John Carlton: Time for a Reality Check

John Carlton kicks the day off with a great discussion of how to do a reality check.

This is a lot more than just “hi, how’re you doing, did you have a good night?” this is 45 minutes of pure gold.

Start with writing everything down, break it down, keep to “Operation Moneysuck”, do you automate…

…way too much to write down here. I took 2 pages of notes and just hit the highlights.

Reality Checks: Take advantage of the opportunity

Get clarity on your situation. Get your problems, goals and sticking points all written down.

Start breaking them down. Get index cards and put each idea onto a card.

Categories:

• Done
• Need more info (break it down some more)
• Need new resouorce (employee, software)
• Need to outsource
• Need to fix it now or can you ignore it for awhile

Try to keep the items you work on within 1 to 2 steps of operation moneysuck

8:56 He gives some examples of Operation Moneysuck

Don’t get ahead of yourself. Stay simple.

If you can’t sell face-to-face you will have trouble selling online.

Build your business logically…step by step

15:04 If you don’t know what to do next keep breaking it down. Where are you now? How many steps away are you from doing what you want to do?

It’s ok to be wrong…fail fast

Start looking at what professional help you need.

Do you need to brainstorm and mastermind?

Do you need more education/coaching?

23:19 What does your business look like at the next step?

Pick one thing and finish it. Multitasking is bad. You can do a lot of things in a morning, but one thing at a time. Use a timer.

Use deadlines and measure progress.

Be able to move on. The past is in the past.

Do you want to automate? Outsource? Hire other people? You need to get traffic.

27:36 Look for clues that you are zooming past your core competency. Get help if you need it.

Become an expert in what you do. Box your ego and lock it up so you can look at your business dispassionately.

Speed reading: Shows you how to devour information

Book Recommendation: The Closers by Ben Gay

1. List your major goals, problems and sticking points
2. Get out a series of index cards and list one on each.
3. Put each into one of the following categories:
   a Done
   b. Need more info (break it down some more)
   c. Need new resource (employee, software)
   d. Need to outsource
   e. Can you ignore it for awhile
4. List the steps you need to take for each
5. Get to work

If your copy needs help, you can learn to do it yourself or be better able to manage a copywriter by taking the Simple Writing System.  Check out the free intro here.

John also mentions the value of speed reading.  We have a guide to reading a book quickly and efficiently here.

Books mentioned in the video:

The Closers, by Ben Gay II
Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples
Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
My Life in Advertising by Claude Hopkins
Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy