WE all know the book…It’s a business classic, but HOW do you apply it to everyday business?
Sun Tzu…
“All warfare is based on deception. Hence when able to attack we must appear unable: when using our forces we must seem inactive: when we are near we must make the enemy believe we are far away: when far we must appear near.”
Here’s how I do this…
I find a LOT of my deals from PAYING finders fee’s…Oil delivery men, Antiques dealers, Scrap hawlers, if they come in CONTACT with homeowners, I want them to have my number and KNOW, if they call and I BUY…They make THOU$ANDS for dropping that dime!!!
So what’s that got to do with the ART OF WAR???
DECEPTION can be used to your advantage in certain business situations.
I have a local small time antique dealer that sends me a lot of deals…There’s a BIGGER antique dealer in the same general area that sends me NOTHING.
One day while cleaning out a house I had recently purchased (for DIRT) in this area. BIGGER ANTIQUE DEALER shows up to look at it some furniture I listed on CRAIGSLIST. Now this home came from some ads I run…NOT from a finders fee situation.
He comes in (knows who I am) and asks how I found the house??
I BS him and explain that SMALL ANTIQUE DEALER sent me the lead and when I purchased it…He got paid $5000 CASH!!!
I could SEE the gears turning…The key to this is NOT SAYING ANOTHER WORD…Let it SINK IN…BREATH…SETTLE!
Big Antique dealer leaves…I IMMEDIATELY get small antique guy on the phone and tell him what I just did…I ask him to just play along (which he will because I put $25K in his pocket last year.)
Small guy calls me back 1 hour later…Big guy called him…BOUGHT IT HOOK LINE AND SINKER!!
Next week…BIG BOY calls with not ONE…But TWO deals!!!
I’ve read this book 4x…My favorite paragraph I have memorized…" wait in recondite silence until you see an oppurtunity to attack the enemy"…I LOVE THIS BOOK…And my attorney just gave me the book of the 5 Rings…
While deception can be important I really wouldn’t have considered that deception since you do in fact use the other dealer just not on that deal. Ok my nitpickyness is done :beer now I can move on to a positive contribution.
I was thinking a few other people to contact to be your leads would be:
Carpet Cleaners, Home Cleaning Services, Landscapers, and possibly nursing centers/homes for the newly admitted.
If you guys like the Art of War, 5 Rings, etc. You should look up Robert Greene’s 48 laws of power (think that is the name of the book), The Prince, poker and chess strategies. I’m terrible at chess and poker but when I play it really helps me apply these type of principles and strategies which then makes it easier for my to think about and apply in everyday life. I also find reading up on strategies for decision-making to be helpful to eliminate emotion/bias so you can make the best decision.
Oh speaking of deception earlier, I think one thing that a lot of people here do is the whole dress/drive at the level your tenants/customers/sellers are at or expect. An example would be looking blue collar for rentals so they don’t think you are rich, or dressing well when dealing with commercial real estate or people who expect you to be successful like professionals.
fdjake…Your quotes made me to take out my Art of War soft cover and post my one of my favorite paragraphs in the book from page 60…
“Wang Xi…Defense here means lying low when you do not see any effective way to attack,sinking into stillness and recondite silence,not letting opponents find you out…Attack is for when you see an advantage to aim for…On the attack you should be extremely swift,taking advantage of unexpectedness,wary of letting opponents find you out and prepare against you”…
InvstrPaul,
I read The Prince by Machiavelli not long ago as well…I didnt enjoy the book nearly as much as the Art of War…I could see why the Art of War is read by so many prominent business people and heads of corporations…The Prince was good reading though…The Book of Five Rings is as intriguing to me as the Art of War…I’m really enjoying it so far and the strategies are interesting to say the least…,The Earth (strategy),The Water ( more strategy/spirituality),The Fire (fighting methods) has been my favorite section so far…Thoroughly enjoying the book…
As for dressing/conducting/driving accordingly when conducting business I agree %100…And Im sure many here do as well…
One personal characteristic of mine that I constantly have to deal with are my facial expressions. And, by that I mean compared to most people I have very few to a total lack of them. The truth is that anyone that knows me can learn my mannerisms but I’m rarely overtly animated, and expressive. In fact most people that don’t know me would think I’m depressed or really unhappy because my face is usually fairly blank. The only time I truly smile and don’t have to think about it is when I’m laughing. I find it very amusing that it most people don’t know how to deal with me not smiling like an idiot all the time.
Anywho, so wtf does this have to do with the previous topics of this thread? Well by not being overtly expressive I’ve recognized that it both positively and negatively impacts my life. I have to consciously think about smiling at strangers and when making introductions even if I am happy to meet them. On the other hand my blank face and silence make employees nervous when I’m the customer. This has lead to larger discounts, more information, and better recommendations without me lifting a finger or saying a word. Also, it really helps me delivery with my super dry sense of humor.
So to tie this post all together the main theme would be “know thy self” and control your appearance/actions accordingly to help enhance your strengths and nullify your weaknesses… So if you look cold and unapproachable then learn to force yourself to smile. If you are over the top in your face energetic…knock it off right now…it’s so annoying (nah just tone it down a mite).
*****New Topic Same Post
I briefly mentioned chess in an earlier post. I’ll try to find where I read this but the idea is to study the Knight and learn to apply it. The Knight is usually one of the trickiest pieces to master due to it’s unconventional movement. So you learn how to be unconventional/contrarian or whatever word you want to call it. This is how you can dictate events in your life so that nobody else will see them coming.
I can’t wait until I’m in this position, to buy more than one house at a time cash. Right now I am flipping homes that cost around 200K for me to buy. Hopefully by next year this time I will have enough cash to do more than one at a time. Then it’s gonna really take off! Don’t think the banks are ready to give me a LOC yet. Thanks for all your help FDJake.
John_in_NC,
You should be able to get a line of credit now. It will just be a smaller one.
Ask for 10-15K. Use it, pay it religiously, and then ask for more. Then the bank should just keep extending credit to you, their GOOD customer.
10-15? I have credit cards with twice as high limits. Can’t do much with a line like that. It’s a bitter sweet thing really. On one hand I am disappointed I can’t get a decent credit line. On the other, banks not lending has created opportunities for me.
John,
I know it’s a small amount. But the interest should be much less than credit cards. I too have credit cards with a 50K lending limit, but I use the Credit Line instead.
It started out at 10K for needed rehab. Now I’ve got a 50K line at my local bank. But it took time before the bank increased the line, I would ask for it at the extension dates.
I have the same problem but in reverse. I have to consciously not react to things. I have this magnetism. It is so bad that my vendors, tenants, everybody I do business with want to be my friend. They want to cook me Bar-Be Que. They have no idea that I will cut them off at the knees and have no animosity towards them. I still love them I am just throwing them out of their home.
I’m currently in a dispute with a local Gym. Last year I signed onto a 3yr contract and the fast-talking meathead rep, that was giving me a tour, told me I could cancel and pay a fee if I ever needed to.
Then we sat down and I did something crazy…I…read…the…contract.
And I noticed that the contract would NEVER let me cancel unless I was injured or I moved far away.
So I realized this bastard lied to me. But, instead of calling him out on his BS, I put on my poker face and told him, “Well, I’m all about ready to sign up, but I just need you to put that cancellation fee in writing for me right here. I don’t see it on the contract, maybe I missed it.”
He was dumbfounded when I said that and reluctantly wrote it in.
I pictured the day that I’d have to cancel… and saw myself trying to convince them “The contract might not allow cancellations but the nice meathead man told me I could cancel and pay a fee”…Yea right.
Fast forward to last week, I went to cancel and they told me “Our contracts don’t allow random cancellations unless you’re injured or move 25+ miles away”
I responded… Yea I noticed, but go take a look at mine! :biggrin :biggrin :biggrin
I won that battle during the sign-up… and I know plenty of people who cry and moan about signing into long term gym contracts and not being able to cancel… I’m not one of them!
NJbird_dog,
Nice lesson for the rest of us…read the contract! I admit that I get bored and take people’s word too much when signing. Thanks again for the tip.
My current boss is kind of that way except it is really really f*&king annoying. He’s constantly in your face and over the top and freely admits it. He says he likes it because it really helps in this type of industry (he’s a GM at a burrito joint). Quite honestly whenever I’m the consumer and somebody is like that, it just makes me want to tell them to be quiet and make my damn food already. I’m all for a courteous greeting, some small talk, and a polite hello but stay out of my business and quit trying to make yourself too familiar like you are my best friend. If you want to improve the experience just be courteous, fast, and high quality. With fast and quality being the two most important areas to focus on, at least at a fast food joint.