From the Guru

When you were two, the tennis pro at the health club that I belonged to actually handled me a professional contract and said, “if you let me teach this kid how to play tennis, we can make a million dollars!” You were in the racquet ball court with a ping pong paddle bouncing the ball off the wall multiple time – just unbelievable hand to eye coordination, and I looked at him and said “Walt, what makes you think I can’t do the same thing in baseball”. You were two! Steve and his wife are not taking into account the cost/value of “intellectual property” – there is no way to measure it. If you can’t measure it, it has no value. Except of course, if you’re a Picasso, or Rembrant! The point is if you have never had any “intellectual property” around you - you obviously don’t know what it looks like. Until it “finds you” – Remember, he found you! If someone wants me to teach them what I know about the internet it not free because they don’t know the value! You buy the time in blocks of 5 hours, for $650, if you buy 10 hours the price is $1000. There are a minimum of 12 clients per month – 120 hours! If someone wants to buy all the hours that is their choice, cost $12,000 a month! If isolated clients want to pay by the hour it’s $150 per hour. I tell clients if you can’t handle the $650 start with one hour and see if you learn anything. If so then you can understand why I charge they way I do. If I just showed you something pertinent to your business that you didn’t know before “Therefore by transferring my knowledge to my client THEY become more valuable” Why shouldn’t I get paid for that? $200 per hour the first hour, and $150 for the second, $125 for the third, $100 for the fourth, $75 for the Fifth or a total of $650 dollars. You can do it in a week, a month a year or whenever you want. If you call me and talk to me about anything for five hours in a month I will teach you how to sell it online. If Steve wants you he wants your intellectual property, (the package is important) but what’s most important is the “intellectual property” ,they are chasing a valuable “intellectual property”. I’ve watched it happen my whole life, everyone wanted my “intellectual property” until it came time to discuss the value and generally the answer was “if you are so good then you shouldn’t worry about the money. . .” And my answer is short and sweet with a hint of disdain in my voice “ No Cost – NO VALUE” – Bryan if Steve wanted a new BMW tomorrow do you think he could figure out a way to get it! So please don’t allow anyone to insult your intelligence with “ I can’t afford it”. Do the math on his product and you will clearly see his business is a cash flow machine. It doesn’t matter that he isn’t making as much cash – that is why he needs you. . . what matters is he has an established product that is falling further behind the competition (especially online) because he does not understand search technology is not just Google! What he is looking for is a “salesman” and what you are looking to bring to the table is “a strategic equity alliance”. That means he gives up some of the equity in the company to get you “emotionally involved”. I got to believe that you and HEATHER working deals at tradeshows, and online sales presentation would kick ass – but he needs to get your emotionally involved! He needs someone emotionally involved. . . that business needs a guy that will get on base. . .. set the table if you will. That is what you are capable of doing with the internet and others can’t figure it out. We do not try to learn the “internet” we learn to use the internet to make deals! End of conversation. Steve, and people like him don’t understand “emotional involvement” until they get to a certain age and thought – “by the time we get to this point we will have someone else in there working on the day to day tasks. Didn’t work out the way they wanted. B, I saw it for 20 years starting with the Eric’ Micherson’s day. The guy had a million dollars one day and the next day he was driving around in a 1963 GMS Suburban! These people succeed themselves into failure. Not financial failure – but rather – time management failure, to keep their business going at the pace they need it to go they have to invest more time then they want. What they need is a President / GM and their trying to hire an all star second baseman. Someone to get on base. Meanwhile the lineup looks like shit and no one is training them Forget about that, the company obviously has no idea what it is doing on the internet. You saw my evaluation of their website, their competition is wearing the Nike’s right now and his 20 year old business is losing online marketing share and he wants to hire an all star second basemen! You can’t help them from a sales position as much as you can help them by flying into the President of a company that owns 700 hotels and say – here watch this Don’t you dare budge! Remove your name from consideration for sales person, and tell him you want to apply for the job as President!