Fail To Learn: Teaching stories from business, sales, marketing, coaching, blogging, freelance, & entrepreneurs.

Joe Kashurba, from Agency Accelerator, manages 6 figure marketing budgets for some of the largest companies in their industry. Yet, it wasn’t always easy for him.

He started off as a web designer. That’s where he made his money. As he watched the rise of Squarespace, and other website building providers (aka websites for dummies), he decided to build a competitor.

Joe spent over a year of his time and money building and trying to sell this to local businesses. It was a disaster. But he learned a lot, and you will too. Because that’s what we talk about in today’s show.

Here’s what Joe and I discuss:

• Why Joe thought creating the website builder was a good idea.
• How he divided it up for unique niches.
• Why he couldn’t give it away, even after building the sites for customers.
• How his niching strategy was a poor plan, and what he would do different today.
• Why he didn’t make the decision to quit when first realized it wasn’t working.
• How he targeted the wrong type of customer who didn’t value what he was providing, and what you can learn from this.
• The mistake he made building a product based on his perspective versus the experience of the customer.
• Why he kept focusing on making it inexpensive, instead of building the value.
• Why he resisted learning marketing and selling, and how everything changed once he understood the fundamentals.
• How he takes what he’s learned and now helps businesses scale and grow their businesses online.
• The challenges Joe faces while growing his agency.
• How he deals with the client’s expectations to personally work with him when his team does much of the work.
• Why he said the people who succeed are those who face their challenges and keep going.

Enjoy the show:

FtL 42: Cheap Pricing Disaster Shows You How To Raise Your Prices, And Keep Clients

If you’re a personal trainer, coach, consultant, manager of a team, how do you keep in contact with your clients or employees? How can you make it personal and keep them accountable?

That’s the question David Pitts faced in his personal training business. As his business grew he lost his ability to manually deliver personal messages on a larger scale. And that was the catalyst for his business, Off Day Trainer

Here’s what guest and I discuss:

• How David started his personal training business 15 years ago.
• Why it was easy for him to deliver value during the client session but hard to keep them on track when he wasn’t there.
• What he did manually to keep them on track.
• How he was able to keep in contact with clients after the training session.
• Why he wanted to keep in contact after the training session, and how it increased client renewals.
• Why text messages is the fastest way to connect with clients.
• Why he felt relief when clients would cancel their sessions.
• He had to figure out how to provide the best experience for his clients, and himself, so he didn’t want to quit.
• What happened when he started his own gym, and how quickly it didn’t go as expected.
• Why it’s important to identify the pain points in your initial questions when signing up you clients.
• How to automate the process of identifying these pain points.
• Why it’s hard to find someone who has unread text messages.

Enjoy the show:

Personal Training Business Setback Leads To Technology Breakthrough with David Pitts

Willpower is misunderstood.

It’s not something outside you. It’s not something you need to summon. It’s not something that fails you.

Willpower is under your control. And you have more than you realize.

That’s what I talk about in this episode of the Fail To Learn podcast.

Here’s what I share:

• What is willpower?
• The 4 categories of willpower.
• Why you don’t have a limited amount of willpower, despite what many people think.
• How too many choices today depletes your ability to focus on the test at hand.
• How you can strengthen your willpower, like a muscle, but it doesn’t involve heavy lifting.
• The types of tasks you can do each day to strengthen your willpower.
• How to use 30 day challenges most effectively.
• How to unblock the flow of willpower in your life.

Enjoy the show:

Misunderstanding Willpower

• FailToLearn interview with Jason Leister
• Willpower by Roay F Baumeister
• The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz
• Barry Schwartz Ted Presentation on the paradox of choice
• Matt Cutts Ted presentation to try something new for 30 days
• 100 30 Day Challenge Ideas To Turn Your Life Around
• Lead Goals vs Lag Goals
• Reinforcing Behaviors with Operant Conditioning

I’m doing things a little different in this episode. Instead of the typical interview, I’m taking control.

I’m not sharing my failures (I don’t know where to start). Instead I’m addressing the reasons why most business ideas die and never find life. And what you need to do to give your ideas a fighting chance.

Here’s what I talk about in this episode:

• How commitment, and lack of commitment, drives both success and failure.
• Why you want to realize sunk cost quickly. And then forget about it.
• Why you don’t want to think of your business ideas as your “baby.”
• How your ideas keep you spread too thin.
• How we have too many choices is killing your progress.
• How business is like nature and natural selection is at play.
• Why you need many ideas to survive.
• How to find success by acting fast.
• Why diversity and evolution are the process behind every business idea’s success.
• How to put this all together so you can succeed.

Enjoy the show:

Why Most Business Ideas Fail, And What You Can Do About It

Matt McWilliams is the biggest name behind many of the biggest names marketing online today. Matt’s business runs affiliate programs for people like Jeff Goins, Michael Hyatt, Brian Tracy International, Lewis Howes, copywriter Ray Edwards, among others.

While paving the path to success Matt had many struggles. He was fired from almost every job he’s had. He help start a company that went from 0 to over 50 employees, and was then fired. He ran for political office (that’s a failure whether you win or not).

About 10 years ago he started working online. And in that time he’s become one of the, if not THE, best at what he does. And I had a fun time talking with Matt about when he’s failed and what he learned.

Here’s what Matt and I discuss:

• How Matt started working online in 2004, while sleeping on his mom’s couch.
• What happened when his first consulting client asked Matt to start their affiliate program.
• The best advice Matt received when starting his consulting career… If you do any client work, you want to hear this!
• Why he feared asking for larger fees when he started. A fee that was more in line to the real value to his client.
• How he decides to increase his consulting fees, and why you should too.
• Why he still wrestles with, “Am I worth it?”
• Why you have to remind yourself each day that the change you can give someone is worth 100x what you charge.
• How the negative voice doubting Matt’s ability keeps him motivated and “in check” for his clients.
• How Matt deals with those doubts. (You can use this strategy too)
• Why Matt said he fails every time he moves out of his wheelhouse, and how he uses that as a reminder to keep focused on where he’s the best.
• Why he created a list of what his business will do and won’t do, and the difference that’s made to attracting his ideal clients.
• How he came up with the eight criteria for his ideal clients, and why he won’t work with anyone who doesn’t meet all eight.
• Why you shouldn’t fear losing any one client.
• Why the belief of a “steady paycheck and safe job” is a myth.
• How Matt struggles with scaling while not increasing costs and losing his business’ identity in the process.
• Matt’s definition of culture, and why it’s important to your business.
• Why it’s important for you, as the leader, to say, “I trust you,” to your team.

Enjoy the show:

FtL 38: Matt McWilliams Shares The Best Business Advice He's Received

Starting a service business wasn’t the first thing on Carey Green’s mind. He had been a pastor for the last 20 years but he felt a calling towards a different path.

Carey left his church and wondered what he was going to do. He pursued ideas that went nowhere fast. He was editing a friend’s podcast and his friend said, “Why don’t you turn this into a business?”

And he did.

In 2013 he started Podcast FastTrack and has nurtured it into a profitable service business. But, shortly after starting he had his doubts. And that’s what we talk about in today’s show.

Here’s what Carey and I discuss:

• How his friend convinced him to start a podcast editing business.
• How his quick growth led to simple mistakes, and how you can avoid these mistakes.
• What happened when he received an email from an unhappy client.
• How that took a toll on Carey and made him doubt he was doing the right thing.
• What happened when Carey began doubting he could make it as an entrepreneur.
• Why you need to have procedures and systems in place for everything.
• How checklists are always better than what’s in your head.
• Why Carey said, “It was all on my shoulders, as it is for all solopreneurs, and you think you’re doing well until somebody on the receiving end tells you you’re not.”
• How his virtual team communicates and keeps all their procedures in place.
• What tools they use to document all their systems.
• How Carey titles procedure documents to make it easy of everyone on the team to quickly find what they’re looking for.
• How his background as a pastor relates to running a business. And why he didn’t see that relationship immediately.
• How he views the exchange of money for value, and why you want to provide more value than the money exchanged.
• How he couldn’t find a job that would allow him to keep his home, and how that drove him to succeed.
• Why it’s important to have a supporting spouse at home.
• How his wife supported him when he was faced with doubt.
• Why Carey believes, "It’s much easier to keep a good client, and add much more value that they’re willing to give you money for, than it is to go out and find a new client.
• Why he still struggles to work in the business while growing the business.
• The process he set up to find the best employees and/or contractors.
• How you can get a prospective employees to self-eliminate and discover if there’s synergy between you.
• Why he’s glad he started his business, despite the constant advice from others to find a job instead.

Enjoy the show:

FtL 37: Want To Grow Your Service Business? Document Your Procedures Now with Carey Green

I talk with Dan Crask, from Brand Shepherd today. When Dan started up their business they took on a client who they should’ve said, “No!”

They were new in business. They wanted to build something amazing for this company because the company had potential influence for referrals. So they took the job. And it lost money, time, and energy.

Dan and I talk about this struggle and how a company should approach branding, among other things.

Here’s what Dan and I discuss in this episode:

• Why Dan now prefers working with tangible product producers.
• How they bootstrapped their business and built on their successes.
• How being a “generalist” kept him from progressing in ways he wanted.
• How he made his mistakes with the country club and worked to impress their board of directors.
• How he recovered from this setback.
• Why he said he should’ve declined the project when he first met with the client.
• How to do your homework before taking on a project.
• How he was able to still get referral business despite the crash and burn.
• How Dan pivoted Brand Shepherd from this experience, and why that’s important to you and your business.
• Why Dan believes his reputation is critical.
• Why you want to have physical objects to leave with clients to remain top-of-mind.
• How presidential election years have effected their business.
• How they found the sweet spot in their market, and how you can do the same.
• How major brands are always making small changes to keep their products fresh, and new looking, to the market.
• What branding means to Dan (hint, it’s not just your logo and it involves making sales).
• Why your story is crucial.
• How to structure your story to appeal to your ideal clients.
• Why he said James Hatfield, from Metallica, is a legend of our time.

Enjoy the show:

FtL 36: Why It's Okay To Turn Away Business With Dan Crask

In this episode I speak with Ian Brodie about his failures as a salesperson. He started off as a business consultant and was great at helping his clients with their strategies and making changes. But to progress in his company he had to sell. And that’s where the problems started.

He didn’t like being a salesperson and everything with his clients changed. He was almost fired. Fortunately, he accidentally discovered a way to get in front of prospects that repeatedly worked. And that’s what we talk about.

What Ian and I discuss in this show:

• Ian’s successful background in consulting.
• Why he couldn’t “be” a salesperson.
• What happened when his clients stopped taking his calls.
• Why he feared what people thought about him and how it stopped him from making calls.
• How people think about salespeople, how he thinks about salespeople, and how that label made him feel less credible.
• Why Ian didn’t want to be seen as someone out to just take people’s money (because he wasn’t).
• How his fears almost got him fired.
• How he used research material from his company to start making sales.
• How he was able to provide value before asking for a sale, and started getting phone calls returned, and how you can do this too.
• Why he wasn’t able to be like the other sales people.
• How he used case studies to open doors to appointments and close more sales.
• How Ian discovered what areas he was good at, how he learned to focus on those, and how he refined it to work best.
• How you can structure your client meetings to go from providing value to transitioning into the sale.
• What Ian did to get clients to relax for his sales calls.
• How the same principles Ian used in face-to-face sales can be applied in online sales… but you don’t have to talk with people one-on-one (if you don’t want).
• Why Ian asks, “How do you scale without building a large team?” And how he’s working on that for himself, and you.
• Why he wished he started his own business earlier.
• Why he couldn’t start his own business until he knew others who did.

Enjoy the show:

FtL 35: How Failing At Sales Taught Ian Brodie How To Sell More Effectively

Captain David Marquet is the author of Turn The Ship Around. The book documents his time leading the nuclear submarine, the USS Santa Fe.

From among all the books I’ve read on leadership, Turn The Ship Around is one I remember and consistently think about when working with my team. The prescription he outlines is a very simple model empowering everyone to produce the best possible outcome.

I decided to pick David's brain about the struggles he faced and how he came about the strategies listed in his book.

Here’s what David and I discuss:

• How the top down, leader-follower model is not the most efficient way to run a team.
• Why we’re wired to create a leader-follower hierarchy.
• What happened when David took control of the Santa Fe, a submarine he wasn’t trained to run, didn’t know all the details about, and a ship with the worst performance in the US Navy’s fleet.
• Why he originally walked in with the mindset that he needs to give all the orders and know all the answers… but he didn’t.
• Why waiting for orders is a psychologically safe place for your team, and how to change that.
• What happened when David gave an incorrect order that the officer repeated back to do. And why the officer later told him he, “Knew the order couldn’t be done. But you told me to do it so I ordered it anyway. I thought you knew something I didn’t.”
• How giving orders prevents people from speaking up…even when you say you want people to speak up.
• The idea of a leader is to create an environment where your people can be at their best.
• Why we associate thinking as not working, and how that is wrong.
• How to give your team “control, competence, and clarity.” And how it will make your life easier.
• How David’s book gives you the tools you need so your team can feel like they've achieved what Daniel Pink says truly drives people: Mastery, autonomy, and purpose.
• How to use language that can start changing behaviors today.
• Why David said, “You can only control yourself. I can only control my own language but by controlling my language I can influence other people and I invite people to a better place. As opposed to controlling and manipulating other people.”
• How to invite people higher on the ladder of leadership.
• How to use language that empowers others to create ownership in their work.
• How David used the words, “I intend to…” And how it started the transformation aboard the Santa Fe.
• How to start asking more questions… And how it will enable your team to become more proactive.
• Why it’s important to think out loud.
• Why it’s important for your team to be comfortable with ambiguity and probabilistic thinking.
• The difference is between binary thinking and probabilistic thinking… And why it’s important to shift from binary thinking to probabilistic thinking.
• Why it’s okay, and important, to ask, “How sure are you?”
• Why you need to ask your team, “Can I rely on you?”
• Why it’s important to focus all your energy on the people who are trying to do the right thing… And why you want to ignore the others.
• Why you need to give your people the words to say… And how to get them to practice so they know what to say when real problems arise.
• Why David said, “It’s all about reducing the barriers to dissent.”
• Why everything he thought about leadership was wrong.
• Why David said, “My failure was thinking I actually knew something.”
• How you stop learning when you think you know something.
• How speaking has made him realize he doesn’t need to be liked by everyone, and how he struggles with it.

Enjoy the show:

David Marquet Shares Surprising Leadership Secrets: Create Instant Results While Establishing A Long-Term Legacy

What's working in your business? What's not? Are you relying on a technique or strategy that may be obsolete after Google makes another change? Or will it stand the test of time?

These are some things that Nate Smith, from 8020MarketingGuy.com, had to ask himself as he abandoned business attempt after business attempt. Until he found something that worked. It works well now and he keeps on top to make sure it will work far into the future.

As a professional musician, Nate had to make choices he didn't like. He looked for ways to build a business around music. And that's when things finally started to look up.

Here’s what Nate and I discuss in this show:

• Why Nate said he's an entrepreneur who leverages his musical skills to build a business.
• What Nate learned building the8020Drummer.com.
• The struggles facing a professional musician in New York and the difference between musicians who make money and those who go the creative route.
• The business ideas he started, and quickly dropped.
• How he sat on his idea for 2.5 years before he had the courage to take the leap.
• How Nate "dry-tested" his idea for 80/20 Drummer with a fake sales page and cheap Facebook ads.
• Why it took him 16 months before he made his first $1000 after launching his drumming site.
• How he attempted to scale his ads with a slim profit margin, and what he did to become profitable in the process.
• What his mentor said that gave him the idea to leverage his first product, and how you can use that advice yourself.
• How his tentative attitude saved him.
• How Nate found a perfect product to market fit and how it was the difference that made the difference.
• How he deals with the limits he faces in the drumming market
• Why Nate said you should, "Bias yourself toward staying in the game longer than your instincts tell you to."
• How he's dealing with his personal mindset issues about selling things to his audience.
• The moments he says, "Stay with it and try one more thing."
• How he views his responsibility to his clients and the value he provides.

Enjoy the show:

How A Professional Drummer Beat Business Odds By Playing To His Market's Rhythm