This is something I should have done ten years ago. With WUA’s management and many friends, I attended Tony Robbins’ Business Mastery last week at the Amsterdam RAI. We’ve learned a lot about how to do business, how to handle challenges, negotiation tips & tricks, mentality, spiritual strength, and lots, lots more.

In recent years, Tony Robbins, let’s call him a life coach and a motivational speaker, has conducted in-depth interviews with 50 self-made billionaires and asked them about magic formulas for business success. In this program, he shared commonalities and lessons. In this blog, I would like to share with you 100 lessons, tips, tricks, and tactics of these 5 days of intensive training. Enjoy, learn, and pass them on!

We are gladiators! 80 percent of businesses no longer exist after 5 years. And after 10 years, 96 percent have disappeared. If you start a business, you step into the arena and you’re a gladiator! Do you survive, or do you perish? A total of 5% of businesses reach a turnover of 1 million or more. Only 0.4% of businesses reach 5 million or more. And 0.01% reach a turnover of 10 million or more. Develop an exit strategy and have it ready. Always! You never know what might happen! Consider your business an asset. Diversify here too, and never put all your eggs in one basket. The one with the most flexibility controls the system. This is the story of two monks, one younger and one older monk. They are not allowed to touch a woman. One day, they go for a walk. As they get to a river, they encounter two women who want to cross. They can’t swim. The older monk picks them up and carries them across. They don’t say a word. Half a day later, the younger monk asks: ‘How could you do that?’ It has been on his mind for half a day, and he is frustrated. ‘Are you still thinking about that?’ the older monk asks. ‘I let it go as soon as I put them down. Whereas you have been occupied by it for half a day now…’ Together you’ll go further. Steer your team based on figures and objectives. Not on emotions. Fall in love with your customer. Not with your product. Invest in your business, in your savings account, and in shares (index funds long term, rarely does anyone beat the market by themselves, and if you trade yourself you pay a lot of commission and time). Improve by a few percentage points in all areas of the funnel, and you’ll soon double your revenue. Figures and measurements are the keys to optimization. Play like Michael Jordan does, and continually measure your performance, or go play somewhere else.

Lower your costs by 10 percent: your profits will soon double. Love Numbers. Love spreadsheets. They love you. You love them. Be a business owner, not an operator! Set your own targets and figures. Ask the team how they are going to get there. Beliefs and limiting beliefs. Use the following three-stage-rocket in question form to tear down limiting beliefs. Question 1. Is that really true? Create doubt. Question 2. What would it be like if you didn’t have it? How would it feel? Question 3. What would it be like if this new thing were no longer there? Then, people make a choice. Often they choose the newer and better situation. And then it “lights up like a Christmas tree” :-) Ask the team questions, don’t give them answers. As a leader, you only set goals. Remain in a beautiful state. Solve problems systematically, not ad hoc. Find the problem in your company’s value chain. Everyone is responsible for this value chain together, and therefore for the brand. Organize mutual obligations in your company. This applies to everyone. Call! Pay a visit! Mail and SMS suck as a means of communication. And when you pay someone a visit, make sure you have a good question and a good story: don’t sell nonsense, and be well prepared. Add perceived value for your customer. Like a small note on your wife’s pillow that says “I love you”, it can be of great value. It’s quick and inexpensive. Show you care! Always exceed your customers’ expectations. Add extreme value, more than anyone else. Money-back guarantee! What business are you in: immediately explain the benefits. For example, WUA helps you sell far, far more on the web. We do this for large and medium-sized businesses. By listening intently to your customers. Would you like to know more? Ask yourself: What is your X factor? What benefit to the customer makes your company truly unique? Create warmth and a connection within your team. Talk to each team member at least twice a year. 90 percent of all business in B2B comes from referrals! Ensure a 20 percent increase in leads. Optimize calls, appointments, conversion, and prices by 5 to 10 percent, and you’ll double your turnover. Talk about world affairs you both agree on. As a result, you communicate with the same beliefs, which creates understanding and a connection. How quickly can you change? In a heartbeat!



Also read: 100 lessons from Tony Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within 2018 Conversation with a customer: start with a lot of energy, and finish calmly. Skip the social start (this is a USA tip). Don’t do social talk until after the first 20 minutes. Indicate that you only have an hour at most and that things are very busy. Increase your status. Also let them know that they are unable to buy now (for example, the waiting list for new customers, like with Ferrari). Start every change in a beautiful state. Otherwise, you will make the wrong choices. The best choices are made in a positive state! Raise your standards! Not just yours. Your entire team’s, together. As a leader, it’s about fulfilling the 6 Human Needs and Values of the team and of the customer. These 6 Human Needs are: 1. Certainty. 2. Uncertainty/variation. 3. Being important. 4. Connection and love. 5. Growth. 6. Contribution and giving back to society. Focus on the latter two gives the most satisfaction. Work from the 7 forces. They are 1. An effective business map. 2. Constant & strategic innovation. 3. World-class marketing. 4. Sales mastery systems. 5. Financial & Legal Analysis. 6. Optimization. 7. Raving Fans – Customers & Culture. Spend 90 minutes every week on 1 of the 7 forces to optimize together with the team. 7×7 is 42 weeks. Repetition: Are you currently a business operator? Fuck that! Be a business owner! Ask yourself: Who is special? You, or your customer? Your customer of course! You’re not! Everyone is responsible for the company and the brand. Who is your ideal customer? Work and do everything for your ideal customer! Fire the customers you don’t want. You’re not the business! A business isn’t fucking YOU! Organize a strategic referral system for your company. 90 percent of business comes from referrals. It’s cheaper, faster, greater, fun, and creates new referrals. Do you want an extra 300 percent conversion in B2B? Ask every lead “What triggered you to request something from us?” This will result in a very relevant conversation. Create more distribution channels. Geometry business. Compounding. By improving by small percentages, you’ll soon double your turnover. Constantly commit to making your business the best. If you don’t, your competitors will. Travel outside your comfort zone. Force yourself to look outside your own industry, and study other markets for inspiration. Know exactly who is best at what in your sales force. And learn from each other. Most teams are only 20 percent productive. I.e. you could get five times what you currently have. Hire the best, or develop people to become the best. Negotiation: prepare yourself (determine your checklist) and determine your desired outcome in advance. Negotiation in 4 steps: 1. Keep your goal in mind. 2. Look for points of agreement. 3. Be creative. 4. Increase the pie.Also read: How Tony Robbin’s principles can be used by UX developers and website builders Negotiation: create trust. Be nice. And make sure there is a foundation for co-operation with confidence. Clarify and verify. Always. This applies to everyone in the organization. I.e. mutual obligations at every step of the process. Know that winter is coming! Be prepared! After winter, there will be spring. Winter brings the greatest opportunities! Buying cheaply. Focus on extreme value for the customer. Always stay focused on the result. It’s about execution and doing! Live inside your head and you are dead. Live and work from your heart. Make important things urgent. Not the urgent things that are unimportant. Repetition is the mother of all skills. In great companies, there is no place for people who don’t want to measure. Funnel optimization you do with your entire company, including delivery and customer care. A 20 percent margin is the minimum to be truly healthy as a company. Focus on 1 thing! Sell benefits for the customer. Turn it into an experience you can feel. Know your ideal customer’s desires and fears. If you always offer 3 options. Double all 3. And ensure you deliver much more value to the customer. Then you’ll have doubled your turnover, and your customer will be much more satisfied. For example, for us at WUA this means: don’t carry out 1 study, but 2 or 4 a year and link them together within the improvement processes. This way, chances are much greater that our clients will start selling far more online. Ensure that 15 percent of your income is automatically saved, or buy index funds. Preferably 20%. Repetition: During the first 15 to 20 years, focus on 1 thing. Then, you can broaden your horizon. Concentrate your power! If you want to become a professional speaker. First pick 1 niche. Continue from there. For me, for example, it’s first: help customers sell much more over the web. Then NLP, family arrangements, meditation, yoga etc. (these are all things I am ALSO very passionate about). When it’s winter (bad economy), somewhere in the world it’s summer. Use this to your advantage. Know more about your client than anyone else. Create raving fans: Care, every step of the way! Seek and you will find. Ask the right questions focused on objectives. Business is about innovation and marketing. Make sure the Gladiator is always in charge. No Matter What Happens. Narrow your marketing! Focus on a specific group (your ideal customers) and do this really well!Also read: How Tony Robbin’s principles can be used by UX developers and website builders Spend your marketing budget on your ideal customers. Add money-back guarantee which reduces the risk for the customer. At the age of 50-55, sell 50 percent of your company. Allow a younger generation to grow it, so you can sell the other half for much more at the age of 65, instead of selling the entire company at 65 when it has devalued significantly. Ensure that in principle your customers cannot get what you have. This creates hunger. Think about a waiting list, for example. Remove 75 percent of your slides from your presentation. Focus, be relevant, and offer benefits to the customer. Link your presentation to the hero’s journey. Because of these phases, people will recognize the phase they are going through themselves. Successes and setbacks. During the first 20 minutes of a conversation, people pay the most attention by far. Always remove objections in advance. Why aren’t people buying? 1. Risk. 2. Friction. 3. Success (no guarantee for success). 4. Differences between you and everyone else (USPs/competition). Happy people’s bucket list. 1. Experiences that matter. 2. Leisure time. 3. Mastering skills. 4. Give something back to the world. Lesson for the CEO: only focus on output. Figures. Targets. Allow the team to grow by being creative in their own way. Teach and train, train again and again. Raving fan culture: it’s not just you. It’s the entire team. REPETITION: In addition to your business, also invest in shares! Preferably index funds. Diversify. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Don’t do this with your own business either. Spread the risk. In times of stress or major challenges: overcommunicate. Always plan “silence” in your agenda. In order to think and not make impulsive choices. This is a tip from Warren Buffett. CANI attitude: Constant And Never Ending Improvements. Continually improve in small steps. Live in a beautiful state. Everyone strives for perfection. And this is usually your self-image, too. Only, is the world perfect? Of course not! For example, if you have an idea of what a perfect relationship looks like, you often face a reality that is different. And soon you get frustrated. Your own image and reality do not match. Perfection = imperfection. If you change and accept your self-image, negative emotions and frustrations will disappear like a puff of smoke. Enjoy the imperfection :-) Business is a spiritual game. Focus on growth (personal & team) and on giving back to society (contribution). In addition to success, the result will also be satisfaction. Success without satisfaction is terrible. Exercise is one of the fastest ways to get into a positive state. For example, go for a walk. Together. Or on your own. In addition to your own beautiful state, create a beautiful state corporate culture. Together. A warm environment. Where it’s safe. Connection. Where everyone can be themselves. Where everyone knows the world isn’t perfect. Should you get frustrated after all, don’t explode. Say ‘interesting…’ and tackle a problem or frustration so systematically that it is resolved forever. Living in a beautiful state is a choice. Everyone strives to live in a beautiful state. And to a large extent, we all already do. The question is: “How can you live in a beautiful state even more?” So, go from a score of 8 out of 10 to 8.2 out of 10. What needs to happen to achieve this? In the end, it’s all about love. Fall in love with your team. Fall in love with your customers. Enjoy the journey. And build a beautiful business :-)

And that’s that. I hope you learned a lot from it. It is definitely worthwhile attending this yourself. That said… Do you want to know all about How Tony Robbin’s principles can be used by UX developers and website builders?