What Leads to Success

August 19, 2010

You may have wondered… What’s the key to success? What’s the secret of success? How do I become successful?

Let me tell you a quick story…

It’s funny how two brothers from the same family can wind up in such different circumstances. Only a year apart in age, yet a world apart in their attitude towards life.

One blames the world for all his problems. He lives in a trailer, by himself, down by the river. And I don’t mean that metaphorically.

The other is successful, with plenty of banked assets. He lives where he wants, has the job of his dreams and a wonderful wife. He takes vacations, and sets his own schedule. He works when and where he wants.

So what made the difference?

The first one blames everyone else. He expects things to be given to him, without offering anything in return. His parents didn’t “give him” anything. No one will “give him” a job.

The second had the same parents and family life as the first, but he blamed himself. Giving up is easy. Growth is hard. He could let this life he was “born into” consume him, and end up like the first, or challenge his way out for a better life.

The second brother decided to work on his personality. To become a better person. He decided that he didn’t want a life like his parents and brother. He didn’t want to settle. He wanted more.

He choose a career that he thought he would love. He sought professional training and sacrificed everything else to achieve his goals. He was determined to succeed.

He concluded that there’s only two reasons why people fail. (Barring any genetic, or physical limitations.)

The Two Reasons Why People Fail

1) You’re not good enough at it.
2) You don’t want it bad enough.

That’s all there is to it.

The good new is…

Both can be overcome.

The only differences between the two brothers are, discontent and training. Whereas the first gave up, the second decided he wasn’t going to take it anymore and sought help.

He was discontent enough to endure years of training, followed by years of on the job experience. Then 10 years after he began the journey, he looked around and realized that he had achieved independence, self reliance and happiness.

So why don’t more people succeed in their careers and life? It’s because most people are comfortable with pain.

Yes… pain. Like it or not, that’s how it is.

They settle into the dull, numbing, comfortable, pain of their existence. Life whittles away at them, because they’re not “discontent enough” with their present circumstances, to be motivated enough to change them.

They wallow in comfortable pain, accepting the status quo, saying to themselves, “Yup… that’s how life is.” Any mutterings for false security. Anything that will hide them from the pain that change will bring.

And yes… change is painful. But if you endure it, and become one of the best in the world, at what you love to do, there’s no limit to what you can achieve.

Are you ready for change?

When you are, here’s my formula for a successful future…

(Passion + Skill = Potential) x Consistent Action = Results, Belief, Success

take care,

Michael

P. S.

Still not sure what you were put on earth to do? Go download The Uncovery Workbook. If you’re ready to take the next step, come join my private site, because I’m an internet marketing consultant with 25+ years of experience, that’s just a phone call away.

If you’d like to know what a couple of great minds said about the keys to success…

Roy H. Williams aka The Wizard of Ads
7 Step Secret of Success

(Commit this wisdom to memory.)

Richard St. John speaking at T.E.D.
8 Secrets of Success and Success is a Journey

(I recommend watching these once a week for a year.)

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Watch the video ^ up there ^ to get the gist of it, then read the full story and case studies below.

Sell with Relationships

A customer of mine used to be a sales person for a medical equipment company. She sold everything from rubber gloves to high end items like wheelchairs.

I convinced her to stop working for someone else. That she’d be happier being her own boss, and selling the same gear as an affiliate marketer.

Like many affiliates, she struggled at first. She liked writing blog posts, and selling online, but she really missed the daily human contact.

I suggested that she take her affiliate business offline. She could rekindle the old relationships and not just rely on strangers trolling the web.

I told her to get proactive. Go where the customers are. Don’t wait for them to come to you.

Now she’s thinking like a super affiliate. She gets a flyer printed every two weeks and a catalog once every quarter.

She goes and visits all the retirement homes and long term care facilities in her city. They’re far more likely to buy from her, because they know her and trust her.

She belongs to a dozen different affiliate programs. That lets her offer a massive inventory, with more makes and models than any competitor.

She set up an arrangement with the suppliers, so that she uses her own affiliate link when placing orders. How smart is that?

She went from struggling hopeful to super affiliate, by walking away from the web and knocking on doors. Good old fashioned face to face selling.

Both parties get what they want. The long term care facilities get a flyer they can look at and order from. She gets to visit the people she missed and multiplied her income by 20X in the process.

Sometimes you just need to think different. If you spread your advertising across different types media, you can make a mountain of affiliate revenue.

Sell at the Right Time

Another customer of mine is an established public speaker. He gets paid a decent sum for the speaking gigs, but he wanted to increase his back end sales.

I suggested that he set up a computer at the back of the room. That way, people could sign up for his newsletter, or order his products, right after the talk, and all through lunch.

Now he’s thinking like a super affiliate. He tripled his back end sales, because he sells other people’s courses and books, in addition to his own. He also allows the attendees to book him for future talks on the spot.

How cool is that. Triple the sales and he’s never out of work. Just by capturing people at the right moment.

Sell in Bulk

Another customer of mine, used to sell individual items to consumers. He worked very hard for small commissions.

The packaging, serving and cleaning supplies he sold, were also used by caterers, restaurants and hotels. I suggested that he try selling to businesses instead of consumers.

Now he’s thinking like a super affiliate. Sell by the caseload. Same amount of work. Much bigger commissions.

Now he’s got customers in all corners of the hospitality industry. Everything from motel chains to food factories.

Things are going so well, he’s considering setting up a warehouse and importing the goods. Then setting up his own affiliate program.

I told him to keep in mind… that businesses, governments and organizations are run by people. Those people source product suppliers on the internet, just like you do.

No matter how big the company, it all boils down to one person. They make a purchase decision and place an order online, just like anyone else.

Consumers order a quantity of one. Businesses order case loads and pallets. Which would you rather get the commission on?

Sell the Niche

Another customer could be called the original spice girl. She knows more about cooking spices than anyone I’ve met.

She didn’t think she could compete in the space though. It was the usual excuses of… too many people already doing it and not enough confidence.

(If you’d like to discover your passion and learn how to monetize it, download The Uncovery workbook http://www.theuncovery.com .)

I told her to swallow her fear and doubt. Just do it. She started blogging and selling spices, but not the usual stuff, because I told her to ultra niche it.

Now she’s thinking like a super affiliate. She’s selling dried peppers flakes and hot sauces, everything from Szechuan to Sassafras. Other people sell spices, but she knows how to thicken your gumbo.

If you know a lot about something, there are people who want to learn. When you help them by telling, not by selling, they’ll automatically want to buy from you.

Sell Your Passion

Another customer of mine owns a small hobby brew place. He helps you make wine and beer on his premises. You bottle it and take it home when its done.

He wanted to take his “dirt world” business online. To go beyond what he could reach with local advertising.

He took my advice started putting videos online. He shows you how to mix up the batch, attach a fermentation lock, sterilize and fill the bottles. Short 2-3 minute clips with one key concept in each.

He uses a basic no-frills hand held video camera. Then dumps the recording into iMovie for a quick edit before uploading them to Youtube.

He’s positioning himself as the leader in beer making knowledge. That makes people subscribe to his newsletter, shop in his store, and trust him.

Now he’s thinking like a super affiliate. Instead of stocking massive inventory, he uses affiliate links to sell everything from hops to brewing kits online.

The videos do the “cold calling” for him. Because of the knowledge he gives away freely, people know they can trust him when it comes to product recommendations.

So when there’s no customers in his retail store, he’s in the back room on the computer. Busy building an affiliate empire around his passion for beer.

What are you passionate about? What do you love to do? If you have confidence, you can transfer it to others. That’s a key secret to making a sale.

Learning How To Sell

None of these people started as super affiliates. The difference was having someone to talk to. Someone who understands advertising, sales and marketing.

If you’d like to know more about advertising, sales and marketing, give me a call. Once you’re a Dynamic Media member, I’m just a phone call away.

take care,

Michael

P. S.

Right now I’m doing a series on syndicating content. I’m posting the step by step instructions in the Vault. Members can download the course chapters, audio, video, flowcharts and diagrams as I create them. Hope to see you inside.

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