Here’s a quick little story that you might find interesting…
Not too long ago… I think it was March of 2017.. I happily spent $350… to get a free cappuccino.
Well, actually… I planned to pay for the coffee too, but the other guy ended up insisting… so , it was free!
Why does someone pay $350 for a cup of coffee? No, it wasn’t one of special coffee beans that come from bat crap or cat crap… if you don’t know what that is… that’s a whole different story…. Oh wow… that’s a whole new kettle of fish isn’t it..
Ok so in short… there’s these wild cat type animals in Indonesia.. They eat coffee beans… they digest them… crap them out… and someone has the awesome job of collecting it! And APPARENTLY… This makes the world’s most expensive coffee beans.
Did you know that?
Have you tried it?
Have I tried it….? Well…. Now we’re getting personal… Maybe I’ll tell you after this..
Back to my story..
I spent $350 on a free cappuccino.
A company a little north of Brisbane reached out to me and asked about our Lead Generation service, This is something that we don’t do much any more.. Except for some older long term clients.
They wanted us to fill their call centre with Sales Leads. Make the phone ring day in, day out so to speak. Whilst that’s no problem I hadn’t met them face to face yet. Which I like to do for a bigger deal like this..
So, there was a cheap return flight to Brisbane, a Hotel Room, and a hire car. Just to sit down, shake hands and chat about their business and their customers. Because until I understand their customers I can’t really do anything for them.
There was no guarantee this deal was locked in. It was money down the drain from the get go… that’s how you have to look at it. Not every partnership is going to be a good fit… for numerous different reasons.
Here’s the fun part of this story.. It wasn’t just $350.. It costs more than that for the return flight, hotel and hire car.
It was a bit over $700 by the time I landed back in Sydney. And that was doing it cheap for the record, I don’t see any point flying Business Class for a 1 hour flight, no matter how much money is in the bank.
But of course, I booked a second meeting while I was there. A different company I wanted to touch base with also, so that was a 2nd coffee.
2 coffees that cost me $350 each.
Sometimes… you have to take that leap. You can’t sit back and say no I can’t do this, or that. Because of this.. Or that. I’m not saying go bankrupt… if you can’t spend the money to travel for business, than you can’t. That won’t stop your business’s growth..
It could probably be faster… if you do more face to face… but the phone is almost as good.
I was happy to spend $700 for 2 coffees because of the opportunity. Of course it wasn’t about the coffee. If we were to work with this company, it was going to be multiple six figures a year minimum. I knew that, because I knew how many staff they had from a previous conversation. I’d already done the math.
Answer this… if my budget was $1 to find a new a client… I’d be very limited right. Think about it… to post one letter probably costs more than that.
You might say “well email is free… so why not send 99 emails.” . of course I could . But it costs more than $1 to have the internet on, doesn’t it?
$1 is just an extreme example. So if we take extreme example… and fatten that up to $100.. This gives me some more options to reach out to and connect with Businesses who I want to work with.. But it still limits me.
But if I’m willing to spend $350 to have a cappuccino with someone… will I have more opportunities ?
It’s all about opening up the door to let in more possibilities. That’s what I’m trying to get across here.
When I spend $4-$5k to fly to the US for a conference for a few days. That’s about 7.1x more expensive than $700…. But do I have 7.1x more opportunities at a conference, filled with the type of businesses I want to work with?
Yes.
I understand you need to have money to make money…. Well, at some level anyway. It makes it easier.
You can still land deals and grow your business… from your laptop in your rented apartment or house… on your $60 a month internet connection. Hey, I’ve been there before. That was me. I’ve done it.
What I’m saying here… is… the more you can open yourself up… the more you will let in. It’s only natural.
That’s why $350 for 1 cup of coffee… … was worth it, every day of the week.
I want more 6 figure deals, so I’ll spend $700 to come and see you… if I can see the potential in the deal and a positive relationship.
Don’t run out and do it tomorrow… you need to know who your ideal clients are, what you’re giving them… and be sure you can deliver the results.
To grow your business, you will spend money… that you may never see again. It’s just how it works.
If you’ve grown to several million $ without spending any money… we should talk.
By the way …. No I haven’t tried that cat crap coffee. Only because I haven’t seen it on a menu. But when I do… i’ll be ordering a cup of that faster than a cat runs on a hot tin roof! (pun intended! – chat next time!)
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