The 3 Secrets These Millionaire Entrepreneurs Wish Someone Had Told Them When They First Started

If you're a regular on this blog, you know I'm a big believer in the philosophy of never trying to recreate the wheel.

One of the smartest things anybody can do when trying to accomplish anything is to find somebody who's already done it and learn from them. Successes, failures, missed opportunities; there is a wealth of knowledge available. You just have to find it.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a crystal ball that shows you the future, so you know exactly the steps you should take?

This is the next best thing.

Three incredibly successful entrepreneurs tell us what they wish somebody would have told them when they first got started. This information is timeless, and not overly complicated.

In fact, if these pieces of advice sound simple, it's because they are.

That's the point.

Most people don't take the time to master the simple things that provide the foundation for a business to flourish. Sometimes it's because they're too scared to stop dreaming about being successful and take action. Or they try to do too much at once before learning the basics.

So if you were hoping for some kind of “easy button” technique that allows you to become a millionaire with almost no effort, you're going to be disappointed. (But if that's the kind of business advice you're looking for, you will continue to be disappointed, because it doesn't exist).

No matter what kind of business you have (or want), these three monumentally important pieces of wisdom will help you get to where you want to go:

1. Learn how to sell before it's too late.

Learn how to sell now.

In one year, I sold $2.7 million worth of programs over the telephone—after I finally learned sales techniques. This has probably cost me $20 million in lost revenue from missed sales in my 30s.

Even if you feel that you don’t like sales and it makes you uncomfortable, too bad.

Learn it anyway. Sales is a great thing.

Get a sales mentor to coach you. Get on the phone. Start practicing sales techniques.

You are helping customers solve problems and take action.

When you rewire your brain around it and feel good about selling, you can make millions of dollars. — James Swanwick, entrepreneur, author, and CEO of Swanwick Sleep and the 30-Day No Alcohol Challenge

2. Create a predictable way to generate leads.

Don't rely on luck.

I see a lot of businesses rely on relationships, networking, proposals and the next referral. I built a multimillion-dollar business on this.

Then it failed.

If you don't have a predictable way to generate leads such as the SSFMethod of lead generation, your ability to grow quickly and sustainably will be tough. It took me going $726,000 into debt to learn the hard way.

If you don't have automated lead generation, you don't have a business—you have a hobby. —Scott Oldford, founder of INFINITUS

3. Get out of your own way.

Once upon a time, I'd spend way too much time talking about a deal and not talking to the people behind it.

Once I learned the difference, that all deals are people and all people matter, I learned to focus on their outcome and got to know the person first.

The years I wasted, the deals I lost, the goals I could have accomplished, these are all the things I could have avoided by just putting the other person’s needs first. —Neil Twa, cofounder of eCom Pro Academy