Take a look at our newsletter this month!
NOVEMBER 2017
I’m writing this in a car driving down from Grass Valley, California, on the way to Experts Academy (EA) in Santa Clara for the middle leg of a six-week business tour I’ve been on. It’s been a whirlwind month of traveling, consulting, and masterminding across all three of my brands. I’ll drop lessons learned from each leg of the trip in this newsletter up to EA and then share the second half in December’s holiday newsletter. I think you’re particularly going to like some of the lessons from the Fitness Business Audit we conducted on five studios looking to franchise. There are a lot of golden nuggets in there. WHAT ARE YOU GEARING UP FOR?
This business tour, which is my version of being a rock band on tour, started in Elmira, New York, working with Travis Barnes and his Journey Fitness brand before a stopover in Telluride, Colorado, for the Todd Durkin Mastermind, followed by a visit to Santa Cruz, California, for my Visionary Planner retreat. We had planned on hitting Sonoma for three days as a team-building trip with our staff at the Visionary Planner, but with the wine country fires, we canceled our trip and took three days up in Grass Valley, California. There, we enjoyed some wines and a region I had no idea existed.
Did you know Grass Valley and Nevada City have wine regions? Neither did I. I do now. Two of our favorites were Sierra Star and Nevada City Winery — both had some solid reds that are worth checking out for a great price. Now, I’m heading down to EA with Brendon Burchard and the CHPC and HPM crews. It’s been three years since I hit EA, and I’m excited to see how things have changed and to see what’s brewing in that training.
“THE WORLD IS AT SUCH A PRECARIOUS PLACE RIGHT NOW THAT I’M HOPING COMMUNITIES BEING AFFECTED, LIKE VEGAS, ARE FINDING A WAY TO TAP INTO SOMETHING HIGHER AND MORE MEANINGFUL THAN WHAT THE CURRENT LEADERSHIP IS DEMONSTRATING.”
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Anna, Mike, me, Cool Mo D Barbara, Mo, and Kim in Santa Cruz
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Fitnesspreneur Life • www.vitolafata.com
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I like being on the road, but this has been one of the longest streaks of not being home for more than 48 hours at a time that I can remember. I only have a two-day stop back home before heading back out again and into the studio in San Diego to shoot some new videos for VP. Then, I’ll bounce over to Vegas for a Beachbody leadership event. From there, I’ll drop into Brendon’s studio in Portland for a day to attend a mastermind and spend some time with my local BB coaches in the area — that way, I can double the productivity of the trip.
Speaker Training before I finally come off the road and rest for the holidays and get some QT to just produce.
So, now the question … What are you gearing up for?
I feel like this road trip was about gearing up for 2018 and the work ahead. In Telluride, I shared with our mastermind that with 15-plus years now in the industry, the strongest asset I have is simply working the relationships I’ve built. In the last five years in particular, I’ve built key relationships that are now firing on all cylinders and operating at high levels of strategic planning — or what we like to call collaborative compounding. The projects we are working on aren’t just about getting in the game anymore, they are about leverage and scale so that every project has a back end that can be used not just to make money and make a single impact, but to instead make impacts over and over again. The projects we are working on multiply the number of people we can touch together, and they help us operate better than we ever could alone.
The Beachbody leadership event is always one of my favorites. They put on a quality event, and they go the distance to take care of their top coaches and share valuable training and insights into what’s happening in the at-home fitness market. I will drop those takeaways next month. Going to Vegas is going to be something special and interesting. I’m not sure how the town is recovering or responding to the shootings last month. The energy and vibe will be something I’m looking to key into. The world is at such a precarious place right now that I’m hoping communities
“... I’M SURROUNDED BY POSITIVE, GOOD PEOPLE TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THE DICHOTOMY OF THE TWO IS A SHARP DIFFERENCE IN PERSPECTIVE, AND I’M GLAD I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE IN THE BEST OF HUMANITY SO WE CAN SEIZE CONTROL OF OUR OWN FUTURES. I HOPE YOU’RE DOING THE SAME.”
being affected, like Vegas, are finding a way to tap into something higher and more meaningful than what the current leadership is demonstrating. It’s strange at times to listen to the news, which is so full of hatred, fearmongering, and childish Twitter quips. Meanwhile, in my everyday life, I’m surrounded by positive, good people trying to make a difference. The dichotomy of the two is a sharp difference in perspective, and I’m glad I choose to believe in the best of humanity so we can seize control of our own futures. I hope you’re doing the same. There has never been a better time to plug into a community of support to focus on developing new skills and learning how to share your message with more of the world. The world needs it right now. If you are isolated out there, it’s going to get tougher and tougher to weather the next few years — that is, until we can get a new administration that can hopefully change this bad energy. The reason I hit so many of these masterminds, trainings, and events is selfish in the sense that I know that as long as I keep growing and keeping myself in rooms full of people who are purpose-filled, I can protect myself and create my own reality. And that reality is way better than the reality of people who go it alone and who are not focused on growth and healthy environments.
I learned this skill and strategy when I first got into the info marketing game and started my first personal brand, and it’s been the single most valuable thing I’ve learned: Whatever you build, build it with the idea to use it to teach others how you did it and sell it over and over.
Are you gearing up to know how to do that for yourself?
As I keep growing a brand that is starting to expand outside the fitness industry, I’m realizing more and more that this concept is still new to 99 percent of the fitness industry and most small businesses out there. Whereas in the info marketing space, this strategy and language is common and considered a competitive advantage and everyday practice. Let’s gear up for some nuggets of competitive advantage for you so I can hopefully give you a few key focuses from my multi-stop business tour. Vito Lafata
That’s why I’m closing out this business road trip up in Half Moon Bay, California, with the HPM mastermind and then the World’s Greatest
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Vito Lafata • www.vitolafata.com
JOURNEY FITNESS BUSINESS AUDIT, OCT. 7-11 ELMIRA, NY
GET OUTSIDE EYES ON YOUR BUSINESS
Every one of us gets “business blind,” where we’ve been looking at our business for so long that we get accustomed to what we see and hear. We miss warning signs, triggers and opportunities right under our noses and in front of our faces. We start looking for the same numbers, stop hearing what our clients are saying, and fall into patterns and habits that can cause us to miss valuable information which can improve our business.
<< Eric “The Copy King,” myself, Travis, and JC
This process, again, is invaluable in hearing why people love you, value you, and what they want to see more of and less of, so that you can create and build a business around what your clients need and want. When you can narrow down the focus and see the true value, you can raise your rates. An example is the fact that we identified that Journey Fitness is not actually in the fitness business per se, but rather, they are in the weight loss and medical business. They have a signature system for duplicating over 100-pound weight loss, getting people off meds, and turning lifestyle-related illness around. Only problem is they are not being “sold” that way. The time we spend the next few months repositioning the programs can jump his rates from $167 per month to $497 per month, and create feeder programs worth $997-plus before rolling people into standard memberships. That’s how you can get out of the fitness rat race and into a category of one! 3. Audited the sales process, marketing funnels and books Travis is fairly dialed-in with his systems — he loves them — which is why he’s so easy and fun to work with. But, like “business blindness,” when we are the ones who built everything from scratch and started the processes, then handed them over, and then move on to the next ones ... if we don’t have a mechanism in place to police the processes, things can fall through the cracks. However, when you have an outside firm coming in, you get the benefits of no emotions and no past attachment to the brand. We came in with a ruthless and relentless approach to see where staff was not performing as they should be, and we looked at the books and saw where the gaps were and where the potential was. It’s invaluable to have a company that knows what the dials and levers are that can be improved, tweaked, and enhanced come in and show you where things are and recommend a strategy on how to phase in growth. By the time we left, we gave Travis a 20-page document on how to add $900,000 in gross revenue and drop expenses $100,000 for a net $1 million addition. Now, all that’s needed is execution and implementation. He kept us on for an additional four months to help him ensure execution. That’s a man on a mission. Take these three steps and execute a fitness business audit to see where you stand. If you are interested in a fitness business audit, email me at vito@vitolafata.com.
I rolled into Elmira with two of my boys, Mike Murphy and Eric Bakery, to conduct a three-day, deep-dive business audit on Travis Barnes’ Journey Fitness brand, so we could help him prepare it for potential franchising.
Here are a few gold nuggets of what we did that you can go do, right now, in your business to conduct your own fitness business audit.
It really is helpful when you have an outside company do it, because people are more forthright and willing to tell you things in an unbarred manner. But, you can do it and still get great results. Just make sure you create a safe, trusting space for people to share. 1. Interviewed staff without owners present We did this so staff could speak freely and openly, sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly of what day-to-day operations are like, and what their honest feedback is on leadership, direction, and focus. We used this knowledge to pinpoint where the staff is overwhelmed, too many roles for too few people, breakdown in systems, strengths and weaknesses in leadership, communication, and a lot more. If you sit your staff down and really let them go off and tell you what they are thinking and feeling, you will gain some of the most valuable information you will ever use in fine-tuning your brand. 2. Interviewed and focus grouped 30-50 clients Now, why did we do this so in depth? Because your best marketing comes from the words of your buyers! Not your market, but your buyers. So, if you do nothing else, go interview your buyers about your business and why they bought or joined, the No.1 reason they keep staying with you, and use that to power your marketing. Now, as far as us coming in, we did this so we could ask a series of questions to help gather the language, wants, and needs of the best clients, who were raving fans. That way, we could start stripping out the USP of the business and the three unique avatars that exist in the business, for us to start creating signature funnels and higher-priced offers, back end systems, bundled offers, recognition, and about 20 more systems that need attention.
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TELLURIDE, CO TODD DURKIN MM Sunken in the midst of one of the most gorgeous mountain passes lies Telluride, Colorado. A town where people live by “-ish” as a roundabout time. “We open in the morning at 8ish,” and “We close in the evening at 6:30ish," were common understandings amongst town-goers. Pictured is where we gathered for Todd’s annual mastermind retreat. One of my favorite things about this retreat is the fact that Todd loves the mountains as a scene for blue-sky thinking and strategizing. I find so much peace of mind when I can look out over the mountains and think big. We had a blast in the quaint town, with gondola rides and great food around. I’m hoping to come back and ski this destination soon. Now, besides all the fun, we also masterminded. Here are several lessons I believe you can use to grow your personal and business brands. 1. THE POWER OF RELATIONSHIPS. COLLABORATIVE COMPOUNDING.
have seven voices marketing, selling, creating authority, and building lists and opportunities. We can share to convert more leads into business and be compensated for the value of the relationships we’ve built.
I can’t overstate the power in that.
You may be in a mastermind, but are you thinking of the people you meet in it that way — as strategic relationships that leverage and build on one another?
I challenge you to start.
When you do, you can bring the kind of business prowess and know-how to the table the way Napoleon Hill taught us in “Think and Grow Rich.”
Gear up for it.
2. MORE OF THE INDUSTRY IS THINKING, “BUILD MY PERSONAL BRAND.” It was great to hear in the Fitness Tank — a fun breakout session Todd puts on, where people get to pitch their product, service, or idea to the “sharks” and see whose idea wins the prize — that more and more people in the industry are thinking about building personal brands, especially online. Building a personal brand is THE best way to leverage your passion and years of experience, and turn around and monetize it online or offline. Especially beneficial to this is the fact that you don’t need brick and mortar for your personal brand. That way, it can be very scalable, very profitable, and travel anywhere with you.
There are nine of us in Todd’s P10 Mastermind. In that room, I have a strategic relationship with six of them (soon to be seven) where we all feed each other’s businesses, income, and visions. Almost everyone in that room runs a seven-figure brand, so the leverage of those relationships leads to multiplier effects on any single action we take. The funnels we have back and forth to feed one another means for every one of us out there, we
“THE MOST MEANINGFUL ASPECT OF A PERSONAL BRAND IS YOU GET TO TEACH AND SHARE YOUR PASSIONS, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE SOLELY FITNESS, AND GROW YOUR CAREER, REACHING TO NEW VENTURES AS YOU CONTINUE TO EVOLVE.”
But, the most meaningful aspect of a personal brand is you get to teach and share your passions, which may or may not be solely fitness, and grow your career, reaching to new ventures as you continue to evolve. In my 44-plus years on this planet, the last seven have been the most profitable, because I learned that I know more than I ever imagined and used to give myself credit for. And that the people behind me would pay to get that knowledge faster if I offered it. I teach this to all my Visionary Planner students, the fact that all of us can build a personal
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Vito Lafata • www.vitolafata.com
SANTA CRUZ, CA
OCT. 11-15
THE VISIONARY PLANNER RETREAT
OCT. 18-20
I CALL THIS TRIBE: VISIONARIES.
Sitting at a long table for long hours as we work on our visions and our dreams was on the agenda for three days.
Sometimes in busy lives, there are only a few moments in a Visionary’s life where you can shut out the world and take the time to nail down your visions and dreams ... ... but this crew took time away from family and work to be with a community, to get serious about building their personal brands in a few days, versus a few years doing it on their own. I hear a lot of people say they want to build their personal brand, but so few truly commit and make the sacrifice to do it now. It gets an hour here and an hour there, but not daily, focused, blocks of time to get clarity and instruction on the who, what, why, and how to build a personal brand. My visionaries do it daily. The smiles, laughs, white boarding, and talking on a weekend that spanned covering life, business, dream chasing, and becoming more confident with the new skills they need to grow and to serve is the legacy work of my life.
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brand. Being compensated for the life stages we’ve experienced literally has no end. It clicked for me when I saw people like Tony Robbins, who was not a financial guru, get into the financial space with his book “Money.” Over the years, all he did was learn a ton about money and turn around and make it a book. And he is now in the position of making money in the financial space. Looking back, I was in fitness, then a boot camp owner, studio owner, and system developer. I built an online business, became a high-performer, then got certified in it, and built multiple brands. All I’ve done over the years is turn around and keep reaching back to help those behind, and it’s created the lifestyle my wife and I dream about. Why not you? I hear a lot of people say they are stuck not knowing how or where to begin when it comes to building a personal brand. This is common, until you start studying how. I have a simple, seven-day, get-started course called The Clear Vision Planner that can help you just by visiting www.clearvisionplanner.com.
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Are you gearing up for this?
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Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com
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Crisis created clarity.
Now, does that work to light a fire under your ass? Yes.
I had that happen to me back when Crunch fired me, and back when I had trainers leave with business, and when I had to buy out my ex-business partner. But, I learned from those lessons in my life and, since 2010, I’ve never waited for external factors to come in and give me internal drive.
Internal drive is what I call necessity.
I never envisioned my road in life would take me here, but when you trust in growth, vision, and the ability to evolve and figure things out ... life works out for the better. Now, I’m simply blessed to connect, collaborate, teach, and encourage men and women all over the world to believe they have what it takes to build a personal brand. One that allows them to serve others with the years of experience and knowledge they have gained, and to build a freedom lifestyle so they can live every moment doing what they love with people they love. When we opened up our retreat, I shared with them a few things I believe will help in building a successful brand. These are the intangibles that strengthen your resolve and give you the necessary aids to take the idea of a personal brand and make it real. In a world full of distractions, shiny objects, and hopeful wishing, I reminded my visionaries that the No.1 skill as an entrepreneur is seeking and maintaining clarity at all costs. The allure to be pulled in multiple directions, multi-task, and chase whims of fancy is eroding many people’s ability to focus, finish what they start, and get things out. I reminded them that the best ideas in their head are useless without getting them out into people’s hands, and into people’s lives. It’s only when things, imperfect as they might be, are out in the world with people playing with them, working through them, and breaking them, do we get the valuable feedback to keep improving what we do. It’s the fine-tuning process that creates quality, not the idea of perfection, and for sure not the idea of trying so many things that you never go deep on one or two things and strike some gold. 1. SEEK CLARITY.
Necessity is a drive to perform, build, contribute, and lead, not because someone or something is forcing us, but because it matters to us — to who we are, to the work we do, to the legacy we leave behind. Necessity drives us and compels us through being lazy, tired, stuck, and any barrier that might come our way, because necessity is about the need to stand for something and someone. I’m driven by the necessity to help build visionaries with successful brands, because I believe they will help change this world. And right now, the world needs change, desperately. And I don’t believe in waiting for anyone else to do it. I believe in accepting personal responsibility for changing the world, and it needs to happen now, before I’m dead and gone. What is your necessity? What is the drive, deep in your soul, that compels you to do things you might not want to do, like study marketing, get over sales hang-ups, focus on business, etc.? The faster, clearer, and deeper you uncover your necessity, the more real the dreams of your brand being a success are going to meet you in your day. When I was starting my career, I did a lot of stuff. I mean a lot. The only problem was I wasn’t being intentional. I was doing random things, and while it was a lot, it wasn’t focused on a singular focus, so my actions didn’t go deep. And since they never went deep, they never built on one another, and since they never built on one another I wasn’t able to keep getting better. This led to increased rates and better understanding as to BECOME the expert that people would pay to be in a room with. Learn from my years of experience and start now being more intentional about what you study, who you study with, what rooms you end up in, what niche you choose, what topics you become the expert in, etc. The more you approach everything you do with intentionality, the deeper the quality; the deeper the quality, the more you continued on page 7 >>> 3. BE INTENTIONAL.
2. CREATE NECESSITY.
A recent student in my VP course was told by her boss that he wouldn’t be renewing their contract, and that he had delayed her salary for two months! Guess what happened?
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Vito Lafata • www.vitolafata.com
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become the sought-after expert. The more you become the sought-out expert, the more you can grow a lucrative brand.
you lose the precious gift of sharing how we can all connect on the struggle. As Brendon says, “We can honor the struggle.”
c. To not defend, but to listen and receive
Intentionality is a skill of the successful.
4. CHALLENGE YOURSELF.
This was a gold nugget I shared from something Travis said when we did the fitness business audit. Day two of our audit with Travis, he was taking a lot of feedback and caught himself trying to defend decisions, actions, etc. And at one point, he said, “I’m going to stop defending, and instead just listen.” Brilliant. We all do this. I’m guilty of it, too. However, when we get intentional and vulnerable, we allow ourselves to hear versus talk all the time. Some of the greatest moments of breakthrough can come when we receive feedback openly and with grace, so we can go course-correct.
I finished one of my talks with the crew with a simple drill-down of things they should choose to willingly do ... here’s the quick roll call of those things ... I hope you challenge yourself to these things daily, as well.
a. To think bigger
Too many people think small, think immediate, and think limited. Never, in our history as a human species, has more been available for you to willingly choose to pursue your dreams. You just have to think bigger and demand more of yourself.
d. To focus on relationships
b. To be vulnerable
Out most valuable asset is the people in our lives. I challenged my visionaries to look at the people in the room and not just see them as other visionaries, but as potential partners, affiliates, friends and more.
Too often we are afraid to open up, afraid people will take advantage of us, use us, and diminish us. I believe when you get yourself in the right rooms, with the right people, the gift of vulnerability is there for you. I have it and give it in Todd’s mastermind, in Brendon’s mastermind, with my Beachbody team, and in my Visionary group. If you are not in a group of people where you can be vulnerable and share what’s going on inside, you’re only showing the world what you think they want to hear and see, and
“THE MORE YOU APPROACH EVERYTHING YOU DO WITH INTENTIONALITY, THE DEEPER THE QUALITY; THE DEEPER THE QUALITY, THE MORE YOU BECOME THE SOUGHT-AFTER EXPERT. THE MORE YOU BECOME THE SOUGHT-OUT EXPERT, THE MORE YOU CAN GROW A LUCRATIVE BRAND.”
e. To make these moments matter
Finally, I challenged my visionaries to not make this time they carved away from family, from their business, and their lives as just any ol’ thing. But, rather to see it as a pivotal moment in life. And if they infused it with meaning, it would not just be something they did, but something and someone they BECAME.
Who are you gearing up to become?
Keep getting after it!
-V
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HOW DO YOU PROCESS NEGATIVE REVIEWS?
THIS IS A MAKE-OR-BREAK SKILL.
The problem with sharing this kind of content at IDEA is that not everyone wants to receive “principled” knowledge. They prefer how-to lessons like, “Do this thing here, do this thing there.” This is fine, but it leaves you at the mercy of tactics, and tactics can come and go. Principles require you to think about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, and principles require you to be the leader, the voice, and the marketer. I could go into the many reasons I believe the industry would be better served if more people wanted to learn how to think , versus being spoon- fed how-to tactics. I believe this is what causes so many in the industry to live and die by the latest trends and tactics, rather than learning the fundamentals of business and marketing, which give them the power and confidence to run their business, no matter what tactics come and go. But let’s stick to what I want you to walk away with, which is a process and mindset on how to handle and keep perspective if you ever get negative reviews. If you want more know-how on the fundamentals of running a fitness business today, clearvisionplanner.com is a good next step.
Knowing how to process negative reviews can make a difference in the level of confidence you have, day in and day out, year over year.
I’m going to share with you a few key ways to inoculate yourself against negative reviews, so even if they come, you can bounce back and keep charging on with the important work you are doing.
Let me give you an example. I presented at IDEA World back in July, and I had two sessions.
For one of my sessions, I risked giving a different style of content to engage the audience. I did this because, when you take your craft as a presenter seriously, you’re always looking for new ways to engage and try new things to see what you have in the tank. In one of the sessions, I was part of a three-person panel, where we each had 30 minutes to present on lead generation for clubs and studios. I was the final presenter after eight hours of sessions, and I took a gamble that the audience would need a break from more tactics and how-to information, and instead, I changed my presentation topic from how to use content online to gather leads, to learning how to use the ultimate lead generator in the world — your voice. Before there were email captures, opt-in pages, and websites, people like Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus, Gandhi, and even modern-day authorities like Oprah, Brendon Burchard, and Arianna Huffington demonstrated that the most powerful way to gather a tribe and help affect change is through the power of your voice and the message that you share. In a world dominated by distractions, “me too” businesses, and tactic marketing, your authority — your ability to get people to believe in your message — is the strongest way, proven by history, time, and data, to get more people moving in a unified direction. If you want more people to care about obesity, diabetes, youth fitness, or whatever your beliefs and the good fights you care about happen to be, you will need to use your voice to help teach people how to think about these things so they care enough to listen, act, and buy. Otherwise, very little happens. The reason I chose this topic is because your voice IS the most powerful lead generator you will ever possess.
Back to negative reviews ...
A month or so after IDEA ended, when they post the reviews, I went looked at the reviews, and this is what I saw.
Now, I could just see those two reviews and start feeling bad about myself and all the time and work I put into thinking how I could serve the industry better, and I would lose precious time and energy fixated on those two reviews. Or I could use the greatest tool in handling negative reviews — perspective .
There is no greater tool for your confidence than perspective. Before internalizing, stop and gather perspective.
Remind yourself that everyone in the audience can see things differently. You don’t know what every single person needs at that time, and some people are just not in the space to receive what you’re sharing. And that’s okay.
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Vito Lafata • www.vitolafata.com
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Just a few more reviews down, I saw these two reviews of the same session.
Either way, right now, they're telling you one thing: It's not for them.
Okay, thanks for letting us know.
Step 4: Move On and Do Your Work.
Later in that same IDEA World, I presented my “Websites That Sell Made Easy” session, and I got these reviews.
You see, some people in the audience received my content one way, while others perceived it another way. That’s ALWAYS going to happen. You should be prepared for it, rather than shocked and dented by it.
I’m a big believer in knowledge as armor .
For more than seven years now, I’ve been following Seth Godin (if you haven’t subscribed to his blog, it’s a must), and he taught me how to think (there’s that thinking thing again) about processing negative reviews.
I care about these reviews because they speak to my work and focus.
You are going to need to know how to simply move on and keep doing your work. I’m not saying not to take the negative reviews in and learn from them. I’m saying that the next step is the critical one in determining whether you keep going or curl into a ball, cry, and become consumed by the negative people instead of the positive.
Step 1: Assume some people love what you do.
They love your product, your service, and the way you do your work. If that's not true, you have a more significant problem to work on first.
Step 2: Understand the fact that some people will hate what you do.
Step 5: Choose.
They will post a one-star review, or cross the street to avoid your business, or generally be unhappy with the very same thing that other people love.
Choose to listen to your fans who like the work you’re doing. Keep getting better. Keep surrounding yourself with the people who like what you offer, want to buy from you, and understand why and how you do it. Choice is the ultimate freedom you possess, and with these few simple steps, you can keep your eye on the ball of progress, and not get shut down from a few bad reviews when you know the work you’re doing is about changing the world.
Step 3: Come to the conclusion that all a negative review means is it's not for them.
They want something you don't offer. Or they want to buy it from someone who isn't you. Or they don't understand what it's for or how or why you do it.
Some of these things you can address by telling a story more clearly. Some you can't.
THE MOST ESSENTIAL ABILITY IN YOUR BUSINESS.
Is it ambition?
Is it delivering impressive service? Having a passion for what you do or sell? Brilliant advertising? Luck? All of the above?
Acquiring customers with ambition is huge, but not essential. You can train ambition.
Some people suggest it’s about our moral character — what is inside the business owner or entrepreneur — things like having ambition, initiative, drive, discipline, and persistence. And while those are all beneficial, they are not essential. They are certainly helpful, but you can make up for any of those. But, as I learned through many years of having it beaten into my head from mentor Dan Kennedy, the most essential ingredient is “an assembled group of perfectly appropriate and high-value customers — thus making the most essential ability for long-term success the ability to attract, keep, and assemble that group. People who have the willingness to pay any price to achieve the continued on page 10 >>>
Is it having a great product?
It definitely helps, but many people have had great products, only to go out of business.
Having sufficient capital?
For many years, I ran my business with almost no capital in reserve. Was it smart or pretty? Nope. But did I get through? Yes. It’s a dangerous way to be skating by, if that’s you today.
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807 Brooks Ave. Venice, CA 90291 www.vitolafata.com
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE
What Are You Gearing Up For?
1
Get Outside Eyes on Your Business
3
Tales From Telluride
4
A Look Into Visionary Planning
5
How Do You Process Negative Reviews?
8
The Most Essential Ability in Your Business
9
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desired end result — own that thing, feel that way — benefit from this thing.”
Every marketer needs to know who their best customer is and be willing to spend in order to acquire them, even if they lose money on the first transaction, for the future payoff on the back end. So many people are worried about making money on their first transaction because they have no back end. Hence, their business lives and dies with singular transactions, versus the development, support, and growth of a community that is interested in doing more. To appeal to the best customers and their ambition, you must do everything you can to discover the ambition in your customer, cater to it, and be willing to repel or toss aside anyone who is at all offended by what you do. I did this in my early years, but strayed from it. Now, I still see too many timid business owners running a lot of businesses that focus 90 percent of their attention, energy, time, and investment on many things other than this essential process of acquiring quality buyers, who are willing to keep ascending, both in their life and in your business. Truth is, it is inexcusable for THE essential thing to not be the main thing. Your fight for clarity is always to keep the main thing your main thing. People who want your help — who can pay for your help and will do what you ask — ARE the essential ingredient of a lasting business, built for success.
For me, in my business, the world is a happy place when I attract someone who has an ambition to serve, is willing to challenge the status quo, is evolutionary in their thinking and ways, has ballsy ambition, and has the willingness to pay any price to achieve their vision. They just need to be in a business that can benefit from my strategies. Students in my visionary planner are a prime example of this. They aren’t worried about nickels and dimes over what the coaching program costs. They are worried about helping breast cancer survivors, student athletes, middle-aged moms who want life after motherhood, stressed- out professionals who need to restore balance, young women who want to gain confidence and overcome their past, and the list goes on. Their mission and vision — and the ability to take that vision and make it a profitable business that can impact more people — is what compels them to work hard, study business and marketing, work on their brands, and challenge themselves to think bigger. They’re willing to invest in those skills.
At this past retreat, we locked attendees in a room, with one focus — know your avatar, know your niche, and know their world and problems.
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Vito Lafata • www.vitolafata.com
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