152: Chris Brogan- Owning Your Game

“If you don’t believe in all your heart and soul, that the thing you are offering, is the right thing, then it’s going to be hard for you to ever ask for the sale.”

“Don’t fake it ‘til you make it, believe until the world catches up to where you are.” - Chris Brogan

About: Chris Brogan- CEO of Owner Media Group

Overview: Chris Brogan is a successful and approachable entrepreneur. He has consulted for large firms all over the world, including Disney, Google, Microsoft, etc. Chris provides education and tools to help you make your life and your business thrive, by teaching you how to own the game you most want to win. Throughout this interview, we learn some great tips on how to be a powerful salesman, and how Chris has become successful.

Chris Brogan

 

Highlights:

Why Meet with Outliers: We asked Chris why he was so willing to meet with us, and he responds by saying that he is always willing to help others, no matter what stage of work they are in and was excited to help you, Outliers. He states that everyone has started at some point and he was at the starting point at a stage in his life too. Chris wants to connect with others and see how he can help them.

Newsletter Strategy: The easiest way that Chris explains it, is he’s always made it a point to talk to people the way he’d want someone to talk to him, and/or even to his mother. Chris is always trying to sell something- it’s business. But what he considers a sale is a transaction of value. 90% of the stuff he does is free, and the other 10% is where he creates his revenue.

Sales: “If you don’t believe in all your heart and soul, that the thing you are offering, is the right thing, then it’s going to be hard for you to ever ask for the sale.” If you’re selling something that doesn’t work, then you’re not going to do so well. You have to believe that what you’re selling is truly going to help that person. When you are worried about making rent, or paying the bills, then you are selling with the wrong perspective and those that you are selling to will feel it as well.. Sell from love. It’s easier to sell value than anything else.

Mistakes Outliers May Be Making: You cannot share, or sell something that you have not experienced. The secret sauce is that people want to know that you’re just like them. Chris hates the phrase “fake it ‘til you make it.” He says, “Don’t fake it ‘til you make it, believe until the world catches up to where you are.” Sometimes people don’t see it the way you do because they can’t see the vision that you do. Entrepreneurship and a lot of our journey can be tough, sometimes you have money and sometimes you have no money. The trick is to just be really good about where you are.

What is Success: Chris believes that success is being able to say no to the things that he wants to say no to. He feels that he’s “made it,” according to the world, but he still has new goals and new heights he wants to reach. The people who fail the most in life are the people who let up on the gas petal once they reach a certain goal. Chris really admires people like Warren Buffet who work until the very end. Richard Branson is also a great example of continuing success. Richard has over 400 companies and still runs at full speed. He works hard and he plays hard.

Biggest Challenge: Getting people to understand the story that he’s trying to tell. With all sales and marketing, Chris believes that he has something to offer to those around him and he truly wants to help them.

Revenue: Since 2008, his company revenue has always fluctuated. In 2010, he lost $400,000 in investments. His goal for revenue this year is to beat the $1Million mark. Chris shares that when someone is thinking about their revenue goal, they need to think about what it’s going to take to achieve that and if it’s really worth it. Each goal depends on who you are and what works for you.

End Game for Chris Brogan: He's not sure what it is, but he hopes that he’ll get that one idea that will allow him to create a company that will live on past him. He eventually wants to build a product he can sell that he won’t be the face of.

About Chris’s latest book - The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth: Chris considers himself a “freak.” He defines freak as someone who has almost a tattoo like obsession of doing the kind of business they want to do with the people they want to do it with, and doing it the way they most want to do it. Tony Hawk, Mark Echo, and Kate White are great examples of being “freaks” of their business. A freak is the people who are tired of trying to fit in, and are just trying to find out where they belong. You can definitely have a day job and be a freak. The whole concept doesn’t require that you set off on your own and do your own thing; it’s simply owning what you do.

Take Away: Chris has an authentic approach to sales that teaches any of us entrepreneurs to be true believers in what we’re selling. Like his most recent book, Chris shares that we need to become “freaks” in whatever business we are doing and we will be successful.

Connect With Hasan:

OwnerMag.com | ChrisBrogan.com | @ChrisBrogan | Facebook

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