Sales Funnel Radio SFR 269: Dana Derricks Shares The Biggest 'Dream 100' Mistakes
I have a very special guest on today, a dear friend of mine, someone I look up to and learn from constantly…
I’m very pumped about what he’s gonna share ‘cause it can really shift the dial on your business…
In fact, Russell called what he teaches…
The foundation of our entire company.
#ClickFunnels
You’ll know him as The Category King of The Dream 100.
He’s also a…
- Goat Farmer
- New Father
Welcome to the show, Mr. Dana Derricks. How are you doing, man?
Dana: What's up, man? Hey, thanks so much for having me back, I can't believe it.
Steve: Yeah, I'm excited, it's NOT too often I bring someone on twice to Sales Funnel Radio, (kinda as a policy almost)... I'm excited you're here.
Dana: Awesome, man, let's do it. [chuckle]
Steve: Well, hey, the show has grown like crazy since you've been on, I think you were on like literally 200 episodes ago...
HOW DID YOU BECOME THE DREAM 100 GUY?
Dana: Oh, man!
Okay, so first of all, for everyone listening for context, (in case you haven't listened to the other 200 episodes)...
Stephen makes that seem like it’s NOT a big deal… but 200 episodes for Stephen, that's like two weeks, so I was on like 200 episodes ago…
For everyone else, that's like 10 years' worth of content, so yeah!
I'm super excited, I can't believe you're 200 plus episodes in man, that's bravo...
Steve: Crazy.
Dana: Yeah.
Steve: Thanks. [chuckle]
Dana: Okay, sorry, I didn't wanna gloss over that.
Steve: No, I appreciate that, thanks.
Dana: Alright, so how I kinda became the Category King of the Dream 100 is - man, it's like ironic, right?
So I first learned about the strategy or discovered it from Chet Holmes and his Ultimate Sales Machine, he had a chapter on it.
That was NOT enough…
I'm like, "Oh my God, there needs to be a book on this thing" and I looked…
I thought there'd be 10 books on it, and there weren't, so that was like, "Okay, we should probably change that."
It wasn't long after I created my first Dream 100 List, like my actual intentional thing, right?
'Cause a lot of people, I’d been doing it without knowing and so...
Steve: Sure.
Dana: I finally knew, and I was like, "Alright, I'm gonna do it for real."
I put Russell Brunson's name as number one
...and fast forward, built a relationship with him, through the whole Dream 100 thing, and it was him, he was the reason that I became the Category King because of an interview I was doing with him.
I asked him a question, I said, "Russell, what is the ONE MISTAKE you made in your business that you wish you could go back and fix?"
And his answer shocked me. I was NOT expecting it.
He said, "I wish I wouldn't have run around for so many years trying to be everything for everyone. I wish I’d planted my flag in the ground as the funnel guy like years ago."
...and he didn't even finish his sentence, and I knew, “that means I need to go plant my flag.”
By the end of the day, I was, in my head, Mr. Dream 100. I was like the Category King already!
Then I went all in and did all the stuff that you need to do to actually be that.
Steve: Which you were already an expert in...
I mean for everyone who doesn't know, I was sitting in the room, and suddenly, Russell's talking about this guy ‘Dana Derricks’ and I was like, "Huh! That's crazy."
He's like, "Yeah, look, he sent this to me, did this to me, come on over here," and then suddenly, I saw in Russell's calendar behind his office, "Rewrite ClickFunnels' homepage copy with Dana Derricks."
I was like, "What!"
Dana comes flying in..., and it's where I learned how to do the whole piece of paper on the floor thing... that's how I brainstorm!
I mean behind this screen right now, that's precisely what I'm doing…
...because I watched you do that.
I mean you were already such a master at it by that time.
Dana: That was one of the best weeks in my career coming out there, that was so much fun, and you're a huge part of that.
For you guys that are listening or watching, I don't know if somehow we can, (in the notes or something), get that picture of you in that chicken suit. [chuckle]
Steve: Okay, I'll find it.
Dana: So yeah, I won't spoil it but maybe we could actually...
Man, we're gonna see each other in a month or so, maybe we could get that thing dusted off, pull it out of the closet.
Steve: It's right over there. [chuckle]
Dana: Okay. Yup, yup, yup.
Alright, keep listening everybody 'cause at the end of this episode…
We're gonna reveal how and where you can see the one and only Stephen Larsen wearing a full-grown chicken suit.
Steve: I think it's a great idea. [chuckle]
Dana: Yeah, awesome. Oh, yeah.
Steve: So you go in, and you realize, "Oh my gosh, I have this talent."
Russell says, "I didn't focus enough in my early career," and you planted the flag, "This is what I'm gonna be," (and it's cool because there isn't really anyone doing that yet at all)…
So what did you do from there to kind of become The Category King in everyone else's eyes?
Dana: Yeah, so I think it starts with…
You do have to have a level of confidence and certainty to deal with the impostor syndrome and shelve that as much as possible... but I think too many people miss that you have to put in your 10,000 hours before you can be Category King.
Steve: Yeah.
Dana: And so, for me, I had been doing The Dream 100 my whole life.
I talk about this in my book…
So as a 13-year-old kid, I Dream 100’d it to get high-speed internet in my neighborhood 'cause we lived in the country…
I called the phone company every week for months because we're on this dialup, “Man, how am I supposed to run an internet company off dialup?” Like, that ain't gonna work.
So I literally created a Dream 100 list of all my neighbors, that I thought would say, “Yes” if I went and asked them if they wanted high-speed internet.
...and there were 12 of them.
So I rode my bike to each one - I got 11 out of 12, closed them, hardcore, right?
Assassin!
Steve: You were a 13-year-old.
Dana: That's right, I mean come on, and cold knocking.
I would have closed 12 of 12... but the 12th, I had a conscience 'cause he was an old farmer, and he asked what high-speed internet was... [chuckle]
I was like, “Man, I'll leave him off.”
And anyway, I've been doing that whole life.
I did the same in high school to get myself a football scholarship to college.
I did all these examples leading up to it without knowing what I was doing.
And then in business, when I realized what it was and that there was a word for it and it was an actual thing, I created a system around it …
… which lead to:
- Books
- Podcast
- Challenge
- Launch program
- Mastermind
… and all the other stuff around it.
You encapsulate the 10,000 hours you put into it, you build all the tools and all the resources for someone to come into your world and to have success with it…
... and I think that's the formula for being Category King.
Steve: I love that. 10,000 hours is certainly a must.
And just... I know we've been throwing around some vernacular here assuming everyone knows what it is…
WHAT IS DREAM 100?
Dana: Yeah.
Steve: I'm gonna ask that first.
Dana: That's okay. I take it for granted a lot, too.
The Dream 100 is putting the right people in place to collapse the time frames on your goals.
For example:
If someone's goal is to get access to a guy like Russell Brunson - it's doing the right things and putting the right people in place to get access to him the right way.
Sort of like I did, i.e., tangible ways I did that...
You did the same.
You did every bit if not better than me, probably really a lot better than me but...
First of all, it starts with buying all their stuff or consuming as much of it as you can.
Steve: Yeah.
Dana: That's kind of the golden rule.
...and then it's serving them and impacting their community as much as possible for FREE, if possible…
... and then kinda just doubling down and creating a value exchange from there.
Steve: It's interesting you said that... I'm just taking notes here...
So you mentioned being their best student - that's fascinating.
Yeah, 'cause it's interesting 'cause people will Dream 100 me, (and I'm sure they Dream 100 you, you're the Dream 100 guy), but people will do it to me, and I'm like, "I've never heard of you!"
...and then there are others who will come in, and I'm like, "I know this person, they're engaging with me, they're... " - that's impactful right there.
What do you think the biggest mistakes people make with the Dream 100?
Dana: Yeah.
By far, the biggest mistake we see (and I'm on the receiving end of all the time, and I know you're on the receiving end of all the time) is people, they'll either read my book…
…. or they'll somehow get some secondhand information on Dream 100 and think they're an expert, and then…
They do what I call spam 100-ing.
[chuckle]
They create a list of 100 people and then they'll go and spam 'em…
I've heard you talk about this before, we get the same thing…
They'll send you one package in the mail and then expect you to just promote them for the rest of their life or something…
...and then even worse, they put almost a condition on it or an expectation that "me doing this will get me something."
Steve: Yeah.
Dana:
The spirit of the Dream 100 is the opposite. It's unconditional giving for the greater good.
... if that makes sense?
Steve: So they go in, and they just start sending gifts or something and then they...
I had a few people who just straight up sent cash, and they said:
"We know that your daily rate is this amount, we need 15 minutes of your time; therefore, it's this amount. We look forward to your phone call."
It's like, I get it, and okay, clever to think of it that way, but it feels invasive.
Dana: It does!
WHAT IS THE DREAM 100 STRATEGY?
My favorite analogies for Dream 100ing are dating and marriage.
The equivalent of what they tried to do, and whenever someone sends us anything with an expectation or a condition that we're gonna do something in return…
That's no different than somebody taking a gal out on a date and the expectation that he has, or the condition that he's kind of set is that they're gonna go and do what he wants to do later that night.
It kinda cheapens the whole thing, and the gal can feel that!
"Oh, the real reason that you're taking me to dinner and buying me drinks right now isn't that you genuinely want to get to know me and like me. You just wanna do that later."
And we can feel that, the same way, that in that situation - it just cheapens the whole thing.
Steve: It's true, and then you're like, "Oh man, it starts to feel... "
I just got a Dream 100 package from this kid, and he took a milk carton, and he put his picture on the missing person's thing.
And it actually was super awesome!
It made me laugh and connect with him on everything he put on side of it as well too... like, "This is awesome!”
Versus there's a stack over there, I just haven't even gone through.
Anyway, Spam 100!
What's another HUGE mistake people make with this?
Dana: Yeah…
Saying the wrong things.
Spam 100ing is the start of it, but then it's trusting that you think you know what motivates someone and there's even a couple of words that come natural to us that we think we should use but are awful…
Like, the worst mistake you can make!
Going back to the dating thing…
When you reach out to Dream 100 and have communication with them, it's sort of going on a date with your childhood crush, *supermodel person*
You got one chance, and if you say the wrong thing, “Goodbye,” you're gone. Right?
Steve: Yeah.
Dana: That would be the BIGGEST MISTAKE #2 - thinking you're using the right words and saying the right things, that you know what motivates them, but “Uhh Uhh.”
Steve: Is the wrong thing something like you said, thinking that they're motivated by one thing, but they're really not, they're motivated by the other?
Dana: Absolutely!
And also we've talked about this before, and this is actually something that I plan on sharing with your audience soon…
Your messaging needs to be different from your customer to your Dream 100 target.
'Cause they're two totally different… They're motivated by two totally different things.
What we say to our customer versus what we say to our Dream 100 target does NOT work and vice versa.
What we say to our Dream 100 target you should NOT say to our customer, and people try to blend the two, and that's why it doesn't work.
Steve: I remember somebody asked, "Well, how do I create a relationship with them?”
How would you create a relationship with anybody? Do that!
... that's the checklist right there!
Okay, so...
- Spam 100
- They say the wrong things, (especially in terms of, I'm gonna speak to somebody and hopefully, it promotes my product the same way I speak to my customers), and that's bad blood!
So if you guys don't know, Dana is actually gonna come and speak at OfferMind… he's one of the highlights, baby!
I'm super excited for him to come.
And just to give you guys even more context around this whole Dream 100 thing…
If you're like, "I still don't know what Dream 100 is?"
...totally get it, but you gotta go look up Dana after this and grab his book.
The Dream 100 is so powerful.
RUSSELL & THE DREAM 100
I was in a room with Russell, and he goes:
"I don't even start a business unless I can identify the Dream 100. I don't care how good the product is, how much I could sell it for, how much... "
He says, " Until I know that the Dream 100 is there, I'm not even gonna begin the product."
#Amazing
At OfferMind, Dana is gonna teach us more about the Dream 100 and how it relates to your offers.
What else are you gonna talk about at OfferMind, Dana?
Dana: Yeah, so this is so funny…
I wrote this book like I don't know, almost three years ago, and it wasn't until like, I don't know like six months ago…
*This is terrible to admit*
So Russell wrote the foreword, right?
...and that quote at the top, can you read that?
Steve: Yeah,
The foundation of our entire company.
Dana: That's a quote from Russell talking about ClickFunnels.
Steve: Really?
Dana: Yeah, aka the fastest-growing non-VC backed software company in history.
Steve: I didn't know that.
Dana: Six months ago, (and I've had these for years), I looked at it, and I was like, "HOLY CRAP!"
I didn't even know that I glossed over that.
That was a HUGE turning point and a shift for me to go ‘all in’ 10X on this.
So one of the things that actually inspired in my head was…
How and where I can implement the Dream 100 not just for traffic or not just for like the one thing I think it's for.
And what I realized was the Dream 100 is literally EVERYWHERE!
...and once we open up our eyes and we put the Dream 100 lens on, like the ole Dream 100 glasses...
[laughter]
Dana: (Those are the Thug Life glasses)
Steve: I love it.
Dana: … all this stuff kinda comes natural.
So I think the biggest, I know, the BIGGEST thing that I can bring to OfferMind...
(And we were chatting before we got on air about how amazingly complementary what we do is, you and I, Stephen and I)
Steve: Yup.
Dana: And a lot of people that come into my world, (I'll just be fully transparent), love the thought of the Dream 100…
… in theory, they're all in, excited to do it, but they're NOT ready… they're just not ready...
And what Stephen does and what's gonna happen at OfferMind is…
Steve gets you ready to Dream 100
… and to do Dream 100 the right way.
And then all I do is take those of you who
- Have a killer offer
- Know who the heck it's for, and how to get it to 'em
... and then I go and help you to find where those people are and blow things up and just collapse timeframes - so that it happens A LOT quicker.
So without getting into the gory details, I think the biggest thing that I'll bring to OfferMind, (and everybody needs to literally pause this and go to offermind.com and get your ticket now before it's full), would be to know that you don't have to mess around with the difficult tech stuff.
So like …
- Facebook ads
- YouTube ads.
… that's NOT the best way to do this!
Figuring out ahead of time ('cause everybody you know just thinks that that's what you do next)...
NO!
Figure out ahead of time, these distribution channels, what we were talking about earlier, by way of the Dream 100, and then it's all ready.
It's like setting up the slides ahead of time.
All you need to do is just get your thing, and then the slides are there sending your thing to your dream customer, and you just shoot them down the slides.
So, we'll send up your Slides!
That's a weird analogy but...
Steve: [chuckle] I wanna go down a Slide.
Dana: Yeah, exactly. And the more slides, guess what, the MORE money you're gonna make.
So we'll set up the slides, and first of all, we'll know
- Who your Dream 100 is
- How to approach them the right way, i.e., Not the way that most do it.
- What to say
- How to build those relationships
- How to monetize and cash in on those relationships
- How to leverage your amazing, irresistible offer that Stephen is gonna help you create to the fullest, and Dream 100 the crap out of it!
Steve: Super awesome.
The purpose of OfferMind is to help you design and launch a lucrative offer.
*That's it*
But I can't even think of how to actually do that without doing what Dana also does, right?
So that's why this is such a fun natural fix and very excited for you to come, man. This is gonna be a lot of fun.
Thanks for taking the time to come in on both the show.. but also #Boise! Boiseano 😉
Dana: Oh, I'm super excited to come back to Boise, man. There are two people I'd go to Boise to see; you're one of them.
Steve: That's awesome, man. I appreciate it. And the other will also be speaking, so that's good too!
Dana: Guys, I'm telling you right now, having had Russell on my stage before, (which mind you, he didn't belong on), he was so above and beyond what I gave him….
He’s such an awesome human being for coming out there.
It's kinda like Michael Jordan playing on your ‘three on three’ weekend bar league basketball team, you know.
That's what it was like, so guess what, We Won!
Steve: Guess what, we won.
[laughter]
Dana: If there's no other reason than to come other than…
- Get your offer done... okay, cool!
- Get your Dream 100 rolling… Cool!
...but just being that close to Russell like that, I am sure everyone saw the documentary???
I don't think the Dude's gonna speak anymore.
I am not counting on it, so this could be one of the last times you get to see him speak at all.
Steve: He actually told me that he's like, "I am kind of done."
And I was like, "Well, sweet, man, thanks."
And guess how I got him, everybody???
I wrote a Dream 100 campaign
I did like four or five episodes on it, and that's why he came.
It wasn't 'cause I asked him, or he and I have a relationship…
I used what Dana teaches, and that's why Russell's coming.
It's crazy.
Dana: So y'all might not get Russell, 'cause he might have retired, but think of who you can get at your event?!?!
Stephen and I... Even me, I am way worse…
But, Dude…
I have no business working with Russell; I’m a goat farmer from Wisconsin.
You know what I mean? [chuckle]
But look at what we're pulling off!
Just for context, everybody…
*THIS* is a part of the Dream 100!
Look at how amazingly stacked Stephen's line up is! Just look, go to offermind.com and look.
How many other websites on the internet right now have Russell Brunson as a keynote speaker for their event? I don't know.
Steve: Tony Robbins did last week.
Dana: Okay. There you go.
Steve: That's all I can think of.
Dana: Tony Robbins did. I think Grant Cardone did, a few months ago...
Those are pretty BIG names for us to be in, right?
And why? Because of The Dream 100.
So I'll tell you this…
Just for a stat for everybody, when I landed Russell to speak at my event, I don't even know if you know that, you probably do, you were there.
But I remember his assistant Melanie told me that they got, (at the time) 15 solicitations for him to speak at events per week...
... that's like paid, right! Not just free.
Steve: 15 a week?
Dana: Yeah. It was more than that.
Steve: Oh!
Dana: Yeah. But 15 a week and they turned them all down.
Steve: I didn't know that.
Dana: Yeah. And it makes sense…
Minute for minute, he's arguably the highest- paid speaker in the world
But Stephen and I got him to come to our events because of The Dream 100.
[chuckle]
Dana: Not 'cause we were one of the 15 people that spam 100’d.
We did all the things that we're gonna show you at OfferMind
...and it's gonna be fun, man. I am excited.
Steve: It's gonna be awesome. Dude, I am really pumped that you're coming and I am so psyched about it.
Guys, right now, as of the time of us making this and doing this together with you guys, VIP, I believe, is completely sold out.
The room we are actually starting to look at adjusting certain things for fitting more people, so go get your ticket at offermind.com.
It's coming up, this is not...
I am a Time Nazi.
I hate wasting my time, and I hate people wasting my time.
I am pretty finicky about it.
I promise if you show up, I am not here to waste your time, we're gonna give you actionable things.
It's a networking event and that you'll meet people that will really change your life, but that's not why it's there.
OfferMind is a curriculum.
And I want you to come and learn these talents...
This is just a skill set. Right?
I got kicked out of college, man!
You and I, we're not like, "Look at our IQs." That's NOT it at all. [laughter]
We just know some formulas and patterns and we just keep running them.
[chuckle]
Dana: Don't lie to 'em, we met at a Mensa convention.
Steve: Oh, man!
Well guys, thanks so much! And thank you for being on here, man - really appreciate it.
Dana: Of course. Thanks again. See you at OfferMind.
Steve: Offermind.com !!!
BOOM!
If you're just starting out you're probably studying a lot. That's good. You're probably geeking out on all the strategies, right? That's also good.
But the hardest part is figuring out what the market wants to buy and how you should sell it to them, right?
That's what I struggled with for a while until I learned the formula.
So I created a special Mastermind called an OfferMind to get you on track with the right offer, and more importantly, the right sales script to get it off the ground and sell it.
Wanna come?
There are small groups on purpose, so I can answer your direct questions in person for two straight days.
You can hold your spot by going to OfferMind.com.
Again, that's OfferMind.com.
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