Trading Up and My ‘10 Rules’ Cheat Sheet on How to do it Right
June 15th, 2011 // 10:45 am @ Scott
I know you’ve heard the saying
“If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got”
Or
“Doing the same thing, expecting different results” as the definition of insanity.
Yet so many people do exactly this in their business and expect to grow and get rich.
Well, picking up from where we left off last week, I want to talk with you about one of the secrets to my success.
I call it – TRADING UP.
Now, before you read into it, as the name attempts to give away the concept, let me give you a couple other explanations.
The biggest problem and challenge I see with other business people and entrepreneurs on why they do not find ‘bigger’ success and really gain ground financially is because of this reason:
They think they can find an opportunity and figure out what works, then continue doing that over and over again until they finally add up enough money, customers, success to achieve their goals.
It doesn’t happen that way.
Now, you may have a really good business, but, if you want to achieve any type of growth, then you have to be CHANGING along the way, maybe a better word is improving.
Also, people lock themselves into opportunities that cannot, ever, possibly, not a chance, to provide them with the success and income they are hoping for.
That’s why you must always be looking for a ‘trading up opportunity’.
Understand, I did not say a Bright Shiny Object opportunity. Sometimes those are needed to facilitate growth, but I’m talking about something bigger than a “thing.”
It could be trading up the quality of your customers, staff, website.
It could be trading up your price points.
It could be trading up your services and expanded the things you offer.
It could be trading up your business and breaking out of a low level opportunity and moving into a higher potential opportunity.
It could be making connections with people who can move you into bigger income opportunities, or speed up your results for accomplishment.
Here’s the deal, you only have so much time in a day.
The one thing that makes us all equal…24 hours.
The single greatest difference between the haves and have-nots is the opportunities they invest their time in on a daily basis.
Working hard will make you more money, not working will make you no money.
BUT –
If two people both work hard, both work smart, both do everything the same…
What determines their level of success –
THE SIZE OF THE OPPORTUNITY!
I call the act, behavior, discipline, and approach to choosing opportunities, and growing your business, and increasing the potential in your life – TRADING UP.
If you’ve got a sales letter that you send to poor neighborhoods or rich neighborhoods where you can sell at higher prices, you traded up your opportunity.
If you take all of your no-buyers and put them in a seminar instead of doing nothing or sending emails only, you traded up your opportunity.
If you look for bigger, better, higher quality joint venture partners, you traded up your opportunity.
If you hang out in a room full of entrepreneurs every month and get new ideas and strategies and take more action because of it, you are trading up your opportunity.
You must put yourself in an environment and in the mindset that forces you to consider bigger opportunities, more valuable opportunities.
Ryan and I have been doubling our business just about every six months for the past 4 sets of ‘em, and it is attributed directly to this concept and philosophy.
One of my closest friends and private clients, right now, currently, has about 6 different “trading up” opportunities any one of which would double (that’s right DOUBLE) his business in 30 to 60 days.
Our expectation is that over the next 6-12 months every one of them will happen and we’ll be on to another 6.
That my friends is how you grow a business.
This is really what I do for my clients and private coaching members.
Look, it’s a simply concept, I just spent two days with Bill Glazer and 12 awesome entrepreneurs where Bill and I put them through an Extreme Marketing Makeover.
In about 60 minutes we re-worked their business. We established a foundation for better marketing for them. Now, suppose someone takes that marketing and sits on it, doing nothing more for 12 months…will their business be any better, of course not, will it reach it’s potential, not a chance.
Because once you have a foundation in place it’s now about trading up the opportunities.
I talk with my clients and coaching members on a monthly basis, and there is not a single month where we have nothing to talk about, even though we fixed all the problems and challenges last month.
So, why and what do we have to discuss.
THIS! That’s what.
We discuss WHAT’S NEXT
We discuss and decide upon our “Trading up” opportunities…each and every month.
Because that’s what being an entrepreneur is all about.
Are you trading up?
I don’t have the time to make a complete list or go into more detail, but here’s a fast 10 step checklist to open your mind to more opportunity and to condition yourself to always be expanding the potential.
My Rule’s for Trading Up
- Evaluate your life and business (at least) every 6 months (that requires that you are doing enough stuff to begin with)
- Saying “yes” to something means saying “no” to something else
- Always be aware of your opportunity cost
- You must have guidelines for what you accept, not based on emotion
- Invest time and have strategies in place to facilitate new opportunities
- At the end of the day, you can’t buy our way to bigger opportunities (many times investment is required, but not by itself) you will find “trading up” opportunities through relationships
- Attitude, Reputation, Performance, Work Ethic attracts opportunity
- Commit to a “trading up” opportunity and set yourself up to make it happen
- Eyes on the lookout for what’s next and antennas up for opportunity
- Once you take an opportunity, make the most of it, expand on it, leverage it for “what’s next”, and always bring people along with you for the ride
Hope you make some use out of that list and get focused on what being an entrepreneur is really all about.
Scott
Category : Blog
