The Actual Secret Behind Mastering Sales & Marketing

Summary

• I didn't start reading extensively until after I had already made a significant amount of money, which meant I had more time to enjoy reading and explore its benefits.
• Before starting my first business, I was constantly searching for something to change my life, and during this period, I read incessantly, especially self-help and personal development books.
• I realized reading alone didn't change my life; actions were necessary, leading me to decide not to read another book until I had executed everything in the one I was reading.
• This approach made me selective and led to reading fewer books multiple times. "How to Win Friends and Influence People" was the first book I practiced repeatedly and I believe its principles alone can lead to phenomenal success in business.
• For developing skills like marketing and sales, I didn't rely on books or training; I learned by doing. I started by trying to figure out how to get people to sign up for my gym.
• Too much time can be spent in "productive procrastination," believing that you're getting better when you could gain more by actually doing the task.
• After achieving success in sales and managing teams, the first sales product I bought didn't change my fundamental ability but reinforced my existing knowledge.
• The key to selling is conviction and truly caring about your prospects, believing in your product, and convincing prospects it will help them.
• People often struggle with sales when they don't believe in their product or care for their customers, leading to moral dilemmas and burnout.
• When wanting to learn a new skill, I would buy a course and then apply what I learned in the course while doing the task.
• Learning comes from application. There’s no point in reading about something without testing it in practice.
• I benefited from one-on-one training with experts who could help me break my beliefs about what was possible and push me to acquire skills through experience, even though this often means failing at first.
• Perfectionism leads to procrastination and avoidance of failure. It's better to start and learn from the experience.
• My advice for learning sales and marketing is to get out there and start doing it. Reading about it will make more sense once you have experience.
• Setting a "learning budget" or "slush fund" can help you invest in learning new skills without stressing about immediate success. It's an investment in education and trial and error.
• Most of my wealth was made before I became an avid reader. I focused my efforts on doing, applying, and then seeking specific solutions only when encountering actual problems.

Video

How To Take Action

A good way to learn and succeed is by taking action, not just reading about it. Here's my plan for you:

1. Pick one skill you want to improve, like sales or marketing. Start with that. Don’t try to learn everything at once.
2. Instead of reading lots of books, focus on one that really matters. For example, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” can teach you a lot about business success. Read it several times and make sure to really use what it teaches.
3. Practice the skill you're learning. If you want to get better at sales, you need to start selling. Learn by doing.
4. If you need guidance, find a course that's all about what you want to learn. Buy it, follow it, and apply it. Learning comes from putting lessons into practice.
5. Consider working with someone who knows more than you. This can help you see what's possible and learn new things.
6. Set a “learning budget.” Allow yourself to spend a little money each month to learn and experiment. It's okay if you don't get it right straight away. This money is for your growth.
7. Believe in your product and care about your customers. That’s the key to good sales. And if you don't believe in what you're selling, it will be hard to sell.
8. Don't wait for everything to be perfect. Start now, make mistakes, and learn from them.

Remember, I made most of my money by doing and applying what I learned, not from reading books. So, get out there and start using these skills. You'll get better as you go.

Quotes

"I wouldn't read a book unless I executed everything in the book"

– Alex Hormozi

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"I think a lot of people spend way too much time in the like the deliberation stage"

– Alex Hormozi

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"If you truly talk from a space of genuine care about a prospect you won't convince them to do something that they shouldn't do"

– Alex Hormozi

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"You would get so much better just doing it"

– Alex Hormozi

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"Give yourself a learning budget which is how much am I willing to 'blow' this month on failure so I can learn the skills faster"

– Alex Hormozi