Skin in the game

When I want something really bad in life, I make a bet.

What does this look like in practice?

If I wanted to lose 50 lbs by Christmas, I’d bet $100k.

If I wanted to book 100 clients in the next 3 months, I’d bet a large amount of $$$ I could do it.

In poker, we call this prop betting.

Back in the day, I’d just bet on almost anything.

$1,000 rock-paper-scissors games.

$5,000 tennis matches.

$10,000 basketball games playing 2 on 1 (with the right odds of course).

I’ve bet millions of dollars on all kinds of bets.

(If you’re a bit degenerate, here are my favorite bets)

I wish sometimes you were all poker players. It’d make my newsletter read more like an HBO original. But I digress.

Back to the regularly scheduled programming of sales & deal making lessons.

What do the above betting examples have to do with sales?

Skin in the game.

I had something to lose.

That I didn’t want to lose.

I did everything in my power to make sure I didn’t lose.

Stick with me till the end. We are going to flip this onto your prospects.

Let’s pick a common example.

Weight loss.

Everyone wants to lose weight.

“How much weight do I want to lose?”

Got your number?

Now think, “How much money do I make a year?”

Got your number?

Multiply your yearly earnings by 25%.

Fill in the blank.

I’ll bet you (insert 25% number here) that I’ll lose (insert weight loss here) by (desired date here).

It might sound like this.

“I will bet you $100,000 that I’ll lose 25 lbs by October 1st.”

Think about what’s at risk? 25% of your income.

What are the chances of losing $100,000 versus 25 lbs?

Not a chance in hell I’m losing the money.

I’ll figure out, at any chance possible, how to lose the 25 lbs.

How do we flip this onto your prospects? What do your prospects need to happen, that if it doesn’t will negatively impact their lives?

What do they need that only you can help them see, understand, and accomplish?

THIS is how one creates urgency and high close rates.

You make selling harder than it needs to be.

People love to brag about how great they are.

Jay-Z has a line...

“I sell ice in the winter, I sell fire in Hell, I am a hustler, baby, I'll sell water to a whale"

That’s great, Jay-Z.

Here’s my remix...

"I'll sell shade in the summer, warmth in the cold,I'm a dealmaker, baby, I sell stories that get sold."

(I’ll stick to sales lessons)

Stop making selling harder than it needs to be.

You need to have conversations with prospects and people with something to lose.

They have skin in the game.

When your prospect has everything to lose, and you can help them win, they pick you. They return your calls. They don’t ghost you.

Sell sales training?

Imagine having a roomful of VPs of Sales who were all going to be fired unless they increased sales by 25% next quarter.

Bet you get a lot of call backs.

“But Chris, how do I know if someone has skin in the game?”

You make them fight.

When someone says “I need to increase sales 25% this quarter,” you start selling.

I say “And what if you don’t?”

And I keep pushing them.

And pushing.

Until I hear the “skin in the game” statement.

“Listen Chris, don’t make me say it again, but if I can’t get sales to where they need to be, I’m going to be out looking for a new job.”

My response?

“Does your wife/husband know?”

Then I push, and push, and push some more.

I can already hear some of you calling me a bad person for making my prospects go through hell. Make them share their most vulnerable truths.

You couldn’t be more wrong.

I love these prospects for two reasons:

1. They always buy.

2. What I do for them changes their life.

You see, when I push someone that far, that their life will be forever changed if the current state doesn’t change, it gives me skin in the game.

I can’t imagine letting someone fail their loved ones, their wife, their kids.

The same way a doctor fighting to cure a cancer patient.

I can’t serve the healthy.

My goal is to only serve the sick.

I tell all these people the same thing.

The funny thing about having a lot to lose? You have everything to gain.

Weekly Challenge

Two part weekly challenge.

The first about you.

The second about your pipeline.

First challenge

1. Write out a time in your life you had everything to lose? Back against the wall with real risk of failure? How did you feel? Did you fail?

Deal review time.

Do any of your prospects have skin in the game?

Do any of them have anything to lose?

Do you even know it?

Time to find out.

1. Put your deals in order from soonest to close to latest.

2. What happens if they don’t close on the date you said?

   1. First, personally.

   2. Then professionally for the company.

3. Who else is impacted if they fail?

   1. First, personally.

   2. Then professionally.

4. Scale of 1-10, how much does their failure really matter?

   1. Be truthful here, this is subjective.

5. What’s the next question you need to ask every one of your prospects to help them get skin-in-the-game?

   1. If you don’t know, reply back to this email Skin-In-The-Game, I’ll help you figure it out.

Until next week,

Chris