Most of the world is in lockdown right now… but that shouldn’t stop you from moving forward!
My son, for example, has been doing all his schoolwork from his bedroom since schools closed a few weeks ago. And he’s crushing it – receiving performance stars every day.
He’s also in the garden several times a day practicing his soccer skills, so he’s ready for when the season restarts. Here’s a short video of him practicing – plus a powerful lesson for dealmakers.
I’m working from home as well. On lots of Zoom meetings with my teams creating new tools and training to roll out when I can get back into the recording studio in Baltimore.
I’m also on lots of calls and video chats talking to brokers, sellers, lawyers, CPAs and other deal intermediaries.
And if I can do it, so can you.
Remember – one of the keys to our business-buying system is the ability to build rapport. The more rapport you build with the seller, the higher the probability you can close the deal to own the business without using your own money.
I call that threshold the “tipping point.”
Don’t use home isolation as a reason to stop originating new deals and progressing current ones, because there are a ton of ways you can build rapport digitally.
I’ve spent the last few weeks streamlining my system, and I’ve seen a lot of success. So today, I want to share with you what I’ve been doing.
Here they are – the three steps to building digital rapport:
First things first: Let’s take a look at your new “office.”
If you live in a large house, finding a dedicated space to work is easy. If you live in a small house (or apartment) and are home-schooling your children… it can be more challenging to carve out a regular spot. Get creative!
Can you work from your garage? (Weather permitting, of course.) Zoom allows you to use virtual backdrops, so you can disguise your rusty old gardening equipment.
Need to work from the kitchen table? Immediately after breakfast, clear everything away to transform it into your work zone. Then pack your work stuff away when it’s time for lunch. When you’re finished eating, get it all back out again for the afternoon session. Make the changing of spaces almost like a ritual.
Perhaps you can combine two children into one bedroom temporarily and use the new spare room as an office.
The key is to avoid mixing all of your activity in the same spaces. Creating a work “zone” will put you in a more productive mindset so you can keep crushing deals in quarantine.
Next, let’s talk about the cool free tech you can get.
It’s important that you have conversations with sellers and deal intermediaries face to face so you can study body language. Nonverbal cues are a massive part of business conversations and negotiations. Make sure you can see who you’re talking to.
Once I’ve got an established relationship, I also ask the seller for their mobile phone number and keep in touch via SMS or WhatsApp once or twice a week. (WhatsApp is a free encrypted messaging app.)
I keep deal conversations to Zoom, but I use SMS or WhatsApp to check in.
It’s really important – especially right now – that you always start your deal conversations by asking the seller how they are. How are they coping with the lockdown?
And… is there anything they need that you can help them with?
Of course, 99% of sellers will say no. But it’s the thought that counts.
This will build instant RAPPORT – and your deal conversation will go much more smoothly.
I spoke to a seller last week who was struggling to get an online delivery slot and was self-isolating with little local help. The seller is 300 miles away from me, so I was unable to drive down to assist (although I would have if it were the last resort).
But I went online and managed to book a delivery slot for them. That’s given me a MASSIVE leg up in terms of relationship building. And it didn’t cost me a cent, just five minutes of my time.
The final key to building digital rapport is to map out your daily schedule.
There are a lot of other demands on your time – especially if you’ve got school-age kids and you’re still working a full- or part-time job.
It’s really important for you to get everything you want to do down on paper. Do this every night for the next day. That way you can be 100% focused from the moment you wake up.
And if you’ve got whole days to fill… plan out your working sessions.
I have five 90-minute blocks during the day to do my work. All my family time and personal stuff are wrapped in and around that.
Even if you can only devote one block of 90 minutes a day to your dealmaking journey, write it down and lock it in. Even if you have to break it down into three 30-minute sessions, do it.
Because once you know when your dealmaking slots are throughout the day, you can schedule video meetings with sellers, brokers, advisers, financiers and anyone else connected to your deal… and build awesome digital rapport.
Just remember these three keys:
And be sure to start all seller conversations by asking after them. “How are you? How are you managing through lockdown? Is there anything I can do to help you?”
Then ask the THREE killer questions you need to ask ANY seller…
And you’re off to the races.
Good luck.
Until next time, bye for now.
Carl Allen
Editor and co-founder, Dealmaker Wealth Society
P.S. Remember to join me and Adam LIVE on the Dealmaker Wealth Society Facebook page at 11:00 a.m. (4:00 p.m. GMT) – today and EVERY Monday. See you there!
