Are you continuously dreaming about becoming an entrepreneur and quitting your job or have you recently started your first business? Is mentorship one of those things you are super-curious about but didn't have the time to explore this subject because you are already too busy working on your business plan? To help wantrepreneurs (people WANTING to succeed as entrepreneurs) and new business owners make the most of a relationship with a mentor, I've sat down with Dan Lok for a new episode of the 7 Figure Furnace podcast. We've talked about his "million-dollar year", his two mentors, the best way to build a successful business, and how to master persuasion and authority.
Are you continuously dreaming about becoming an entrepreneur and quitting your job or have you recently started your first business?
Is mentorship one of those things you are super-curious about but didn't have the time to explore this subject because you are already too busy working on your business plan?
To help wantrepreneurs (people WANTING to succeed as entrepreneurs) and new business owners make the most of a relationship with a mentor, I've sat down with Dan Lok for a new episode of the 7 Figure Furnace podcast. We've talked about his "million-dollar year", his two mentors, the best way to build a successful business, and how to master persuasion and authority.
More About This 7 Figure Furnace Episode
Before we jump in, if this is your first visit to my website, you should know that 7 Figure Furnace is a relatively new podcast, rapidly gaining new listeners, thanks to our esteemed guests. Each person I interview has made a name for themselves in digital marketing, affiliate management, product development, social media, content marketing, and entrepreneurship.
With each new episode, I am trying to expand my listeners' understanding of how online marketing can bring in huge profits while offering them an arsenal of selling tools, actionable advice for growing their business and improving their bottom line.
dan-lok
In this episode, I interview Dan Lok, who is a Vancouver-based serial entrepreneur, business consultant, and internet marketing strategist.
He shares how he made his millions, what his experience as a mentee and later as a mentor taught him about being a successful entrepreneur, and how you can easily persuade people to give you what you want.
Rather Listen?
If you are on your way to work, on your lunch break, or out for a jog, you can just listen to the episode and come back to this article later for the notes.
Play the audio in a new window or download it.
You can also subscribe via iTunes, RSS, Stitcher or Blackberry.
Some of the things you'll learn about in this episode are:
The Background of an Internet Millionaire
Dan started his first business when he was still in high-school, and from then on there were many ups and downs. He failed at 13 businesses before having his first success.
He found a mentor in Alan Jackson, who at the time was running one of the biggest financial seminar companies in Canada, and who was the first to bring Robert Kiyosaki in the country. Dan worked for Alan Jackson for a year for next to nothing, but ever since he refers to that year as the "million-dollar year" of his life because he thinks he got a million-dollar education during that time.
Soon after, he started his one-man advertising agency, writing copy for speakers, authors, entrepreneurs. He was making good money and feeling on top of the world, but one day Alan Jackson told him he needs a website, and he is happy he followed his advice.
Dan wrote a book called "Psychological Tactics" and decided to sell in on this new website. He only printed 100 copies, planning to sell them for $20 each. When marketers found out about the book, they stormed his website, buying all copies in under 30 days.
He was also buying products and collectibles from Hong Kong and selling them on eBay. He even became involved with ClickBank, having his products among the most profitable ones in there. He was making money from multiple sources.
He was smart to use his revenue to invest in various niches and companies, making the transition from entrepreneur to investor.
For Dan, Alan Jackson and Dan Pena were his most important personal mentors. You can also find a mentor who will have a big impact on your life.
First, you'll need to determine what kind of a mentor you want. Most people are concerned with where to find mentors, how to ask them to take you under their wing, but those things aren't what they should focus on. Mentors can be found everywhere; the important thing is to look for a mentor that is right for you.
To be a good mentor for you, the person you're thinking about needs to:
A. Be more successful than you are. They should be in a whole other league. If you're making $50,000/year, you don't want a mentor making $100,000/year, but someone making $1-2 million/year.
B. Still be active in business. They should still be actively involved in running their business. You don't want someone that made some money 2-3 years ago, but someone who is still making money as you read this.
C. Have a story you can resonate with. Chemistry is important not only in love but also in selecting a business mentor. You need to click. Listening to a speaker at a conference isn't like having a mentor. Mentorship is about one-on-one discussions, getting personal, allowing yourself to be open.
D. See value in something you can bring to the table. Great mentors are already successful, so you need to really think about you can offer them in exchange for their time and interest. It could be working for free, paying them, exchange of service, anything - but you need to bring some value to their life before asking for something in return.
Getting the Best out of Your Relationship with a Mentor
To keep your mentor around and extract as much value as possible of the arrangement:
Don't question your mentor. Sometimes you'll have to put aside your ego, even your own belief system, and listen to what they want to teach you. You need to be totally immersed in the relationship for it to work, you can't get anything out of it if you constantly question and argue with your mentor.
Decide that you really want to be successful. Most entrepreneurs don't want it bad enough. The number one quality of a prosperous entrepreneur is the ability to endure pain for extended periods of time. Most people don't understand how to deal with pressure. They don't want to be successful bad enough, so when there are bumps in the road, they quit.
A Shock Therapy for Resetting Your Mind
Sometimes, when we're going through something very stressful, we lose focus, can't put our thoughts into order, we're easily distracted and derailed. A very effective way of snapping out of this is to take a normal shower like you do every day, but in the last 30 seconds, suddenly turn off the warm water and continue your washing up with cold water, letting it run over the back of your head and your wrists. As soon as you step on your bathroom mat, you'll feel like a new person - energized and focused.
Switching from an Employee's Mentality to an Entrepreneur's Mentality
When you're an employee you know that you're putting in a month of work and you get paid. As an entrepreneur you can put in years of work and still don't get paid. What do you do then? This is something that shocks people, and that's why not everyone is an entrepreneur and why not every entrepreneur achieves success. Entrepreneurs need to be optimistic, but also to be prepared for the worst.
How to Influence People and Get What You Want
Dan is the author of "Influence!: 47 Forbidden Psychological Tactics You Can Use To Motivate, Influence and Persuade Your Prospect". He says that everything you could possibly want in life (money, relationships, products, fame) other people have. So what we need to do is to influence others to give us what we want in exchange of value - that's how businesses work. You exchange something of value you have, for something of value somebody else has.
To influence people so they'd give you what you want, you need:
A. Authority. Authority figures make us follow their lead without questionings what they say (doctors, policemen). We just do what they say. In your business, you can create authority by becoming an author. You'll be the person that wrote a book on your niche. You'll be the person who gives talks on your niche. Slowly you can build your authority, one book or speaking engagement at a time.
B. Social Proof. What other people say about you is infinite more powerful than anything you could ever say about yourself (testimonials, reviews). Think about a restaurant - you don't really trust a place where there are only two customers, you trust the one that's packed, where it's difficult to get a table.
C. Exclusivity. The human brain is hardwired to want what it can't have, what's scarce, what others also want. By making people think your offer will be gone by tomorrow or that there are already many people that would do anything to get what you're selling, you're influencing people into wanting it.
D. Consistency. You want people to say yes very often before you make the sales pitch. You do this by asking simple questions during a meeting or webinar like "have you see this?", "are you still with me?", "do you want to be able to perform this task this easy?". That way, after they've said "yes" 10-20 times before, saying "no" would be inconsistent, which is uncomfortable for the human brain.
E. Involvement. If you give people that chance to use your product before asking for a sale, you'll have a better shot at closing the deal, because they'll get used to it and even convince themselves the product is now part of their new reality.
Influencing People Online
Each opt-in, each checked box, each action potential customers perform because you've asked them to is part of the involvement we described above. Your job is, thus, to design your sales funnel in such a way that each new action is effortless enough for the customer that they'll do it, slowly guiding them toward a sale.
List Building in a New Paradigm and the Need for Platforms
People are already on too many lists. This is the reality. There are too many lists already, so it's increasingly difficult to make yourself noticed, and even more complicated to build trust with potential customers.
Dan thinks that to be effective as a marketer you need to embrace a new model that he imagines a triangle on which you have your website, your lead magnet and lists, and a platform.
triangle
This third element, the platform, is what Dan thinks it's going to separate successful marketers from the pack. This can be a podcast, video, a YouTube channel - something that can act as a relationship building tool. This isn't something you use to sell products and services. This is something you use to give people value and to keep following you, adding and extra dimension to what you do.
Having a†platform becomes essential. Connecting with customers is increasingly important. Now there's so much noise online, that it takes longer to build trust and get people to order your products and services.
Today it's cheaper to start an online business, but that also means there are more competitors targeting the same customers. You need to acquire more knowledge and more experience to succeed.
Understanding the Pyramid†of Wealth
Becoming successful is easy if you understand the†Pyramid†of Wealth, and you'll see why Dan says this in a second.
Imagine a pyramid. From the base up, picture these things: high-income skills, scalable business models, and high-return investments. These are the things you'll need to be successful and become a wealthy person.
first-triangle_wealth
High-Income Skills. These are defined as any skills that can make you $10,000/month. It could be coding, copywriting, social media marketing, anything that can get you paid up $10,000/month. You're trading hours for dollars, but for good money.
Scalable Business. This is a business model that can easily expand, without you putting in more time ñ like having people or a system that is making you money.
High-Return Investments. These are the investments that give you a minimum of 10% back.
The problem is this: most people want to become wealthy by starting with a scalable business model, without having acquired the high-income skills. If you go through the trouble of acquiring these skills, you'll always get paid, you'll be able to pay your bills no matter if your business picks up steam or not. You won't be risk adverse because you'll always have something to fall on.
Less than 6% of the population makes $10,000/month. Less than 1% of the population makes more than $320,000/year. This is why it's important to get those high-income skills - they put you in a place in society where people live comfortable lives.
The skills give you an income, a scalable business offers cash flow, and high-return investments build your net worth. When your business does well, you have enough money to invest, to anchor your profits into hard assets.
Remember
The name of the game isn't "get rich" but "stay rich" - you need to always reinvest your profits in safe ventures.
Look for a mentor that has achieved consistent success for an extended period of time, not the one-time wonders.
If you liked this interview, please share it with your friends!