Fire The Crazies Ep 39

In a candid discussion, the host shares a story about challenging client relationships, focusing on a pair of gym owners who participated in his Gym Launch program and experienced significant financial success. Despite their turnaround, they hesitated to commit to his Gym Lords program, requesting answers to numerous questions before deciding. The host emphasizes the importance of respecting his policy of a one-time offer to maintain integrity and conviction in his business practices. He advises entrepreneurs to recognize when clients have a flawed decision-making process and to be comfortable with not working with them for mutual benefit. The host also underscores the value of honesty in all communications and the necessity of letting go of 'crazy' clients to protect one's team and maintain a positive business environment.

• Speaker A introduces the topic of "crazy clients" from a different perspective than usual.
• The topic was prompted by a recent encounter with a client who had participated in Speaker A's gym launch program.
• The client's experience with the program led to a significant financial turnaround for their gym.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm doing this one from inside because it's freezing outside. And so I wanted to make a little video for you about everyone's favorite topic, crazy clients."

The quote sets the scene and introduces the focus of the video, which is a discussion on handling challenging clients in the context of a gym launch program.

• A pair of gym owners experienced substantial financial success after running Speaker A's gym launch program.
• Initially, they made $30,000 and then $40,000 in subsequent runs of the program.
• This success occurred around the time Speaker A launched the gym Lords program.

"So there was a couple of gym owners, and they were their partners, and they did our gym lunch program, and they ran it a couple of times. I think they made like 40 grand the first time, or 30 grand the first time. They made another 40 grand the second time."

The quote details the financial outcomes for the gym owners who implemented Speaker A's program, highlighting the effectiveness of the program.

• Despite their success, the clients expressed hesitancy in committing to Speaker A's next offering, gym Lords.
• They compared Speaker A with another coach and asked for answers to 20 questions before making their decision.

"And they ran it more on and off for about, well, they ran those first two times, and at that point is when I launched gym Lords. So this was the very beginning."

The quote explains the timeline of the clients' involvement with Speaker A's programs and the introduction of a new offering, gym Lords.

"And these two clients in particular emailed me back this really after talking on the phone and saying, I'm not really sure. After they were literally on the brink of closing their doors, having totally turned their entire gym around, their cash flow situation, gotten them paid out of debt."

This quote describes the clients' initial success with the program, yet they still hesitated to continue with Speaker A's new program, despite the results they had already seen.

• Speaker A has a policy of making a one-time offer to join gym Lords.
• The rationale is that Speaker A believes in nudging clients towards what is in their best interest, based on statistical evidence of success.
• Speaker A emphasizes the transition from operators to owners, which is a key goal of the gym Lords program.

"I only make the offer to join Jim Lawrence one time. It's a one time offer. If you say no, you say no forever."

The quote outlines Speaker A's policy regarding the gym Lords program offer, emphasizing its exclusivity and the finality of the decision to join.

"Because every gym that comes on with us, we like usually two, three, four x their revenue within a matter of months. And then we two, three, four x their take home, really once they take the next step, and then we can take off their time and then they can pretty much get out of their business within six months."

Speaker A provides evidence of the program's effectiveness, detailing the substantial revenue increases and improvements in business operations that clients typically experience.

• Speaker A distinguishes between being an owner and an operator within a business.
• The goal is for clients to work "on" their business, focusing on strategic ownership, rather than "in" the business with day-to-day operations.
• Being an owner still involves work, but it is the "right work" that contributes to the business's growth and success.

"Not that they are not working in their business, they're working on their business. Not in their business, is my point. They become owners instead of like operators."

The quote emphasizes the shift in mindset and role that Speaker A advocates for clients, moving from daily operations to strategic management and ownership.

• The speaker reflects on an experience where a client's decision-making process seemed flawed.
• The client compared the speaker's services with a competitor based on a single, successful experience.
• The speaker believes that a single successful outcome should not be the sole basis for decision-making.
• The speaker identifies the client's response to success as atypical and a red flag for future collaboration.

"One is if the data that you're working off of them, the client to make the decision is that I've completely transformed your business, or in the fitness example, like completely transform your life, and that's been the only exposure that you've had, has been a ridiculously successful experience, then the issue is that you have a flawed decision making process."

This quote emphasizes that relying solely on a single successful experience to make a decision is not a sound approach and indicates a flawed decision-making process.

"Then that's an outpoint, that's a red flag. That means that when I put data in, their actions are unpredictable, which means that if I can't predict someone's normal actions, then it's going to be really difficult for me to create a successful outcome for them because our definitions of success are different, or at least the stated definitions are the same, but their response to that success was not normal."

The speaker explains that unpredictable responses to success are concerning and can hinder the ability to achieve mutually agreed-upon outcomes due to differing perceptions of success.

• The speaker recounts withdrawing an offer from a client due to concerns about their decision-making and potential dissatisfaction.
• The client's atypical response to success led the speaker to believe that they would not be happy with future services.
• The speaker prioritizes maintaining integrity and predictability in business relationships.

"And the reason that I let them go was because I knew that there would be nothing that I could do that would make them happy."

The speaker decided to end the business relationship, anticipating that the client's unusual responses would ultimately lead to dissatisfaction with the services provided.

"I'm going to take the offer off the table. I don't really want to do this. I don't think it's going to be a good fit."

The speaker communicates their decision to the client, emphasizing the importance of fit and alignment in a service relationship.

• Speaker B discusses the organic growth of the podcast, attributing it to word of mouth.
• The speaker encourages listeners to share the podcast in the same way they discovered it.
• The podcast's growth strategy relies on listener engagement and referrals rather than traditional advertising.

"The only way this grows is through word of mouth. And so I don't run ads, I don't do sponsorships, I don't sell anything."

Speaker B highlights the podcast's reliance on organic growth through word of mouth, eschewing traditional advertising and sponsorships.

"If it was a review, if it was a post, if you do that, it would mean the world to me and you'll throw good karma out there for another entrepreneur."

The speaker calls on listeners to promote the podcast by sharing it, suggesting that such actions contribute positively to the entrepreneurial community.

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of staying true to one's word in business.
• Consistency in actions and decisions is linked to gaining and maintaining respect from clients.
• The speaker implies that compromising their stance could damage their credibility and the respect of their clients.

"And one, I couldn't accept them because then they wouldn't respect me, right? Because then I wouldn't have been true to my word, right? Because then if I go back on my word one time, how can they respect what I'm telling them when I tell them not"

The speaker suggests that deviating from their initial decision would have compromised their integrity and the respect of the client, underscoring the value of consistency in professional relationships.

• Upholding one's word is crucial to maintain respect for oneself and others.
• Conviction in communication is strengthened by adherence to truth.
• Honesty is a guiding principle that is effective in various settings, including business and personal relationships.
• Being genuine can create positive impressions and build trust.

"There's no business principle that has ever carried me further than just being truthful, like radical honesty when it comes to even my marriage."

This quote emphasizes the speaker's belief that truthfulness is the most important principle in both business and personal life. It suggests that radical honesty has been a key to their success.

"You can speak with conviction when you're speaking about truth."

The speaker highlights that truth allows for confident and convincing communication, which is essential in business dealings and personal interactions.

• Maintaining integrity in business offers, even if it results in lost opportunities.
• Understanding that a client's negative response is not a reflection of one's own service quality.
• Recognizing the importance of a logical decision-making process for both parties in a business relationship.
• Accepting that it is okay to not work with certain clients for mutual benefit.

"I couldn't talk with conviction when we are talking to owners. And I'm like, this is truly a one time offer."

The speaker explains that they couldn't have spoken with genuine conviction had they compromised on their one-time offer policy, which is important for their credibility.

"Their decision making process is broken because anyone else who's given this data should have made the logical conclusion to move forward."

The speaker reflects on a client's decision that did not align with the logical outcome expected from the information provided, suggesting a flaw in the client's decision-making process.

• It is natural to have regrets, but it's essential to evaluate past decisions based on the process and information available at the time.
• Some decisions are sound despite their outcomes due to the decision-making process.
• Understanding one's decision-making process can provide peace of mind and prevent dwelling on past choices.

"But there are some decisions that 100% I would have not made differently, but it was because I had a lack of information."

The speaker acknowledges that some decisions they would not change, even in hindsight, because they were made with a sound process despite having incomplete information.

"What you want to look at is the process of the decision making based on the information you had then."

This quote suggests that when reflecting on past decisions, the focus should be on the decision-making process rather than the outcome, as it's more indicative of one's judgment and reasoning at the time.

• Acknowledges the importance of information in decision-making processes.
• Reflects on past decisions and considers whether different information would have led to different outcomes.
• Emphasizes that not knowing isn't equivalent to idiocy; it's a lack of information.
• Suggests that sound decision-making can still result in poor outcomes if based on incorrect or incomplete data.

"It just means I didn't know. And so that's something that has helped me. [...] the decision making process was sound. It's just the wrong data, right, or incomplete data."

This quote highlights the speaker's realization that lacking information at the time of a decision does not reflect poorly on their intelligence or decision-making abilities. It underscores the distinction between a flawed decision-making process and decisions made with incomplete information.

• Advises on how to handle 'crazy' clients in business.
• Suggests excusing oneself from working with difficult clients for personal and business health.
• Highlights the inevitability of encountering difficult clients as business inquiries increase.
• Emphasizes the importance of moving on from clients with a 'broken decision-making process' to avoid negative impacts on the business.

"And so when it comes to crazy clients, excuse yourself, allow yourself to just say, some people are crazy, and that's okay. And I don't work with crazy people."

The speaker is advising businesses to recognize when a client is unreasonable ('crazy') and to give themselves permission to stop working with such clients for their own well-being and the health of their business.

• Discusses the correlation between marketing success and an increase in client inquiries.
• Notes that with a larger number of clients, the probability of encountering problematic clients rises.
• Mentions a personal belief that a certain percentage of the population has serious issues that may affect business interactions.

"Right after you have more than 20 people who walk in your door, you're going to get a crazy person."

This quote conveys the speaker's view that as a business grows and attracts more clients, the likelihood of meeting challenging individuals increases, suggesting a need for preparedness and strategies to handle such situations.

• Stresses the importance of maintaining a positive business environment.
• Expresses satisfaction with the current positive group dynamics.
• Desires to protect staff and clients from the negativity brought by 'crazy' people.
• Recommends letting go of difficult individuals to preserve a healthy business culture.

"And it's all these positive people who just click with me and how we do things. And I want to keep it that way and I want to protect them and I want to protect my staff."

The speaker values the positive culture within their business and is committed to protecting it by managing the presence of disruptive individuals.

• Encourages self-reflection when facing frequent client departures.
• Suggests that if many clients are leaving, the problem might lie with the business or individual themselves.
• Advises not to internalize the blame when isolated incidents occur with clients who do not progress as expected.

"But if every once in a while you have somebody who you have a huge result for and then they don't take the natural next step, sometimes they're crazy and just don't put it on yourself."

The speaker is emphasizing that while it's important to reflect on one's own role in client relationships, not all client departures are the business's fault. Some clients may not follow through despite successful outcomes, and that shouldn't always be self-attributed.

• Advocates for honesty in communication, even with difficult clients.
• Suggests being direct about potential mismatches between client expectations and business offerings.
• Shares a personal experience as a lesson in handling client relationships.

"And then the other thing is that you have to be really truthful in most of your communications, even with that person."

This quote underlines the importance of maintaining truthful and clear communication, particularly when addressing issues with challenging clients, to avoid misunderstandings and maintain professional integrity.