, let’s meet at a coffee shop.”
Well, you get the idea. Here are his stats: According to him, he asked that one question of ten people a day for a solid year. He kept records and I believe him. That’s about 3,000 people given holidays, sick days, etc.
Only 1 in 10 actually listened for the full 15 minutes. So, 300 listened. Only 1 in 10 of those who listened moved forward with the idea. So 30 began working the business and of those, 10 built a good sized downline.
I personally saw a check of his for over $100,000 for one month.
Well, ten people a day seems like a lot to me, how about you? I think 3-5 would be more realistic but he is a very driven person. Plus, my numbers, based on the last 40 years are more like 1 in 5 who listen move forward, not one in 10. But then, he was earning $100K a month and I wasn’t.
The product line does not matter as long as it is something people will use. He sold them on an idea for a new business, period. He LED with the business.
So, here’s my question and implied challenge:
Will you commit to asking 3-5 people a day that question and keep records?
Start today because tomorrow rarely works for anyone.
