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I know I can be a broken record to many wholesalers… But let me try and sell an idea from a different angle. The most powerful asset you can build is how valuable you are to financial advisors… and I mean “truly” valuable, not tables steaks (sponsoring events, updating them on market outlooks etc.) I teach the VAR strategy as the tool for how to “weaponize” and “monetize this value. But what I also say is you should be reading the books articles, and listening to the podcasts and videos that advisors SHOULD be listening to – But Don’t! And I’m not talking about the markets, investments etc.. I’m talking about the business building, sales, marketing ones etc.. So here is my recommendation… Once a week for 60 – 90minutes, get dressed up as a financial advisor coach who is trying to build programs for advisors that get results. During that time, really sell yourself, that this is what you are doing… That your business success depends on you becoming “truly” valuable to advisors.

You need to accept something if you want to get better… good enough, is good enough.

I don’t care what lightbulbs are currently in your house, there are better ones.

There are ones that shine brighter, last longer, are less expensive, more environmentally friendly etc.

Now that you know this, how many hours will you spend this week researching and shopping and replacing all your light bulbs?

Zero

Because the ones you have are good enough.

What does this have to do with wholesaling?

Having a slightly better product isn’t enough to get the average retail advisor to proactively change something when what they have is good enough.

If you want to increase the chances an advisor will make the effort to use your product, you should build reciprocity.

But in order to build reciprocity, you need to know what an advisor thinks is ACTUALLY valuable.

Watch the 2 minute video at this link to find out.

What is “Actually” Valuable to Advisors Video

The scattered wholesaler is talented and ambitious and they’ve achieved some level of success. But they deal with unnecessary frustration, and leave a ton of money on the table by not having a strategy, system or process to run themselves or their business. Their days start off with good intentions, but they wind up bouncing around like ping pong balls, and changing directions with every call, email or idea they hear about. And when sales and results aren’t where they need to be, their answer is more; More hours, more calls, more posts, more whatever. At the end of the day, it’s pot luck whether they’re up or down on the emotional roller coaster. They wrongly blame their situation on a lack of discipline, an inability to focus, or on some idea or secret that alludes them. Think you might suffer from “talented but scattered” syndrome? Than head over to PGwholesaling.com and listen to the two part audio on The Pillar System to learn how to run a more intentional and lucrative wholesaling business. A business where on Friday night, regardless of that week’s results, you’ll know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your business is moving in the right direction… and it’s only a matter of time and pressure until you hit your goals.

“We have a good relationship” you tell me, but do you?  Maybe you’re friendly and get along…  But do you have a professional relationship?  If you don’t have their matrix, lineup or annuity stack (common products)..  I would say in most cases, you don’t.  And the simplest way to get it, is to ask. And if they aren’t comfortable giving it to you, the professional relationship isn’t there yet. (of course their are exceptions)  BELOW IS FROM THE SCRIPT BOOK ON NEXTLEVELWHOLESALER.COM  Mary,  Instead of throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks, what are your thoughts on me obtaining a copy of your matrix?  I’ll put some qualified eyes on it and come back to you with one or two relevant ideas we can make a case for. Then you can decide if you want to make any moves.  No – It’s Proprietary: I understand, then maybe you can highlight one or two areas that are ripe for review or funds that are on the watchlist.  Yes – Great, before I take this back, are there any locked-up areas you don’t want me to look at?

Ahh the sharing of best practices – the stage discussion, the conference call. 

“I send my advisors a fedex package with….”

“I send this email 2 days after my meeting…” 

“The first thing I do when I sit in the advisor’s office is…”

Everybody loves these discussions primarily for the same reason. They are looking for hacks and shortcuts to increase business that don’t require them to:

1. Execute on something consistently that they don’t like doing
2. Doing things that make them uncomfortable

If you are ever going to truly grow a business you will have to do both. The good news is that for those willing to do it, the consistent things become habitual and the uncomfortable things become comfortable.

WARNING: Be careful about listening to someone’s best practice who just got some huge trade. If they can repeat this over and over and correlate the two that is fine…but this is often not the case.

In Part I of this email, I explained how having a great business partner, coach, or accountability partner is the key to high performance. So who should be your partner? Whether it is a coach, friend or business associate they should meet the following criteria:1) They MUST be working on themselves. If they aren’t currently in the process of getting better via books, seminars, podcasts etc. Don’t waste your time. 2) They are more than just an accountability partner. Although a good coach or partner will help keep you accountable, the relationship must go beyond a simple “let’s check in once a week to make sure we each hit our goals”. Honestly, has that EVER worked for an extended period of time without a bigger relationship? 3) They must continually ask you the right questions (even if you give them the questions in advance), hold a mirror up to your face, and dig for any differentials in what you say you need to be doing and what you actually do. 4) They should not take anything you say at face value. They should challenge all assumptions. It doesn’t mean the assumptions won’t hold up, but they should have you validate them. It’s amazing what we can convince ourselves of that impacts our business in a negative way. When possible, select someone outside your industry as many of your colleagues have the same assumptions you do. 5) They must understand the importance of reminding you about what you already know and what has worked in the past. Without a doubt, the biggest benefit I have gotten from my coach/accountability partner are what I call Re-epiphanys (a word I made up). These are breakthroughs I make by simply being reminded of something I already knew or knew I should have been doing. 6) It seems obvious, but they should be reliable. They should also enjoy the process or it won’t last long. 7) When possible, make it a 2 way relationship. Becoming a better coach makes you a better student.

As someone who teaches a very specific strategy, you would assume I believe learning it is the best way to improve your wholesaling business…and that couldn’t be further from the truth. How do I know?  Because some clients I work with are right back where they started only a few months after working with me (any coach or system that claims other wise is lying). Yet some clients have literally tripled their businesses. Same industry, same curriculum.“I know where you are going with this Brian…it’s all about execution” Well, not exactly. It is bigger than that. The key to high performance is having a business partner. Whether they are paid or free, whether you call them a coach, accountability partner, trainer, mentor etc. You need a qualified 2nd set of eyes.Darren Hardy, publisher of success magazine, has interviewed and worked with the best of the best…and he sums it up perfectly. The best in the world have the best in the world advising, consulting and coaching them. It is one of the greatest ways they gain advantage over their competitors. The best golfer, tennis player, baseball pitcher, singer, even surgeon, CEO and top entrepreneur all invest in highly paid advisors and coaches. Why?  This is a massively critical point about high performance. There is a phenomenon called unconscious incompetence, meaning, you don’t even know when you aren’t doing something correctly or to the best of your ability. It takes someone outside of you to observe, identify, prod and counsel you in order to bring awareness to the adjustments needed take your performance to the next level. I am guessing if I asked if you believed in the 80/20 principle you would respond emphatically  “Of course I do…certain activities move the needle in bigger ways than others.” Well I can’t think of a better use of your time than finding a great business partner. If you objectively understood how much time you waste on the wrong things and the money you leave on the table by not making slight adjustments, you would start now!  You would realize the payout dwarfs any week’s worth of meetings. In part II of this email I am going to show you how to find and select an effective business partner for free….stay tuned.

Start with the top 4 books in the picture below if you understand:  1) Even if you have something of value, you’re inability to articulate it QUICKLY, via email and voicemail will keep advisors from meeting with you.  2) Being comfortable in meetings doesn’t pay as well as being EFFECTIVE.

Need more meetings…get ready to roll your eyes

You need to change your mindset.

I got a million “tactics” that work – many of you know what I’m talking about..

And everyone else can find out on March 1st (shameless plug).

But tactics come and go…

Some are effective for a while and then fade off, and then become effective again, and then fade off.

But the right mindset for getting meetings NEVER fades..

So here they are:

1) THINKING WITH EMPATHY

Actually slowing down long enough to put yourself in the advisors shoes. Thinking about what is “actually” valuable to them, vs what you hope they find valuable.

Need more meetings…get ready to roll your eyes

You need to change your mindset.

I got a million “tactics” that work – many of you know what I’m talking about..

But tactics come and go…

Some are effective for a while and then fade off, and then become effective again, and then fade off.

But the right mindset for getting meetings NEVER fades..

So here they are:

1) THINKING WITH EMPATHY

Actually slowing down long enough to put yourself in the advisors shoes. Thinking about what is “actually” valuable to them, vs what you hope they find valuable.

If you were an advisor would you take time out of your day to learn about what this wholesaler is offering?

Are you asking the following question:

What is a dream come true result for an advisor?

What are they hoping someone walks in the door to help them with?

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but few practice it consistently.

Here are 2 very short videos to help.

‘What is Actually valuable to advisors”

“The Big E”

2) UNDERSTANDING THE ROI OF GETTING IT RIGHT

Why do some wholesalers take the tactics I teach and crush it, while others tell their colleagues “I tried that Margolis stuff, it didn’t work”

It’s because the former group understands that no matter how good a tactic is, there is a trial and error period where you learn the nuances and the adjustments that make it work.

They understand that it’s not a 1 to 1 ROI, but rather a back and forth until they get it right and then BOOM.

I’ve literally handed the same Quick Hit Call to different wholesalers, and one gets 45-85 attendees every time they do it. Others get 3 or 4.

Love him or not, Elon Musk has gotten outsized results for his input.    And if you’ve ever heard him interviewed, he often refers directly and indirectly to “first principles thinking”.  One of the tenets is that you tear things down by removing assumptions until you get to a foundational assumption that is absolutely true…  And then you build up from this solid foundation.  But when you deploy tactics built on false assumptions, things don’t work.  And you often don’t know why, because you don’t realize your assumption isn’t true.  In wholesaling, It’s the linear assumption that hurts wholesalers AND managers.  It’s the assumption that return on output is always linear…  If 100 emails gets 3 people to attend your company webinar, 500 will get 15.  If 10 meetings gets you 2  quality opportunities, 30 meetings will get you 6. If you want to sell 4x more of a certain product, just talk about it 4x more.  In a completely randomized approach, this would absolutely be true.. But you have unequal relationships, advisors, stories, interest levels, timing etc. which favors a targeted approach…  And after the initial targeted approach the law of diminishing returns starts to kick in.  You’re job with each tactic and campaign is to watch for this ROI curve to start to flatten…  and decide if 2X more output still gets you a 2X return, and know when the juice is no longer worth the squeeze.