Luckily the is a Stoic so he's immune to the sycophancy - even with his tongue and cheek self-aggrandising remarks... 😉 Yet here I am about to add to the cacophony...
I think the book is truly fantastic and here is why:
I'm not in business - yet. Nor have I been in the business world for very long. I went from Dietitian to Commando to Private Banking and so the sum total of my experience in the business world is the 2 Years I've worked in Banking. Thus I'm drinking from the hypothetical fire hose of learning. Here are my major takeaways that I have and will take forward into my career and business:
- Clients are everything - shite ones are to be avoided at all costs. Despite the almost insatiable urge to accept business of any kind - be absolutely ruthless with your client avatar - accept no substitutes.
- On the note of clients, I've completely re-thought how I would see clients - you have more people than you can sell to - so you might as well sell to the top X% of people who can afford premium and who are going to be the best type of clients. The benefits of this compound - you need less clients, therefore you have more time to provide a quality service etc
- You have to be the best in the business and know your craft for this to work - you can't charge premium if you're second rate.
- You can apply the principles of Jon and Connors model into so many areas of life - I'm still in the rat race, but to test the theory, I done some BASIC - truly basic cold out reach to potential employers and its already yielded surprising fruit. That's before I've even considered things like - dropping off the book I'm writing (when its done), writing a beautifully written letter to a CRO or hiring manager. The list is almost endless when you get creative with it. I will never again look for jobs conventionally when or if I want to move. I also intend to use this in consulting when the time comes.
- If you're not getting paid you don't have a business - equally its not a zero sum game. Why would you be embarrassed asking to be paid? Or being paid upfront?
- In that vein - I now fully understanding the flat consulting fee when people want a consultation (as Jon says the cost is almost immaterial). People who are serious about getting their problems fixed have ZERO issues about paying a few quid for your time - even if its just to find out that you won't be a good fit.
- No is powerful - you can test this even outside of your business its so interesting to see how people react.
- Stoicism was made for sales - detachment from the outcome, steadfast in your virtues, stop bemoaning the storm and learn to sail the raging sea - the list goes on.
- Socratic questioning is fantastic in more ways than just sales - but it is a bit of an art you can come across like you're cross examining someone or being disingenuous when you ask so many questions. However if you do it with genuine curiosity, it's powerful. I've been using this on networking calls - people can't wait to catch up with you again, because who doesn't love talking about themselves...
- All of this is pointless if you can't be comfortable being uncomfortable and take action. I also need to re-read the book for it all to sink in.