Life (And Sales) Lessons from Shaq
When Shaquille O'neal was drafted into the NBA, he spent the first million that he earned within 30 minutes. O'neal then received a phone call from his banker, who scolded him, and told him that he would end up joining the list of former athletes who ended up broke if the current trend continued.
O'neal decided to sharpen up his education on business and finance. He returned to college, completing his Bachelor's degree, followed by his M.B.A, and lastly, his Ed.D. That's right, he is now Dr. Shaquille O'neal.
As of today, Shaq is the joint owner of 155 Five Guys Burgers restaurants, 17 Auntie Annie's Pretzels restaurants, 150 car washes, 40 24-hour fitness centers, a shopping center, a movie theater, and several Las Vegas nightclubs.
In addition to his business holdings, O'neal still earns $22 million per year (roughly $423,000 per week) from his endorsement deals with Arizona Creme soda, Icy Hot, Gold Bond, Buick, Zales, and at least a half dozen additional corporate sponsors. He is also a studio analyst for TNT.
In Shaq's own words, "It is not about how much money you make. The question is: 'Are you educated enough to KEEP it.'"
I have shared Dr. Shaq's lesson countless times with sales people.
I've never worked one on one with someone in my Mastermind and not seen their income rise to six figures annually.
Ever.
And while that might sound great and magical, it oftentimes is not.
Because sales is one of the rare fields of work in which you can go from zero to hero in literally just a few sales calls.
But most people are not accustomed to their new-found six figured-ness.
So typically after 4-6 weeks of working with me I have to have The Big Boy/Girl Talk with one of my students, which is essentially:
Don't be stupid with your money. Save. And reinvest in yourself and in your business.
If you follow along on this blog long enough, or work with me personally, or work with any legitimate sales training program out there, you will find your closing ratios increase, your income soar, and your life change.
When that happens remember Dr. O'Neal.
You'll be glad you did.