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Darren Hardy—motivational speaker, publisher, author and mentor hosted The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster Experience—an eight-hour workshop seeking to help guests become more proficient entrepreneurs by revealing his own strategies for success as well as methods other successful entrepreneurs use. As part of the NAWRB Media Outreach, and being on a NAWRB committee, Yesenia Lopez from Parkfield Escrow, Inc. was able to attend on a complementary pass.
During the Q & A portion of the workshop, Darren was asked how he stays motivated to keep going. He answered, “I love to motivate and challenge people to not be afraid to take a chance and get to the highest success level.” Darren continued with a personal anecdote: When he was a kid, he was afraid to ride Space Mountain at Disneyland, but he went on the ride with his brother and sister despite his fear. Darren went on the ride again and said it felt good to conquer his fear.
His best strategies include the following: serve don’t sell, help beyond what you get paid, and stop selling to the wrong people. His four essential skill areas are sales, recruiting, leadership and productivity.
Sales
Sales and marketing are a very important part of our industry. The mistake people make in sales is that they’re in love with the product versus the sales and marketing. The reality is that 10 percent of success is about the product and 90 percent is about sales and marketing. All business strategies should revolve around sales and marketing.
Another mistake sales people often make is that they’re focused on their message versus their client’s message. An important thing to remember is that the number one quality of an effective salesperson is empathy. Therefore, a sales person must understand his/her clients and ask themselves, “What are their problems, worries, fears, challenges, hopes, goals, desires, and ambitions? What do they need?” Do not focus on what you think they need; focus on what your clients think they need.
Furthermore, don’t push your agenda, story, passion and objectives. Instead, refer to your client’s agenda, story, passion and objectives. Remember: it helps to talk less, listen more, make fewer statements, and ask more questions. All of your clients are unique so your assumptions about their interests can often be incorrect. You can find out what they are truly interested in by asking questions like a lawyer would. Your clients need to reveal their motives, so focus on your questions rather than your sales pitch.
Read on for more key ways to be a more proficient entrepreneur.
*This is an excerpt from The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster Experience by Yesenia Lopez as seen in NAWRB Magazine.