Right now, I’m blessed to be in two different mastermind groups.
There’s lots of smart folks in them both.
And one ’em includes a guy name Mike Dolpies.
Mike who?
Mike Dolpies.
Mike is one of my favorite “under the radar” business experts who is also a public speaker, author, and radio show host with a “knack” for helping people squash the stresses and pressures of business. (He’s pretty much got it down to a science.)
And while he may not be a goo-roo, he’s no “fluke”.
For one thing, he generated his first 7 figures BEFORE age 24 (in a real, “brick and mortar” business, not the overnight affiliate-‘n-hype driven Internet marketing arena). And he’s gotten praise from guys like Ben Gay III (from the “Closers” series) and Brian Tracey.
Anyway, below is an interview I did with him.
It’s got a little bit of everything – including tips for beating procrastination, getting referrals, persuasion, turning ideas into profit centers, melting away “price resistance” — the whole kitten kaboodle.
Here goes…
BEN: You preach motion before motivation, what’s that all about?
MIKE: Years ago a smart fella at Harvard said;
“We are more likely to act our way into feeling than feel our way into action.”
What this is all about is not waiting for inspiration or motivation in the “rah-rah, I feel great” sense of motivation. But simply using real authentic motivation, the kind that only comes from taking action.
That’s “Motion Before Motivation!”
BEN: What are some good ways to get rid of procrastination?
MIKE: Ben, I know one good way.
Although I’m sure there a lot of “procrastination goo-roos out there. That one way is to eliminate perfectionism in your life.
And I’m not talking about the OCD, go see the guy who sits on the couch perfectionism. I’m talking about the perfectionism that holds us all back. And that’s the perfectionism caused by us second guessing our work as “not perfect enough” to get it out there and start selling it.
Of course don’t produce crap, but get your stuff done.
My book is not perfect, but a lot of the folks who have read it, loved it. I was at an event and a woman who sells MaryKay for a living came up and gave me a huge hug thanking me for the book. What you think is not perfect is actually perfect for someone else.
BEN: Lots of sales, marketing and copywriting people are partnering with other businesses. What is the big lesson you learned about business partners.
MIKE: I was blessed that I had one amazing partnership for eight years. I was too young and stupid to realize how rare that really was. And after being naive enough to think that every partnership can work great I was introduced to reality when I got in business with some people who really did not have my best interest at heart. The lesson is that good partnerships leverage strengths. Most bad ones are simply formed out of weakness or greed. Trust your gut and sometimes listen to your attorney!
BEN: What’s the secret of getting ahead in your job or business regardless of your age, IQ or natural talents?
MIKE: Be an implementer. In a big company maybe it can be risky. But everyone likes the guy or girl who gets it done. In your own business-same thing, no one will make it happen but you.
BEN: A lot of us get ideas every day of the week we never bother implementing. What are a few ways to turn our ideas into profits?
MIKE: I have found that if you just take the first step (any step), the next step, while maybe more challenging, is certainly a little smoother. After you’ve been in business for a while maybe you’ve built up a list of customers or clients. So what you do is run the idea by them to see if they like it.
Does it solve a problem?
Does the idea produce a result?
If so, you got something. If you are into copywriting and online marketing take some time to write the sales letter or sales story so you can dump those key benefits out and practice communicating them. From there you just never know where it could go.
BEN: What’s a good way to beat stress? Especially for people who are really getting pounded by the economy and just barely surviving?
MIKE: The best way to tell that is to tell you a story…
There were two attorneys coming out of a downtown office building. They both witnessed a terrible accident. A man they both knew was hit by a bus and killed instantly!
One of the attorneys quickly became upset, angry, panicked and stressed. The other said, “That’s sad” and then went about his business.
The man that was hit by the bus was a witness in the case they were both working on. The attorney who became instantly stressed was the prosecutor. The one who really could care less was the defense attorney!
You might be laughing or you may think I’m crazy, but that story illustrates what stress is. Stress is simply a reaction to stimuli.
In the above example both these men were acted upon by the exact same stimuli, but their reactions were totally different. Stress was necessary to our survival thousands of years ago.
I am neither a psychologist nor a medical doctor, and I have never played one on TV. However, I am smart enough to know that most of the stress in people’s lives is brought about by no one other than themselves!
Yes, I know, “Other people cause you stress!” – Your kids, your co-workers, your spouse, your employees and don’t forget your in-laws. It’s sad how many of the people in your life that cause you stress have the same last name as you too!
I’m not one of these guys who walks around singing quotes but this one is good for dealing with stress.
“You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.” (Chinese Proverb)
BEN: What’s referral marketing and what’s a good way someone can use it to make more sales?
MIKE: I’ll keep this short since you can do a whole seminar on it.
When operating or working with clients that have “brick and mortar” stores I like to stimulate referrals by doing fun and informative events.
When I had my martial arts studios I’d have holiday parties and everyone would come to watch and bring their friends because “we heard” Santa was coming and was gonna try to break a board.
In more direct forms of networking you really have to let your network parters know how to refer you and WHO is a good referral for you.
BEN: How can we defeat price resistance?
MIKE: I learned that the most resistance comes from within our own head. But as you know, good marketing, positioning and over-all paying attention to details really helps.
And the truth is that most people either have a knee-jerk, “That’s too high” response or are conditioned to negotiate. There are a myriad of ethical ways to build value into your offering. You really have to be for real about the value and be sold yourself or it won’t work.
BEN: What is “informational persuasion” and how can people online use it?
MIKE: I originally came up with this when the Governor of Nevada really got pissed at the president for carelessly saying; “No going to Las Vegas on corporate jets.”
Amazingly companies canceled Las Vegas events and it really hurt the city. Without even knowing it (or maybe he did) the president simply persuaded people with his “information.”
Business owners can use it in a good way too.
We can get info out there to help our prospects make a decision about us. It’s sort of under the radar. When people read one of my books and then hire me to speak or consult with them. That is really informational persuasion at work. I am not afraid to admit that!
BEN: Speaking of your book, tell us about it and how it can help people who are in marketing and business.
MIKE: It will remind them to take action every day. It will help them harness the power of real authentic motivation, not just “feel good warm and fuzziness.”
The book is a fun read and it is not based on any theory just practical school of hard-knocks life-lessons.
The best thing for people to do is go to:
www.MotionBeforeMotivation.com
They can find out about the book and see there’s a whole lot of cool bonuses being given out today, November 10th. We’re on a mission to crack the best-seller rankings on amazon, so I really appreciate coming on and sharing!
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That’s a wrap for today.
Tomorrow, something shorter…
Ben Settle
