Written by Jeffrey R. Armstrong – President/Owner of Armstrong Capital
Your favorite Master Note Buyer – Straightforward, Honest, Fair…
If you’ve been following my articles this year I have been laying out a foundation for your success. I gave you a Self Confidence formula and then wrote about the focus that is needed and continued with the underlying desire that is required to succeed. The remaining three factors that I think lead to success in this business are Effort, Knowledge and Skill. This month I will continue with Effort, the component that makes it happen.
When you have the confidence to be persistent, the focus to keep you centered and the desire to keep you going you will definitely be on the right path. However, in order for those things to aid you in your success you must put in the effort. Effort is the factor of my success formula where you actually have to do some work. This might be the one component that causes the majority of people starting in the industry to eventually fail. Effort equals work. In order to succeed in this industry you are going to have to put the effort in and do some work.
Whether you are in this business part time or full time, in order to get consistent transactions closing every month you and you alone are going to have to put in the effort. This is the one thing that you are going to have to do for yourself. If you are in this business part time or full time you must dedicate a time every day to do something to get business. You must put some time into marketing your business. We all have busy lives with work, life maintenance, domestic errands and time for fun and relaxation. So, if you are working full time at another job maybe you’ll dedicate one hour a day Monday through Friday and a couple of hours on Saturday, maybe 5-10 hours per week. That would be a good start, but what are you going to do with those hours?
Will you spend that time watching the ACFI DVD’s, reading the Resource Manual, listening to the audio CD’s or reading the archived ACF Journal articles? No. You will spend that time on marketing your cash flow business. All of that information is extremely helpful and informative but it will not get you business. The only thing that will drive business to you is you putting your effort into marketing.
Then the question comes up, “What can I do with an hour a day”? You can do plenty. You can write and send a letter to all of your friends and relatives introducing your new business. You can do the same for any professionals you know as well, such as accountants, attorneys, title companies, real estate agents and loan officers. You can search the internet and send emails to professional referral sources and potential clients by using sites like bizbuysell.com, thomasnet.com and realyellow.com. How many emails can you send out in an hour? You can put your business cards in all of the bills you pay and other mail you send out. You can make signs to stick on various corners and lawns on your way to work tomorrow. You can develop a direct mail letter or postcards to use in a direct mail campaign. Get the idea?
If you don’t put in the effort all of the confidence, focus and burning desire will just go to waste. You are responsible for the success or failure of your business. If you don’t put in the effort there is nothing that your favorite Master Consultant, the ACF member advisors or mentors can do for you. We can all assist you in suggesting different ways for you to put in the effort and get results but you are the only one that can put it into action.
As a Master Consultant I get calls all the time from consultants who say it’s not working. My first questions are what have you done to get business and what kind of results have you received? I’ll get an answer like “…Well, I got an 800 number, I talked to some of my friends, made my business cards and registered my business name…and I didn’t get a deal yet…” That’s great, you set up your business, but none of those things are going to get you a deal on their own. You need to put in the effort and use the tools that are going to generate responses and get you deals.
The physical action of attempting to perform or accomplish a task or endeavor is Effort. When you are just starting your business or trying to take it to the next level you are going to have to put in the effort and work for it. There is no magic way to get a deal and there is no secret marketing method that will get you a deal. The only way to get a deal, your first deal and the deals after that, is to put in the effort and work for it. Don’t let life get in your way. Stick to the plan and with enough confidence, focus, desire and now effort you will eventually succeed.