We are living in the age of hype. 10x thinking has become a new buzzword and it is killing your chances of success. Salespeople are throwing their hard-earned commissions at this kind of hustle that people are putting out there. Times change but phony cures remain the same.
I wrote a while back about the danger of “hustle” and why following that guru guidance can take you off track to achieve your goals. I also asked the question last year “Do you really want to buy from a Hustler?“, challenging you to think hard about following the latest hot tips from the enlightened amongst us.
Who wouldn’t want the famous red Easy button in real life?
Or the promise of 10,000 Twitter followers or 10,000 connections on Linkedin?
Growing your business by 10x would be amazing. 5x could be legendary.
What is wrong with 10x thinking?
On the surface, not a thing. I have a strong belief in “dreaming big”. Big goals, plans, and expectations should be in every person’s thinking. Hustle is a good thing – being a hustler is not.
A bit of background to my thinking might be helpful.
I am blessed to be able to work with a diverse array of people in business and as a result, I am privy to many of the inner-workings of their endeavors. Salespeople working for an employer with a defined geographic territory. Managers leading a team of people in every industry imaginable. And of course, entrepreneurs who are creating a new business from scratch, typically funded with their own money, fueled by a dream of success.
I get to go behind the curtain to learn what the “real” results are and the systems and processes that are in place.
In way too many of these engagements, I am discovering that they are chasing the currently prevalent 10x mentality and teaching, while the core, foundational pillars of business success are non-existent. Things like a valid customer list, a prospecting list, an email list, a web strategy all being acknowledged as important as necessities but are not in place or are woefully inadequate to achieve business success at any level.
Too many times I am told, “yes, of course I have an email list” but when I begin my work, their email account has less than 100 people, and no subscriber list at all more often than you would guess. Or when I ask to have access to their CRM app, and they do not remember the password or even how to log in. Web presence is way out of date, not responsive for mobile visitors, and sparse on any reason to even contact the company. The prospect list is way out of date and irrelevant at best and many times non-existent.
These are real, honest, hard-working people with big dreams, high expectations and many 10x books on their shelves. They are thinking 10x big, but executing at a level that will ensure failure.
Think 2x for 2019 and win big!
Just think about this for a minute. If you could double your sales results in 2019 would you be happy? 2x your 2018 results. I would be willing to bet that if I promised to help you double your results you would raise your hand and say, let’s go.
Not 10x, not even 5x but just 2x increase would change your career and possibly your life. Yet 10x is where the current best-sellers are at.
Why, because the peddlers of this thinking are selling you things. Books, training, masterminds, seminars, conferences and even cruises all focused on 10x. I just searched Google for 10x and found 233,000,000 items – 233 million! There is money in 10x and that is why it is everywhere. 10x Growth Conference tickets top out at $14,997! Damn, we are a gullible lot!
I get it – it sounds sexy. They make it all sound so grand. Many of the ideas they share are helpful, but the vast majority is circus tent mumbo-jumbo designed to get you into a frenzy and part with your money. And you already know who is getting 10x growth – they are.
Achieving success in the internet age is not a secret. It takes discipline, a methodology, a system, appropriate tools to assist and a commitment to execute in an orderly, planned out process. Not sexy, not easy but success will surely come, and in just a very few years you will have a sustainable, stable business that, guess what…is producing results even greater than 10x. Do the math. Double your current $50,000 business in Year 1 to $100,000, Year 2 to $200,000. Double again in Year 3 to $400,000 and Year 5 – $800,000 and you are looking at a growth rate that anyone in business should be proud of.
Dream big, but execute small, step by step actions that collectively, over time will help you achieve the goals you have set out to achieve and not gone broke along the way.
I just finished a project with a speaker in the beverage industry. We started off with a conversion rate of less than 3% on their marketing campaigns, fairly typical. I set out a plan goal of 6% conversion after 3 months of focused, organized funnel management. She was concerned that my fee was too high for a 6% conversion rate. We then worked through the “money math” vs. the “funny math” and all of a sudden, a light bulb went off and exclaimed, “…that is double what I did last year!” The concern of my fee to guide her dissolved immediately.
Don’t get caught up in the hype. Do the “money math” and figure out what it would take to 2x your revenue from last year. Create a plan, with specific details to work towards and You will be smiling at the end of the year after 2x’ing your 2018 results. Be the smart one in the crowd.
All I can hope for is that this post makes you stop, think this through for a few minutes and apply the thinking to your current situation. I’d love to hear your thoughts in comments below no matter what you have to say.