I have tried everything, nothing works...

Scott, I have tried everything and I am still not seeing any success. My finances are a mess, I can't sell anything. I have had three small businesses and two failed, this one isn't doing well enough to continue. I am about to give up, what  am I doing wrong?-C.E.


First C.E.  Quitting is not a success strategy. Let's move on to what works.

I used to struggle to answer this type of question, but over the years I figured out a universal answer that actually does a great job of covering the problem.

If you have "tried everything" and nothing works for you, your problem is the world doesn't work like you think it does. If the world worked like you thought it does, you would have succeeded by now, right?

People are pretty strange things, they often don't act in their own self interest. People are more likely to buy what they want than what they need. We are hard wired to look at different as being wrong or dangerous, but if we want to improve our life we have to do something different. We really don't work like it looks like we should and that makes our world pretty strange too.

You may not be far off, but you are off somewhere in your ideas about how the world works. A car needs all four tires, just one tire short of four and you have a problem.

I can't tell you how many things I tried in my early days that made perfect sense, but didn't make dollars and sense. People have to be sold in one way or another. You can seldom "Build it and they will come."

People buy emotionally and then try to find logical reasons to back up that decision. It looks like telling someone about you is the way to impress them, but actually listening to them tell you about themselves is more likely to impress someone.

I would recommend Robert Cialdini's books on persuasion. Also "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. We buy from people we know like and trust and we buy the things we want. You have to find a way for people to know, like and trust you and make them want the thing you are selling.

You will need a good business plan and a great marketing plan. Marketing is telling the right person, the right message at the right time and in the right way.

You can't just put up a website and make money. You have to offer something of value. If you want to make money, then focus on changing people's lives in a positive way.

I have some more ideas and a few questions, email me your phone number and I will coach you for a few minutes without charge.

Remember, the world doesn't work exactly like you think it does or you would be successful by now. So figure out how the world really works.

Wishing you the best,
​Scott Hogue CChH