We often hear about entrepreneurs being incessant about working long hours, never taking a day off, missing family functions, and essentially not having lives outside their own minds, and their work. Many have asked me if all of that is true? Well, for the most part it’s not true. Yet, there is some truth. Sure, some of it is myth as people just love superheroes and the stories about their seemingly superpowers including being able to function on little to no sleep.

Well, let’s dispel right now that entrepreneurs are anything more than human. Let’s dispel the myths that they can function without sleep, without rest, without knowing when to shut down for a day or two. But what we can do is learn from what makes them successful by ensuring sure they have the freedom and flexibility to do what they want to do, when they want to do it. It’s all about being positioned to have choices.

Award-wining author and entrepreneur, Richie Norton says it best, “Entrepreneurs don’t have weekends or birthdays or holidays. Every day is my weekend, my birthday, my holiday. OR every day is my workday. Mostly it’s a choice.”

Strategic Coach is one of the world’s leading organizations focused on entrepreneurial success. Within their resource section of its website is a blog post, Putting the Focus on Freedom. Of all the information about entrepreneurship that I have researched and read over the years, the opening question and statement in this post has become, in my mind the foundation of entrepreneurship to me:

“Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur? For most entrepreneurs, the answer is freedom. They wanted more freedom of time, money, relationship, and purpose when they took the leap to starting their own business.”

Another great organization focused on entrepreneurial success is The Lonely Entrepreneur. What I love about this organization and the writings of its founder, Michael Dermer is the reality of entrepreneurship and the inner workings of an entrepreneur’s mind.

There’s an article on The Lonely Entrepreneur website that always comes to my mind as a holiday weekend is in sight, What is an Entrepreneur? Dealing with the Holidays. This particular statement is embedded in my mind:

“As entrepreneurs, we have enough stress throughout the year trying to win customers, bring on employees, raise money and sign deals with vendors. We may have enjoyed, or even taken advantage of these breaks in our “past lives,” but once you become an entrepreneur, we can’t understand how this ever made sense. Most of us also don’t understand how the world could be so insensitive to our efforts by taking time off when we need to get shit done.” 

I highly value both organizations and certainly, I respect both Michael Dermer and Strategic Coach founder, Dan Sullivan. I know that both strive to help entrepreneurs succeed. Both have approaches that make sense. Both speak and teach from personal experience and long distinguished careers of helping others succeed – thousands upon thousands! Yet, each comes from a different angle, so to speak. But I do appreciate that!

It truly has been a blessing and a privilege to have been exposed to both organizations. I have learned so much, and yet, have so much more to learn so I’m extremely grateful to see both founders’ continued efforts and commitment to entrepreneurial success. For me, it helps me balance perspective in my own work, and balance in my personal life.

Freedom. Choice. Balance.

Freedom is defined as the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.

Choice is defined as an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities.

Balance is defined as a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions.

Do you see where I’m headed with this? Are you wondering, what does freedom, choice and balance have to do with entrepreneurs and holidays, the basis and title of this article? To some it may mean nothing. To others, as it does to me, it speaks volumes. But what it means to you is the correct answer.

Have a great day (and weekend). Make it happen. Make it count!

I recently watched the movie, “Rounders” for what was probably the 100th time I’ve done so. If you’re not aware of the movie, it’s basically about the dark side of underground high-stakes poker. Movies like this also seem to make a correlation to business for me. For instance, the main character, Michael McDermott says, “Why do you think the same five guys make it to the final table of the World Series of Poker EVERY YEAR? What, are they the luckiest guys in Las Vegas?”

That makes me think of the same entrepreneurs that start one business after another, and all succeed. Do you think that’s luck? Hell, no! It’s knowing when to take a calculated risk, understanding the odds, hedging bets when necessary, being patient, exploring opportunities to increase your bankroll and knowing when to take a competitor head-on. It really is a mindset… But we must always remember, you can’t lose what you don’t put in the middle. [pause] But you can’t win much either.

What can entrepreneurs learn from playing poker?

Poker can be seen as a leisurely game by most people. It may be looked at as a viable way to relax and unwind after a week of decision making, handling issues, and addressing challenges. Essentially a pause from life. On the flip side, there are individuals earning a living by playing poker, leading an independent lifestyle and building a secure financial future.

Whether a friendly neighborhood poker game or one that takes place down at the local casino, there is no doubt, poker is a game of skill. There’s a lot that can be learned from this all too familiar game.

Below are nine skills from an article I’ve read in Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. These skills help poker players win at the poker table but also good for individuals to grow professionally, to improve their analytical skills, to help address stressful situations, and ultimately to win, maybe win big, at the game of business.

1. It starts inside your head 

Poker is a mind-sport and so is business. It is all about the moves you make, the strategy you take, and who you decide to play against. Your mental conditioning must be top-notch, and you must be prepared to take on any challenge. Unless your mind is in the right place, your game will suffer.

2. Being process-oriented, not result-oriented

Captain Picard from Star trek said that “It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose.” You can play a hand of poker perfectly and not come out on top, just like you can do everything right with your company/business and still not hit the goals you were after. But this problem is short-term. It’s all about getting your fundamentals right and if you don’t succeed, try again. In the long run, making the right decisions is what will make you a winner. Reckless decisions might help you rise, but they won’t keep you on top. Sensibility will always conquer luck.

3. Reading your competitors

At the poker table anticipating the affinity of your competitors toward risks will help you decide the best moves to make. Additionally, knowing their strengths and weaknesses will take you a long way and help counter them effectively. Similarly in business, you need to do your due diligence to understand your competition, and only then can you stay one step ahead of them.

4. Factor in every scenario

Poker is unpredictable, and so is business. When making a move, you need to factor in every possible eventuality, most importantly the worst case, and then act accordingly. 

5. Folding your aces

Aces are the best possible hole cards you can get in poker, but as the game goes on, you may realize you don’t have the best hand overall because of the cards that open. Similarly, you might have the best product in the market, but unless conditions are conducive, it might not reach the heights it merits. It’s important to not get disheartened and understand that these things happen.

6. The pressure is for cookers

When the stakes are high is when you can win the biggest. Not letting the pressure get to you is the name of the game.

7. Bankroll Management is key

If your total bankroll is low, you don’t go play a High-Roller game with a high buy-in. It is important to be financially sensible.  

8. Never chase losses 

When you lose multiple hands in a row, you might be tempted to play just because you want to recover your loss or reputation. This line of thinking will impede judgment and might turn out to be harmful. Make every move at its own merit and never because of earlier results.

9. Most importantly, you must do it responsibly

Being cognizant of your own capabilities is of utmost importance, both in poker and in business. What are the stakes you choose to play at? How much do you invest? How much time do you put into it? One of the most important things to remember is also that an excess of everything is bad, and the minute you feel that the quality of your personal, professional or family life is being affected by your decisions, it is time to take a step back and ask yourself what you should change.

There have been a number of great articles written about poker and entrepreneurship. I’ve listed some of my favorites below:

Poker and Entrepreneurship: How Similar Are They?

What Poker Taught Me About Business

5 Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Poker

Thinking about poker and the skills necessary to win – whether in a neighborhood or professional game – has me also thinking about the skills entrepreneurs must develop and hone to succeed in their endeavors. So, my Question of the Week is:

What skills are necessary for today’s entrepreneur to succeed, and at a high level?

I look forward to reading your responses and learning your perspective. In my humble opinion, entrepreneurship will be the mechanism that will propel our country through uncertain times we’re all facing. I do believe it’ll be a massive collaborative effort of entrepreneurs everywhere to ensure our full recovery. Helping and learning from each other is imperative.

Now, I can’t seem to get Kenny Rogers’ song, The Gambler out of my head.

You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em. Know when to walk away, and know when to run…

Have a great day. Make it happen. Make it count!

Regardless of the industry and industry segment, successful entrepreneurship begins with the entrepreneur’s ability to sell. He or she must be able to sell to investors, clients, suppliers, and employees from day one. Of course, it’s essential to have developed a great idea, product or service, and business model, but without perfecting the ability to articulate the vision, communicate it well, and close the deal, the company or concept goes nowhere.

Unfortunately, not enough emphasis and time is dedicated to the importance of sales in an entrepreneurial venture. Sales is a cornerstone to entrepreneurial success. However, many just wing it with the mindset of, the product or service will sell itself or build it and they will come. The bottom line is, nothing sells itself and unless there is awareness of what is being built, no one will know!

This week at Acceler8Success Cafe, taking nothing for granted I will focus on basic sales skills. From prospecting to closing, I’ll work through various steps in a sales process. For now, I will keep it simple because quite simply, understanding and implementing sales fundamentals will go a long way toward entrepreneurial success, and quite frankly, success in achieving almost any goal.

One more thing, and this is vitally important to your “sales” success, key to a successful entrepreneurial venture is the founder, the entrepreneur being the number one salesperson, the number one promoter. No one will ever do it as good as you!

Sales Prospecting: Motivation & Overcoming Rejection

Style points don’t count. Ability is not enough. In sales, winning comes only with the right attitude! And winning at prospecting or cold calling, whatever you may call it in your business, is all about attitude!

When you’re responsible for developing new business, one of the keys to success is your attitude toward prospecting.

If you don’t have the desire to prospect, or are afraid of it, you won’t do it often enough. As a result, your prospecting skills become weaker. This in turn causes your motivation to diminish and prospecting then becomes a monumental task.

When we evaluate the reasons why a salesperson has failed or plateaus at an unacceptable level, we are constantly reminded of the following: they are not motivated to prospect or, have a fear of rejection. Neither their lack of motivation nor the fear of rejection is the main culprit; both are to blame. It is a catch-22. Either the lack of motivation causes the fear of rejection, or the fear of rejection demotivates them. Either way, the person never becomes the effective prospector they could be or should be.

What I’m offering here, are some ideas on how to get motivated and stay motivated when prospecting or cold calling. I have also included suggestions that will help you overcome the fear of rejection. When you internalize these concepts and techniques, you will become the most effective prospector you can be and will achieve the level of success you deserve.

Believe in it: it works.

Prospecting over the phone or cold calling “door-to-door” or on LinkedIn is a very effective way to find qualified leads for your business. Since the beginning of time, farmers, livestock ranchers and a variety of other vendors have been bringing their products to market on horse and buggy. Today, millions of companies spend millions of dollars and have millions of “salespeople” doing it.

Prepare yourself properly.

Prospecting is like a contact sport. You are either prepared and have an advantage over the other person, or you are unprepared and don’t. Top salespeople have regular phrases, statements and/or scripts they use to generate interest on the part of the prospect. They are also prepared with a list of common objections and responses to handle any resistance the prospect or gatekeeper throws at them. This preparation comes from practicing with a peer or sales manager and/or from making a lot of calls to prospects. The key question is, “Are you fully prepared?”

Discipline yourself.

Every time you feel like quitting and/or find yourself procrastinating, you are being bit by the “Fear of Rejection” bug. The only way to beat this bug is to maintain the discipline to keep going. Discipline in business is about forcing yourself to do something that you don’t want to do. When you are staring at that name on your list or standing outside the prospect’s door – Just do it! No one has more power to discipline you than you.

Convert that feeling.

Try to understand why you get sick to your stomach when you have to prospect. Or why you hate the phone and have a fear of rejection. Ask yourself why you feel this way and then listen for the answer. When you are in a quiet place and are truly interested in finding the reason, it will come out. Don’t let that feeling control you. You have to learn how to control it. Once you have control, you can convert the negative feelings into positive energy. The good news is, the worse you feel now, the stronger you’ll be when you convert it and the more chance you have of being a prospecting dynamo!

Don’t take it personally.

Most, if not all, of the prospects you are going to call are bombarded with salespeople each week. And they reject most, if not all of them. They are not rejecting you; they have rejected every other salesperson that has called them this week. So, when you call, it is not you they are rejecting, they are rejecting another salesperson. Don’t feel so singled out. You are among an elite group of people whose goal it is to find people who are not so willing to or who are unable to reject salespeople. And that’s easy when you have a good call list and are well prepared.

Partner with a buddy.

Many people that exercise would rather do it with a friend because this helps keep them motivated. Both people enjoy the workout more, plus they keep each other in line. We recommend you find another person in your organization or network that has the same or better work ethic as you and agree to keep you motivated and positive during prospecting sessions. When you make commitments to each other of when, how long, and who you are going to prospect, you subconsciously put incredible pressure on yourself to hold up your end of the bargain. This is very healthy pressure to have.

Make the time to prospect.

This is part of the discipline theory we spoke of before. Most every person responsible for sales I’ve met says they are busy, and some say they are too busy to prospect. This is nothing more than an excuse and an infection by the “Fear of Rejection” bug. Top salespeople make a habit of allocating a certain percentage of their week to prospecting. Regardless of their workload, they put a priority on prospecting and do it regularly. It is your responsibility to make time to prospect and create this habit.

Organize your list of leads.

It is a complete waste of time to make phone calls to companies and people who are not qualified to buy whatever you may be selling. Top salespeople have at least 100 qualified leads on their call list at all times. A qualified lead is defined as a prospect you know can use and pay for the products or services you offer or is currently using similar products or services offered by your competition.

A business card is not a prospect.

We are amazed at how little value salespeople put on prospects. They get a business card from somewhere, write some notes on the back and use this as their main prospecting system. A stack of these things with a rubber band wrapped around them is an inefficient method of prospecting. I highly recommend becoming digitally organized on your iPhone or tablet and keep as much information as possible on each prospect. In addition to the name, title, phone number with direct extension, and address of the person who has the authority to buy your product or service, you can collect additional information and use it to your advantage.

Call Decision-Makers only.

Strong lead lists will have the name of the Decision-Maker for each lead. A Decision-Maker is generally defined as the person who makes the decisions in relation to your products or services. Generally, there are two things I look for when categorizing someone as the final Decision-Maker: 1) the ultimate authority in their organization to over-rule everyone’s decisions regarding products or services, 2) the ability to allocate money, set budgets, issue POs, sign checks, give a credit card or enter into agreements. They have the money, and they can spend it!

All at once or not?

Salespeople regularly ask me if it is better to cold call for eight straight hours (one full day) or to break it up into two four-hour sessions. Frankly, I have met successful salespeople that do it both ways. One salesperson may prefer to allocate a full day to nothing but prospecting while another may prefer to break it up into two mornings on two different days. I don’t think it makes a difference. I believe we all have to find the method that is comfortable for us. Provided you discipline yourself to concentrate on prospecting during this time period and not on other busy work.

Break up the day/session.

The fact of the matter is that even great prospectors are going to be rejected. Prospecting is a numbers game based on percentages. Having said that, I believe it is sometimes difficult for people to take a lot of rejection for a long period of time. So, I recommend breaking up your session in a fashion similar to this. Make a particular number of calls to brand new prospects and then, make some calls to prospects you have previously called on, then call some people for referrals, then take a short break.

What I have just described is one cycle. The length of each cycle will depend on your commitment to prospecting, your work ethic and level of tenacity. In order to effectively prospect, you are going to have to repeat these cycles as often as you can in order to get results. Only you can determine the length of each cycle and how many cycles per day you are comfortable with.

Use a headset.

Not for motivation, for discipline and efficiency. When you are “literally” connected to the phone via a headset, it is much harder for you to walk away from your desk. So many people put the phone down and have trouble picking it back up. They don’t even realize it, but as soon as they put it down, the resistance to picking it back up is even greater. If you don’t have a headset, make it a rule that you will never put the receiver down until you dial at least “x” number of calls. Just hang up each call with your finger instead of putting the phone down. Once it’s down it’s even harder to pick back up again!

Hold all calls.

Not for motivation, for discipline and efficiency. A telephone prospecting session is just that – outgoing calls only. Have your admin or assistant hold all your calls or direct them to your voice mail. Telephone efficiency is all about rhythm. Once that rhythm is broken it’s hard to get it started again. When you start to field incoming calls, you might get sidetracked by a friend or even worse a customer or client who needs something now. Boom: rhythm broken.

It’s a numbers game.

Even professional baseball players are only successful at getting on base 30% of the time. And they rate in terms of skills in the top 1% of all the millions of kids who start out playing baseball. So let me get this straight. They are the best of the best, get paid millions of dollars and yet actually fail on a consistent basis 7 out of 10 times! Why don’t they get the fear of failure? Because they understand it’s a numbers game. In sales efforts, a 20 to 30% success rate is good. When you can secure 2 – 3 appointments from every 10 prospects or leads you are doing a good job. Keep in mind that every customer “no” gets you one step closer to that elusive “yes.” Just keep stepping up to the plate.

Build on little successes.

Regardless of your experience level, you may occasionally hit slumps just as professional athletes do. To overcome this they don’t quit, they focus their attention, practice regularly and keep at it. Little by little they start to succeed and get their confidence back. You can do the same by working a strong referral list or by calling on some previous contacts. By doing so, you will get your rhythm back. As soon as you start to succeed throw in a couple of cold prospects and watch your confidence take over. Even if you are not in a slump, during a call session you may want to call on some older contacts to keep your motivation and confidence level up.

Increase your tolerance level.

You don’t start your running career with the 100-mile marathon. You start by first running the 5-mile marathon. Then you build your level of tolerance and stamina. Same with prospecting. If you are suffering from a lack of motivation or the fear of rejection, start small and build your way up. Start with 10 calls the first week, 15 calls the second week, 20 calls the third week, 25 calls the fourth week, and so on.

Set goals.

Recently, I was speaking with a veteran salesperson of about 16 years. For the past 8 years, he had a strong account base and did not have to make cold calls. He just took a new job with a company that does most of its business by telephone prospecting. He said he was scared at first (he took a cut in pay in hopes of the bigger payoff) but had faith in the company and went at it. He told me the main reason he has been more successful on the phone than most of the other new reps is because he sets goals for himself every week. He has goals for the number of times he dials the phone, the number of contacts he makes and the number of appointments he sets. Basically, he said he works as many hours as it takes to hit his goals. Now that’s commitment and desire!

As we know, restaurants are having a difficult time due to rising costs due to inflation, supply chain issues, and labor challenges (I’m not so sure about actual worker shortages). Feeling the inflation pinch, as well, customers are being more diligent as to where and when they may decide to enjoy a meal at or from a restaurant.

Although, some restaurants are realizing sales increases over pre-pandemic levels. Why and how are they thriving while others are barely surviving? But the real question in my mind has to do with change – not a shift, not a pivot, but actual change.

As such, this is my question of the week: Is it necessary to change how to conduct business, adapting to the circumstances of the times instead of adjusting, revising which may be more akin to putting square pegs in round holes? Are we crazy to think different (as entrepreneurs, restaurateurs & small business owners), or should we just go with the flow?

Speaking of square pegs and round holes, I just love the words of Steve Jobs shortly after he returned to Apple, the company he founded and launched the Think Different campaign. He started things off with these words:

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes … the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. … You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things. … They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

I especially find his words fitting this week as we celebrate America’s small businesses & entrepreneurs and their enormous contributions to American life and prosperity. After all, we may not be able to imagine life without the contributions of one, Steve Jobs.

Celebrating National Small Business Week

The pandemic brought to light an important fact: the American entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. It underscores the resiliency of our nation and our communities in the face of our largest economic challenge to date. Small businesses are not only the engines of our economic progress, but they are also the heart and soul of our communities. 

This year, during National Small Business Week from May 2-5, America will be celebrating our Main Street small businesses, our mom-and-pop stores, restaurants, shops, and small manufacturers who stayed the course during this difficult time for our great nation. 

Small Business Trends reported, “This year’s celebrations will include a four-day virtual summit in partnership with SCORE to acknowledge small businesses from across the country for their resilience, ingenuity, and creativity. In addition, events will be organized to recognize SBA partners for their support of entrepreneurial development, disaster recovery, government contracting, financial development, and others.”

How can your business get involved?

Constant Contact posted on their blog, “Whether you own a small business, work for one, or just love supporting them, there are plenty of ways you can show your support and take part in this tradition.”

They went on to share five ways you can take part in Small Business Week this year. You can find that HERE.

So, back to my Question of the Week: Is it necessary to change how to conduct business, adapting to the circumstances of the times instead of adjusting, revising which may be more akin to putting square pegs in round holes? Are we crazy to think different (as entrepreneurs, restaurateurs & small business owners), or should we just go with the flow?

Maybe we need a wrist band to remind us? What Would Jobs Do?