Issue #2 : The Room Where It Happens

Before I could legally drink, I won over $2,000,000 playing poker.

You’re asking yourself, 'Why do I care?'"

Because that's how I sell. Make deals. Run my career. Everything I believe your success is tied to is what I learned before I was 21. I didn’t read it in a book or listen to a podcast.

Before 21, I played in underground poker clubs. Dirty money. Shady people. MBAs. Armed guards at the door. NYC is called the melting pot of America, but you haven’t seen a melting pot until you’ve sat at an underground poker game.

Alright, so, back to how poker changed my life, and why you should care.

Picture this.

Basement of a dive bar. Upstairs is a shithole. But downstairs? A money trading floor. Hundreds of thousands crossed hands nightly. Even more on weekends.

I was playing 25/50 NL Hold'em at an 8-handed table with a $10k max buy-in. I'd estimate there was about $100k on the table.

I just made a hero call (for non-poker players, I called a huge bet with a weak hand).

The dealer said, "Show 'em."

I flipped over pocket Queens.

“Tough call, man. You got it,” said David, disgusted.

David was a hotshot college kid from the University of Texas, a finance bro cleaning up the poker games. He ran with a group of kids from prestigious schools like Duke, Wharton, Northwestern, and the Ivys.

The game ended. I got my money, called a buddy for a ride, and waited outside. David rolled up in a blacked out Porsche Carrera – probably a $100k car. He asked if I wanted to grab food with the group of guys I mentioned earlier — you know the future world elites.

I did. They let me into their group. A group that collectively had a net worth over $20mm before any of them were even out of college.

Besides teaching me poker, they taught me how to make money, read body language, bluff, code, and negotiate. They applied everything they learned from top business schools to gambling.

That group gave me access to a world I had no clue about.

Access to money I didn’t know existed.

It gave me connections that a college dropout from a small upstate NY town shouldn't have.

I got a real-life MBA in a secret classroom no one knew existed.

I was in the room where it happens.

So what’s this have to do with selling and deal making?

Everything.

Why should you care?

The right room will change your life.

By the end, you’ll know how to access the room where it happens

My favorite line from Hamilton.

Read it again. But this time, with rhythm.

Where are you screwing up?

You’re focused on the wrong things. The small stuff. You read books. Listen to self-help podcasts. Work really hard (whatever that means).

You qualify. Ask about budget and timelines.

“Are you the decision maker?”

I have a secret to tell you.

If you have to ask, they aren’t the decision maker.

I digress.

Alright, so, let me ask you a question.

How many times were you in the room when the person you were selling to said yes for the first time?

How often have you seen a contract signed by someone you didn’t know existed?

How many times have you missed a guaranteed deal?

How many industry deals are happening that you’re unaware of?

If you answered zero to any of these, stop reading. You don’t need me or this newsletter.

For the rest of you, keep going

Most deals don’t happen with sales people watching. The best deals happen without the world knowing they happened.

That’s because selling and deal making are different.

Deals happen in texts, DMs, after hours, at a bar, on a jet, and over dinner.

Closing a deal is different than selling.

Deals are done between people that matter.

This will shatter some egos but...

Do you matter?

“Chris, how do I get into these rooms?”

Gaining access isn’t easy. You know the saying, “If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.”

As I write this newsletter, there’s 3 areas to focus on:

1. Be like Paulie

2. Make people rich.

3. Be a master connector.

Be Like Paulie

If you read this newsletter, you’ll know I love movies. Goodfellas is one of them. One of the characters is Paulie, a utility player and clean-up hitter.

Need something done? Go to Paulie.

There’s this unbelievable dialogue in the movie that goes like this.

To access decision-making rooms, you need to be worthy.

Are you known in your industry for doing whatever it takes?

Do you have proof you’ll get it done?

Can you take on the challenging projects no one else can?

If not, why?

If the company was going under unless the biggest deal was closed, who is the CEO asking to close it? You or someone else?

Moral: Be like Paulie. Get in the ring with the baddest person and win. Win enough, get invited to bigger fights. With bigger money.

What does this look like in practice?

Review every major closed lost deal in your company's CRM.

Pick the largest.

Start working.

After winning a few, you’ll access new rooms you never knew existed.

Make people rich

"Money has a way of making more money." - Benjamin Franklin

Why do people talk to you?

In my line of work, people talk to me because they know I’ll make them rich.

If it’s a prospect, they know I’m gonna help them get that raise, bonus, promotion or solve their problem. They know I’ll deliver.

If it’s an employer or consulting gig, they know paying me is making them at least 10 times the money.

Why does this matter?

Are you making the people you work with rich?

Rich in money. Rich in prestige. Just rich.

Or, are you selling them something, collecting a commission, and moving on?

The more money I make others.

The more rooms they bring me into.

The more rooms they want me in.

If you're not being brought into rooms, it’s because you're not making people rich.

Be a matchmaker.

Over the last 30 days, how many people have you been introduced to?

Even better question, how many people have you introduced?

In the last 30 days, I’ve introduced over a dozen people.

People I believe need to meet. People that trust me because I’ve done good work for them. People that I put my reputation on because I know they are great people.

I don’t do this for money. I don’t get paid a finder's fee for connecting people.

I do this because of compounding effects.

The more people I connect, the more connections I make.

This is reciprocity 101.

I get someone a job? A year later I get first dibs on a project.

I introduce someone to solve a problem I can’t? Yup. Dibs on the new project.

I constantly connect people.

Bringing people into rooms they didn’t know existed.

And my payment? Not money.

Access to rooms I haven’t been in yet.

Weekly Challenge

Over the next 7 days, you'll start discovering new rooms. Rooms where it happens.

Choose one checklist and commit to it.

A checklist to be like Paulie:

1. Write down 3 things you are known for in your industry.

2. Write down 3 things you are known for in your company.

3. Write down 3 things you wish you were known for in your industry.

4. Write down 3 things you wish you were known for in your company.

5. Ask your boss to confirm what you are known for in your company

6. Ask your best customers to confirm what you are known for in your industry.

7. Write a plan to become the person you want to be known for.

A checklist for making people rich:

1. List all deals you’re working on.

2. Now write down how you are making the person you're working with rich.

3. If you don’t know, ask.

4. Use a version of this script: “How can I help you win personally, not just on this project? What do you need to come out of this project personally and score a big win?”

A checklist for being a matchmaker:

1. Write down a list of 30 people you respect.

2. Write down why for each of them.

3. Force connect 15 pairs of people on the list that need to know each other.

4. Send each of them a version of this email individually. “Hey, you need to meet XYZ Person. They are doing XYZ thing and feel like what you have going on would be amazing. Here’s why [and insert why you respect them]. Cool to intro?”

Closing Thoughts

This newsletter is for you. My only purpose is to teach you everything I know about getting everything you want.

Eventually, I’ll get to your burning desire topic. Or you can reply back to this email and I’ll put it to the top of the list.

Here’s the ask.

Reply to this email with the biggest problem you face in your sales career.

If it’s worth a 1,000+ word post, I’ll write it.

If it’s not. You’ll get a personal email from me.

Until next week.

-Chris