Author: Joan Arca

As an entrepreneur, you have an obligation to yourself and your business to strive for continuous personal growth in order to scale your empire.

One of the best ways you can build up your self image and improve your mindset is to invest your time into self-help books.

“Oh Bedros, I don’t have time to read. I’m too busy.”

Dude, get the audio version so that you can listen to it while you’re driving or working out.

Your personal growth and self development is the most important thing that’s going to push you to success.

So here’s the top 10 empire building books that Craig and myself have read to scale our businesses and achieve massive wealth.

#1: “Man’s Search for Meaning” By Viktor Frankl

Viktor Frankl was a Jewish psychologist who spent years in a concentration camp in World War II by choice to be with his family.

He survived the holocaust, and wrote this book where he describes his experience and the power positive thinking has to overcome any circumstance.

Dude, this guy was starved, did manual labor all day, and wore boots with holes in them in the snow. And he still saw a bright future ahead of him.

You can’t control external things like traffic or rain, but you can control how you respond.

#2: “Outwitting the Devil” By Napoleon Hill

Most of us have heard of “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, but what most people don’t know is he wrote a book that his estate didn’t want published.

Napoleon sets up “Outwitting the Devil” in a court like setting, where he corners the Devil and tells him to answer every question honestly.

And for the first time, we hear the Devil say how he meddles into our lives, thoughts, actions, and creates fears within us.

When we blame society and our circumstances for the troubles we’re going through, it’s really this is the life you’ve built.

Hell or Heaven could very well be here on this planet. This book may mess with your paradigms. Read with caution, but read with enthusiasm that you will take control of your mental, emotional, and financial state.

For the first time ever, the things like fear and doubt we normally blame on the Devil, we realize we have a direct hand in producing.

If we’re creating fears and frustrations in our life, we can certainly create the happiness and abundance in our life as well.

#3: Mastering the Rockefeller Habits By Vern Harnish

This book really helps set the foundation for building an empire by telling you how to effectively lead your team and create company priorities that foster growth.   

Craig and his team went to Vern’s follow up one day workshop, and the following year Craig had his best year yet because of the quarterly planning they put into effect.

This business book is unlike others because you can follow the instructions and habits of an empire builder and implement them into your own empire.

#4: Ruthless Management of People and Profits by Dan Kennedy

I highly recommend this book to those of you who are solopreneurs or working with a small team of under 5 employees.

The sexy thing today is to be an entrepreneur and have your own brand, but unless you know how to manage people and profits, your empire is going to fail.

Everyone turns lame at some point, we either grow old and we die or we become lame by way of making a bad life decision.

Dan Kennedy shares his no nonsense leadership methods to keep your business from going lame that says “if they’re doing this, then you do this action, and you won’t have that outcome again.”

#5: Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson

The great thing about this book is it walks you through the four stages of empire building.

It shows you how to go from 0 to 1 million dollars, and then turn that 1 million into 10 million, and so on. There’s different levels of leadership and decision making that bring you to the final level of 100 million and above.

Dan Kennedy talks from experience, not theory. You’re getting real life exposure to what you need to do to scale your empire and profit.

#6: Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz

In his book, Maxwell Maltz takes you through an in-depth look at how self-image impacts how we succeed in our goals.

As a surgeon, Maxwell discovered that people were asking to change their ears or breasts because they had low self esteem, and thought if they change their appearance they’ll gain confidence.

In reality, what matters is how positively you see yourself the way you are right now. The higher your self-esteem, the better you perform.

#7: Elon Musk Biography by Ashlee Vance

If you ever wanted a close look at how Elon Musk became Elon Musk, this is a book you need to read.

Not only does this book show you the sides of him that makes him a driving force in innovation, but it shows you the more human, relatable side of him too.

#8: The Perfect Day Formula by Craig Ballantyne

This is the book that helped me get my shit together and become more disciplined and structured in my life.

I had the good fortune of learning Craig’s strategies well before he wrote the book through environmental exposure.

I was the guy who would meet up for dinner at 8 p.m., and rush through it so I could catch up on more work. Then I would make it to breakfast a little late because I was scrambling to get more work done that morning.

By being exposed to Craig’s discipline and structure in his life, I was able to plan what I want for my life and eliminate the distractions.

This book is going to be your blueprint to living a more productive life both personally and professionally.

#9 The Art of Living by Sharon Lebell

This is a very little book that teaches you how to focus on the things you can control in life, and learn how to deal with the things that you can’t.

You can’t control the externals – the traffic jams, the rain, problems with a supplier, whatever.

But what we can control is our thoughts, words, and actions.

“Control what you can, cope with what you can’t, and concentrate on what counts.”

#10 The Operator by Robert O’Neill

Robert O’Neill is the U.S Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden during the raid in 2011. In his book, Robert goes through the struggles that come with the training that turns ordinary people into Navy SEALS.

“The Operator” shares so many wonderful lessons and examples about leadership, facing your fears, mental toughness, and life or death decision making.

You can find plenty of nuggets throughout the book to apply to your own life as you grow your empire.

If you want to hear Craig and I cover all of this and more, click here to watch our podcast!

Empire builders don’t sit around and wait for opportunities to fall into their lap.

They set empire sized goals and take massive action.

Today’s blog is all about setting goals and turning them into an actionable plan so that you can achieve them.

No more wishing and dreaming, it’s all about doing.

My First Monumental Goal

One of the most pivotal  goals I set for myself that became the foundation of my success today started back in high school.

Being a foreigner coming to this country, I ate crappy food let myself get out of shape.

I practically lived off of Arby’s, man.

But once junior year arrived,  I knew prom was right around the corner.

I wanted to ask out this girl I liked, so I thought, “I should get in good shape if I want to increase my chances of her saying yes.”

During the summer before senior year,  I started working out with my friend on the football team, followed the diet plans in workout magazines, got in shape, and guess what?

I never worked up the confidence to ask her to prom. My body changed, but my confidence hadn’t caught up yet.

The point of this story is when you set a goal, and a deadline to achieve it by, you’re going to reach that goal.

I think a lot of people these days are setting dreams rather than goals.

“One day I want to be a millionaire.”

“One day I want to travel first class.”

“One day I want to own  a mansion.”

“One day” doesn’t come because today turns into tomorrow and tomorrow turns into the next day, and the next day, and the next day.

Stop Setting Too Many Goals

You may think setting too many goals is a good thing because it makes you seem ambitious, right?

Well, what happens is you actually end up sitting there with a long list of goals for “one day”.

We see way too many entrepreneurs write down too many goals with no deadlines for the year.

And when the year is up, they’ll go back to that list and realize they didn’t even complete one goal.

Around the end of 2008, I was sitting down with Di and we were talking about all the things we want to accomplish next year.

For us to do that, we first had to look at this year.

We started breaking down our goals into every product I have – PT Business Course, Close Clients, System 9…

The reality is, I had so many things I wanted to achieve an outcome on, I wasn’t able to focus.

I found that if I can hyper focus on one or two big, empire goals for the year, then I can  actually accomplish those goals.

Today, my big goals are in Fit Body Boot Camp, Fit Pro Newsletter, and my seminars.

Craig and I have a friend, Joe Polish, who taught us “What is the one solution that solves 100 problems?”

The more “ands” you add to your goals, the more you dilute your efforts.

Zero in on the goals that are going to build your empire, make you more money, and build a bigger impact. Those are the goals that matter.

Go All In On One Thing

There’s a great Warren Buffett story that fits into this lesson perfectly:

On one of his NetJet flights, Buffett was talking to the pilot, and the pilot was talking about all the things he wanted to do.

Warren Buffett asked the pilot to list the 25 things he wanted to do, and then he asked him to give him the top 5.

Buffett scratched out everything after the top 5 and said “Never think of these things again.”

Let’s say you’re trying out all these different vehicles like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

Imagine what you could accomplish if you went all in on one of them. To be a master at one, and dominate it better than anyone in your competition.

At the end of the day, as you’re trying to build your empire and create massive wealth, you have to go all in on one thing.

Craig’s 90 Day Empire Building Process

In the next 90 days, think about your quarterly plans for your business and what you want to accomplish.

First, take out a piece of paper and write in the top left corner your outcome goal.

Your outcome goal is your numbers based goal – for example, let’s say I want to bring on 150 new clients to FBBC in 90 days.

Next are your process goals, the 3 actionable steps you can take to achieve your outcome.

When you’re trying to get more people on board as clients in your business, one process goal you can control is to follow our “set, show close” method we use for FBBC.

How many leads did we get (set), how many did we set up an appointment with (show), and how many did we close (close).

So if you break up your 150 clients in that 90 days, you know for every 5 appointments you set, 3 will show, and 1.7 will close. That will get you to your 150 clients at the end of 90 days.

Just praying for clients ain’t gonna get you anywhere. You have to put in the work.

Ask For Referrals

Whether you own a gym or a restaurant or any kind of business, you can go back to your happy customers and ask them for their feedback.

I have a script I created when asking for referrals for FBBC, and I’m going to share it with you so that you can use it in your own business and get more referrals on the spot.

When I sign up a new client, I say:

“Hey Craig, welcome aboard. It’s nice to have you here at Fit Body Boot Camp. As we help you achieve your fitness and fat loss results, can we count on you to help us achieve our goal of impacting 5,000 lives over the next 5 years here in our town?”

Of course, they’re going to say yes.

In a few weeks I can go back and ask them for three people they can refer me to for a free week of personal training.

Use Social Media to Connect With Leads

For all you empire builders out there, here’s a nugget of advice.

If you put on a workshop or seminar, at the end of it,  just take a picture with your happy clients and post it on social media.

Those people who comment on your post are leads who you can reach out to through direct message.

Remember, “likes” and comments are leads. Once they engage with your post, they’re giving you the green light to message them and get them into your next workshop.

Once you’ve created the outcome, post a picture and tag them. Or if they post a picture too, you can interact with the people commenting on their post as well.

What Can You Do Right Now?

90 days still seems way ahead for a lot of people, which is why you need to scale it down even more to just the first 24 hours.

Ask yourself “what can I do right now to move ahead on this big goal?”

It could be getting in contact with someone, filming videos, getting referrals…you can do a lot in 24 hours, man.

If you don’t give yourself a small victory to get the ball rolling, you’re going to lose momentum.

Map out the first 24 hours, 72 hours, 7 days, 14 days, 21 days, and 30 days.

If you want to achieve your empire goals, start a plan and take action!

To listen to Craig and I cover all of this and more, click here to watch our podcast

Whether you realize it or not, you’re selling something every day.

You’re selling in your business, relationships, family. You’re even selling people when you talk about a movie you really enjoyed.

Everything is sales and persuasion.

People think selling is slimy. When you think of a salesman, you probably imagine a guy in a suit with a big toothy grin ready to lie his way into your wallet.

But really, it’s the most genuine thing you can do. So today we’re going to break the myth and show you why selling isn’t as bad as people think.

Let’s talk about the last time I was really sold on something.

The Last Time I Was Sold

I was recently introduced to Pete Vargas, the creator of the Advance Your Reach workshop, by Craig.

Pete’s whole thing is teaching people how to sell themselves and get booked on more stages to expand their reach and sell more of their products.

And the way Pete sold it to me, made me want to buy.

I believe most people are buyers. We love to buy things and have experiences, the difference is the person’s ability to buy vs their desire to buy.

And Pete got me to desire the two-day workshop and got me to pay for two people to fly out there for the weekend because I saw the value in it.

As I was speaking with Pete, right off the bat I felt he was being genuine. So I was already ready to listen to his pitch. Second, Craig and Shawna Kaminski, two trusted friends, referred him to me.

For something that’s high-end and requires more money and effort to attend, you don’t want come as a cold call. You want to come referred.

My guard was already down because Pete was well referred by people I know, like, and trust.

From there, he forced me to identify the problem, he told me the solution, and showed me how his event created the bridge for me to get to my goal.

I told him I’m writing this book called “Man Up”, and I want to make it a NY Times Best-seller. One of the ways I want to do that is by bulk orders of sales.

When the book comes out in July 2018, I want the people a these events to buy my books in bulk.

He explained the process behind getting booked, from the approach to the introduction to getting the reviews.

He showed me the “what” I’m missing, but he didn’t tell me how to get it. I would have to attend the workshop.

I told him I don’t have the time or desire to come out, and he overcame that objection by telling me to send a trusted member from my team.

Boom, sale closed.

How a Contractor Lost a $200,000 Sale

I’m building a gym for my team just down the street from the HQ.

So one day I was talking to the contractor to figure out the flooring, ceiling adjustments, etc. This guy came referred, but ironically, he talked me out of the sale because he kept making suggestions I didn’t want.

He didn’t listen to who I am or what I want. He was treating me like I was just some regular opening a gym, unaware that I’m actually in the fitness industry.

This guy was talking about adding a bunch of treadmills, and I’m thinking “I could give two shits about treadmills.”

I told him what I wanted, and he kept pushing me towards these big hotel gyms that I didn’t want.

A $200,000 sale down the drain.

The Biggest Mistake People Make in Selling

The biggest mistake people make when making a sale is transference of feelings.

If you feel like what you’re selling is too expensive and you don’t think they’ll be able to afford it, then you start subconsciously talking yourself out of the sale.

Or, you can be like that contractor and think that you know what your prospect wants better than what they tell you they want.

These transference of feelings/misinterpreting what the person wants is the worst thing you can do because you’re making assumptions without validations.

Remember this phrase: when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for the Sale

Craig does this great thing where he starts the sale on social media or through a personal introduction.

If Craig is starting on social media, those people that follow him are already holding him at a high esteem.

They started the conversation by “liking” or commenting on his posts, which gives him permission to message those people and ask them to come to his next workshop.

Your followers see the proof in the pudding when you post your successful events or testimonials.

Once you’re talking to them, never let the conversation die.

Go In Hot!

One of the best ways to go into a sale is to come in warm or hot. People are automatically more interested in what you’re offering when they’re referred by someone they trust.

Two, you have to come off as likeable and authentic.

Ever noticed how you can meet someone and feel like they’re your new best friend, and then you meet someone else and they make the hair on your neck stand up?

You have to be self aware. The more talking you do, the more you talk people out of a sale.

Most people think if they do enough talking, they’ll say something that resonates with you and you’ll buy. That’s not the case.

Our job as the closer is to ask enough open ended questions to talk them into the sale, and there’s three specific things you need to ask:

1. Where are you right now in your life?
2. Where do you want to go between now and a given period of time?
3. What are your pains and frustrations stopping you from getting there?

Because this is a touchy area for a lot of people, you have to make them feel understood. Say “I understand, I’ve felt the same way before.”

Don’t come off as perfect. Perfect equals cold, and vulnerable equals warm.

That’s the great thing about social media – you can share your story and struggles and build a connection with thousands of people.

They’ll see how they can identify with you, and find these golden threads to hold onto.

So that’s what you gotta do. Stir the pot with questions, and then give them those golden threads to build that relationship.  

To listen to Craig and I cover all of this and more, click here to watch our podcast.

I’ve got two words for people who want to have more success in their life:

MAN UP.

Which is also the name of my book coming out July 2018. Now, I didn’t write this book because I know everything about everything.

I wrote it because I want to help other entrepreneurs avoid falling into the same traps I did in my health, relationships, mindset, and productivity.

I suffered massive anxiety attacks between 2012 to 2014 because I was an ineffective leader. I had the potential to create a massive business with Fit Body Boot Camp, yet it was struggling and on its death bed because I wasn’t a high performer.

Finally by the end of 2014, I decided enough was enough and I told myself “it’s time to man up.”

I repeated this phrase over and over to myself, and one “it’s time to man up” at a time allowed me to fix my life, business, partnership, team, everything.

And I always like to make it clear that it wasn’t a light switch. It was more of a dimmer switch where you slowly do this.

You can’t go from a crop duster of a leader to a fighter jet of a leader in a snap.

So now, I’m going to share the 5 pillars you need in order to man up and take control of your life and business.

Be Decisive

Indecision has cost entrepreneurs more time and money than not making a decision.

I knew Fit Body Boot Camp had massive potential to become an 8, 9 figure empire, but I wasn’t anywhere near that potential.

I knew the decisions I needed to make to get there, but I was constantly looking for more clarity to make these decisions.

I soon realized that not making a decision is making a decision.

It is letting circumstances take control of the outcome, and 99.9% of the time, the outcome isn’t in your favor.

Let’s say you’re trying to pick between two hosting sites for your website. Instead of spending hours researching both of them, just pick one and execute.

If you come to find this platform isn’t helping your website reach its potential, then you can course correct and pick a new hosting site.

Every decision you make doesn’t have to be the right decision, you just have to make a decision quickly.

In my book, I teach you to start making small decisions fast so that you can make the bigger decisions quickly as well.

Decide where you and your spouse are going to have dinner. Decide what movie you and your friends are going to see. Decide if you’re going to wear the blue shirt or the red shirt. And do it fast!

Great leaders don’t make the right decision every time, they just make a decision and course correct if it ends up being the wrong one.

Have Clarity of Vision

With Fit Body Boot Camp, I didn’t know if I wanted 100, 1,000, or 5,000 locations.

For me, this was a big struggle. This showed my team that they had a leader who was a drifter, which created insecurity.

No one wants to follow a flighty leader. People want to feel confident and secure in their jobs and know what the end goal is.

So I got clear on my vision: I want 2,500 locations and less than 1,000 owners by the year 2020.

Which leads me to the next pillar…

Have Clarity of Path

Now that I had a clear vision, I needed a path to get there.

I was the guy doing all the sales, which meant I was also the bottleneck. So I outsourced the marketing for lead generation and replicated myself through more salespeople.

All of a sudden, our number of new locations per month went from 3-5 to 30.

You’re human, it’s okay if you find yourself veering off your path.

If you have a clear vision, and you stray a little, then you can course correct and get back on the path.

Don’t Emotionally React

An effective leader doesn’t emotionally react under stress, they respond.

If you are a living, breathing human being with a pulse, you have problems. But how you handle those problems says everything. 

When you emotionally react to problems, the people around you look at you as a chaotic, ineffective leader and start looking for their way out.

You don’t want to be the boss who walks into a room and puts everyone on edge because they don’t know what’s going to set you off that day.

Make your business a place of sanctuary for your team members to become the highest performers possible.

One compliment I receive from my team is my consistency. And that creates a sense of security so they always know what they’ll get when they meet with me.

Build a High Performance Team

Get rid of employees, and build a high performance team.

If you don’t have a high performance team, you can’t build your business into an empire.

A fighter jet team shows up early, leaves late, gets the job done, and crosses the finish line no matter what.

I define employees as people who clock in a little late, clock out a little early, and do the bare minimum to keep their job.

That’s why I don’t hire employees, I hire fighter jets who are going to help put my vision into action.

I happen to be the team captain, but we all work together to reach our end goals.

If you can meet these 5 pillars, then you have truly manned up.  And ironically, this mentality bleeds into your health, your finances, and your relationships so that you can become the best version of yourself.

Constantly set the bar higher for yourself, and set those same expectations for your team members.

Manning up is a work in progress. It’s an ongoing feat, and the moment you stop manning up is the moment you drive off your path.

To listen to Craig and I cover all of this and more, watch our Empire Podcast here.

To sign up for my MAN UP early bird list and get notified when the book launches, click here.

“Millennials are lazy, entitled, and allergic to hard work.”

I know a lot of people from Generation X who still feel this way about millennials. Heck, I used to be one of them.

I thought millennials were so entitled and emotionally fragile that they ran from the first sign of stress and hard work.

Now, 85% of my high performance team is made up of millennials. And  they’re running my empire like no one’s business.

Truth of the matter is, millennials have factory installed skill sets that Generation Xers don’t have, don’t want to learn, and it would be difficult to teach someone not in that generational gap.

Social media marketing, creating and uploading videos, using advanced software, all these things that us older generations aren’t as savvy in, millennials dominate.

But that’s not all they bring to the dinner table.

Craig talks about a very good point: Millennials have a strong drive to bring social justice into the workplace.

Why?

Because they don’t have boundaries. Baby boomers were raised with the idea that you should keep your work separate from your personal and charity life.

For some reason, millennials have grown up to believe that we should be making charity part of our business image.

And I totally agree.

Millennials Believe in Social Justice

Stella Artois does this thing where when you buy a pint of Stella, Water.org will donate clean water to a family in a third world country who needs it.

Or Toms Shoes donates a pair of shoes when you buy a pair of Toms.

So I went to my team and I said “Guys, I think we can do one better.”

As a Gen Xer, my whole thing is I’ll build a business, make money, and then carve a portion of that to donate to the causes I believe in.

But then I thought, what if we could do something bigger and better. So I went to my team, and I asked them “What if we could tie in our business with a social cause.”

That social cause being Toys for Tots.

It was that meeting that led us to change the entire web special model – the 21 Days for $67 model on Fit Body Boot Camp websites worldwide.

We decided that we would raise the price to $69, and put those extra $2, plus $1 from my pocket, towards Toys for Tots.

So for every new client that any Fit Body Boot Camp location gets, we’re donating $3 to Toys for Tots.

To me, that is true contribution. And let me tell you, it was my millennial team who came up with the process, the marketing, and the sales page layout.

Teamwork and Collaboration are Key

Because of this factory installed desire to make a bigger impact, millennials seem to have a deeper level of teamwork built in.

You don’t have to go invest thousands of dollars in team building exercises because guess what? They already WANT to collaborate with each other.

My HQ truly has one of the most collaborative work environments ever. Before we moved into our new building, it was designed so that everyone had their own little cubicle with a closed door.

Total isolation from everyone else, and I wasn’t happy with that. That’s not how my team would grow to their highest potential.

So I knocked down the walls and created an open space so we could have a collaborative environment with positive competition.

I’ve had people tell me “What happens if they start talking too much? How do you stop that?”

Listen, the reality is, they’re gonna talk no matter what. Even if they’re stuck in a cubicle, they’re probably going to be talking through instant messenger or text message.

So instead of wagging my finger at them and saying “don’t do that”, I tell them “Look, you’re all adults. Here’s your KPI’s, make sure you’re meeting them. And if you want to chit chat for a little in between and decompress before going back to GSDing, go for it.”

And they do!

Driven to Constantly Evolve

Not only are millennial employees selfless and team oriented, they are still open minded to learning.

Back in the day, once people finished school they never wanted to look at another book again.

But millennials today are so interested in lifelong learning, whether that be through courses or through self development.

In fact, unlike the generations before, they have this desire to constantly evolve and self educate to become the best version of themselves.

One thing I really love about millennials that I don’t think a lot of people have picked up is, they are driven to be entrepreneurs.

They were raised to think differently and openly. They believe they if they create something the world wants, they too can be an entrepreneur.

When I find those millennials, those are the ones who excites me the most. I bring them into my world and I say “You can be an intrepreneur within my entrepreneur structure.”

I give so much freedom to my team to become intrepreneurs within my empire so that they can come to a place where they can exercise their creativity to the benefit of my business.

Treat Them Like the Special Snowflake They Are

People always say “oh these millennials think they’re special snowflakes.”

Fuck yeah you’re a special snowflake!

I want my team to feel special, because that’s the mentality you need to become an entrepreneur.

When I was working for Disney, I always knew I was meant for something bigger. I knew I wasn’t meant to work for someone else, and I knew there was something special about me.

For Craig, all it took was a voice in his head while he was working in the fields tell him “You are special”. And he’s acted on that voice ever since.

Give your millennial team a sense of purpose and significance, and say “Look, I’m not gonna tell you what to do. I’m gonna tell you what our end outcome is, set KPI’s to show me you’re playing your part, and then run with it and be an intrepreneur in my entrepreneur world.”

Unfortunately, it took me a whopping half a decade to figure it out. I used to feel like I needed to download the information for them, and then have them ask me for permission to do the next thing.

Now, the way I see it is if you have another way to skin the cat that’s going to get us to our goals, share it with me!

Hell, get out there and do it! And if your way gets us to our goals faster, I’m gonna financially reward you for it.

Once you embrace the fact that your team is unique, it becomes a win-win.

Make sure you’re always nurturing the growth, creativity, and skills of your team. Trust me, when you do that, they’re gonna put their heart and soul into your business.

And you’ll be able to watch your empire grow like never before.

To watch Craig and I cover all of this and more, click here to watch the podcast!

The number one thing on our social media users’ minds is this: “How do you turn followers into dollars?”

You’re posting daily, you’re getting the likes and comments, the followers are rolling in…but at some point, you stop and think, “What is this all about? Is it worth it to do these Facebook lives, to post these Instagram stories? What’s the point?”

And I say yes. It is worth it.

I’ve sold franchises for Fit Body Boot Camp, I’ve sold Mastermind coaching clients, I’ve sold bundles of my information products over social media.

To me, it’s worth it. The problem is that a lot of social media users care more about the “likes” and followers and not enough about the dollars.

And the dollars are what matter if you want to make an impact!

It’s amazing how quickly and easily you can connect with people through a simple direct message.

In fact, Craig Ballantyne has his own genius way of reaching out to people and influencing them to attend his Perfect Life Workshop.

He puts on these events all across America, and at the end of each one, he posts a picture of all his happy attendees, and he tags them along with people who should be at a future event.

The Honey Pot Method

Once the “likes” come rolling in, he reaches out to every person who “liked” the post because they could be potential attendees who are interested in getting his mentoring.

You can look at your Instagram followers as suspects, and once they engage with your posts, they become prospects.

This is what Craig calls “the honey pot method”. Basically, you attract more flies with honey than vinegar. So if you’re posting good content and people are “liking” it, you’ve gotten them interested in what you’re doing.

Now all you have to do is send them a message saying “Hey! I would love to see you at my next event, here’s my calendar so you can see what day works best for you.”

It’s just a nice, giving, inviting message letting them know that your event is for them.

Listen, we’re all making a lot of posts on social media. Majority of those posts are designed to add value for free and position yourself as an authority in your industry.

And if you have a business and you’re trying to get more people to go to your workshops or buy your coaching programs, then don’t overlook your followers. Every “like” you get is a prospect.

Now, this isn’t to say you should just be posting for the sake of posting and getting “likes”.

Our friend Joe Polish says “Use social media, but don’t let social media be used on you.”

So basically, don’t waste your time with it. Use it properly to connect with your followers and people who comment and “like” your posts so that you can get that conversation going.

Then comes in the monster follow up.

Don’t let your prospects fall off your radar, make sure you stay connected and follow up with them when you haven’t heard back.

You can send them great content, information about who’s coming to your next event, whatever. Just keep adding value and use that monster follow up to keep the conversation going.

I guarantee, you can sell anything like this.

Use Social Media as a Salesperson

Here’s a handy hack you can use when you’re replying to messages and comments. Open up the notes section of your phone, and put little responses to commonly asked questions, and also come up with questions you can ask THEM to keep the conversation going.

Just copy and paste it into your response, hit send, done. Easy peasy.

For example, I have a section in my notes that goes “Hey! I saw that you “liked” this Mastermind picture that I posted. Looks like you’re a fitness business owner, when are you gonna come to the next one? Here’s the link for the dates and deets!”

I believe I’m making a bigger impact by closing those deals and helping people take their businesses and lives to their fullest potential, rather than just posting pictures and videos.

I’m there to add value to your life all day long, but the reality is, you can’t make a massive impact on someone until they become your client.

You should look at each social media channel as a salesperson for you.

You can use Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube…that’s at least 5 “sales people” who can bring in more clients when used properly.

Share Your Hero Story

Our friend Steve Weatherford, Super Bowl Champion of the NFL, has a massive following on Instagram with over 300 thousand followers.

The coolest thing he did was he shared his hero story early on.

By the way, every single one of you has a hero story. Mine is the immigrant edge, Craig’s is about the anxiety attack so crippling it forced him to create the Perfect Life to have structure and discipline.

When Steve was out on the field as a punter, he would wear long sleeve underarmour tights.

One day he asked me if I knew why he wore those tights.

I said “I assumed you were just cold, man.”

Turns out, he was embarrassed about his skinny arms. So he would cover them up with those tights even in the blistering heat during summer.  

He decided that once he retired from football, he would build 20 inch arms and be known as the guy who helps other guys struggling to gain muscle in their arms.

He took his weakness, made it into a strength, and now he’s on social media sharing his workouts, his mindset tips, his eating habits, all that stuff.

And if he made one little tweak to his social media to take it to the next level it would be this: hire someone to follow up with those people who leave comments, “like” his posts, and send him direct messages.

Through monster follow up, he could engage them and convert them into sales from his products.

Monster Follow Up

We’ve talked a lot about monster follow up, but for those of you who don’t know what that is, allow me to fill you in.

When you get a lead for your personal training gym or boot camp, you may get a name, email address, and phone number if you’re lucky.

If you do, you need to follow up with them two times a day for four days using email, phone call, text message, and facebook.

You go monster on the follow up process!

And if you can follow up with someone who has shown interest multiple times within a short period of 3 to 5 days, I promise you can turn majority of those prospects into customers.

Followers into dollars, baby!

To listen to Craig and I cover all of this and more, click here to watch the podcast!