GOYAAKOD
Thursday, 6:36 PM
Dear Friend,
I kept my former life a secret for a long time.
I only recently revealed it to the 11 people in my Kitchen Table Entrepreneur coaching program I did earlier this year… and more recently to the folks on my "Turn Failure Into Success" teleseminar.
For years I kept it a secret from all the new people I met. I wasn't embarrassed about it or anything… it was just a chapter of my life I wanted to put behind me.
Heck, I even avoided THINKING about it for the longest time. It was a role I played for too long. I simply wanted to move on and immerse myself in my next role.
But over the past year I've been able to think about a lot of my experiences without the accompanying "fight or flight" physiological reactions I used to have.
And finally allowing myself to remember that stuff in a cool, calm and collected manner is allowing me to cull some extremely valuable marketing and life lessons out of those experiences.
At the ripe young age of 21 and naive as can be… I entered the Dayton, Ohio police academy.
Even though being a cop had never been my life-long dream, I stayed at that gig for 12 long years.
In my first 2 days out of the academy, I saw my first dead body (a women lying buck naked in bed with her throat cut)… had a guy try to shoot me with a 12 gauge shotgun (thank God for stupid criminals with cheap guns that misfire)… and saw a woman stab her boyfriend with a 12 inch serrated knife right in front of my very own eyes.
Yeah… I worked on "that" side of town.
I spent 8 to 12 hours a day with the dregs of society and witnessed the worst cruelties a human being can possibly inflict on another human being.
And I wouldn't trade the experience for a million bucks.
I left that gig back in 1997 for the wonderful world of entrepreneurship… and haven't looked back since…
Until recently.
I'm just now beginning to realize how much I learned about life because of that job.
A lot of it ain't pretty… but it armed me with information most people will NEVER discover… and probably don't have the stomach to discover.
Anyhoo… I was on a teleconference with one of my mastermind groups today and it reminded me of a valuable lesson from my cop days.
One of the mastermind members was lamenting the fact that he's having to work twice as hard just to keep his business from going downhill. And try as he might, he's losing ground every month.
An episode from 3rd district, 3rd shift role call immediately popped into my mind.
Picture the stereotypical old school police sergeant with the big "handlebar" mustache. (What is it with cops and firemen and their mustaches?)
Yes, just like in the movies and on TV… the battle-hardened guy who twirls the end of his mustache while reminiscing about the riots in the 60's and all that stuff.
THAT was my sergeant at the time.
As this guy in my mastermind group was going on about having trouble getting clients, the very first thing that popped into my head was my old sergeant twirling the end of his mustache and barking at us in role call…
"Goyaakod you lazy sumbitches!"
For almost the entire first 6 months on the police department, rookies are treated like second-class citizens. You have to watch every P and Q and it's actually best just to keep your mouth shut as much as possible.
I did not always adhere to that particular tradition. (And paid the price for it, too.)
In my blissful ignorance, I raised my hand and asked what "goyaakod" means.
See, we were experiencing a rash of burglaries in a certain neighborhood… and it was getting worse.
The detectives weren't having any luck and none of the guys on the street had any leads either.
Our sergeant knew if we waited for the detective section to solve this case, months from now he'd STILL have a bunch of pissed off burglary victims coming to our district office complaining every day. (Most crimes get solved by the uniformed officer on the street… NOT the detectives.)
So he wouldn't let us pass it off to the detectives. If we wanted the case solved, WE had to handle it.
In response to my forbidden rookie outburst during role call, the sergeant got up from behind his desk and slowly walked to the back of the room where the rookies were banished.
He bent down, got right in my face so close I could smell the coffee and cigarettes on his breath… and shouted…
"Get off your ass and knock on doors!"
THAT, as I soon discovered, is one of the most effective investigation techniques in a cop's bag of tricks.
GOYAAKOD has solved more complex criminal cases than you could possibly imagine.
And funny thing…
It has solved most of the problems I've experienced as an entrepreneur, too.
Look, I hate to be the bearer of bad news… but we're hip-deep in the crappiest economy I've ever seen in my entire life.
Many people are working twice as hard just to make HALF of what they were making just a couple years ago.
What has worked in the past isn't working as well nowadays.
If you've bought into the lies propagated by the IMGOBC… that you can sit on your ass, send out a few e-mails and watch the sales come flooding in… you're going to starve.
The people who are going to make it in this economy are the GOYAAKOD entrepreneurs.
Want an example of a GOYAAKOD entrepreneur? This post is a good place to start.
The GOYAAKOD entrepreneurs are the ones who won't just survive in this economy… they're going to prosper.
While thousands are dropping like flies all around them, the GOYAAKOD entrepreneurs will…
… Continue knocking on door after door…
… Facing rejection after rejection…
… Disappointment after disappointment…
… Picking themselves up and dusting themselves off, time after time…
… And celebrating the biggest victories.
Just like that wide-eyed, culture-shocked 21 year old rookie on the Dayton police department discovered all the way back in 1986…
There's a simple solution for every single business problem you're facing right now…
GOYAAKOD!
All the best,
DD
As ever, hitting that po nail right on the head.
The "Gooroo industry" is responsible for almost as much lost production as the bankers.
Sweat equity is the only way unless you have Getty's last part which he threw in as a joke – Get up early, work hard, find oil.
Nice one Dan. I'm chasing up leads today.
Twitter Trackbacks…
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I love your stories, please keep them coming…entertaining with inspiration sprinkled liberally through the message. I personally did the GOYAAKOD method yesterday and guess what happened? I closed some bidness (not a typo)…thanks for keeping it real DD!!
Awesome post Dan, full of very good stuff! As much as we'd all like to sit back & watch money roll in, the fact is that its just not going to happen these days. Unless we're talking to customers & putting serious efforts into getting our stuff "out there", we'll be hungry for a long time. Thanks Dan, very inspirational!
Great story, Dan. And a great business lesson, too.
I used to raise money for missions trips by knocking on doors in Highlands Ranch, a big suburban neighborhood. Not as dangerous as being a cop, but a heck of a lot of rejection!
It really is all about just plugging along, working what works, getting the job done.
Ryan
Doing that kind of street level marketing gives you a really valuable lesson in human nature and selling. I think every copywriter should do it for a short time.
Thanks, Alan. Who knew my cop experiences would later pay off in business? I never expected that.
Good for you, Bart. Rock on!
Thanks, Mark. Knock 'em dead, as they say in show biz!
"The "Gooroo industry" is responsible for almost as much lost production as the bankers."
That's funny… and probably true.
Dan, thanks again for examining that era of your life for our benefit.
I had my own "12 years of hell" in financial services where there was a different sort of soul-cauterizing immorality and death. Except, the dead were able walk around and sell loans and houses and ETFs!
You just can't substitute those experiences that pressured you. They are supremely valuable even though they feel so miserable.
As usual, Dan, you've told it like it is… and like it should be told. Far too many people people in business try to make their business better by sending out a letter or postcard, then waiting for the phone to ring or a potential customer to walk in the door. Or they try a little SEO, PPC, or the latest "marketing flavor of the month" and wonder why they the only thing they've gotten out of it is less money in their bank account. In my business I see it over and over.
Business is a Contact Sport. People buy from people. Sure, a letter or an optimized website, or even paying for clicks can bring in sales, but the real money in any kind of business is made when people take action, face rejection, make some tweaks to their presentation and methods, and ultimately get a success or two under their belt.
Success breeds success, and competence breeds confidence. Once you taste success you naturally want more. And the more competent you get at creating success, the more confidence you'll have and the easier it will be to achieve even more success. The only way I know how to develop competence is through the old "Trial and Error" and "Trial and Success" models.
My friend, the late Earl Nightingale was famous for saying, "Successful people develop the habits of doing things that unsuccessful people don't do," and "Find out what other people are doing, and do the opposite." Confucious said it this way, "Man sit for long time waiting for roast duck to fly in his mouth."
The key to success in this (or any) economy? Figure out which kind of "duck" you want, determine what will their needs and wants are and what will attract them to you, and get off your rear end and get out the door and go get it.
Thanks for sharing your background and story about your police work. You very adeptly pointed out how much investigative detective work and marketing have in common.
Martin Howey, CEO
TopLine Business Solutions
480.969.1738 http://www.TopLineBusinessSolutions.com
"Except, the dead were able walk around and sell loans and houses and ETFs! "
lol
It's amazing how much dead people can do isn't it?
I have been reading, keeping my mouth shut!!!!!!!!! You always have some GREAt Stuff!!!
You just delivered the meat and potatoes, with a lap full of gravy. Go Dan Go!!!!
Thanks, Crazy Dave!
"You just delivered the meat and potatoes, with a lap full of gravy."
lol! I love that. I'm going to rip that off for a future blog post if you don't mind.
Thanks, Martin. Very good point.
Ya know… I would pay a large amount of money to sit and listen at the feet of an "old school" entrepreneur/marketer like yourself.
Not so for the young Internet Marketing guys who have no foundation based on the timeless principles of human nature, persuasion and marketing… and who have only started a business during a bull economy. Those guys are dropping like flies right now.
Great post Dan. Thanks. A good slap like this around the lug hole does everyone good.
I will be forwarding this link to a dear friend of mine whose business is in the crapper with nowhere to go with it. His market share has been wolfed down by a lot of creepy and sneakily dishonest competitors.
Some creative Babe Ruth( oops, sorry Dan the Man) ideas from this blog and he might just get things breathing again.
Sometimes to feel the wind at our backs and sun in the face we must stand in front of a fan and stare out the window at the sun, but that is how to get used to recognizing success when the smell starts wafting gently on the wind.
Thomas
"A good slap like this around the lug hole…" I like that.
I hope your friend finds some useful stuff on the blog.
My first 4 copywriting gigs came from this…
GOYAAKOD, great acronym.
I don't care how many names you throw around in your posts…you're not that good at what you do.
Besides if you didn't throw in the names nobody would care about you.
I'm a first time visitor to your site and read a few of your past postings…you can knock the ads in Muscular Development but I'll outsell you anytime.
Funny how you have to approve the comments before you post them…I'm displaying mine to you on my post.
Hi George,
Care to share any of the stuff you've created with the rest of the copywriters and marketers here?
It sure seems like George woke up on the wrong side of the bed, doesn't it?
George? George? Geooorge!!!!!!!
See now Dan, you scared him off with your challenge. The balls, oh the balls! Missing or otherwise.
i bet georges real name is….." RICHARD!"
I love it man!
Goyaakod! Not going to forget that anytime soon
Dan,
Just saw this post again (so this is a second time reading it). And I guess I've taken this post (and your last teleseminar) to heart and have put my butt in gear and have gone to work.
Thanks for a great reminder, man.
- John
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