I just got a chance to interview an author and speaker whom I admire. He’s got a huge following and a couple of business books to his name. Barry Moltz. He’s one of the rare ones – someone who can fire you up about starting up a business and reassure you about its inevitable pitfalls at the same time. His frankness and fairness are the stuff legendary keynote speakers are made of.
Read on.
By going into business for yourself, there will inevitably be effects on your personal life, your financial situation, and your mental well being. Hence, the crazy part. Personal trials, fear of failure, fear of success even – it can all have its way with you, unless you come to grips with one realization: business can be a vehicle to personal happiness and fulfillment!
In my book, I tell you what the crazy ride is like… the truth about the journey. First off, I encourage people to believe that it’s OK to fail – from business flub ups you can learn valuable lessons or nothing at all. It’s important to learn what you can and move on. Don’t feel a lick of shame either – just consider the consequences of your early business decisions as mere data points and then get going again. Any action is better than no action. Stay in perpetual motion.
You used to be a sales director at IBM. What would you advise a salesperson about meeting quotas as well as any stringent corporate expectations? How can a salesperson enjoy the crazy ride of growing a business in a territory?
First off, a salesperson has to realize he/she can’t sell anything to anybody. That professional just has to be there when prospects are ready to buy. People buy when they are in pain – stay in touch with your prime prospects so that when they do experience pain, they buy from you.
Also, it’s not about you, not even for one second. It’s about where the customer is at.
Finally it’s important to be focused – who IS a likely prospect? Along the way of defining that, don’t ever shy away from a “No” answer. Yes is the best answer to hear from a prospect, certainly, but NO is the second best answer and MAYBE is the death sentence. You can move on from a yes or a no – but a maybe lingers forever, filling you with ridiculous un-bankable hope.
Is there a cultural imperative about business success?
Actually Nick, I quote you in my book coming out this December (John Wiley, New York) called “Bounce!” Someone with Greek lineage, like you, will define success differently than, say, a person who had Japanese parents. And Americans pay lip-service to the notion that it’s OK to ‘fail’ but in practical terms, we do push our children here to impossible heights of academic and financial accomplishment. To be true to oneself, to paraphrase another wise Greek, is the ultimate success. My Jewish parents wanted me to be a doctor. Or at very least a lawyer. Parental pressures can be enormous. To break the mold and not let their desires, stated or unstated, downsize your dreams – that’s the real challenge of being in business. We all need to figure out how to be “happily successful”. What are your goals in addition to financial success?
As an antidote to all this, I encourage my readers to strive for minimal achievements and to focus on just a handful of things. Incredible power comes from focusing which is becoming increasingly difficult in this multitasking world. They should know that success is not a straight line; that it’s different for different people. I encourage them to get ultra-clear on their OWN definitions of success, to decide their OWN goals, dismiss those of their parents and their parents’ parents, recognize the environment they came from and then to smash any cultural archetypes and go for their own gustos – whatever they happen to be.
You’re the guidance counselor I wish I had had in high school. Hey, do you mentor people as they’re going through the process of building a business from the ground up?
It can be lonely being an entrepreneur. And mentors are worth a mint. Someone you can talk to, whether paid or unpaid, can put things in perspective, boost your confidence, and restore your resiliency. Just make sure that you don’t bring on a business partner in the hopes of turning that person into your mentor – it doesn’t work and is a very expensive solution for wanting an advisor on call.
But with a true mentor, you’ll discover that you are not alone and that your trials and tribulations are in no way unique and that there are solutions you’re just not seeing.
For instance, people in start ups should quit trying to balance their personal and professional lives. That’s nothing but a self-sabotaging pressure. Live one holistic life – no dualities. OK, you can carve out places in your life where you get away from the phones and pressures, work out, do karate, or meditate in a sanctuary, but for the most part, just recognize that it’s all fluid – business and personal are melded into one life in business today.
What’s YOUR passion?
Besides old cars?
Talking to large groups of people, getting them to look at business and their lives differently. I like to provide people with ‘ah ha’ moments … when they get that it’s not all about making money but doing what turns them on. Members of my audiences lose sight of what makes them happy and when they realize that being in business is creating something they can be proud of, something that can’t be taken away from them, well, they come away with renewed commitment to themselves via their unique and compelling businesses.
Who are your influences?
The people I meet when I travel all around the world. Hearing their real life stories is nothing short of amazing! The things they’ve gone through to accomplish their own versions of success shows such resiliency, I come away with goose bumps.
Most entrepreneurs will never be Bill Gates or Donald Trump or Silicon Valley wealth-creators, the vast majority will never have the opportunity to chase those sorts of Gargantuan dreams… but the ones who are providing useful services and wake up with a satisfied smile on their face, eager to begin another business day – they motivate ME with their quiet grandeur.
How does one compensate for insecurity in business?
You have to be VERY careful. You can’t be boastful or project a false confidence. At the same time, you can’t let your desperation for a sale show – it’s perceptible!
I say cultivate trust and build relationships quietly and over the long haul. Provide useful services with a genuine interest in the other person. Your true character will shine through. Being an extrovert with a gift of gab can actually hurt some salespeople.. they think they can get by just on that surface charm, instead of refining their proposals, logging the calls they need to make, defining pivotal metrics, following a systematic process of being in business. If you are disciplined, even if you are an introvert, if you have a passion for your product or service, a sound business plan, and good finances - you’ll be well on your way to remarkable success. On your own terms.
What do people do wrong when they network like crazy?
Sometimes networking is notworking. When you shove a business card at someone, you’re doing yourself and your recipient a disservice. You can’t rush trust. Cultivate a relationship over a long period of time. Prove yourself useful and reliable.
Find the people who are in pain and put them into your pipeline. Build it over time so that it’s galvanized. Then, a year from now, you’ll be rewarded, when a prospect remembers your presentation and your consistent level of follow through.
Also, through networking, find service providers you can trust and invest in ones that will help you stand out as being ultra-reliable. For instance, I have a limo service on call so that I am never late for any speaking engagement. Your vendors are a reflection of you. Choose ones that will make you look fantastic.
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