Lessons from Star-Studded Coaching at Grant Cardone's 10XGrowthCon
/Last week I returned from several days in Las Vegas attending Grant Cardone’s 10XGrowthcon. I enjoy watching other coaches coach, especially when it’s in front of 9,000 people and worth millions of dollars in upsell. You probably know of Tony Robbins who does this. I also had the opportunity to watch Suzanne Evans do it a couple of years ago.
Like other big-brand coaches, Grant is larger than life, though without a Wikipedia page yet. The conference was themed “10X” after his book The 10X Rule,” encouraging us to think very big, not settle for ordinary, to stop being risk-averse and start taking “massive action.” Grant is also the author of three other books, and Amazon reviewers suggest that all four books are simply rephrasings of the same concept. (That’s coaching tip #1, repurpose.) In addition to the books and conferences, Cardone makes money with online education (Cardone U), coaching and masterminds, and affiliations with complementary coaches and marketing programs. Enough to have just bought his own jet.
The venue was the event arena at the Mandalay Bay. The attendees were mostly young, a good blend of entrepreneurs and corporate, and predominantly male. The couple dozen speakers over the three days were excellent – well-rehearsed, loud, high energy, with messages on point. The production quality of the conference was super professional, though it was difficult for me to appreciate the darkness, strobe lights, and loud music at 8:30 am.
My favorite speaker was Flo Rida… ok, he performed, not presented. I’ve always liked his music, but it was the first time I saw him live. His energy was perfect for the conference.
I was planning to be entertained, which I was, but surprised at how many notes I took (in the dark, which was no small feat given my eyes are twice the age of the average attendee). Speakers like Ed Mylett, Andy Frisella, Hank Norman, Tim Storey, Micheal Burt (sic, who I tried to let know he was misspelling his name), and Lewis Howes were surprisingly moving and informational - hence motivational. I also got to meet Silicon Valley mogul Naveen Jain. We also had speakers for sales training and marketing education, one who sold $3M in product right after his presentation. Who needed training when you could watch the masters sell right in front of you?
Of the many lessons, here are some of my top takeaways that might help you.
Sales Coaching
Just sell. Grant talked about how much we all hate the selling process (deal fatigue), so why do we prolong it? Set yourself up (intent) for the close right from the beginning. Script the objections you’ll face and be prepared to handle them before you start selling. Don’t be reluctant to hit your list (for example, email). Role play and practice selling (“You have to be frequent before you get great”).
Video is king. When using marketing to fill a funnel, to support sales, video is king. Everyone is a videographer with today’s mobile phones. They gave us all PopSockets and suggested we all start creating video content immediately. They use Facebook & Instagram for social content and community, claiming Twitter is useless. We were taught a three-step video funnel to communicate (1) what you have, (2) why they need it, and (3) how they can get it.
Performance Coaching
Copy what works. Why reinvent the wheel? If colleagues or competitors seem to have solved problems (e.g. with Marketing), just copy what they did. Model other’s content, advertisements, and sources of web traffic (SimilarWeb.com). See what form, format, and colors are working for successful ads campaigns and just do it like theirs (“hack their funnel”).
Five daily goals. Andy Frisella shared that he writes down five goals each day. Being lazy, he stops when he’s finished the five. When you think about it, accomplishing five things in one day is pretty impressive. So, (1) write them down (super important, it makes them real) and (2) keep it realistic. When you finish the list each day, you know you’re moving forward. And if you want to hit the beach, bars, or video games in the afternoon, you’ll do them quickly.
Executive Coaching
Evangelize. Nearly everyone shared that great leaders are evangelical. These speakers were loud, had a strong stage presence, and were unapologetically passionate. Success comes to those who speak with conviction and get others to understand and to follow. Additionally, Grant suggests that there is no such thing as an introvert or extrovert (Carl Jung might disagree, though he died in 1961), so we all have it in us to be this (I recommend The Charisma Myth).
Fear is bad. That seems obvious, but it was in each speaker’s message. Fear is holding too many of us back. Jordan Zimmerman told us to “Chase your dreams, not your fears.” Hank Norman reminded us that “Fear comes from those closest to us.” You are going to encounter people who tell you that you can’t do it. Your life may already be scripted with messages that you’re not good enough, or that it can’t be done, especially from those close to you. Focus on the goals, the dreams, and not the fears.
Sacrifice. If you want to achieve a big goal, you need to be prepared to sacrifice. That was a main theme for many of the speakers. They talked about burning bridges after you’ve crossed them. They quoted Tony Robbins, “If you want to take the island, burn your boats.” I’ve mixed these messages to make this point - it’s not easy, it’s going to hurt, but if you really want something, push forward and don’t allow yourself a path to retreat.
I wasn’t necessarily the 10X target market, given that I am more focused on further developing my leadership coaching and business coaching than the sales coaching (though I work with some great sales coaches). Grant’s selling was effective – after all, it did get me to buy a ticket to the event. So we all left happy. I gained a lot of new knowledge, insight and motivation that I could use (and copy). I saw good coaches sell. Even I got the upsold, and purchased the video recordings (to use with my clients) for only $197, 92% off a $2,495 value.
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