foundercontact groupAn Interview with the master of subliminal persuasion.
Dave Lakhani was brought to my attention last summer, g_d! that seems so long ago!, at the same weekend, Christine Comaford-Lynch’s Rules for Renegades Summit. Dave’s presentation about the power of persuasion was so persuasive that I attended his weekend in Las Vegas, Renegades of Persuasion that was a real eye-opener.
Dave is a fascinating man. I mean he is the expert on persuasion. But, seriously, he is truly fascinating, his story is amazing, his lessons are invaluable.
Enjoy his interview. I’m really pleased to be able to follow up Dr. Kevin Hogan’s great interview with another one equally great with a recognized expert and a truly nice guy. Be sure to visit his site, Bold Approach, subscribe to his blog, follow him on Twitter @davelakhani, and maybe even, buy his books. You’ll be surprised at what you didn’t know about the art and responsibilities of persuasion!
Enjoy!
1. Please tell us about yourself, personally and professionally. Where did you start out? Where are you now? Where are you headed?
I was raised in a cult from the time I was 6 until my late teens. I left home at 16 to get away from that mentality and began my study of persuasion and entrepreneurship.
I’ve studied both for the past 27 years and have written two books on the topic of persuasion – Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want and Subliminal Persuasion: Influence and Marketing Secrets They Don’t Want You To Know. I’ve also written a book on focus called The Power of an Hour: Business and Life Mastery In One Hour A Week and One on Business called The 12 Factors of Business Success. I try to write one new book about every 18 months.
I’ve owned ten different businesses in the past 15 years including a bar, a security company, a pre-employment background investigation and employee testing company, a computer store, a PR/Marketing firm, a day spa (currently with my wife) and my firm Bold Approach, plus several others. I’ve also led turn-arounds for over a dozen companies ranging in revenue from about $2 million in sales to $100 million.
2. What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?
Being an entrepreneur is a little like being an alchemist, I can create income at will out of the opportunity around me. Being an entrepreneur gives me the advantage of being able to design and live the life I want and to change when I feel like a change. It also rewards me for the work that I do spiritually and financially. I can make as much money as I want and no one can put a cap on it. Being an entrepreneur also means being able to give back to my community and the world at large in ways I couldn't as an employee.
3. Many people I’ve met have told me they were influenced at a very early age to follow the entrepreneurial path. What set you on an entrepreneurial path? Do you think entrepreneurs are “born”? Can it be learned? I think often times entrepreneurs are pushed on a path at an early age or they get a taste of it by working at a smaller (or startup) company and catch the bug. Entrepreneurship can definitely be learned.
In my case, my first entrepreneurial endeavor was selling hamburger presses that our family chiropractor had left over in his garage. I sold them for $3 and he took $1, he just wanted to be out of them and had several hundred in his garage. I also had a Grit newspaper route at the time so I just sold the presses in the beginning to people who already bought the paper from me. My big ah-ha was that it was easier to sell more to people who were already buying from you than to sell to new people.
When I was 13 I got an insurance settlement and bought into a heavy pole and timber construction business and the owner who was also a mentor to me said he’d treat me like an adult if I invested. He did and I learned a great deal working after school, weekends, holidays and summers, running crews of construction workers, selling jobs and negotiating supplies. I knew from then on that I wanted to own my own businesses.
4. What makes an entrepreneur? What makes entrepreneurs different? What do you think sets entrepreneurs apart?
Interesting question. I think what makes an entrepreneur is the ability to consume a lot of information and input and see an outcome that others might not see and then be able to quickly implement on that information. I think that there is an element of willingness to take risk but I think the bigger skill is the ability to manage risk. I also think that entrepreneurs are fierce individualists who aren’t content with the status quo.
[Editor’s Note- Seth Godin’s Dec. 5th Blog post ”The Making Chasm” directly addresses this. Be sure to click through to read Timothy Coote’s observations. I could also quote Yoda, but, Gentle Readers, you are already familiar with his position! Please comment or email me your thoughts.]
5. Have you ever experienced a seminal networking moment that impacted you as an entrepreneur?
There have been many seminal networking moments to be sure. I've done a lot of business by being in the moment and present rather than just going through the motions when I was networking. Those moments have been worth millions of dollars in sales over my career.
6. What have you found to work well when networking? What caveats can you offer?
Being present while you network is the most important thing you can learn. Don’t just go through the motions, listen to the person you are talking to, ask powerful questions that let you learn about their needs, their desires. Be a connector. A lot of people are nervous about meeting new people or being at networking events. Be the person that connects people and makes the connection easy. Follow up. Email, voice mail, hand written card, it doesn’t matter. Just let people know you appreciated them and let them know that you heard one thing that was important to them to deepen the connection. Finally, take pictures with people and post them on your website or on Flickr with links back to their sites. Be a connector.
7. What networking lessons can we learn from the way entrepreneurs operate?
Opportunity is everywhere, dig in, ask questions, deals happen when you put people together, try and be in the middle of deals you put together to get a piece of the action when it is appropriate.
8. How can thinking like an entrepreneur give one an advantage in the networking and in general?
When you are constantly on the lookout for opportunities you learn to listen to and look at people differently. That ability to think outside the book and see outside the moment is what makes networking powerfully effective.
9. How do you network?
Because I speak a lot, I have dozens of opportunities a year to network with very interesting people so I do, I don’t just run off to a speaker’s dinner or back to my room, I mingle, I get to know people, I spend time finding out about their observations, needs, wants, desires, interpretations of events etc.
I’ve also been spending a lot of time lately networking online using tools like Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin to network virtually and the results have been phenomenal. It is very important to network like you would in person, ask good questions, be open, be a connector, add something to the relationship and when you do, you’ll be amazed at what happens with people you’ve never even met face to face.
Finally, I belong to two important groups, a mastermind of like minded entrepreneurs who help me connect and EO, the Entrepreneur’s Organization (formerly YEO) this is a place where I can discuss my most important business or personal issues in total confidentiality and get strong feedback from a forum of Entrepreneurs just like me. They share their experience and their network to solve the toughest problems in life and business.
10. What’s one secret you can share for successfully leveraging networking to build success into our businesses?
Simple, do it. People talk about networking or think that handing out business cards is networking but they don’t really network. Make it a point at your very next meeting or networking opportunity to have a series of five questions that help you deeply understand who you are talking to, what you can do for them and if they are qualified to help you. I like questions like:
1. Tell me what you do . . .
2. How do you do that?
3. Who are your best or most interesting clients?
4. What is next for your company, how do you get to the next level
5. (If I’ve developed deep rapport) What is the biggest challenge facing your company in the next few months or year?
6. Who might I know that I could introduce you to that would help you out right now?
11. Finally, what’s coming up in the next few quarters for you and your ventures? How can we meet up with you?
I speak at about 80 events a year so just watch for me. If you want to get to know me and connect, follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/davelakhani or friend me on facebook.com and link in with me at Linkedin.com then engage with me, start a conversation and let’s get to know one another, I’d love to see what I can do to help your dreams come true.
Please share your thoughts in an email - LSugarman@privatelabelinteractive.com
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