A founder spent years cycling through marketing agencies before hiring a skilled marketer who knew online funnels, direct mail, and lumpy mail campaigns. That single hire accelerated growth so much he realized hiring great talent years earlier would have transformed the entire business. The lesson: trust capable people and delegate, or you'll leave millions on the table.
There was a piece to my business that I refused to let go of because I thought nobody else could do it as well as me, and that was my marketing. I'd been to marketing agency after marketing agency, and I got so frustrated because so many of them— I always say the only guarantee you get from a marketing agency is your invoice at the end of every month. But eventually I hired a rockstar marketer, and that marketer knew so much more about marketing than I did. They knew about online funnels, they knew about tripwires, different pieces that would actually help build my business. They actually knew about direct mail campaigns, lumpy mail campaigns, so many different pieces that I thought I was the only expert that knew this stuff. Guess what? They knew so much more than me. And I realized if I'd done this 5 years sooner, I would have been way further ahead. In fact, I would have had a thriving company because I got the right person on board. I realized the money you put in is the result you're going to get out. And I eventually hired this rockstar marketer. They became part of my team. And all of a sudden I started— I got asked recently on stage, what was one word you wish you had learned sooner? And I said, you know what, the word I wish I'd learned sooner, or the thing I wish I'd learned sooner, was the word trust. Because once you trust people, you'll be amazed what happens in your business. Trust is one of the most important pieces. And when you trust others, all of a sudden, guess what? Your business grows, it scales, and it skyrockets. And eventually you exit for a really good dollar amount because you trusted people.
