What The Caterpillar Doesn’t Know Yet

coaching and mentorship

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you think this guy knows what he’s about to become?

I don’t think so … 

I’m sure he feels trapped and antisocial (but he’s not!)

It’s dark and he can’t see! 

But he intuitively feels there’s a whole other world out there, one with infinite possibilities to prosper and fly anywhere he wishes to (’cause he knows he can fly!)

…Bcuz he knows he was meant for more than this!

All he needs to do is put in the work in this phase and let the transformation begin!

In this case… Nature is showing him the way!

Who’s showing you the way? 

Claudio “The Transformer” Alegre

P.S. If you’ve been looking for a Coach or someone to mentor you through your journey…

Read the info on the site below 👇

Mymentorlab.com

 

Please follow and like us:

Unlimited Return On Investment

We all have people in our lives who put us to the test, push us to our limits, and make us wonder why we let them hang around.

Relationships, even the good ones, are not all sunshine and rainbows.

Your friends, family, and colleagues… basically the people closest to you, usually determine your fate.

Yes I know what you’re thinking…

But Claudio, my decisions determine my fate!

Yes, yes I know…

But your decisions are influenced by people, events, and circumstances… whether you’re aware of it or not…

And they almost never involve just you!

So don’t lose faith in people, even when they disappoint you.

You never know when they may surprise you, and really make you proud!

You never know when YOU may surprise you…

The ROI on people is limitless!

 

 

Claudio “betting on people” Alegre

 

Please follow and like us:

Why The Inability to BS One-Self is The Most Valuable Asset an Entrepreneur Can Own!

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photography-cool-man-cracked-mirror-image1926107

We, collectively as a species, have an infinite capacity for self-deception. I think Einstein said that… not sure, didn’t look it up, don’t care… IT’S TRUE!Continue Reading

Please follow and like us:

4 am Type Discipline- Teaching Yourself How To Win in Life and in Business

download (1)It’s 4:45 am, I just left my son at swimming practice. It’s dark, humid and not too chilly but that’s not the point.

The point is that you when you get up at 4:00 am to be at poolside by 4:45 the impact of it is more psychological than anything else.

It’s not the “getting wet” so early, you get over the physical shock after the first 10 laps, -it’s what happens before you hit the water that messes with your head.

Getting up from your soft warm bed, eating something even if you are not hungry cause you are going to need the calories, and the knowledge that you are about to put in more physical work by 6:30 am than most people do in a whole day are thoughts you’d WANT TO AVOID!

And if the mornings are cold?!  Forget it …It’s just pure pain and suffering!

The prospect of knowing you are going to swim 2-3 miles before the sun comes up is unnerving and mind numbing.

But young swimmers train their minds as much as their bodies, -it’s part of the sport.

I keep telling my son it’s going to pay off in spades!

I did it when I was his age. He’s 13 now.

But he’s now a much stronger and better swimmer than I ever was at his age, he’s been swimming now for 5 years.

An unwavering discipline and laser-like focus are what separates most sports professionals and endurance athletes from the rest of us.

And I keep telling him it’s going to pay off!

But he knows this! -He knows by now he can do things in the pool most professional athletes in other sports can’t do.

I make sure he hears it because hearing it plus doing it builds a sense of confidence and accomplishment,  I can already see it in his attitude.

I tell him all the time:

Papo do you know that almost no one in the NHL, NBA, MLB and NFL can do what you do every day …and these are all grown up professionals and well-paid athletes!” -He smirks …!

You can’t see the picture when you are in the frame (I forget who said that!)

REMEMBER THIS …No personal or business endeavor feels heroic or even worthwhile you are going through the daily grind. You must find your reasons.

He’s a teenager so we all know he looks at the world as a teenager does, but learning this kind of discipline at such a young age is life altering, it will forge his character because he’s being challenged every single day he steps on the deck.

Most endurance sports don’t just test the physical, but the mental and even the spiritual sometimes!

I’ve seen the pain in his face, but his eyes are defiant and focused …I feel a sense of pride, but I also feel challenged. Isn’t that something?

One day he’ll be able to look back at those tough grueling sets from hell his coaches gave him and remember is not how you start the set, but how you finish it …finish strong, if not of body, then of mind …but finish strong.

Leave it all in the pool EVERY SINGLE PRACTICE!

The same goes with business by the way…!

You don’t have to be a swimmer, a professional athlete or get up at 4 am… but you do have to walk the gauntlet! …And you do have to find a way to challenge yourself every day if you want to be successful!

I can relate not only cause I’m also a swimmer, but because I hone my craft every day, by writing winning copy, creating business strategies and marketing campaigns for my own business projects and clients.

Like him, I’m in pain when my work doesn’t perform as expected,  -BUT I also bask in the glow of success and accomplishment when they do perform and exceed my client’s expectations.

When was the last time you challenged your view of how you do your marketing and grow your business?

Here are a few similarities between entrepreneurs and professional athletes:
  • Both need to be brave – Which means you know what you need to do and go through even though you are scared shitless! That’s what brave means.
  • Both need to constantly train – Staying on top of your game is critical to your success, learning and growing never stops.
  • Both need to have a coach – Someone you respect, look up to and learn from is essential to being a winner, but most importantly someone that can kick your ass and challenge you.
  • Both need peers to laugh, cry and grow with – Your teammates and business partners are your family, watch their back and they’ll watch yours.
  • Both will experience horrible failures – Both will also experience incredible wins and paydays!
  • Neither has a shortcut to greatness – You pay your dues one way or another, sooner or later, but you pay’em! There’s no quick path to Olympic dreams anymore than there are “get rich quick schemes” that actually work.
  • Both need to take risks – The greater risk in life and in business is to risk nothing!

Are you putting yourself out there?

It’s not enough to WANT TO …You’ve got to put relentless action behind THOUGHTS OF SUCCESS!

Can you name one marketing campaign that you are running right now in your business?  How is it performing ?

Are you being coached in a particular area of your life or business?

Tiger, Phelps, Lebron and my son have coaches! -So do Tony Robbins, Richard Branson, Bill Gates and I!

Do you think maybe you need to get one too?

My wife is my parenting coach these days by the way!

I realized that when I caught myself asking her, “Are the boys too young to have watched that movie?” -One look it’s all it took!

Anyway, this my 4:30 am, Thursday morning thought… I’d love to hear yours :-)

Have a Happy Labor Day weekend!

Please follow and like us:

How Elon Musk created nearly 1$B in value with a single tweet

tesla-d_featured

Photo credit: www.pando.com

I absolutely had to write about this event on my own blog and that’s why I totally stole it from Michael Carney ( @pandodaily ) at Pando.

Elon Musk, what can I say? I’m a big fan and student of this guy …How can you not be if you are an entrepreneur?

But I don’t want to talk about him as much as I want to point out AGAIN how Social Media when properly hacked and respected can affect bottom line, real-time, real-life-business metrics like …Let me see Oh! …Revenue!?

So on March 30, 2015 Elon tweets this to his 1.86 M followers:

Major new Tesla product line — not a car — will be unveiled at our Hawthorne Design Studio on Thurs 8pm, April 30

…and by day’s end Musk’s message had been retweeted more than 4,700 times and favorited another 3,700, while eliciting thousands more responses.

Results:  The electric car maker’s stock to jump nearly 4 percent in just 10 minutes – adding a staggering $900 million to the company’s market cap in just 115 characters.

Read full report here!

But here’s my point:

I know you are not Elon Musk, you don’t have 1.86 M followers on Twitter,  you are not revolutionizing the car industry as we speak, basically replacing NASA with SpaceX,  and the only company that you can be compared to in terms of innovation, disruption and popularity would be Apple. I realize that!

So obviously when this guy tweets or says something, people are on the edge of their seats.

You know what, he’s earned that and you haven’t!

Most of us haven’t!

But that doesn’t mean you should not use Twitter as a primary tool for your personal marketing (branding) or as an integral part of your company’s social media strategy.

Here’s how you can leverage Twitter exactly like Elon Musk did:

Approach your Twitter marketing strategy with these points in mind and in this order-

#1 RESEARCH – Twitter is the most powerful real time research tool on the Web today. Twitter Trends point you in the direction of the conversation and the #hashtag brings the convo feed right to your door step, it’s the modern social SEO. Join or Listen to any conversation, on any topic, any time, any where!

#2 CONNECTING – Twitter dominates in this area as well because assuming you’ve identified who’s genuine and who’s a troll, Twitter allows to instantly connect with like minded peeps in your space or any just about any area of interest to you. Just be YOU and offer something of value, say thank you to someone for following, support someone’s cause, curate kick-ass content, comments and media… And do so without expectation! You can’t do this? -Find life elsewhere!

#3 MARKETING – Twitter can be very deceiving on this end, especially when you don’t get 1 and 2. Twitter ad product is evolving quickly and is better today than it was yesterday. But still I think that Twitter is the best tool to drive one-on-one marketing opportunities as long as you do again, #1 and #2 properly, patiently and consistently. Be human about the engagement and you’ll be fine.

So let’s recap!

Research your market and find out who needs what, Listen, Listen, Listen! Then connect viscerally with people, give a crap about their stuff, especially if it ads value to other people and share it if it does!

You do this enough and you’ve planned your strategy, funnels and content on your end and in essence you’ve been doing the kind of marketing only 1% of people on Twitter actually do!

That kind of goodwill and digital Karma works, it just does!

Also, don’t be afraid to ask for people to check your stuff out, just make sure it’s actually stuff worth checking out.

I almost forgot!

Here’s a video link to that major Tesla product event announcement on that Tweet … Enjoy, its awesome!

Also, if you’d like to learn How To Use Twitter Strategically for your business or personal brand, email me or call me and I’ll show you the right way to use it specifically for your business  🙂

claudio@venmarkmedia.com – 786.303.1500

Take care!

 

Please follow and like us:

The Only 10 Slides You Need To Pitch Your Business

When was the last time you truly got practical value out of a power point presentation?

And what I mean by practical value, is a concise, clear and brief understanding of the idea being presented in under 20 minutes or less, and that would help you take the next step or make a decision right after the presentation.

When you pitch your business for the first time the only goal is to sell the next encounter or event. Design your pitch strategy with simple goals and add value at every step. Remember you are qualifying your prospects as much as they are qualifying you.

If you’ve been guilty as I have of the 20 to 30 slides, all-over-the-place deck, check this guide out put together by Guy Kawasaki.

The 10 slides are:

the-only-10-slides-you-need-in-a-pitch_54ff86ab42e89

 

Read full post here!

Please follow and like us:

What You Accept, You Get

I’m a big Dan Kennedy student, I read his stuff, buy his programs and promote his products any chance I get.

Why? Simple, his Marketing philosophy and money making marketing strategies WORK!

Lately when I’ve talk to entrepreneurs not familiar with Kennedy Style Marketing, whether they are a client of mine or not already, I point them in this direction. It’s amazing how easier it is to talk marketing strategy with someone who has this kind of home-field advantage.

That’s why I want to share one of my favorite articles from him with you …here it goes!

What You Accept, You Get

Here’s a secret I’ve discovered about millionaire and multi-millionaire entrepreneurs: they want what they do and their companies do to be right. Not 80% right. Not 90% right. Right, period. They are, therefore, very much disliked by a lot of people, and if they are “big” enough, by the media. Jobs. Bezos. Trump. Working for them, many ex-employees say, was hell. But maybe it was being incompetent in their employ that was hell.

Winning isn’t just a statistic on a spreadsheet or a bank account balance. It is the customer, Mrs. Matilda Smith, in Rockford, Illinois, getting what she asked for on her pizza or the right product in the delivered package or a human answering her call in fewer than four rings. Customer appreciation is not a once a year sale or an automated thank you e-mail. It is an authentic attitude, top-down, permeated throughout an organization, actually occurring – and measured, policed and enforced – every day. I don’t care how big your company, if you don’t actually care about the people, the individuals, giving you money, they will drift off in search of a place where they feel valued and appreciated. 

Another secret about rich entrepreneurs: they don’t just seek success. They HATE failure.

They often react to it violently. Martha Stewart was known to drop into a K-Mart store, find her branded goods sloppily stocked and throw the entire inventory from shelves onto the floor. Eisner instantly fired a group of Disney Park employees caught not smiling. Walt had a fit over one’s lousy delivery of The Jungle Cruise script. I saw Trump tear an empty towel dispenser from a restroom wall in a Trump hotel and throw it 20 yards down a hall.

These people are said to terrorize their employees, their associates, their vendors. But how calmly should you accept failure?  Should you “stay calm and carry on”? Only if you want more of the failure you calmly accept. If your blood doesn’t boil and offenders see fire shoot from your eyeballs, your lesser response will be taken as permission. If there is failure and new training, new controls, new supervision is not installed as remedy, the “let’s TRY and do better” will be taken as permission.

There are places where incompetence as failure has dire and instant consequences. The jailer who forgets to lock the inmate’s cell or misses the razor blade in the body search may wind up quickly dead. It’s a fine object lesson for other jailers. The cruise ship captain who is busy texting  and gets into too-shallow water and capsizes and sinks the whole thing, and injures and drowns passengers, goes to prison. As it should be.

Creating dire and instant consequences for incompetence and failure is a good thing in any and every business. I’ve told of Chuck Sekeres’ “3 strikes and you’re out” for his in-bound telemarketers: three calls in a row without a set appointment, you’re out. Next batter up. No quarterly performance evaluations. Don’t even wait to be told. After 3, get up and slink out. Minute by minute. Drop three passes in a game, butt on bench. If possible, traded.  Fail at managing the V.A., the IRS and Benghazi, shouldn’t three strikes be enough?  They tried to impeach Clinton over one intern. I used the word RUTHLESS in my book title “No BS Management of People and Profits” because, damn it, we desperately need a lot more ruthlessness in a lot more places. In homes, in neighborhoods, in small businesses, in big companies, in government. You can start with you.

So what did you think? They don’t call him “The Professor of Harsh Reality” for nothing right?

So here’s a little gift from Dan and I!

NOTE: To receive $633.91 of free money-making marketing and sales information from Dan Kennedy and GKIC simply click the link below.

Get Your Gift Here!  

Here’s a little background on Dan in case you’ve never heard of him,

DAN S. KENNEDY is a serial, multi-millionaire entrepreneur; highly paid and sought after marketing and business strategist; advisor to countless first-generation, from-scratch multi-millionaire and 7-figure income entrepreneurs and professionals; and, in his personal practice, one of the very highest paid direct-response copywriters in America. As a speaker, he has delivered over 2,000 compensated presentations, appearing repeatedly on programs with the likes of Donald Trump, Gene Simmons (KISS), Debbi Fields (Mrs. Fields Cookies), and many other celebrity-entrepreneurs, for former U.S. Presidents and other world leaders, and other leading business speakers like Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy and Tom Hopkins, often addressing audiences of 1,000 to 10,000 and up.  His popular books have been favorably recognized by Forbes, Business Week, Inc. and Entrepreneur Magazine. His NO B.S. MARKETING LETTER, one of the business newsletters published for Members of GKIC Insider’s Circle, is the largest paid subscription newsletter in its genre in the world.

Remember guys I am promoting this program, if you do decide to follow through with it I will get paid a small commission. This is the way I look at it:

  • I don’t promote things I haven’t used and bought myself
  • I don’t promote things that don’t work
  • You are always GUARANTEED to benefit!
  • I’m creating win-win-win scenarios
  • and I always vet my sources

In the meantime enjoy your FREE gift and stay focused my friends!

Please follow and like us:

Get People to Buy From You Over and Over Again In 3 Easy Steps, Even When They Say No The First Time!

sales techniques

Sales Techniques that Work in Real Life!

So you are probably thinking, you need to be persistent, pesty, pushy and get across salesy in order to come away with what the title of this post implies.

But it’s actually the opposite… By the way an important distinction I’d like to make in relation to this topic before we get into it is the following:

In “Sales Techniques That Work!, Not getting a response and getting a “No” or “Not Interested” are two totally different reactions from prospects or existing clients.

The thing is many times we interpret “not getting a response” as a “No”.

Don’t do that!

There could me many reasons why someone is not responsive to you for example, they lack time, they might be assuming you are way above their budget, they haven’t seen your ad or email invite, they are too busy to engage with you at the moment, or maybe you haven’t communicated your offer effectively, who knows!

Whatever the reason, don’t assume their answer is “No”, until you hear it.

But even if “No” is their answer, well that’s what this post is all about …Here we go!

Here’s Step #1

Understand these sales techniques first and save yourself a lot of anguish and self-doubt:

Most everyone says NO the first time, and if they don’t say it they think it!

No one likes to be sold, but almost everyone loves to buy stuff they want!

[Warning] – We are assuming that what you have to offer ACTUALLY solves a problem and helps people! If you suck there’s no marketing strategy or sales technique that can help you.

Start by genuinely having a conversation about the things causing them the most pain at the moment. Then IF and only IF you can help, position your solution naturally and without pressure.

Don’t try to sell an aspirin to someone who doesn’t have a headache –if you can’t help offer support and point them to someone in your network of friends and associates who can.

Remember these easy sales techniques when you hear “No” or “Not Interested”

  • Don’t take No(s) personally
  • Find out what they are really saying NO to!
  • Reposition your offer, idea or hook in mid-flight if you have to
  • Don’t go for the sale, go for conversation!
  • Scale the process and get micro-commitments

Here’s Step #2

Once is never enough… you need to show genuine and unwavering consistency!

You MUST have a strategic and consistent value-based follow up…

What does that mean? Most sales professionals and service oriented entrepreneurs do not have a follow up strategy or specific sales techniques. Your follow up needs to have 3 essential elements:

  • Follow up with genuine concern“last time we spoke you were wrestling with the issue of [ blank], is that still the case?”
  • Have a value-based offer/solution“…thinking about our conversation recently it occurred to me this might help, Are you familiar with [blank]?
  • Have a calendar mindset“…on that topic I’m hosting a webinar on this day [blank]” or “I have some ideas that I think might help you, do you have 10 minutes for a Skype chat tomorrow at 1 pm?

You can word these anyway it fits you.

And finally Step #3

In Sales Success this one is a total mind shift in terms of approach, it might take you a while, but once you get it you just left orbit!

You don’t make a sale to get a client, you get a client in order to make a sale!

Most sales professionals actually think and want to make money on their first encounter. This is a big mistake!

When it comes to building serious loyalty and goodwill, in essence build a strong customer or client base, you need to give away your best stuff at cost!

Listen to me! –YOUR BEST AT COST!

This achieves success in 3 critical areas of your business:

  • Authority – you establish yourself as an expert
  • Build trust – an essential virtue in long term business relationships
  • Grow you list – a critical component of the longevity and strength of your business is how large your list is and your relationship with it!

Those willing to spend the most on acquiring and building their list will come out on top every time!

I seriously hope you put these techniques to work right away!

It’s simple, make a list of pending follow ups, new contacts and sleepy referrals, and craft your approach following these 3 easy steps!

Take care and stay focused!

Download This Post In PDF Format!

 

Please follow and like us:

Why The “Thank God It’s Friday” Syndrome Is Keeping You From Being Wildly Successful!

Thank God it's Friday SyndromeThe TGIF mindset may seem to most people like a harmless thing to say, or actually look forward to. We simply hear everyone yelling it, we do the same, and we are now part of that tribe!

Can you picture Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Tim Ferris, Sam Walton, Richard Koch, Jordan, Phelps, Woods … Saying: “Thank God It’s Friday!”?

I mean …even radio stations have a 5 O’clock horn letting you know you are now “FREE”.  You have 2 days to roam the country side, let some steam off and run wild until Monday when you HAVE to come back to your self made prison for the next five days, for what they decide to pay you btw, and this you will do 72% of your God-given time for the rest of your life.

Are you kidding me!!?

This may not be you, but if you desperately look forward to Fridays 5 pm, see Wednesday as “hump day” and Monday is a day from Hell …then my contention is you are not very happy with your chosen business or profession, you may not admit this in public, but you are not a very happy guy or gal.

If you see the weekend as a temporary escape route, a time to unwind, unplug and have a chance to be “YOU” at least for 28% of your time, then I think you may need to re-evaluate your life and ask yourself a simple question: Why Am I Doing This?

The main reason you are not happy is not because you have to do it all over again on Monday, but because you are not in control of your life, someone or something else is …and WE … YOU were not meant to live that way!

If you are aware of this… Good for you! The question then is: “What are you going to do about it …How can you be “YOU” 7 days a week?”

So get busy working on a Plan where you control your time, because if you control your time …you control your life.

If you got upset at reading this, well you probably didn’t read this far … But GOOD if you did get upset! You are supposed to, because there is no hope or cure for those that feel nothing.

My advice is, take some time to think about your time in a different way, try owning it for a change, understand how precious it is, because it’s limited. So how do you want to spend it?

How do you want to spend it doing the things you want, deserve and were meant to be doing!

Take care my friends 🙂

Please follow and like us:

The Mindset Required To Successfuly Start a Smart Home Business While Still Working Your Day Job

success mindsetIf you knew absolutely nothing about the Outdoors and you decided to go camping in the wilderness for three straight weeks, what would you need to take with you?

Most people start a venture like that thinking about the tools, I need to have all the tools and the latest camping shiny objects because let’s face it, tools are important when outdoors, without tools you can die! But let’s talk about the sequence, the mindset and process you should have to prepare for such event… right?

Not too long ago I took a 15 day course (Paid!) on how to set up a web based business from A-Z. I did it in 5 days. Now I know how to do that already, that’s my business, but if that’s the case why did I take that course? I knew 90% of that stuff already! To some people that would be a total waste of time and money right?

Not to me… and here’s why:

1. You Must Always Be Working On Your Craft… Going back to basics and working on them is what professionals do. Watch Tiger Woods hit the range and swing at 1000 balls after every round. Watch Michael Phelps repeat endless sets of boring and trivial drills specific to each stroke day after day. Watch Rafa Nadal work out. How many times does he practice the same swing, and tell me if you are willing to do that in your profession to stay on top of your game.

The truth is, most people don’t and then they wonder why they can’t elevate their game, work with people they want to work with, at the hours the prefer to and make the money they want!

In this particular case I was about to embark on a totally new different Industry and I needed to know how what I knew applied to to it… so a refresher it’s always a great way to get in the right mindset. But also a refresher course taught by someone with better results than me.

Always work on the basics of your craft as taught by mentors and leaders in your profession in order to elevate your game!

2. ( Most Important!) Doing #1 Keeps Me Centered On The WHY, Not The HOW… Here’s a big secret on why most people completely screw up worthwhile goals and ventures even before they start!

Ready? …Most people believe they have to know the HOW before they make a decision and take action, when in reality what they need is a real strong purpose behind it, the WHY. So because they don’t have a clear Why they take forever, if at all, to take ACTION while hiding and wasting precious time on figuring out the HOW.

99% of reasons why people don’t get off their butt to do what they’ve always wanted and as a result live the live they’ve always dreamed of is because they think they have to know HOW to do it before making a die-hard  DECISION to actually do it! – If you make a decision it’s done! You’ve decided and not anything or anyone it’s going to dissuade you. Now you breakdown the HOW- and get to work, but it’s going to get DONE! The decision has been made.

This is the biggest mental trap to prosperity and success our species suffers from, it’s endemic and hereditary, and it’s the #1 cause of broken dreams World Wide!

See whatever HOW you choose, it’s going to be a tough ride no matter what …the HOW won’t help you to stay the course. Only the WHY can help you do that.

So before starting your home-based business in search of financial independence, deciding to do a channel swim, lose 50 pounds, or go into early retirement, figure out the WHY and have a clear vision why you are doing it …so that when things get tough, and they will, you are not the first one to QUIT while blaming everything and everyone but yourself.

Quitters forget their WHY and blame the HOW …Winners never forget WHY they are doing what their doing, and they figure out the HOW as they charge ahead.

If you have a strong PURPOSE and a powerful WHY you can stay in the fight as long as a takes, nothing and I mean nothing that gets thrown at you will be powerful enough to derail you and change your destiny, which is to be anything you want and deserve to BE!

Cheers 🙂

 

 

Please follow and like us: