Control Your Financial Outcome - Grant Cardone

Be the master of your financial destiny with these top tips from one of the World's greatest sales pros!

Your Personal Wealth Diary

There is a difference between getting rich and having wealth. I want to teach you to get rich, but I really want to teach you how to get wealthy. You can get rich quick but nobody gets wealthy quick. Wealth is the abundance of something in such surplus, that no condition can destroy it. It’s abundant—you can’t get rid of all of it. There’s so much that no matter what happens around the world, it can’t go away. Making a lot of money is one thing—getting wealthy is something entirely different. How do you learn to do what wealthy people do? To start, stop saying things like, “Money won’t make me happy” because that’s false. People who are just getting by talk about money as though it’s a bad thing—but I promise you having buckets of money isn’t going to be a reason you’ll ever be unhappy. I want to outline the mistakes that most people make that the wealthy don’t.

#1 Not Using Debt—You’ve been told don’t use it, never use it, it’s evil. My boy Dave Ramsey says all debt is bad debt. If you do your homework and don’t just listen to the popular thinking that debt is somehow killing everyone, you’ll understand there are different kinds of debt.   There’s time to use debt and there’s time not to. When do you use debt? There’s no always in anything. All big companies use debt. Debt can be used to expand a business. Debt is my ability to go into the marketplace and produce more income, not buy more things. I never use debt for consumption. Consumption is things like groceries or cars. Not all debt is created equal.   I use debt to build income. Debt is me going to the bank to borrow money to build my business. Look at Apple, they have $270 billion in cash. They borrow money from Japan. Why? Because they can use debt cheaper to explode income, to invest in equipment, and to do research to blow up their top line. I have over $200 million in debt. I’m not paying it—the tenants who live in my apartment buildings are paying down my $200 million debt while I get the write-off from the interest they are paying. So when do you use debt? When it makes you more money, when you get a write-off, and when you can expand your business. Don’t believe that all debt is bad—get wealthy by using debt smartly. 

#2 Money Shortage Mindset—If you were brought up poor or middle class you have a certain mindset. You believe that there is a shortage of money. Money doesn’t grow on trees, right? Well, there is more money on this planet than there are trees. You can print money faster than you can grow a tree. Money, here in the US, was actually printed from a cotton bush. By definition a bush is a tiny tree. That paper was cotton, so it’s not true that money doesn’t grow on trees. Money is everywhere. Go outside and look around—the cars, the buildings, the people wearing clothes and ties, the retail centers, and the purses. There is no shortage of money. If you were brought up poor or middle-class you were brought up by people that believed money was in shortage. Turn the lights out, eat all your food, save the pennies—look, a penny is a PENNY. Fix this money shortage mindset. Start looking for money. See how much money is around you. There is abundance and opportunity everywhere. Get wealthy by seeing abundance. 

#3 Looking at Prices—You know the old saying that if you have to know the price you can’t afford it? That’s actually not true.   Why are you looking at prices? If you’re looking at price you already have deceived yourself. Price is not your problem.   The price is not what you are buying. I did this for years—I’d go to a restaurant and look at the prices on the menu. Do you think the super wealthy worry about the price of a steak or a cup of coffee? Wealthy people don’t worry over price. They aren’t worried over a $30 book or a $1000 program. Their attention is focused on success. Be focused on your income. The average American makes $52,000 a year where the average cost of living is higher than $52,000 a year. 76% of all Americans live paycheck to paycheck in the wealthiest country in the world. It’s no different for a person in America than it is for a guy in India making $2 a day. Neither has enough income. It’s no different. All the attention is on what things costs. Shift your attention away from price because price is not your problem. The problem is you don’t make enough income. Looking at prices is an indication that you’ve contracted financially. Get wealthy by focusing on your income, not prices. These are just a few ways you can get started on the road to wealth. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme where if you start doing these things you’ll be a millionaire next week. These are rather broad principles that you need to embody if you ever want to become wealthy. Have you dreamed of becoming not just rich, but even super rich? Quit focusing on prices, refuse to see money as a shortage, and know that not all debt is bad. Get on Playbook to Millions for much, much more to get you on your way to your first million. People are doing it, when will you? The reality is there are two options, invest in yourself or give up on ever being wealthy. Which will it be?

Source: https://grantcardone.com/blogs/grantcardone/your-personal-wealth-diary

Sales As An Introvert

If you met me at a party I wouldn’t have much to say. If you sat next to me on a long flight I may not say a word to you the entire trip.I’m an introvert.

If you saw me on YouTube, Twitter, Google Hangouts, in a TV interview or at one of my sales seminars you would never know it has never been easy for me to start a conversation with people I don’t know. After college I was terrified to go on a job interview, until I realized employers weren’t going to come to my house and hire me. I had been selling cars for seven years and still never got comfortable saying hello to a customer. Yet I still reached the top 1% of all the salespeople in the auto industry.

You can adapt, and be an introvert or an extrovert, depending on the situation.

If you are hosting a party you appear to become an extrovert to keep things going and keep the guests happy, but when you’re a guest at a party you appear to become an introvert. As a professional speaker and educator I become an extrovert in order to deliver information. But when I attend seminars as a guest I am much more introverted. So how do you become an extrovert in sales situations when you are naturally comfortable being an introvert?

I USE THESE 7 TIPS TO STEP OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE:

1. Get passionate. I get so excited about what I’m selling that I’m compelled to share it with the world! When you are passionate about your product, idea or service you pay less attention to how you are perceived. Instead youpay more attention to showing that excitement for what you have to offer and how it will benefit the customer!

2. Get out of your comfort zone once per day. It is very important for me to do things that make me uncomfortable. You need to be courageous and make it a point to face your fears, no matter how big or small. The single scariest thing for me was visiting my customers or prospects in person. So that is the first thing I did every day to get over my fear, which instilled me with courage, belief in myself andchanged my focus from limitations to possibilities.

3. Say hello to everyone you pass. I refuse to walk past any person without acknowledging them. I force myself to look everyone in the eyes and say hello. This is like exercising, it builds a muscle that enables me to decide at will when I want to be extroverted, whether I’m on a sales call or any other situation.

4. Go outside. Literally step out of your comfort zone by leaving your home or office often so you can socialize with people. When I move to a new city I will go to the same place over and over until I am comfortable and know everyone there. I have done this same thing with my children, bringing them to the same grocery store every morning until they are so familiar they can talk with the people working there as if they were family.

5. Help others make sales. If I go a few days without making a sale for myself I immediately offer my help to other salespeople. It’s a great way to get outside your own head, because with several failed closes it’s easy to become introverted and anxious. But by working with someone else’s prospects and having nothing to lose yourself you open up,feel more relaxed and regain your confidence. Once you score a sale for someone else, dive headfirst back into your own prospects again.

6. Be so persistent it bothers people. In life and business you won’t become successful if you never get criticized, especially in sales. You need to follow up on customers so much that they actually complain about it, and once they do you need to keep following up untilthey admire you for your persistence. When you believe in your product, company and yourself you will be willing to insist—and risk being criticized for it.

7. Keep busy. When you are constantly on the go you don’t have time to be uncomfortable or doubt yourself. If you’re busy you are always asking people for help, getting help, and talking to people because you are running from one sales meeting or event to the next—So get out and get moving!

Hope this helps.

Be great,

Grant Cardone

Source: https://grantcardone.com/blogs/grantcardone/sales-as-an-introvert-1

The REAL Wolf of Wall Street Story: Jordan Belfort

Jordan Belfort is a master of the art of influence and selling - if you haven't read his book, 'The Way of the Wolf' and you're in sales or any type of business then you're missing out!

Get it! Read it! And SELL!

5 Things that Will Actually Make You Poor

I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I have worked hard my whole life to create wealth and success for myself, my family, and my community. I do not ever blame someone or fault them for being poor. But I do not tolerate people who continue to stay in the mindset that being poor is a permanent condition. Throughout my life, I have built my success by showing others how to increase their income. I have heard the worst cases, people who were handicapped, people who were addicted to drugs, people with too much debt. I have heard it all and I tell you that there is nothing so severe that you can't overcome it and create massive success.

HERE ARE 5 THINGS THAT MIGHT BE MAKING YOU POOR: 

1. Living in the past. The successful don’t live in the past, they’re always looking to the future. Surround your environment with the images of the things you want in the future. Look, you don't have it now. You don't need pictures of what you got now and what you had in the past. It's keeping you stuck in now and the past. You don't want to be in the now or the past. Look, the now is what? It's the past now! Do you get it? I want to be in the future.
2. All talk, no action. You must readily take action and not just talk. Whether it’s by way of getting others to take action for them, getting attention for their products or ideas, or just grinding it out day and night, the successful have been consistently taking high levels of action – before anyone knew of their names—that’s how they became successful! Stop talking about a plan for action but instead, assume that your future achievements rely on investing your time and energy in actions that may not pay off today but when taken consistently and persistently over time will produce unlimited success.
3. Punching the clock—People who struggle with money usually work for time, not production. This means they get paid for working a certain amount of time (usually 40 hours) and after that they quit working. People who work with the idea of production don’t care how long they’re working, they are after producing. Nobody gets rich just working the clock because there isn’t enough time to accumulate a big payoff. Flip your mindset and start focusing on how you can produce, not count the hours until 5 o’clock.  
4. Having small goals—Successful people dream big and have immense goals. They are not “realistic.” They leave that to the masses who fight for leftovers. The poor are taught to be realistic and average, whereas the successful think in terms of how extensively they can spread themselves. The greatest regret of my life is that I initially set targets and goals based on what was realistic rather than on giant, radical thinking. “Big think” changes the world!
5. Talking about hump day and TGIF—Successful, rich people aren’t always telling their co-workers every Wednesday about hump day, they’re not high-fiving on Friday mornings shouting out “TGIF!” Monday morning, for the successful, is a new chance to make their dreams a reality. If you find yourself on Sunday evenings dreading the thought of Monday morning, you are probably not doing well financially.

If any of these 5 things hit close to home, just flip the switch. You can change, it all starts with a simple decision to do so. Then you must make a commitment to not go back. Real commitments require time and money. If you’re serious about it, you will commit time and money to investing in yourself to make sure you become a person living toward the future, take action, work towards production, have big goals, and look forward to Monday morning.

Be great,

GC

Source: https://grantcardone.com/blogs/grantcardone/5-things-that-will-actually-make-you-poor

How to Master Selling on the Phone

Do you have a love/hate relationship with selling? Why is that?

Selling is serving!

Someone Else’s Problem is Your Opportunity

YOU'RE JUST ONE PROBLEM AWAY FROM SUCCESS!

In this article, you'll learn: If you want to be successful, you have to talk, think, and approach situations, challenges, and PROBLEMS differently than most people.

INTRODUCTION

When I’m striving to achieve my full potential, one of the things that makes me the happiest is solving BIG problems (and I’m not just talking about my own problems)—I get more fulfillment when I solve other people’s problems.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that my goal is to be known by everyone on this planet. That’s 8 billion people! I’m not going to do that by talking about my own problems. It’s solving another person’s issue that brings me closer to my true potential.

If you want to be great, seek out other people’s problems. They are opportunities for you to shine, separate yourself from the rest, and solve their issue.

Before you can help someone, you have to open up the conversation to other people's problems. This involves asking hard questions and dealing with difficult personalities. Don’t let that stop you. Your job is to take care of it for them.

Here’s a tip: change any objection, refusal, or problem to a COMPLAINT. That’s all they really are...

Do you know what a complaint is?

Complaints are the most overlooked opportunities.

It’s a sign of interest. A customer has an unmet need. That’s where the opportunity is waiting for you. Your job is to solve that issue. Turn it into a win.

THE TRUTH ABOUT COMPLAINTS

I ask my staff to send me all the complaints that we get. Why? Because I know that complaints are a sign of interest. They are an opportunity for me to solve that person's problem with one of my products or services. Solving their issue brings me one step closer to reaching my true potential.

One of the major difference between successful and unsuccessful people is that the former look for problems to resolve, whereas the latter make every attempt to avoid them.

Next time you hear someone complaining, seek out the OPPORTUNITY. Pay attention and look to resolve that person’s issue. You should be doing this all the time. Be like a deer in the forest with ears held high, listening for the beast. Then become the beast...

SUMMARY

You will never be polished at selling your product, service, or idea if you only get a handful of opportunities. The more actions you take, the more business you’ll have. If you get good at solving problems for people, the more SUCCESS you’ll have and… You’ll solve your own problems at the same time.

Be great,

GC

P.S. Check out the LIVESTREAM and Official Recording of 10XGrowthCon Feb. 22-25th. Deal ends at the current price this week, so get in now!

Grant Cardone is a New York Times bestselling author, the #1 sales trainer in the world, and an internationally renowned speaker on leadership, real estate investing, entrepreneurship, social media, and finance. His 5 privately held companies have annual revenues exceeding $100 million. Forbes named Mr. Cardone #1 of the "25 Marketing Influencers to Watch in 2017". Grant’s straight-shooting viewpoints on the economy, the middle class, and business have made him a valuable resource for media seeking commentary and insights on real topics that matter. He regularly appears on Fox News, Fox Business, CNBC, and MSNBC, and writes for Forbes, Success Magazine, Business Insider, Entrepreneur.com, and the Huffington Post. He urges his followers and clients to make success their duty, responsibility, and obligation. He currently resides in South Florida with his wife and two daughters.

Source: https://grantcardone.com/blogs/grantcardone/someone-else-s-problem-is-your-opportunity

Spectators Criticize, Players Play

YOU'RE EITHER ON THE FIELD OR YOU ARE IN THE BLEACHERS

In this article you'll learn: Success is about showing up and participating, not talking.

INTRODUCTION

If you've ever sat in the stands or watched a game on TV, you'll notice how freely spectators give advice to those that are on the field playing. This goes beyond just football. 

Never accept the criticism of those that are mere spectators. These people are not on the field, they aren't in the game and they are not on your team.

They are spectators.

THE GAME OF LIFE

Every person, no matter what his or her profession is, relies on selling. Only a handful of people ever take the time to really learn this game and master it. When I was 25, I made the commitment to know everything there was to know about the game of selling. I began studying the whole area. I started taking notes on every exchange I had with my customers. I even recorded these experiences on audio and video.

I would later study the material like a football team reviews playbacks of games.

To become a great football player you have to commit every fiber of your being to the game and still know there’s more to learn. It is no different in sales. The amateur goes out and plays football every Saturday in the park, but he can’t play with the Patriots.

It’s more than just physical because there's a big mental part of the game.

ENTHUSIASM IS NOT YOUR TICKET

I eventually got finished with pumping myself up each morning with enthusiasm and hoping for great results in sales. Enthusiasm is great, but it’s not a replacement for knowing. It is vital that you learn to win at the game.

The Browns can pump themselves up before playing the Patriots, but when the game begins enthusiasm will quickly be lost and skill takes over. 

If you find yourself backing off anywhere in the sales game, it is because you are not submersing yourself enough in training.

In my organization, training is done in order to sharpen our skills for the day and make more sales. 

CHAMPIONS MAKE DECISIONS

Focus on winning whatever game you're playing in life. You need to sell yourself on what you need to do today to make today great. A true professional salesperson is impervious to any negativity because he is a pro and is operating at levels far beyond the average player of the game, much less the spectators.

SUMMARY

The pros aren’t spectators!

Be great,

GC 

P.S. If you're ready to get in the game and get serious about your money, get on one of my Certification Programs.

Grant Cardone is a New York Times bestselling author, the #1 sales trainer in the world, and an internationally renowned speaker on leadership, real estate investing, entrepreneurship, social media, and finance. His 5 privately held companies have annual revenues exceeding $100 million. Forbes named Mr. Cardone #1 of the "25 Marketing Influencers to Watch in 2017". Grant’s straight-shooting viewpoints on the economy, the middle class, and business have made him a valuable resource for media seeking commentary and insights on real topics that matter. He regularly appears on Fox News, Fox Business, CNBC, and MSNBC, and writes for Forbes, Success Magazine, Business Insider, Entrepreneur.com, and the Huffington Post. He urges his followers and clients to make success their duty, responsibility, and obligation. He currently resides in South Florida with his wife and two daughters.

Source: https://grantcardone.com/blogs/grantcardone/spectators-criticize-players-play

Think You're Not a Salesperson? Think Again

PART 2: EVERY SALE IS A COMMISSION!

In this article you'll learn: Commissions are the only real way to create financial security for yourself.

To Read Part 1, go HERE

INTRODUCTION

The word commission represents insecurity for a lot of people. But insecurity and commission have nothing to do with one another. You should never be insecure about your ability to produce.

The only way to keep a job is to produce. And look, you want to get paid on what you produce, right?

COMMISSION TRUTHS

Every time you get your way in life that’s a commission. The payment for getting your way made you feel good. See you had to sell someone on, "let’s go eat Chinese rather than Indian", and they say, "okay", that made you feel good, you got your way.

While most people think of money when they hear the word commission, that’s not the issue. Not all payments in life are monetary. In fact, the things that reward me the most have nothing to do with money.

Recognition for a job well done, that’s a commission.

See I find it comical when people tell me, "I could never be a salesperson, I could never work on commission", and I’m like, "your entire life is a commission."

Every moment of every day you spend happy or not happy. Those are commissions. They’re rewards for something you’re doing in your life.

NO GUARANTEED SALARY IN LIFE

I don’t care what your company tells you, we’re going to give you this much money every week, or we’re going to give you this much money every month, or this much a year. There’s no guarantee. If the company collapses, your salary goes away. The whole world is on commission, they just don’t know it.

The whole world is required to sell, to produce, to drive revenue in order to keep the company working.

FREE?

It’s been said that the best things in life are free. Look, I don’t agree. I know that it’s a nice little saying, but the truth is the best things in life are those things that come as a result of something extra that I did, some well-done effort, some obstacle I overcame.

I overcame the obstacle, and I get rewarded with something:

• happiness
• security
• safety
• a great home
• a great family
• love
• confidence
• friends 

All of these things are commissions for something I did or for something I participated in. And the more I produce, the more I’m able to enjoy the true commissions of life.

LET'S TALK ABOUT LOVE

True love is purely a commission for finding the right partner, taking care of that right partner, continuing to create with that right partner so the relationship gets better, and then keeping that thing growing.  

There's no guarantee in life that you’ll be loved. That marriage day, the ring you put on your hand, that’s not the guarantee, okay? The guarantee is the work you do afterward. First, you’ve got to persuade the person, first to take interest in you, then you have to find out what they want, and what makes them happy, then you have to produce it, and then you’ve got to keep producing it.

But somewhere along the line, you’ve got to sell that other person on the ideal that you’re the right person. All the benefits of that relationship are then commissions.

Is your relationship insecure? To the degree you don’t produce in it, it will be insecure. If you aren’t getting commissions from your relationship, look, take a look at it, you’re not giving her the right attention, or him the right attention, you’re not giving them what they want.

COMMISSIONS ARE EVERYTHING

Health isn’t a guarantee. The government might guarantee you health insurance, but they’re not promising you good health because health is a commission for taking care of yourself, taking care of your mind, what you eat, and what you smoke or don’t smoke. When a person successfully sells himself on eating right, working out, taking care of his attitude, he gets a commission. For what? Good health.

SUMMARY

All of life is a commission. Every reward you will get is a commission. Your production, your ability to produce, your ability to perform in the marketplace is where you get your security from, and commissions are the way to create financial success for yourself and your household, so don’t be scared of the idea!

Be great

GC

P.S. Want to become a master in sales and commissions? Check out my Certification Programs.

Grant Cardone is a New York Times bestselling author, the #1 sales trainer in the world, and an internationally renowned speaker on leadership, real estate investing, entrepreneurship, social media, and finance. His 5 privately held companies have annual revenues exceeding $100 million. Forbes named Mr. Cardone #1 of the "25 Marketing Influencers to Watch in 2017". Grant’s straight-shooting viewpoints on the economy, the middle class, and business have made him a valuable resource for media seeking commentary and insights on real topics that matter. He regularly appears on Fox News, Fox Business, CNBC, and MSNBC, and writes for Forbes, Success Magazine, Business Insider, Entrepreneur.com, and the Huffington Post. He urges his followers and clients to make success their duty, responsibility, and obligation. He currently resides in South Florida with his wife and two daughters.

Source: https://grantcardone.com/blogs/grantcardone/think-youre-not-a-salesperson-think-again