Tag: authentic deal-making

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Authentic Business Relationships Authentic Conversations About Difference Authentic Deal-Making Deal-Driven Growth

Revolutionary Deals

Rha Goddess is THE entrepreneurial soul coach behind hundreds of breakthrough changemakers, cultural visionaries, and social entrepreneurs. Her mission? To revolutionize the way we live, work, play and do business. Part of fulfilling that mission includes making revolutionary deals!

In 2011 Rha founded Move The Crowd, an entrepreneurial training company dedicated to creative and cultural entrepreneurs working at the intersection of values, profitability and social impact. Since its inception, Move The Crowd has helped launch & scale luminaries like Gabrielle Bernstein, Alisa Vitti, and María Flaqué. From the onset of her more than 30-year career as a cultural innovator, social impact strategist and creative change agent, Rha has drawn on the power of creativity, culture, and community to move hearts, minds and policy. 

You might also have heard Rha’s previous DealQuest interview here, where she discussed her publishing deal for The Calling: Three Fundamental Shifts to Stay True, Do Good, and Get Paid. You can listen to Rha’s latest interview here.

An Early Deal-Making Start

As a little girl, Rha remembers vacillating between wanting to be a doctor, or a rockstar. Although neither of quite happened in the traditional sense, Rha notes that parts of those dreams have lived on in some ways. 

Her idea of doctors were people who made life better for others, using their skills. Rockstars move, inspire, and touch people. Today, there are elements of helping, moving, and inspiring others in every element of Rha’s work.

In terms of early deals, Rha notes that she was the youngest of four siblings! There were constantly deals happening around chores, goodies, and more. Rha remembers her mom having them do chores and errands in return for cookies. She would barter for more cookies, and has fond memories of attempting to raise the stakes.

The Rise if nFormation

Last time Rha appeared on the show, we dug deep on book deals. Since then, Rha has not only expanded Move the Crowd, she’s also started a new business partnership. Together with Deepa Purushothaman, she’s co-founded nFormation. 

This is a safe, brave, and new space created by women of color for women of color. nFormation partnered with the Billie Jean King Foundation to publish a white paper titled PowHer Redefined. A New Way Forward: Women of Color Leading the Future of Work as one of exploring the needs and potential of this demographic. In addition, Rha and Deepa hosted a series of dinners to network and start listening to the needs being voiced.

Feelings of isolation were incredibly common. As Rha and Deepa considered how to meet the need for connection, as well as provide a place where women can be seen and heard while also stepping into leadership positions, the foundation of nFormation was laid. Now, they’re working to help women architect their own notions of success and growth as they move into increasingly visible and authoritative roles throughout the global economy.

One of nFormation’s major goals is to help its members expand their access and reach through their membership opportunities. In addition, they seek to emphasize thought leadership and research that supports a deeper understanding of women of color in leadership positions and high-performance, public roles.

Revolutionary Business Partnerships

Rha shares that herself and her partner, Deepa, come from very different cultural backgrounds. Although there are some things they navigate that are very similar, they also have had very experiences. Rha jokes that she’s always seen herself as a “corporate refugee”, and now Deepa sort of is too, after 20+ in major corporate firms.

They both have insider/outsider perspectives in a variety of ways, which increase their range and understanding. They also share a deep passion for making a difference in the world. This includes a deep desire to make difference in the world.

Having gone from many late night conversations filled with hopes and dreams, to having something that is tangibly here and now has been incredibly powerful. Now, with a community of over 200 women representing many different industries, professions, and backgrounds, nFormation is beginning to meet the needs that Rha and Deepa had identified early on.

As we all know, partnerships are a form of deals. Although Rha hadn’t anticipated starting a second business as a partnership, she’s found that it’s been a positive experience to model what might be possible for organizations with similar desires for impact. With nFormation, there is no one person “at the top”. 

The collaborative mutuality of Rha and Deepa’s partnership is an example of how power can be shared for the good of both the organization and the participants. They’ve both recognized that, as they’ve continued to grow, they’ve had to do a lot of unlearning in terms of staying closely connected to their larger vision and the partnership they desire to form.

Rha notes that this style of transformative partnership and revolutionary deal-making requires the ability to really do a great deal of inner work.

Revolutionary Deals in Research, Collaboration, and More

nFormation has sought to provide opportunities for thought leaders to create research that centers the reality of women of color. More specifically, they seek to address the needs of women of color at work. They noted that much of the (still limited) research on women of color speaks of these women in the 3rd person. There was little being published that was created by women of color, about women of color.

nFormation is seeking to change that.

In addition, global trends are showing that work doesn’t work for women. Although true for all women, women of color are especially impacted.The demands of care taking, child care, health disparities, and more have often overshadowed their opportunities to pursue their careers.

Rha shares that, as we witness the “great resignation”, at nFormation they began calling it the “great renegotiation”. 

What matters at your work? Are required benefits missing? What needs to be reimagined? Can anything be thrown out? What needs to be created?

This is truly a moment in which transformation and renegotiation is at hand. Women of color are uniquely positioned to step into leadership roles and lead the change that we need. We believe the revolutionary deals that will change the landscape of our economy and workforce are coming! Thankfully, nFormation’s work is a powerful part of bringing the change.

You can learn more by listening to Rha share on this episode of DealQuest!

Revolutionary Deals: Rha Goddess

 

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Authentic Deal-Making Authentic Leadership Deal-Driven Growth

Best Of: Building Better Deals

Building Better Deals: two business people shaking hands

Ready to listen in to this powerful Best Of: Building Better Deals episode? You’ll learn how Stephanie Scheller can help you find valuable deals that are worth pursuing. You’ll find out what Henry Daas can teach you about dealing with the potential risk of negotiations. Finally, you’ll hear what Marc Gordon has to say about the power of creating synergy for optimal deals.

Deals Worth Pursuing

Stephanie Scheller is the founder of Grow Disrupt, a San Antonio-based training organization for small businesses, and an accomplished speaker who has been behind-the-scenes with more than 2500 companies in the past five years to analyze & address their sales, marketing & systems! Her wealth of knowledge is especially useful when it comes to finding valuable deals that are worth pursuing!

Listen to the full episode.

In this Best Of: Building Better Deals episode, Stephanie and I discussed how her target demographic includes the small business owner who is still wearing multiple hats. This person is often in growth mode, but is also juggling so many aspects of the business. The key? Accelerating growth and cutting down the learning curve. 

Stephanie notes that many people are looking at deals as the way to get sales and marketing going. Many joint ventures are coming from people trying to gather momentum. Now, however, Stephanie realizes that the best deals are built on top of existing, successful sales and marketing strategies. Money should already be coming in the door, and sales should be coming. Listen in to hear Stephanie’s suggestions on creating stability that will power future deals.

Potential Risks of Negotiation

Henry Daas is a serial entrepreneur, business and financial coach, screenwriter, avid traveler, golfer and tennis player. He also actively trades the financial markets and is the author of FQ, which is all about financial intelligence. Despite his current success, he also knows what it’s like to see everything fall apart. He’s learned how to assess deals from a standpoint of both ROI and potential risk as a result.

Listen to the full episode.

In this Best Of: Building Better Deals episode, Henry Daas and I dive deep on how he deluded himself into thinking that he had covered himself in terms of risk. As he found out, he had not. His partner had controlled the books completely, and Henry had never audited them or had any access. 

Although there were many red flags connected to financing, Henry didn’t recognize them. Later, that had a deeply negative impact. Now, he knows what it is to ensure his information is risk adjusted. Listen in to hear more from Henry!

Creating Synergy for Optimal Deals

Marc Gordon’s is a Customer Experience Expert out of Toronto, Canada, and is an internationally recognized thought leader in the field of customer experience. In our interview, we had a chance to discuss what it takes for two companies to create synergy. This is essential for there to be a positive outcome for buyouts or partnership opportunities. We also dig into the importance of integrating the culture of a business post-merger and post-deal. After all, you can have the greatest deal structure, legal agreements, and finances, but if the rest of it doesn’t come together? You’re in trouble.

Listen to the full episode.

In this Best Of: Building Better Deals episode, Marc Gordon and I discussed “corporate staging”. This is common when a company is looking to be bought out, they have a great service, their numbers are good….but they aren’t presenting themselves well. A poorly positioned company can appear outdated, out of touch, and undesirable to potential buyers. Numbers aren’t enough to push a deal through; positioning matters! Join Marc and I to learn more about how you can position yourself for powerful success in the deal-making arena.

 

Listen to the full Best Of: Building Better Deals episode here!

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

 

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Authentic Deal-Making Authentic Leadership Deal-Driven Growth

What Makes a Deal-Maker?

What makes a deal-maker: Action Changes Things

This week on the solocast, I’m thinking about the difference between people who really get things done, and people who don’t. I’ve noticed that lots of people talk about doing things like writing a book, starting a podcast, doing deals, and more. Yet, many of those people never seem to make progress and actually accomplish those things. Why not? More specifically, what actually makes a deal-maker?

What sets apart the doers from the dreamers?

Where’s the Follow Through?

A few months ago, I appeared as a podcast guest for my nephew, Errol Allen, the founder of EA Consulting. He talked about doing it, he researched it, and he did it. On one hand, it’s not that hard. On the other hand, not that many people actually reach that point.

Case in point: A few years ago, before I had committed to writing my book, I asked David Bach, author of the international bestseller, The Automatic Millionaire and many others, to give me some input. We had dinner, as well as a few calls to talk about the reality of the process. He was incredibly kind, and also offered an endorsement. 

Once I released Authentic Negotiating, I sent him a copy with a thank-you note. Honestly, it seemed like the thing to do, and I thought he’d appreciate it.

Not too long afterwards, he sent me a video message and said, “You can’t even imagine how many people tell me they’re going to write a book.” He went on to share that the percentage of people who actually write the book is extremely small.

People have big dreams….but they just don’t follow through and get it done.

Do It, Or Don’t

My own nature is such that, if I say I’m going to do something, I just do it. I’m not someone who talks about doing something and then doesn’t do it.

I remember belonging to a ski club in my late teens and early twenties. There was a 30 foot cliff up in that area, and you could jump off into a pond when the weather was good for hiking. People would hike up in order to jump off. Many of them, however, would go up and then lose their courage.

I watched people go up, peer over the edge, and then walk back down.

People kept asking me to go, and as I thought about it (and processed my heights phobia!), I knew that, if I climbed that hill, I would 100% jump off. I wasn’t going to climb that hill and then walk back down it. I used my time on the ground to think through my plan, and when I stood up, I was committed. 

Upon reaching the top of the ridge, I jumped off the edge.

I approached my book and my podcast the same way. Before I started them I observed, I made plans, and I processed. But I knew that once I committed and said YES — I would be all in until it was done.

Deal-Making Requires Commitment

Diving into deals requires a similar type of commitment. 

I’ve seen people dream about and talk about becoming deal-makers….and then walk away with nothing having been done. In fact, many top trainers and development professionals will tell you that only 3-5% of people take any action, and only 1% truly apply things.

You can sit through hours of training, days of conferences, and even weeks, months, or years of building your business, and yet, you might simply walk away from taking bold action and following through on what matters.

When it comes to deal-making, I find that strategizing, vision casting, and doing the internal work to understand what drives you are all essential elements of being a deal-maker. Unfortunately, many folks never make it that far.

There is no action occurring, and the first step is simply never taken.

The reality is, simply having knowledge doesn’t do us any good. You need to take action, get feedback, keep growing your knowledge, and then take more action. Only consuming more knowledge will do nothing in terms of moving you towards your ultimate goal.

Doing Deals Makes You a Better Deal-Maker

The only thing that will ultimately make you better as a deal-maker is to take the action of being a deal-maker. You have to be willing to experiment. You have to be willing to try.

Doing the thing — the deal, the podcast, the book, the business — is the only thing that will allow you to become better. 

We all have potential, but it goes to waste if we refuse to tap into it and take action.

Listen in to learn more about my thoughts on how you can take action to truly become a deal-maker. And once you’ve listened, get out there and do something about it!

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

 

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Deal-Driven Growth

Franchising, Raising Money, and the Deal-Maker’s Journey

Franchising: Calculator and pencil

Automotive expert Kamran Saleem has over 15 years of experience in the automotive industry. He is skilled at raising money, franchising, and navigating the deal-maker’s journey! Kamran studied Business Management at Aston University. He is the founder Motoserv UK, a sales and service organization.

Early Ambitions

Kamran has always loved cars. He notes that, growing up, his parents were accountants. This led to being surrounded, early on, by entrepreneurs and business owners that his parents worked with. From restaurant owners to commerce and trade businesses, he feels lucky to have had so many early inspirations.

As a result, Kamran feels that becoming an entrepreneur himself wasn’t a question of “if”, but of “when”. While studying Business Management at Aston University, Kamran’s early work was connected to financial management and office-related roles. Upon graduation, he joined the family accounting firm. However, he found that all of his clients and connections had pressing questions beyond the numbers: they needed to know things about their cars!

After giving out a great deal of advice, Kamran ended up becoming a deal packager and set up a brokerage. This allowed him to earn commission from banks and auto sellers. Quite quickly, he was making more money with his automotive connections than he was working for his father’s firm! Although he was still years out from franchising, he was on the way towards his own business.

Early Deal-Making & Growth

Kamran remembers being around 16 and buying a camera and laptop. He went around and took pictures of menus and food at restaurants, and started writing things up online. His clientele quickly grew, and he was charging a few hundred pounds to put up their sites. He completed around 50 in the first year, which set him up for ongoing entrepreneurial success.

Now, Kamran is located in the UK. He works in the automotive trade, with both servicing and sales, with the company he founded, Motoserv UK.

Early on, this required raising funds. He put together his concept, and worked to do so via private funding to get off the ground. He also took on quite a bit of debt to get started. Kamran noted that, in the UK, the automotive trade has a tendency to struggle. With all those industry failures, finding a backers for his idea was quite difficult.

Another hurdle? His age. Kamran was still in his 20’s, and didn’t have a proven track record for taking on something this large. Those factors, coupled with the industry he was trying to enter, would have made it easy to get discouraged. He kept working hard, however, and was able to find an investor who believed in his vision and was willing to take a chance.

Securing Funding

Kamran’s business plan was an essential part of securing that early funding. He was able to demonstrate how his vision for the organization met the lender’s criteria and lending sensibility.

He also attributes his success to personal networking. By leveraging personal recommendations from financial industry professionals that he had met and grown relationships with via networking, he was able to take an extra step in demonstrating his credibility.

Once he had a seat at the table, Kamran also needed to be able to sell his vision. Being able to communicate the passion, drive, and energy he had was a major part of closing the deal.

Because of the uniqueness of his business model, Kamran notes that many potential investors felt that it wasn’t going to be sustainable. In fact, many predicted it would all fall apart with growth! He notes there is some wisdom to their feedback, as the business has required a lot of him to maintain and scale. In fact, he’s been called a “professional juggler” by his accountant because of how many balls he has in the air with the business!

Flexible Growth

Because of the nature of the industry, Kamran has needed to stay flexible over the years. He shares he has refinanced, paired everything down, and restructured a number of times.

However, his willingness to work through the financing process has also allowed him to take his monthly payment from being over 20,000 pounds per month, to being 6,000. Although there were some early payment fees, the business absorbed them in order to make moves that would benefit them in the long run.

Freeing up that extra cash flow has enabled him to grow and expand in ways he couldn’t with the higher payment plan. Kamran shares that he is always looking at options and possible end games. He has a real genius for seeing where profit could be made, and how things could be copy/pasted and regenerated into new businesses or profits.

Expanding Into Franchising

Having opened the original branch in Solihull, he’s since seen the organization grow via franchising. Kamran notes that a major part of growth has been the development of relationships.

MotoServ UK is well aware of the lifetime value of customers. This can mean not emphasizing “money today”, if it means off-putting customers or losing later business. Instead, the focus is on how they can best serve, stay top of mind, and become a part of people’s lifelong automotive journeys.

After all, car repairs, purchases, and sales are an ongoing aspect of many people’s lives. For success, you have to think beyond simple services and consider the big picture.

Kamran has also implemented a subscription model, which helps to stabilize income in an industry that can have wide ranging fluctuations across seasons and time periods. His deal-making journey is inspiring, and he shares great information in this episode. Definitely listen in for his thoughts on retention as well — he is a master of the game!

Listen to the full episode and learn more about deal-making, franchising, and more! Just head here.

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

 

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making Authentic Negotiating Deal-Driven Growth

Master the Inner Game to Broker More Deals

Mastering the inner game

As a husband, father, friend, and serial entrepreneur, Tony Grebmeier’s current ventures include co-founding ShipOffers with his childhood friends, and being the creator of the Be Fulfilled Brand. Tony notes that the journey to finding fulfillment is often filled with stories of stuff we never thought would happen. You may even feel like giving up entirely; that was his story, until his friend John showed up and saved his life. Now, Tony is passionate about teaching you how to master the inner game so you can experience more success of your own.

One of the companies he created from the lessons he’s discovered over the past 24 years as an owner/operator was the Be Fulfilled Journal. This journal has enabled over 5000+ entrepreneurs to develop a fresh vision for their life and take action right away. Tony is also the host of the popular Be Fulfilled Podcast: The Real Stories Behind Success. He’s been on a quest for the past four seasons to redefine how we determine success. It’s the perfect show for anyone on their journey to personal or professional fulfillment who might be looking for some additional motivation on the climb up success mountain.

Early Ambitions & First Deals

Tony remembers wanting to be a firefighter, a policeman, and eventually an archeologist. Around 13, he got really set on becoming an architect as well. Although those dreams didn’t technically become a reality, Tony shares that he now advocates for each of us to become archaeologists and architects in our own lives. That’s powerful!

His first deal-making experience was a baseball card show he ran out of his garage. He’d make flyers, and hustle to get people to come. Eventually, he sold that concept to others after it had grown. That early wheeling-and-dealing to get 50-6- kids to his house on a Saturday was Tony’s entrepreneurial start!

Looking back, Tony notes that his parents had completely different backgrounds, and even came from different countries. As a sort of hybrid, he feels he combines the engineering and artistic talents that have run through his family for decades. When reflecting, he also shared that his emphasis on mastering the inner game and really digging deep into your own life have been instrumental in his ability to understand the impact his family has had on him. 

Saying Yes (A Lot)

Throughout his life, Tony noted he’s learned to say “yes” a lot. By the time he was in college, he’d had 14 different jobs. One day, walking past a radio booth, he realized he wanted to do radio.

He first got turned down, but he persisted. At his core, he knew that if he believed he could do something, he would absolutely make it happen. That resulted in 4 college radio shows, and an eventual career in radio.

While working at a Silicon Valley radio station in the 90’s, Tony got asked if he wanted to design a website. At the time, they were so new he wasn’t even sure what a site was, much less what would go into making one. However, he said “Yes” again. Before you know it, he and his business partner were selling websites for $50,000.

After a repeat client purchased yet another site, Tony finally asked him what he was doing. The client told him about fulfillment sites, and shortly after Tony launched a supplement fulfillment company.

Although he no longer has that initial organization, Tony has been running ShipOffers for the last 20+ years with one of his childhood friends. (This guy dates back to the baseball card show days in Tony’s garage!)

Deals Gone Wrong

After launching supplements, Tony and a friend realized there was a content gap between the ages of 13 and 16. Along with a group of others who saw the need, they created a web series designed for the 13-16 year old demographic. It quickly acquired 20-60 million hits, and garnered a ton of attention!

Shortly after, they started receiving bids and interest in getting bought out. Large media companies were looking to purchase what they had created.

That’s when the problems occurred. There were 10 “leaders” of what they had built, and egos got in the way of being able to achieve a meaningful deal. That taught him to be very careful about who you go into business with, and how many people should be involved.

These lessons still apply. In 2017, Tony’s company did 12 million in sales. He looked around, and realized that some areas were getting bloated. There were too many decision makers, and a lack of clarity. After making shifts, growth took off, and they’ve surpassed the 60 million mark this year.

Seasonality Data

In the early 2000’s, Tony’s company created virility pills. Now, it’s testosterone. The trends have shifted, and what people consider “problematic” and “normal” changes significantly.

A major benefit to having been in the game for 20+ years is that ShipOffers allows Tony’s team to use the seasonality of data and major trends to make decisions. He’s seen how things shift over time, and he’s not in it for the short game.

Understanding that data can have both short- and long-term purposes. You can use it beyond “just” outreach, which is powerful. Tony notes that ShipOffers has hired data analysts who can study the trends they’ve documented over years. Then, they help them think about what positioning could help them reach the next level. He contributes these high-level reports and big picture thinking with ShipOffers’ continued ability to grow.

Master the Inner Game

To hear more about Tony’s personal struggles, what he’s learned about mastering the inner game, and how he continues to grow, listen in today!

 

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making Deal-Driven Growth

Unexpected & Innovative Deal-Making

legal books arranged on a shelf: Innovative Deal-Making

Barry Seidel opened his own practice right out of school in 1982. He later wrote a book about his experiences, called Evolutions of a Law Practice – How I Opened My Law Practice Right Out of Law School…and Lived to Tell About It. Now he writes, speaks, teaches, and consults about law practice, with the goal of helping other lawyers improve their practices and their lives. Along the way, he’s also gained wide-ranging, innovative deal-making success.

The areas he supports other lawyers include starting and growing a practice, the transitions of a practice, marketing and business development, law practice management and systems, and personal development as it pertains to entrepreneurship. As a practicing lawyer, Barry focuses on Surrogate’s Court. That includes probate, kinship/cousin cases with the Public Administrator, and ancillary probate. He also runs a per diem court coverage service in Queens County, including virtual appearances.

An Early Start

Barry remembers wanting to be a talk radio host when he was a kid. He’d listen to both sides of hot topics, and enjoyed debating and discussing various points. By the time he was in highschool, he was on the law student path, which he stayed on throughout college and beyond. He didn’t, however, know what he would specialize in. The many places he’s been able to go with his law degree, and the arenas he’s tapped into, have been a source of surprise and enjoyment.

Barry notes that he worked at a small firm while in law school, which he highly recommends. Beyond just being aware of what kinds of cases the partners were taking, he took a strong interest in the management side of the office. From how billing was handled, to what the office employees had done, to how the day-to-day operations were managed, he was able to soak up a lot of practical ideas about how a law practice works.

Early on, he recognized that running a law practice is an entrepreneurial pursuit. Rather than seeing himself as someone who has a “job”, Barry has always seen himself as being someone who runs a business. It makes a difference!

His First Deal

Barry’s first deal as a lawyer involved finding a landlord and making a time for space arrangement. He paid a $100 a month for a desk space in the landlord’s office, and in exchange he provided about 15 hours a week of legal services. Barry strategically chose that office because there were 4-5 other lawyers using the suite. He was able to garner work from not only his own clients, but from picking up cases and clients for the more established lawyers who had high caseloads.

Using his negotiation skills and being willing to take assignments ensured that Barry was busy from day one. This is an excellent example of doing your due diligence, scouting the landscape, and understanding what opportunities are available. 

The reason that early deal benefited Barry so much was that he wasn’t just exchanging time for space in a dead end area with minimal opportunity. It worked because he had put in the leg work to make sure that he would have room to grow, seize new opportunities, and expand beyond his current level.

Developing as a Deal-Maker

Eventually, Barry decided to develop a local neighborhood practice in Queens. As he grew his family, he expanded from real estate based clients to doing personal injury work. Although he was making more money, he realized he didn’t like that work. He learned a lot, but he wasn’t proud of what he was doing.

He was also having trouble working at volume within the highly inefficient New York court system. 

Barry realized that he hated going up to Brooklyn, and the Brooklyn lawyers hated coming down to Queens. It was highly inefficient, and choosing between dealing with the subway or dealing with parking felt like a lose-lose situation. He came up with a plan, where lawyers could pay him to handle preliminary conferences, compliance conferences, motions, depositions, and more. Then, Barry created a cover letter and rolodex card, then built a direct mailing campaign. He sent 1,300 letters over 6 months, which resulted in 275 clients.

Many of these clients started using Barry regularly for their needs. They all thought it was great, and the word began to spread. Barry had a booming business on his hands, which resulted in a series of deals. He was able to leverage that campaign into massive business growth, as a result of being highly strategic, differentiating himself, and targeting law firms that were most likely to need his services.

Listen in to learn more about how he set up his campaign!

When You Do Things, Things Happen

Barry hadn’t anticipated his practice going this direction, but he notes that when you do things, things happen. Taking action puts all sorts of opportunities into motion!

As Barry started reaching a high volume, he was able to bring other attorneys in who were willing to doing this work. He used bartering, and also arranged flat fees and exchanges. In addition, he got discounts when he was willing to pay promptly ; he knew that many lawyers dealt with clients who paid slowly or late. By showing he could pay on time, he found he could offer slightly lower rates.

As technology improved and more tools became available, Barry was able to become even more efficient. He was also innovative. His wife took QuickBooks and modified it to track who was doing the work, where, and when. He also used the estimates feature, which many weren’t using. Running his firm like an actual business was shocking to many people, but thinking outside the box and making business tools work for him enabled Barry to be extremely successful.

Doing Deals With Your Competitors

I love that Barry talks about how he worked with his competitors to make deals that included his competitors. Too often that approach is discounted, because we tend to want to keep direct competitors at an arm’s length.

As Barry’s success illustrates, however, you can grow, scale, and thrive with unexpected and innovative deal-making. That also reminded me of my episode with Damon Gersh. He also shared about how he worked with competitors to create deals that benefited all parties, to great success. In fact, Damon was able to compete against large, national competitors once he was able to help local businesses band together. 

Barry noted that the high volume of cases, as well as the reality that he was sometimes representing both sides of the table, meant that working with other lawyers was absolutely necessary. Refusing to work with competitors would have severely limited his ability to grow, and he likely would have never experienced the success he’s experienced.

(Listen in to hear what title the New York Law Journal gave Barry in 1999.)

Unexpected and Innovative Deal-Making

One thing I loved was that Barry shared ideas he had that he never followed up on. I think when we see someone successful, we can sometimes assume that they had a clear path to the top. As we learn from Barry, however, his path was not only unexpected (and driven by taking action and adjusting as he went), it was also marked by choices he made about what to pursue, and what not to pursue.

As a deal-maker, you should be consistently coming up with ideas. Not because you’re going to pursue all of them, but because being in the habit of creative thinking prepares you to identify what ideas are worth pursuing.

Barry ended up being glad he never pursued his five families idea (listen in to hear more about that)….but he also enjoys looking back and remembering he had that idea in the first place.

Resisting the Deal

At some point, Barry was working long hours, and pushing himself extremely hard. He notes that he knew he could make deals – he could have decreased his work load – but he chose not to. Instead, he pushed forward, taking on more and more and working longer and longer hours.

Eventually, it fell apart: Barry had a heart attack, and wasn’t able to work at all for almost a full year.

Although many people thought the “pressure” had gotten to him, Barry realized that his real problem had come from all his pent up frustration around practice areas that he didn’t enjoy, and that actually caused him a lot of internal stress. He had been so weighed down, he hadn’t been able to enjoy any of his success.

As he recovered, he realized he needed to get rid of the cases that had been burdening him leading up to his heart attack. He let go of the cases that had been creating so much strife, made deals to allow others to take on parts of his practice that he had so deeply disliked, and transitioned into an area of law he truly enjoyed.

Over 15 years into his career, Barry transitioned into probate and estate planning. He was willing to learn a new speciality that felt like a better fit for his interests and lifestyle, and he deeply enjoyed picking it up. He also notes that it’s really not that hard to learn something new when you really want to.

Always Growing

At the end of the day, Barry has grown throughout is entire career. He loves what he does, because he hasn’t allowed himself to be pigeon holed. When he entered his career, he did things differently. He ran his practice differently, and he gave himself space to make deals, pivot when necessary, and work cases he was passionate about.

How can you do the same? What areas of your current business or career do you deeply dislike, and how could you pivot, grow, or change in order to prevent that from becoming your norm? 

Go do that! After all, it’s not that hard to learn something new when you want to.

 

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making Authentic Leadership Deal-Driven Growth

Deal Preparation: 5 Steps Towards Success

Deal Preparation: 5 Steps Towards Success: red carpet square with a pair of fancy white shoes

When I do whiteboard sessions with my deal-making clients, I frequently cover 10 specific steps that help us move towards success. This process is especially key for those who want to be part of ongoing deals. As I’ve seen, the more deals you have going on, the more important it becomes to be strategic and follow a process that works for you. Ready to uplevel your own deal preparation? Listen in to the whole episode, or read on below!

(I’ll cover the first 5 steps today. Stay tuned for my next solocast to get the other 5!)

1. Know Why You’re Making the Deal

Before you get in too deep with any deal, it’s essential that you have a fundamental understanding of why you want to pursue this deal. Is this about growth? Diversification? Furthering your purpose? Positioning yourself for further acquisitions?

The reality is, some of us are motivated to enter into deals for all the wrong reasons. I’ve watched people make deals that increase revenue while actually reducing profit. Some deals are driven by ego rather than anything truly meaningful. As much as I love deals and am a huge proponent of them, I think we have to understand that they aren’t always the best idea.

Finally, when you understand your why, you can communicate that with your partners and other stakeholders. That includes lawyers or negotiators, like me, that are involved in the deal.

2. Who Are You Targeting?

If you’re doing multiple deals, you need to have a target in mind. A haphazard search or method for connecting just won’t cut it, especially if you’re serious about making deals a sustainable part of your future.

Who are you looking for? What are your criteria for your potential targets? What are you trying to add to your business?

Whether you’re looking for acquisitions or affiliates (or something else altogether), it’s key that you take the initiative to understand who they are. In addition, you should understand how that pertains to your why.

3. Build Your Value Proposition

We’re all used to differentiating ourselves from the competition in order to generate sales or gain traction. However, we don’t always think about creating a value proposition for our deals. Doing so makes sense, though!

If you know your why, and you know who you’re targeting, you should be able to communicate why doing the deal holds value for them. What makes it worth their time? Why is this going to be in their best interest?

Just being “nice” people, or having a great company, doesn’t cut it here! Also, the deal structure or model is not the value proposition. (Those things are what you create to deliver on the value prop itself.)

So, what’s the value? Why is this deal, be it an acquisition, affiliation, joint venture, or something else, worth bringing these particular parties to the table? When you’re clear about this, you’re able to both qualify amazing partnerships and disqualify those who won’t be a great fit.

4. Get the Right Resources in Place

Before you create your deal model and choose a structure, you need to identify and get in place the correct resources. This can include internal resources, human talent or skills, capital, systems or processes, information needed, and relationships with 3rd parties. I encourage clients to do a resource map to tangible write down what is already in place as well as what is needed.

In order to be fully prepared for a deal, you need to know what you have and what you need.

5. Choose a Deal Model

First off, deal models and deal structure are not the same. (I’ll kick off the next solocast with more on the distinctions between the two!) 

Your deal model is how you’re going to do these deals. For example, in a licensing deal, you may have an exclusive or a non-exclusive model. Within those categories, there are more you can break the deal down into. From expectations around the number of deals sold, to clarifications on geographical boundaries, these factors are part of the deal’s model. 

The goal here is not to create a “menu” with a bunch of listings. Rather, the goal is to develop a model that keeps things consistent, scalable, and usable as you grow. The more deals you do, the more important it becomes to have clarity around your own deal models.

As you build your model, you can take into account your why, who you’re targeting, and what your value proposition is. In addition, it will be based on what resources you have in place. The model ties all of these elements together and sets you up for deal-making success!

If you just do 1-5, you’re on your way towards becoming an excellent deal-maker! Stay tuned for 6-10, where I’ll deliver more on structure.

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

 

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making Authentic Leadership Authentic Negotiating Deal-Driven Growth

Emotional Intelligence & Deal-Making

emotional intelligence: two business women sitting face to face in chairs, talking

Dr. Patricia (Pat) Baxter is a corporate veteran and femtrepreneur, as well as an award-winning, certified emotional intelligence (EI) coach. She’s also a professional NSA speaker and recognized workshop/retreat leader. Dr. Pat equips women leaders to lead boldly and intelligently. This is done using the undeniable power of emotions. She works with women leaders at all levels who want to use emotional intelligence to build stronger, SMARTER work environments and connections that more fully engage their teams, partners and clients.

With 25+ years of corporate/entrepreneurial knowledge and know-how, a doctorate in business leadership, and multiple published books, Dr. Pat is a deal-making force to be reckoned with!

Early Career Aspirations

Early on, Pat knew she wanted to be rich. Beyond that, she wasn’t quite sure what direction her career would take her!

She did remember an uncle who lived with her family when she was young who. He frequently told her she was too emotional and cautioned her to calm down. At the time, she found it frustrating. Having learned so much more about emotional intelligence now, however, she looks back and laughs. She realized that, in some ways, he was right. Calming down truly does make a difference!

As she has continued to learn more about the brain, emotional intelligence, and human responses, Pat has continued to grow her ability to help others use the power of emotion to lead well.

The earliest deal-related exchange that Pat remembered was related to helpfulness. She realized that, by engaging in chores and doing things that were being asked of her, she could alleviate stress from others. In doing so, she positioned herself to take advantage of the implicit trade-offs present in taking care of business. Even as a kid, she could see the benefits of being viewed favorably by others and building relationships before it came time to make an “ask” at the proverbial deal-making table.

Emotional Intelligence and Deal-Making

When making deals, Pat notes that emotional intelligence practice and awareness is very useful. She’s realized that she’s able to quickly tap into the other person or business’s interests, and to understand what they may be seeking.

Another useful skill? Picking up on the language being used and incorporating that into how you’re communicating. However, she notes that the key to this working is to ensure that you understand the full meaning of that language!

Pat encourages deep listening, which includes watching expressions and body language in addition to listening to words. It also requires that you manage yourself! You should know how your own tone sounds, and be aware of what you’re communicating with your own body language. After all, communication is a two-way street.

True deal-makers need to do the hard inner work of knowing why we react the way we do, why we think the way we do, and how our own tendencies may impact our deal-making success. This sort of self-knowledge can also prevent us from sabotaging our own deals.

Mission Critical Skills

  1. Self-Awareness

Headed to the deal-making table? It’s essential that you have enough awareness to know what you actually want. You also need to know how you come off.

2. Self-Management

You have triggers that may derail you, spiral you into limiting beliefs, or cause you to shut down or lash out. We all do. It’s your responsibility to know what yours are and learn to manage them in order to best equip yourself for deal-making success, no matter what comes up.

3. Empathy

Empathy opens the door to understanding both others and ourselves. It is what allows us to express ourselves with vulnerability and to make connections that make powerful deals possible.

Why Deals Die

After years of making deals, I’ve found firsthand that personal client triggers can be a major reason deals die. The sensation of immediate dislike, distaste, or frustration that can rise up within us when we encounter certain triggers are powerful deal-making hurdles, even if there is nothing explicitly wrong with the deal’s terms or logistics. 

Deals die when we cannot overcome these triggers.

Even if you’re technically “in the right” or your frustration is legitimate, you can choose to manage yourself and your emotions if you’d like to close on the deal you’re making.

The reality is, our behavior is guided by all sorts of deep, unseen emotional triggers and responses. Often, these triggers come from the most unexpected things, which means that our own lack of awareness can cause us to cycle into unintended responses without even realizing it’s happening. 

In fact, Pat shares that our emotional triggers actually set off a chemical reaction in the brain. This can trigger fight or flight responses, which can take over our more rational responses. Once we learn to realize that this is happening, and that we’re feeling out of control, we can learn to create more space for ourselves and to respond in a way that will enable us to pursue the outcomes we’re desiring, even if we encounter an unexpected trigger.

Listen in to learn more about Pat’s tips for handling triggers!

Raising Your Awareness

Pat recommends that being aware of your body can help you begin to more easily recognize your own triggers. From sweaty palms to a lurching stomach, tingling ears to a foot that won’t stop tapping, you absolutely get physical clues about what’s going on emotionally. Learning to be more aware of what’s happening in your body when you’re getting triggered can help you  begin to prepare for the self-management aspect of being triggered.

Obviously we can see that being over-reactive can blow a deal. However, how emotional triggers can also cause us to go through with deals that we shouldn’t have gone through with.

Pat notes that our bodies give us signals about bad situations as well. Learning to watch our bodies, to get in tune with what they’re telling us, and to respond with compassion and intelligence can help us avoid going off the rails in either direction.

People who find themselves in an “endless loop” of failing or not getting what they want often have something, somewhere “disconnected”. At some point, it’s time to hold up the mirror and start to examine what internal work can be done to help you break through and begin to reach the next level. This is especially important for deal-making!

To learn more about the specific tools I use to get myself back into the right place, and to learn about Pat’s suggestions, listen to the full episode here.

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making Deal-Driven Growth

Zoom, Enterprise, and Deal-Making

Zoom Enterprise with Marquesa Pettway

Former CNN Associate Producer turned Business Reinvention Strategist & Professional Speaker, Marquesa Pettway, (CSP) helps experts and organizations leverage the Zoom Platform. She’s also known as the Zoom Queen! Marquesa teaches that standing out on Zoom can grow your influence and impact. Her work results in clients creating engaging virtual events, hosting smart productive meetings, and growing multiple virtual-based income streams. Under her brand, Zoom Queen, she works with client acquisition,  Zoom Basics for the speakerpreneur, leveraging Zoom to grow your biz, and more. One major deal in Marquesa’s career was her decision to become a Zoom Administrator for Zoom Enterprise licenses. She shares that this deal changed the face of her business. 

Beginning Ambitions & the Deal-Making Journey

At a young age, Marquesa wanted to be an entertainer. Starting from middle school and through college, she was heavily involved in the arts as a result. This included going to a high-quality arts high school that required auditions to gain admittance. Once in college, she majored in broadcasting while minoring in theater.

Marquesa’s journey then included going into television news, which she did not love. Later, she became an executive in the industry. During that time she had opportunities to appear on stage as a speaker and emcee. Eventually, she began to look into how she could do that professionally. 16 years in, Marquesa fell in love with Zoom. (She notes she was on it the first year it launched, far before Covid made it common place!). 

The first deal Marquesa remembers making was after being the Girl Scout Cadet who sold the most cookies. That was back when she was in 5th grade. Because she had done such a phenomenal job at sales, she made a deal with her school to get to lead a school-wide candy selling fundraiser. As a result, she earned multiple accolades and made extra money. She eventually became known in her school as “the deal-master”.

Becoming The Zoom Queen

The way Marquesa approaches Zoom springs from her recognition of what a resource it could be in her business. For example, she notes that she lives in Manhattan. Clients would call and request meetings, and she realized that the amount of time and energy used up while prepping to go out, getting on the train, and being downtown usually derailed the rest of her work day. As a result, she started looking for ways she could still create a sense of connection without having to actually go out.

Once she found Zoom, Marquesa realized that branding it was key. One example of how powerful having her Zoom branded to herself? Early on in her adaptation, Microsoft emailed her about doing a breakout session. Rather than respond back with her rates, Marquesa emailed and asked if the contact would be willing to connect with her on Zoom. When she first came on, she was placed in the “waiting room”, which Marquesa had fully branded. There was color, her logo, a welcome message, and an option to download her ebook.

Once Marquesa had the contact enter her room, she had her own branding, of course, as well as Microsofts. This created a visual effect of connection between the two. At this time, Marquesa asked for more information about the event, shared her screen, and did a live mind mapping session with her on the call. By the time it was over, Marquesa was booked for not one breakout session, but three, one in front of leadership, plus a keynote on the main stage. That single call (and the extra touches to make Zoom a full experience) made the difference!

Zoom Enterprise & Deal-Making

Marquesa shares that Zoom serves as her virtual office, as well as a virtual studio, stage, and platform. She realizes that it’s one thing to show up on Zoom and talk…and a whole different thing to use it as a business tool. The latter allows her clients to take things to the next level while increasing influence and impact.

Now, this is something that Marquesa could achieve on her own; after all, she had a very successful business doing it! However, she used her deal-making skills to take her own business to the next level as well.

When she first queried Zoom about doing a Zoom Enterprise deal, Marquesa envisioned doing something really small, with minimal risk. She was curious, but not planning to go all out.

After they talked, the value of her deal soared. It ended up being a much larger financial deal than she had anticipated, which ended in Marquesa becoming a Zoom Administrator and making Zoom Enterprise deals. She has found that making this deal has enabled her to take her business to the next level by demonstrating her expertise and seriousness within the industry.

After entering into the Zoom Enterprise deal, Marquesa quadrupled her own client base. She realizes that, by taking the risk and extending herself, she also opened the door to showing up in a whole new way. As a result, she attracted a whole new group of clientele.

(To hear me talk more about why a deal like this involves risk, and how Marquesa’s mentality played into it, listen to the full episode now!)

Optimizing Strategic Alliances

In addition to building your business and making money, Marquesa notes that you have to be asking yourself what you deeply care about. One thing she loves about being a speakerprenuer is that she’s able to have a great deal of flexibility around what she does and what she speaks to.

Marquesa realized that she had reached a point where a lot of people knew who she was, and she was being sought out to speak and teach. She started to actively think about how she could leverage that in her business in an even greater way. One thing that came to mind was that she would often connect with or promote products or organizations she believed in or used, often with some vague concept of maybe earning an affiliate commission. She shifted this dynamic by instead creating deals based on ambassador payments. 

For example, Marquesa did this with Zapp Pad. After their first launch to her tribe, the company told her they had just seen the most sales that they had ever had. She started to recognize that she had the power to earn more than affiliate incomes. There were also opportunities to become an ambassador and spokesperson for some brands.(You can learn more about this Zoom integrated tool here!)

Leveraging Opportunities

Once she decided to get more serious about leveraging deals, she sat down and had a meeting with herself. She really explored her strengths. This included looking for ways she could use her own unique capabilities to stand out and grow into the next level.

One thing she had always gotten feedback on was her strong personality. Throughout her life Marquesa has been able to garner momentum, create connections, and ignite rooms with her personality. As a result, that was something she felt she could use to grow. On our episode, she announced that she actually has a commercial coming out that will be airing on national TV. The product isn’t attached to Zoom Queen (believe it or not!), but it leverages her skills. This is something she’s really excited about being involved in.

Marquesa isn’t looking to become an actress! However, she recognized that she could leverage the opportunity to increase her own name recognition. In addition, she could continue building contacts. Marquesa is able to get hired and grow her speaking business because of finding ways like this to develop who she is and why someone might be interested in hiring her.

Opening these doors always has the ability to lead to more doors being opened in the future, which is a powerful way of using deals to build leverage. I can attest to the reality that this is how things really start to take off!

This is a great interview, and Marquesa shared incredible insights.

I strongly recommend you listen in to hear about one final deal she shared about at the very end of our interview as well!

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

 

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making Authentic Leadership Deal-Driven Growth

Overcoming Negativity for Deal-Making Success

deal-making success and mindset

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: Deal-making success and mindset go hand in hand. You truly can’t have ongoing success as a deal-maker if you aren’t cultivating the mindset to sustain it. This week, I dive into how you can overcome negativity for even more deal-making success!

Listen HERE.

Why My Trolls Make Me Think of Mindset

I’ve started putting out more online content, working with a marketing team, and engaging in advertising over the past few years. As a result…I realized I have trolls now! The team will put out a post and get a couple hundred likes, plus a person or two who starts commenting nasty stuff. Sometimes they even start throwing around threats. (“We’ll report you to FB!” seems ever popular.)

The question is, of course: Why don’t you just skip it and scroll on by? 

Why am I indulging in this little rant? Because it brings us back to mindset. 

People who are successful, who have built well rounded lives, and who are happy with their work don’t spend time trolling other people on Facebook. It’s just a reality. They don’t have time to waste on social media. Especially not if they’re just there to complain about other people’s work, trash their free resources, or critique their social posts. (Note: I’m not saying there is never anything worth criticizing online. There is a place for voicing concern! Here, I’m just talking about trolls who want to stir up trouble.)

The idea that they will sit online and critique every step someone else is making tells me they aren’t really out in the real world taking action themselves. Rather than let myself get consumed with their opinions, I find myself shaking my head at where their mindset is. Beyond that, I don’t spend much time thinking about them. Instead, I just go back to my own business.

I don’t envy their mindset, I don’t respect their approach, and I won’t allow myself to be derailed by them. Why? Because they clearly aren’t operating at the level of success I desire. I’d rather think about my own vision, or my own mentors. 

Other People’s Opinions Don’t Need to Hold that Much Weight

If you’re going to take someone’s advice to account, make sure they are people you actually respect and whose opinion matters to you.

You have the capacity to filter out what information is important to you, and what actually helps you. And the reality is, online trolls, critiques, and naysayers have very little to add in terms of value.

As the most powerful influence in your own life, you can choose to look beyond these temporary voices and focus on what matters to you.

Relationships with people I care about, growing my business, making deals, creating something of value, building a legacy — these are the things I want to spend my time and energy on.

Other people’s judgment? It just doesn’t hold weight with me.

What’s Limiting You?

As a deal-maker, it’s essential that you’re able to identify who is in your head, and what messages they are sharing. You get to make that choice, and you get to give a platform to the voices that matter most to you.

If you have a lot of doubt and insecurities, or if your inner voice is filled with negativity, it’s impacting your confidence at the deal-making table! 

After years of doing deals and interaction with deal-makers, I’ve seen firsthand that successful people are very aware of what’s going on in their minds, and they don’t allow voices of fear, doubt, or shame to creep in and overwhelm them. Instead, they actively grow positive mindsets that allow them to see the bigger picture, respond rather than react, and stay out of drama (including the online kind) that would weigh them down.

You can do that too; by engaging in mindset work and getting clear about what you want your inner messaging to be, you can disengage from the negative and drama-filled and choose to uplevel your own mindset. As you do so, you’ll find that deal-making, collaborations, and opportunities begin to flow more easily.

Additionally, business deals rely on relationships. If you’re constantly in a negative frame of mind, you’re probably not as open to relationships as you could be. In addition, you may not be equipping yourself to respond to opportunities for growth and deal-making.

What Resonates?

You may not be an online troll….but you may find yourself having a tendency to be judgmental, think negatively, or otherwise engage in parts of these behaviors. So I’d encourage you to think about anything in your life that could use a bit of a mindset uplevel.

Maybe you have a business relationship, a client, or a program that brings out some of these negative tendencies in yourself. Maybe you have biases or judgments you don’t realize you have.

Think about it, and if something resonates, take the time to work through it! Only you get to determine what voices have power in your life, and that includes the ones in your head.

Listen to the whole episode here.

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!