The Martell Method w/ Dan Martell

Imagine you’re 27, you’ve read 100 business books and just want to move on to the next step in your career… what do you do?

Well, when I was 27, I was lucky enough to participate in a 3-year CEO program with my brother. He spent $35K on a coaching program because he was determined to invest in his development as an entrepreneur.

And the best part, I got to join him as his +1!

You might be thinking, that’s a lot of money for someone just starting his entrepreneurial journey (that was almost all of my brother’s $$ at the time)… but trust me when I say this, IT WAS WORTH IT.

Thanks to this program my little bro ended up developing one of the fastest growing home building companies in Atlantic Canada… and I gained the knowledge, tools, and confidence to move to Silicon Valley and start and exit two tech startups back to back.

So in today’s video, I got over the top 5 reasons to join a CEO group.

Here’s the top 5 list:

1. Compress decades into days
2. Positive peer pressure
3. Time away to focus on a higher level
4. Pull you up when you’re feeling down
5. Do cool stuff

Even though these 5 reasons should make you want to jump out of your chair and find a group to join, I still feel positive peer pressure is what makes CEO groups so special.

There is just something about being among all these ambitious and committed entrepreneurs that elevates your thinking to the next level.

It goes back to the old saying, “If you are the smartest guy in the room, you need to find another room.”

I remember a few years back when I was invited at an event in Switzerland… I met this guy Bryan. As we were driving through the swerving road, I asked him, “So Bryan, what do you do?”

“Oh, I started a company called Braintree.”

I had heard of them because PayPal just acquired for $800 mil… CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? And I was riding in the van with the guy who built it from the ground up! That’s the magnitude and inspiration that only CEO groups can get you.

You get the point. By surrounding yourself with highly motivated and successful people, you can leverage the positive peer pressure and bring the energy necessary to hit your most ambitious dreams.

Be sure to catch the whole ep here, and drop me a comment letting me know any questions or additions you have about this top 5 list.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Okay. Here we go. Focus. Speed. SaaS is Racing.

I remember a couple of years ago I watched “Cars” the movie with my two boys.

What struck me most about the story was that the main character, Lightning McQueen, didn’t learn to be the best on the race track; he learned it on the training dirt track.

So today’s update comes from the DirtFish Rally School just outside of Seattle. The more time I spent here hucking, hoping and trying to keep my momentum…  the more I saw there are so many lessons from racing that apply to entrepreneurship as well.

In this week’s video, I share with you the 8 racing lessons that can help your business grow.

Here’s a summary of the key lessons to help you ramp up your

growth and keep your eyes on the prize
1. In like a lamb, out like a lion
2. Sacrifice speed for stability
3. Model then modify
4. Don’t commit to chaos, lift to vision
5. Adapt for success
6. Be patient, set it and wait
7. You can’t look ahead if you’re patting yourself on the back
8. You gotta be chill to kill

Something I learned on the dirt track is, when you’re attacking a turn it’s better to get rid of some speed and come in slower.  Then, once you get lined up for your exit, you can POWER ON like a rocket.

Same thing goes in business. When a big opportunity comes up, you should start slow… prepare… assess… align… and when you know it’s going to be a big win then you can go all in.

I learned this from Jim Collins (author of Good to Great). In his book he talks about firing bullets, then cannonballs.

Before investing resources and effort in an opportunity, make sure you test it on a smaller scale… once you prepare and align, ATTACK LIKE A LION.

Check out the full ep here, and then drop me a comment letting me know any other similarities you can find between racing and entrepreneurship.

It’s AMAZING how universal and cross-function strategies are, don’t you think?

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Top 5 Productivity Hacks - Double Your Energy & Focus By Just Tweaking The Way You Do Everyday Tasks - http://bit.ly/2Hfwkfg

Exclusive Resource: Top 5 Productivity Hacks - Double Your Energy & Focus By Just Tweaking The Way You Do Everyday Tasks - http://bit.ly/2Hfwkfg

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As a high-performing founder, you’re confronted with TWO seemingly opposing forces.

1. You need to travel (a lot)
2. Your health and fitness are a vital part of your capacity to show up and do your best work

So how do you reconcile this?

How do you stay razor sharp (and fit) while sitting long hours on planes and scavenging for food in a place you’ve never been before?

Well after spending literally THOUSANDS of days on the road over my entrepreneurial career, I’ve cracked the code on how to stay fit and prioritize your health while bouncing between airports and exploring new towns.

In this week’s episode I cover my 5 most impactful strategies for prioritizing my health no matter WHERE I touch-down.

At a high level, prioritizing your health while travelling comes down to these five key strategies:

1. Win your mornings
2. Airport triggers
3. Sweat everyday
4. Pre-order meals
5. Get accountable to someone

While all five are super easy to implement and as close to non-negotiable as it gets… I want you to commit to sweating everyday no matter where you are.

Doesn’t matter if it’s a 10 minute, crossfit style workout in your hotel room (bodyweight only)… or a morning run to explore a new city… nothing will keep you sharper on all levels than getting some sweat going.

At the end of the day, here’s what must be understood:

Being a road warrior doesn’t mean you need to let your health suffer… and it’s definitely not an excuse to let yourself “slip up” for a few days.

The opposite is true.

If you’re travelling to meet potential clients, investors, or just trying to carve out incredible memories with your family, you NEED to show up with presence, power, and focus.

Stack all five strategies to make sure you’re always showing up at your best, and then drop me a comment letting me know any personal travel hacks or strategies you use to stay fit on the road.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Top 5 Productivity Hacks - Double Your Energy & Focus By Just Tweaking The Way You Do Everyday Tasks - http://bit.ly/2Hfwkfg

Exclusive Resource: The Rocket Demo Builder™ - Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2Y7ewsb

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I was 24 when I closed my first enterprise level SaaS deal.

I had recently started Spheric Technologies and decided to go straight to the heavy hitters.

We’re talking Fortune 500 companies like Johnson & Johnson, American Express and Procter & Gamble.

(guess the JFDI ethos was alive and well) ;)

And while I had an amazing team of coaches and mentors around me (and an endless supply of Grade A boldness) to carry me through those early deals, they were FAR from smooth.

But over a decade (and tens of millions in enterprise deals under my belt) later, I’ve refined my process into a simple 5-step system for navigating and eventually closing a high value enterprise deal.

While the intrinsic complexities and long sales cycles still aren’t for the faint of heart, this week’s episode will show you the most effective strategy for bringing clarity to the sales process while cutting down on sales cycles and frustration.

At a high level, the process comes down to:

1. Get multi-threaded
2. Virtual close
3. Move metric
4. Face to face
5. Ask for a POC

While each step is absolutely critical, nothing matters unless you can peg your solution against your prospect’s “Move Metric”.

Meaning, even if you do everything else right, there’s no deal to be had unless the outcome your solution provides can be linked directly to a priority metric on your prospect’s strategic roadmap.

It’s your job to both UNCOVER that move metric as early on as possible — and continuously remind all stakeholders how your solution specifically moves that needle forward better than anything else they might be evaluating.

Once again, navigating  enterprise deals is an entirely different beast… but one that as a founder you NEED to be prepared to engage in when the right opp shows up.

Watch the full episode here and then drop me a comment letting me know your biggest challenges or concerns when it comes to locking down high value enterprise contracts.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: The Rocket Demo Builder™ - Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2Y7ewsb

Exclusive Resource: High Tempo Testing™ - Define a Solid North Star Metric & Identify Experiments Worth Running That Drive You Closer To Predictable Growth - http://bit.ly/2INZx2M

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Imagine this…

You’ve worked MONTHS gearing up to launch your product.

You’re absolutely CERTAIN that the market will receive it with the same level of enthusiasm as you do (and I mean… why wouldn’t they? Your thing is awesome).

So you put your reputation on the line by inviting 300 of your most influential friends and investors into a swanky-ass theatre for the official launch party. We’re talking people from Shark Tank, Dragon’s Den, Hootsuite, Freshbooks, etc.

You pull back the curtain. Give them all immediate access. And spend the longest, most excruciating twenty minutes of your life waiting for them to interact with your product and give the raving reviews you expected.

But instead you’re met with…

Crickets.

Welcome to the origin story of my last company, clarity.fm.

Before the 100K+ users and eventual exit, there was a botched launch and a punch-to-the-gut that nearly KO’d the company before it ever got off the ground.

What I share in this week’s episode is how I took clarity from 300 apathetic users that I pretty much bribed and begged to support the product…

… to having enough raving fans and active users to fill up Wembley stadium.

At a high level, here are the 5 steps towards growth hacking your way to 100K users:

1. Nail a problem
2. Map the universe
3. Value in advance
4. Drafting strategy
5. Rinse and repeat

While giving value in advance isn’t exactly mind blowing, there are TWO hugely impactful ways to go about doing this.

Most people are familiar with the first type (providing useful content that educates and solves specific pain points for your audience).

The other is a bit more subtle, but when done right (like Vidyard and Hubspot have done)… it can be the x-factor that unlocks massive growth for your company.

Watch the full ep to get the deep dive on the strategy, and then drop me a comment letting me know which of the steps you plan to test this quarter to spur more growth for your SaaS company.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: High Tempo Testing™ - Define a Solid North Star Metric & Identify Experiments Worth Running That Drive You Closer To Predictable Growth - http://bit.ly/2INZx2M

Exclusive Resource: Fundraising Like a Pro - Learn the 3 phases of fundraising and a 7 week process for starting & closing your next round of funding - http://bit.ly/2IPphuH

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I recently got on a call with a potential coaching client who asked me the best way to create momentum during the fundraising process.

And it got me thinking…

“what’s been true in my own successful fundraising experience… as well as the 150M raised by those I’ve mentored/advised?”

Turns out, there were some consistent (and repeatable) markers that can make the difference between a fast and effective fundraising round…

… and one that stumbles out of the gates and flatlines before it ever gets momentum.

In this week’s video, I cover the 4 ways to create a fundraising narrative that draws interest from the right investors at the right time.

At a high level, it comes down to:

1. Two Peaks
2. Pre-Marketing
3. Manufacture Traction
4. Team Story

While timing your fundraising to match one of the “two peaks” is the most critical starting point, one of my favorite strategies (it’s also used at many accelerators), is to manufacture traction.

“Wait… what?… are you telling me to mess with my data to make it look like a hockey stick?”

Definitely not.

While it’s a bit nuanced (and requires careful planning)… manufacturing traction is not only perfectly ethical, but one of the most powerful ways for you to attract potential investors and get them reaching for their checkbook.

Highly recommend you pay close attention to that one.

Catch the full ep here and then drop a comment letting me know any questions you have about raising capital in your startup.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Fundraising Like a Pro - Learn the 3 phases of fundraising and a 7 week process for starting & closing your next round of funding - http://bit.ly/2IPphuH

Exclusive Resource: Confidence Creator™ - 4 Mind-Altering Ways To Become A Confident Entrepreneur Even If You’re Full of Self Doubt - http://bit.ly/2UDP68q

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I’ve spoken a lot about my 3 most recent SaaS exits (Clarity.fm, Flowtown, Spheric)…

But rarely do I talk about how EASILY I could’ve given up on each. I mean…

… Spheric got sued 15 months in.
… Flowtown got shut down by Facebook and had to be rebuilt from near-scratch.
… Clarity.fm launched to crickets (despite renting out a 300-seat theatre).  

As you’d imagine, each had me swallowing a confidence-killing cocktail of fear and frustration. Few would’ve blamed me for just burning the whole thing down.

And if it wasn’t for the 4 confidence-building strategies I cover in this week’s episode, I probably would’ve.

Sure, I would’ve missed out on three successful exits.

But what really makes my stomach sink is thinking about all the impact that hundreds of thousands of customers would’ve missed out on if I let my fear get the best of me.

Your customers deserve a confident, resilient version of “you”. As does your team and all the people you’ve brought into the trenches with you.

In this week’s video, I show you exactly how to get your confidence back on track no matter how much adversity you’re up against.

At a high level, here are the 4 ways to regain your confidence:

1. Product impact
2. Achievement list
3. Community made
4. Serve others

Thought testimonials, case studies and customer calls only serve a marketing purpose?

Nope.

One of my favorite ways to blast through the fake stories floating through my head, is to simply look at all the impact my product is creating in the real world.

Next time you find yourself sinking in self doubt at a time when you NEED to show up at your fullest, take a sec to call up a successful customer and ask them about how your product is making their life (and business) better.

Sometimes the main function of a case study is to sell a founder on him or herself :)

Watch the full ep here and then drop me a comment letting everyone know your personal strategies for dealing with adversity in your biz.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Confidence Creator™ - 4 Mind-Altering Ways To Become A Confident Entrepreneur Even If You’re Full of Self Doubt - http://bit.ly/2UDP68q

Exclusive Resource: Revenue Expansion Maximizer™ - Strategies For Increasing the Lifetime Value of a Customer Without Adding New Features - http://bit.ly/2Ga57sL

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Imagine this…

Your SaaS company lands a massive account almost right out of the gates.

They start using it.

They have feedback… lots of it… almost too much of it.

Your team takes it as gospel. Jotting it all down – committing on the spot – holding meetings about those new feature requests — making plans to push them forward.

Before you know it, they’re pretty much writing your entire roadmap for you. “All good” you say. They are, after all, your biggest account.

So your dev team moves forward. Codes the hell out of those new feature requests.

6 months later, your SaaS is barely recognizable. A product of a hijacked roadmap that only serves the interests of ONE (of many) customers.

Not only that, but you’re met with the ongoing costs of supporting the code that only benefits a single customer.

A surefire way to burn out your team, alienate  all other users, and sink resources into something that doesn’t serve your growth? Yep.

Avoidable. Definitely.

In this week’s video, I cover the 5 key ways to collect customer feedback WITHOUT letting them leave their thumbprints all over your product roadmap.

At a high level, here’s what you gotta do to avoid that opening horror story:

1. Early Adopters
2. Customer Advisory Board
3. Vocal Minority
4. Advice. Not feedback
5. Log the Name and Circle Back

It’s tempting to let your biggest customers dictate your roadmap… or worse, your small customers (with the loudest and most persistent voice)…

But your product roadmap is sacred. It’s for you and your team to decide on.

On the plus side, there are SO many ways to make your customers feel seen and heard WITHOUT committing…  and then delighting them later if, and only if, you decide to move forward.

Watch the full episode here to learn exactly how to put this into play.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Revenue Expansion Maximizer™ - Strategies For Increasing the Lifetime Value of a Customer Without Adding New Features - http://bit.ly/2Ga57sL

Exclusive Resource: The Talent Pipeline™ Process - Step-by-Step Strategy For Finding (and Hiring) A-Players - Even If You Don't Have an HR Department - http://bit.ly/2FJgpDR

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My first two companies FAILED hard.

Sure, there were many factors at play. But when I take a sec to assess where things really went off the rails, it all came down to this…

I had the wrong people on board.

And it’s no criticism to them.

As a founder (especially in the early stages), you’re ENTIRELY responsible for making sure that you have the right personnel for each position.

Where most founders go wrong is that they hire by default.

Maybe they’re too overwhelmed by all their other hats… maybe they hit a point of exhaustion in the recruitment process… maybe they don’t even have a recruiting process…

… but essentially they hit a breaking point where they just hire anyone who has the skill and is willing to show up.

Aka a warm body.

Not exactly a solid growth strategy.

Whether you realize it or not, your company’s growth is HIGHLY dependent on the quality of talent you have coming through the pipeline. Think of it as a sales funnel that repays you in human capital. The ROI (and cost of getting it wrong) is entirely underestimated.

That’s why in this week’s episode, I break down my entire process for constantly building and replenishing a pipeline of A-players that I know can drive my business forward.

Have an HR Department

At a high level, the 5 steps for building a talent pipeline are as follows:

1. Prep the position
2. Build a candidate pipeline
3. Quick to qualify
4. Simulate the work
5. Sell the future

The fourth step has been a staple of my hiring process for the last decade.

Essentially, I can’t work with you until I work with you.

So many founders rush to hire a candidate that looks great on paper (and even rocks the interview)… yet when it comes to the actual specific work that needs to be performed… they totally miss the mark.

By assigning a test project before officially bringing a candidate on board (and by assigning the same test project to all candidates)… you instantly identify who’s most ready to hit the ground running and make impactful contributions to your company.

Which at the end of the day is the reason you’re hiring in the first place.

Give the full episode a watch here, and then drop me a comment letting me know what position you’re currently hiring for — and a test project you plan to give candidates.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: The Talent Pipeline™ Process - Step-by-Step Strategy For Finding (and Hiring) A-Players - Even If You Don't Have an HR Department - http://bit.ly/2FJgpDR

Exclusive Resource:Perfect Week™ - Quickly design the most productive week ever, while working less using block time - http://bit.ly/2UaWw1M

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No matter how great your product is, at some point the success of your SaaS company is gonna be DIRECTLY linked to your personal productivity as a founder.

Talk about pressure, right?

I can totally relate. I built clarity.fm during an insane 11 month stretch where Renee was starting an agency of her own AND we brought two little humans into the world.

And without the 6 life saving productivity strategies that I share in this week’s episode, it’s extremely likely that clarity.fm would’ve never gone on to achieve the rapid traction (and eventual exit) that it did.

At a high level, here are the 6 most impactful ways to increase your productivity as an insanely busy and overwhelmed founder:

1. Perfect week
2. Block time
3. Theme days
4. Assistant/Delegate
5. Project Management
6. Weekly Sync

As a busy entrepreneur, it can be super scary to realize that you (and you alone) are responsible for becoming more productive in your business.

No one’s gonna figure it out for you… and you certainly can’t cash sympathy points into investor checks no matter how crazy your life situation is (2 kids in 11 months kinda crazy) :p

But by stacking these productivity strategies, I guarantee you’ll be able to plug up some of your biggest time leaks and start reclaiming the space (and focus) to do your most needle-moving work.

At the end of the day, a high growth startup demands nothing less of you.

Watch the full episode here, and then let me know ONE productivity strategy you plan to implement moving forward.

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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Perfect Week™ - Quickly design the most productive week ever, while working less using block time - http://bit.ly/2UaWw1M