Don’t Be Cute Ep 612

In this episode, the host emphasizes the importance of simplicity and adherence to proven methods in entrepreneurship. Drawing from a conversation with a seasoned CEO, the host underscores the mantra "don't be cute," which advocates for straightforward strategies over complexity. The CEO's experience in growing companies for private equity firms illustrates the success of this approach. The host further illustrates the point by sharing stories of entrepreneurs who achieved better results by following outlined systems rather than innovating prematurely. Additionally, the host shares insights on optimization processes, stressing the significance of focusing on elements that have the greatest impact on conversion rates, like headlines and above-the-fold content. The episode concludes with a reminder that replicating successful actions is a direct path to success and that one should only innovate after matching the results of their mentors.

• The importance of being reminded of core principles rather than always seeking new teachings.
• The concept is considered foundational to successful entrepreneurship.
• Emphasizes the value of consistent reinforcement of established wisdom.

"We need to be reminded more than we need to be taught. Like those sayings are pervasive in our community because I think they are the things that are the bedrock of successful entrepreneurship."

This quote highlights the notion that entrepreneurs often benefit more from being reminded of fundamental truths than from learning new concepts, suggesting that success is built upon a foundation of core, repeated principles.

• Viewing business as a competitive and strategic game.
• The speaker's personal journey in building a billion-dollar portfolio.
• The aspiration to help others grow their businesses and potentially collaborate to reach significant financial milestones.

"The wealthiest people in the world see business as a game. This podcast, the game, is my attempt at documenting the lessons I've learned on my way to building acquisition.com into a billion dollar portfolio."

The speaker likens business to a game and expresses the intent to share insights from their experience with the goal of helping others succeed and potentially partnering with them to achieve greater financial success.

• A phrase used within the community emphasizing simplicity and effectiveness over complexity.
• Originated from a seasoned CEO known for turning around companies for private equity firms.
• The phrase encourages focusing on straightforward, proven strategies rather than overcomplicated tactics.

"And that saying is, don't be cute. And so the first time I heard this saying was from a serial CEO, he was a mercenary CEO."

This introduces the saying "don't be cute" and its origin from a CEO with a track record of successfully growing companies for private equity firms, setting the stage for its relevance in business strategy.

• The saying "don't be cute" is likened to choosing simple, effective plays in backyard football over complex ones prone to failure.
• In business, this translates to adhering to fundamentals and consistent practices rather than chasing novel but untested ideas.
• The story serves as a metaphor for the value of simplicity and reliability in business strategies.

"Don't be cute. [...] Put the two fat guys in the middle, run to the right, and what is that? He's like, consistent yardage and he's like, don't be cute."

The quote conveys the message that in both football and business, straightforward and reliable methods often lead to consistent progress, as opposed to complex strategies that can result in setbacks.

• Entrepreneurs often fail to repeat actions that have previously led to success.
• There are two types of successful actions: ones personally discovered through experience and ones advised by others.
• The failure to consistently apply successful strategies is seen as a hallmark of inexperience.

"And one of the biggest telltale signs I think of somebody who's newer is that they do not repeat successful actions."

This statement identifies a common mistake among less experienced entrepreneurs: the neglect to replicate actions that have already proven to be successful, which is critical for sustained success.

• Emphasizes the value of adhering to proven systems when starting out in any entrepreneurial endeavor.
• Highlights the experiences of two entrepreneurs and a new real estate investor who saw better results after following the recommended systems.
• Suggests that established systems are designed based on overcoming common challenges and achieving desired goals.

"Until you make more than the guy who taught you that system, you do the system exactly the way that it was outlined."

This quote underscores the principle that one should follow a system as taught by a more successful individual until they have surpassed that person's level of success.

"The two entrepreneurs that I talked to who are on our agency side, who are doing about 3 million a year, we just did a call and I was like, hey, what are your wins from this last month? And both of them were like, we've been trying a lot of stuff. And finally we decided to just do it the way that you had outlined it. And we're actually seeing a lot better results."

This quote illustrates the real-world application of the principle, with entrepreneurs experiencing improved outcomes after adhering strictly to the prescribed methods.

• Discusses the tendency of entrepreneurs to want to innovate or change proven systems due to a sense of uniqueness or ego.
• Suggests that the reluctance to follow established systems can be counterproductive and lead to unnecessary challenges.
• Indicates that the feeling of silliness or regret might arise after realizing that following the established system was the better choice.

"Don't get cute. Don't think you're special. Don't think you're a snowflake. Just do it exactly as is outlined because there's a reason it's outlined that way."

This quote is a direct admonition against letting ego drive decisions to alter successful systems without sufficient experience or success.

"And the reason I'm bringing this up is that if you purchase a system, if you take advice, if you watch a YouTube video of somebody who's doing better than you at something, which is why you're trying to learn, right. And they're doing it a specific way. There's a reason that they're doing it that way."

This quote explains the rationale behind following systems and advice from those who are more successful; they have already optimized their approach to address common obstacles and achieve goals.

• Describes the ongoing process of testing and optimizing a marketing funnel by a professional team.
• Highlights the extensive efforts and numerous tests involved in refining a conversion process.
• Suggests that changes to a well-tested system are unlikely to yield improvements and should be approached with caution.

"And so recently, this morning, I was on a call with our marketing team, our traffic guys, and I was looking at our funnel that we're in the process of optimizing. And my traffic guy's like, man, if people knew how much we work on optimizing our conversion process, he's like, I feel like they wouldn't want to change anything because they'd know that we've probably already tried it."

This quote reveals the behind-the-scenes work that goes into perfecting a marketing system, suggesting that the system's effectiveness is due to rigorous testing and optimization.

"And even in those three weeks, we've already tested over 100 different pieces of this conversion process, this funnel, this series of landing pages, messaging, et cetera."

The quote specifies the extent of testing and iteration that has gone into the marketing funnel, emphasizing the meticulous approach to optimization.

• Proposes a guideline for entrepreneurs to follow until they achieve or surpass the success of their mentors.
• Encourages humility and adherence to proven systems as a foundation for learning and eventual innovation.

"But my rule of thumb for me is, until I'm doing as well or better than the person who taught me this thing, do not..."

This quote suggests a personal rule that the speaker follows, which is to refrain from making changes to a system until they have achieved a level of success equal to or greater than that of their mentor.

• Replication of successful actions is a foundational principle in entrepreneurship.
• The focus should be on doing the "boring work" and not getting distracted by trying to be innovative prematurely.
• Once a conversion process is optimized, it should not be changed frequently. Instead, the focus should shift to scaling what works.
• The process involves initially focusing on optimizing the conversion of traffic and then, once optimized, directing attention towards driving more traffic into the conversion funnel.

"Replicate before you get fancy, right? And so that's where doing the boring work. Don't be cute."

This quote emphasizes the need to focus on replicating proven methods before trying to innovate, suggesting that fundamentals should take precedence over creativity in the early stages of entrepreneurship.

• Speaker D has authored a book titled "100 million dollar offers" available on Amazon.
• The book is the result of over a thousand hours of work and aims to be a valuable resource for the community.
• The promotion of the book is a strategic attempt to build goodwill and potential future partnerships within the business community.

"I have a book on Amazon. It's called 100 million dollar offers. At over 8005 star reviews, it has almost a perfect score. You can get it for $0.99 on Kindle."

This quote serves as a promotional message for Speaker D's book, highlighting its high rating and affordability as a way to entice listeners to make a purchase and engage with the content.

• Using existing templates effectively is crucial if they are provided, as they are designed for a reason.
• When creating from scratch, the initial elements that users encounter (headlines and messages) have the most significant impact on conversion rates.
• The "above the fold" content is more important than "below the fold" content, as it is the first thing seen by visitors on landing pages.
• Optimizing the top elements of a page can result in significant improvements in the desired action taken by users.

"The headlines and the messages, the top, literally, the first one to two things that someone reads are going to have the biggest swing on the needle."

This quote highlights the disproportionate impact that the first elements on a page have on user behavior, suggesting that optimization efforts should prioritize the content that is immediately visible to users upon arrival.

• Deleting non-essential elements can significantly increase user engagement and conversion rates.
• Simplifying a landing page headline led to a threefold increase in page throughput.
• Removing a redundant headline from a scheduling page resulted in a fivefold increase in throughput.

And so just recently I changed the headline of our landing page for agencies who are going to be partnering with us for our Allen software. And we three x'd the throughput of that one page simply by changing the headline.

This quote highlights the impact of simplifying a headline on a landing page, which led to a substantial increase in user engagement.

And on our scheduling page, which is the third step in this process, we five x'd the throughput by removing a headline that was there.

The speaker illustrates how removing unnecessary content from a scheduling page significantly improved user progression through the process.

• It's often more beneficial to replicate successful strategies before attempting to innovate.
• Taking advice from experienced individuals can shortcut the learning process.
• Understanding the reasons behind success is crucial before attempting to improve upon a process.

We need to repeat successful actions when they're there.

This quote emphasizes the importance of repeating what works rather than constantly seeking new strategies.

If someone gives us advice or we're taking advice from someone, especially if we're paying for that advice, to not take advice is akin to literally burning your money, right?

The speaker suggests that ignoring advice, especially paid advice, is wasteful since it disregards the value of the advisor's experience.

Replicating other people's success, repeating successful actions both on yourself and what other people have done is one of the shortest paths to getting there.

Here, the speaker advocates for the strategy of mimicking the success of others as a means to achieve goals more efficiently.

• Mastery of the basics is essential before attempting complex strategies.
• Iteration should follow replication, not precede it.
• Success often comes from consistent application of fundamental principles.

Just look at the fundamentals. Follow the steps only iterate after you've duplicated the result of the person you're trying to learn from.

The speaker advises focusing on fundamental principles and only iterating after successfully replicating someone else's results.

• Continuous improvement is a result of repetition and reinforcement.
• Persistence in applying successful actions can yield disproportionate rewards.
• Success requires both the reminder of what works and the discipline to apply it consistently.

Repeat successful actions. We need to be reminded more than we need to be taught.

This quote underscores the need for continuous reinforcement of successful actions over the search for new teachings.

Just keep doing the same things over and over and over again and you will get outsized returns.

The speaker emphasizes that persistence in applying proven methods can lead to significant returns.

• Financial success in marketing can lead to both wealth and a sense of emptiness.
• Achieving success may result in unintended envy from others.
• The pursuit of wealth can lead to social ramifications, including estrangement from peers.

Hope your marketing is converting like crazy money and leading you to financial wealth and freedom only to realize that it is empty and that in the process you will turn most of the people that who know you secretly against you.

The speaker points out the paradox of achieving financial success, which can lead to both wealth and a sense of emptiness, as well as envy from others.