The 12 Core Tasks of Your Operations Team and Systems

Business Coach | Ask Clay & Z Anything

Audio Transcription

Join business coach extraordinaire, Clay Clark, as he is joined by Dr.Z, the optometrist and entrepreneur, and Joe Davidson, the owner of Oklahoma Joe’s drops in to discuss “The 12 Core Tasks of Your Operations Team and Systems.” The tips that they will discuss are guaranteed to set a positive foundation that your business can use as a platform to grow.

Listen To The Awesome Tips From The Business Coach : Podcast Transcript

Automated voice: And now, broadcasting from the center of the universe and the thrive15.com world headquarters presenting the world’s only business school without the BS, with optometrist and entrepreneur Doctor Robert Zoellner and the former small business administration entrepreneur of the year in your ear, Clay Clark. It’s the Thrive Time Show on Talk Radio 1170! Three, two, one, boom!

Clay Clark: Hello, Tulsa, and welcome back to your favorite business show. In fact, this is Tulsa’s the only local business radio show. My name is Clay Clark, I’m the former SBA entrepreneur of the year. I am joined here, as always, with the co-host, with the mohost. The man with a plan, a guy who has put more glasses on the faces of Oklahomans than any other man I know. He’s really the Tulsa’s number one optometrist and now he’s selling more cars than anyone I know.

Now, he’s helping more people sleep than anyone I know, now he’s winning more victories in competitive thoroughbred races than anyone I know. He’s now flying to Wrigley Field to visit the Cubs more than anyone I know. He is Doctor Zoellner. Sir, how are you?

Dr. Robert Zoellner: Great. Mohost, is that hyphenated, because I heard mo-host? Is that the–

Clay: In the rap game, what you do is you can change-

Robert: Oh, you’re throwing back to your DJ days.

Clay: -you can change the emphasis on any syllable to make it rhyme. That’s how you do it.

Robert: Well, apparently yes, of course. And now it all makes sense.

Clay: We’re talking today about something, it’s called the 12 core tasks of your operations team in the systems. The 12 core tasks of your operations team in systems. Some people go, “Why do I need to listen to this? Why do I – I mean, come on, I want to be motivational, I want to be excited, I want to learn how to grow a business, I want to learn how to start one. Why do I need to learn about these things?” Let me tell you what, if you’re somebody who’s out there and you’ve developed a thing – we’ll call it a thing or a widget or some stuff, you’re a service – if you have found a thing that you can sell for more money than it cost you to produce it, Z, why is that so exciting? Why is it so exciting once you can sell some–

Robert: Is that ethical to make a profit? Is that ethical?

Clay: I don’t know if it’s ethical.

Robert: Is it– can we– is that ethical?

Clay: It’s kind of dirty.

Robert: You’re taking more money than it cost you to make? Is that–

Clay: Why is it exciting though? If someone’s listening right now, they can–

Robert: Because that’s how you make a business. You figure out how to make or do a widget, a service, or a little something, call that a widget, and you can sell it for more than you can make it for, that means you’re out there. Guess what? People want what you’re making, that’s exciting, and you can do that once. This show’s going to teach you how to scale that, how not to let that implode on you, okay. As we know, eight out of ten businesses do what?

Clay: Fail, according to Forbes.

Robert: Fail. Yes, we don’t want that. We’re going to change that rate. I’ll tell you what, because when they do a study on businesses that listen to the Thrive Time Show, our goal is to make it less than 80%.

Clay: Less than 80 per-

Robert: We want to make it 0%.

Clay: Here’s the thing — I want to make sure you’re getting this. I couldn’t be more excited for anything or anyone in terms of the world of business than right now. If you can actually make a thing or a service and you can sell it, that’s huge. And Z, why is it so – I mean, I don’t know, I won’t speak for you but for me, it’s so irritating when I hear somebody pitch me a business idea or a concept that they haven’t ever sold before, and it isn’t selling, and it’s not going to sell, and I know – because-

Robert: Wears me out.

Clay: -why does somebody — why is it such a profound moment when someone learns that they can actually sell it? Why is this so powerful? Why is this the precipice of awesome?

Robert: I remember my first day of being an optometrist. I thought, because you practice a lot of optometry on the last year or two of school, when you see a lot of patients, and you’re grinding, you’re doing your thing, and you’re just kind of happy to be there. In that first day when someone actually gives you money to do what you were doing last year you’re like, “Oh my Gosh!”

Clay: “This is really happening.”

Robert: “They actually gave me money. Wow!”

Clay: I’m going to tell you a depressing story before we get into this – this is so depressing.

Robert: Oh, that’s good. Just kick off a throwback Thursday with them, yes.

Clay: Yes, we’ll take them down to the bottom. It’s like a submarine, we’ll go back up.

Robert: We’ve got nowhere to go. We’ve got nowhere to go but up. That’s good. I like that.

Clay: Here’s the deal. See, I bought that yellow page ad. By the way, it’s above my little desk area there, in our thrive15.com world headquarters – my first yellow page ad. I still framed it.

Robert: Oh, nice.

Clay: That thing was about, I don’t even want to make up the number, but it’s about 450 bucks a month.

Robert: Wow.

Clay: I couldn’t afford it.

Robert: Quite a commitment.

Clay: My sales guy, Jeremy says, “You know for 650, I can probably get you a-” and I’m like, “Okay, right.” Now I’m in it.

Robert: The move.

Clay: This was when yellow pages were hot.

Robert: Oh, yes.

Clay: I’m running that ad and people would call and they would say, “So, boo-boo-boo-boo-boop.” And I would call, “Thank you for calling DJ connection,” and answer that phone. “Thank your calling DJ connection.” And they would go, “How much do you charge?” And I would say – by the way, if you’re listening to this, every customer asks that question first.

Robert: Yes.

Clay: I say-

Robert: That’s a lead-off.

Clay: That’s the lead-off, and I go, “Oh, our packages start at $600,” and then, “All right, thanks a lot. Bye.” And I’m thinking, “Well, I know this game.”

Robert: Wow, there’s got to be a better way [unintelligible 00:05:02].

Clay: I wasn’t aware of mentorship, wasn’t aware of reading books. Just thought, “I’m just going to go out there and run through the minefield.”

Robert: Why didn’t you listen to the Thrive Time Show?

Clay: It wasn’t around yet.

Robert: Oh, yes!

Clay: I’m running through the minefield of business just trying to sell something. The next call, “Boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo.” “DJ connection, this is Clay” and they go-

Robert: Wait, wait, let me – I’ll be the caller.

Clay: Okay.

Robert: “How much is it to DJ a party?”

Clay: “$1.”

Robert: “Wha-what?”

Clay: “Yes, here’s the deal. I’m going to do your party for a dollar. If you’re happy, you can pay us full price. If you’re not, there’s no contract with it, then you just pay a dollar.”

Robert: Are you serious?

Clay: Yes.

Robert: You’re really serious?

Clay: Yes, and I did probably about five or six events that way, and I’m like, “I booked ,I booked it.” Here’s a no-brainer, it’s just so stupid. I remember my wife and other people going, “How many shows have you booked for a dollar?” And I’m like, “Oh, like, you know, like 20.” Well there are people out there who want to take advantage of a business, but I found out that about, I don’t know, half of the people that booked the dollar deal, maybe more than half, maybe 70% — I guess I’m still salty thinking about it – but most of them said, “You know what, we did like the show tonight. We’ll go ahead and pay you.” But the problem was it was price focused, because in the absence of value, the only consideration is-

Robert: Price.

Clay: -price.

Robert: Yes.

Clay: And so, we’re going to teach you today Thrivers how to make a system, a core system.

Robert: Core system.

Clay: The core tasks of your operations team. It’s going to give you so much value that you’re going to be – people are going to be, they’re going to be willing to pay for the results you’re giving them. They’re going to pay for the services you’re giving them. They’re not going to be focused on just price.

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Clay: We also have fantastic trainings on how to sell stuff as well at thrive15.com, the world’s best business school. You and I have started the world’s best business coaching platform online.

Robert: Don’t you wish we had that when we were struggling, when we were starting off? You’re in your dorm room, you worked that summer job jackhammering cement to save your little bit of money, to buy your couple of speakers – probably, what were they JBLs or something?

Clay: I got the JBL, I had these Impros, there’s 225s.

Robert: Yes, 225s.

Clay: I had that. I had-

Robert: You had your thing, your little turntable-

Clay: I had my fogger, Martin fogger.

Robert: Martin fogger, you bet. Ooh that’s impressive.

Clay: That’s impressive.

Robert: Then you go out there, you’re like, “Okay, now.” You start this business and you’re thinking, “What the – what do I do now?”

Clay: The phone never rang.

Robert: The phone never rang. You sat there staring at it. You’re like, “Okay, this is going to be good. This is going to be good.”

Clay: Which is why I’m so passionate about the sales training seminars that we do here at thrive15.com, it’s awesome, a game-changer. Here we go, we’re getting to the 12 core tasks of your operations team. Here is the core task number one, your system, your core task, you must deliver on the promises made by your marketing and sales team.

Robert: Wait, wait, wait back up, back up. Back up there.

Clay: Okay. You have to deliver on the promises made by your marketing and sales team. Let me read you a notable quotable that I want you to unpack. Here we go. This is from Benjamin Franklin.

Robert: I don’t know, who’s he, who’s he? Who is Benjamin – didn’t he invent the bifocals?

Clay: Yes, and he also organized-

Robert: He invented the [molette? 08:03] too, didn’t he have a [molette? 08:04]? Every picture I’ve seen, he had this -– a serious [molette? 08:07].

Clay: He was rocking the first high quality, high integrity [molette? 08:10], probably the last one.

Robert: Pardon me, that dude was that when he was all business upfront, but he was a lot of partying in the back.

Clay: Absolutely, and he’s an author, he’s an inventor, he organized the first American lending library. He says this, “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation and only one bad one to lose it.” Okay, now you sold the thing. You just sold it, you’re excited. You sold it for a dollar like I did. Maybe you sold it for – I mean, I don’t remember what your first deal, I don’t know, I’ve never asked you your first-

Robert: My first move was a two pair of contact lenses for $99, a clear and a colored pair. Everybody secretly wanted to see what it would be like to have, if you had brown eyes, you wanted blue eyes, if you had blue eyes, you wanted green eyes, you had green eyes, you wanted brown eyes. It was this vicious circle of wanting a different eye color, which is cool because it’s good, it’s fun. It’s like, you know people wear different, women wear different [unintelligible 00:09:06]

Clay: I thought your eyes were always blue, Z. [unintelligible 00:09:10]

Robert: No, no. So that was my first deal, the $99 deal, two pair deal.

Clay: Why is it so critical for people – we want to obsess on this – why is it so important – and for anyone listening right now, why is it so important that they make a system that allows them to consistently deliver on what they’re promising every time?

Robert: This may be one of the single most important things in business, especially starting a business. Because you got to understand Clay, one of the most powerful ways you build your business – listen up, everybody out there.

Clay: Here we go.

Robert: You’re driving down the road, it’s throwback Thursday, don’t wreck when you hear this — but one of the most powerful ways you build your business is – drum roll, we need a drum roll.

Clay: Let me just do this instead [explosion], knowledge bomb.

Robert: Oh, my-

Clay: Knowledge bomb! It’s like-

Robert: A knowledge bomb, knowledge bomb.

Clay: -a very weak substitute for a drum roll.

Robert: Yes, we need to get a drum roll. Shep, we need to get a drum roll. So, is word-of-mouth.

Clay: Word-of-mouth.

Robert: Word-of- mouth. It’s powerful because the person telling you that is not some stranger, it’s somebody you know otherwise you’re talking to you henceforth word-of-mouth. If that some stranger walking down the street going “Gatos use Clay for DJ connection they’re really good” that’s not the word of mouth I’m talking about.

Clay: And check it out, I’m going to go back to this rule here. This is again the core task number one. You deliver on the promises made by your marketing and sales team check it out. Little addendum without your direct involvement.

Robert: Ooh.

Clay: See that’s the part –

Robert: No.

Clay: We just lost everybody.

Robert: We just lost everything. We just lost I’m sorry.

Clay: Because you as an optometrist could personally sit down with people make sure the right contacts were selected.

Robert: Oh, I loved answering the phone because I was on script every single time.

Clay: Did you really like answer the phone for a while?

Robert: Oh, I did I like doing everything. I like checking them out, checking them in.

Clay: Not a secret.

Robert: Greeting them.

Clay: I still like answering the phone. I do, it’s exciting. Talking to a new person, a new potential customer when you believe in your product, it’s exciting.

Robert: It’s like, Forrest Gump says, “It’s like a box of chocolate you never know what you’re going to get.”

Clay: Absolutely, absolutely and you get you get excited. The problem is that you stay loyal to the cycle of I run my ad, I personally answer the phone, I personally put the contacts in their eyes –

Robert: I love it.

Clay: – and I’m going to keep doing it. Then you say this, “I’m going to multiply my money. I want to make more money.” This is a tip for irritating everyone you know and having no free time. keep doing that. Keep doing everything. Keep doing everything because no one can do it as good as you. Keep saying that to yourself, no one can do what I do as good as me.

Robert: Stop it. I don’t remember when I teach you how to coach up your team to do it.

Clay: You can build these systems.

Robert: You can build the system but you know you know what’s bad?

Clay: What’s bad?

Robert: You know what’s bad we’ve all been there.

Clay: Oh, no.

Robert: Everybody was listening has been there. I think what’s bad is when you reach that box of chocolates and you’re, ” hmm” and you’re holding up to your mouth and your body and set like orange new get stuff, that’s bad.

Clay: That’s bad. Stay tuned. Thrive time.

Ad: This show is brought to you by Adobe Creative Cloud. If you’re photographer, graphic designer, video editor, podcaster, business owner or just creative genius this is for you. All of your creative tools all in one place.

Creative Cloud includes the entire collection of creative apps for desktop from favorites like Adobe photoshop and illustrator, to new tools like Adobe experience design. Check this out, you can create podcasts seamlessly in high quality with Adobe audition. Did you miss the exposure or looking to create a stunning and beautiful photo, you got to download Lightroom, okay. The latest released of Adobe Creative Cloud is here with incredible new features in Adobe photoshop illustrator and all of your favorite apps plus millions of Adobe stock assets and new premium images are built right in. So, you can turn your brightest ideas into your best work fast. Make sure that you check out [email protected]. Once again [email protected].

Automated voice: Live local now you’re listening to the Thrive Time Show on Talk Radio 11 70.

Clay: All right, Thrive nation welcome back. You’re listening to the Thrive Time Show during your drive time home. This is your business school without the BS and yes, we are joined here- he is back its the co host with the mohost, Doctor Robert Zoellner, sir how are you?

Robert: I am fantastic it’s throw back Thursday.

Clay: Throwback.

Robert: I don’t know you started that.

Clay: I don’t know who did.

Robert: Get there’s somebody out there right now going and see how this throwback stuff going on.

Clay: After you started it. After you started that.

Robert: That was me. He’s got nothing for it but it’s like, “You know that hey –

Clay: Tone Loc, started that.

Robert: Tone Loc.

Clay: Tone Loc the old school rapper I think. It has to be Tone Loc or Vanilla Ice someone who has to have a throwback.

Robert: Why is that all great things are always done by a musician? I’m learning that with you, Clay. I think that DJ, I think you may have DJed one too many parties. I’m just saying, may have.

Clay: Can’t get off that DJ train.

Robert: I mean everything all your filters through like a turntable.

Clay: Here’s the thing. We do this, when we were talking today about the 12 core tasks of your operations team and systems and tying into the DJ career, I’m not kidding, this was the addictive cycle I was stuck in and I’m not kidding you know about me. I’m just an old CD –

Robert: Oh, baam. You’re on it.

Clay: – I’m in the cycle. Here’s a deal, I DJ a show, people, tell me how good this would feel by the way. You DJ the show, I would stay up all night, I would choose all my songs to get them not appetizing but I put an order based on the beats per minute.

Robert: Oh, yes.

Clay: Get them all right there, a hundreds of songs.

Robert: Beat matching, is that what they call it, beat matching.

Clay: Beat matching. What happens is you have four hours of music. It’s 200 and 40 minutes of music and you go on. That’s about three minutes per song at 80 songs. They’re all in order.

Robert: Just math.

Clay: And I play it. Billie Jean, interesting, Billie Jean fits in with Rappers Delight perfectly.

Robert: With the other beats matching.

Clay: Billie, they fit right there. You play and you DJ and then you get the mic–

Robert: Oh, that gets the soccer mom’s crazy, doesn’t it?

Clay: You make those announcements and you just at the end of the show, my first show, people stood up and went [clapping].

Robert: Can’t stand it.

Robert: You had to feel like a rockstar.

Clay: Yes was like a hundred and fifty people at the Holiday Inn going [claps].

Robert: And you started signing forehead. You just started signing–

Clay: The thing is, I’ve never had any people standing ovation. I’m going, “Oh, I feel good.” So a guy comes up “Can I get your card?” “Absolutely” “Hey I got a big party coming up here at the– it’s always like some obscure lodge in Sapulpa. It’s the yadi yada lodge. It’s like the the VFW or something. I’m like, “Sure I’ll do that, boom. DJ that show, rock it.

Robert: You just said, you just touched on something. You don’t even realize what you touched. You don’t even realize it. Anybody listening out there, you’re driving home and you’re thinking you know “Hey I’m thinking I’m starting a business and want to grow my business, I just started it.” I want to give everybody a little word of wisdom –

Clay: Oh, boy.

Robert: – a little word, little nugget. A little nugget of wisdom right here. That is you know one of the primary reasons why DJ connection turned into one the most successful DJ companies in the world — you know why?

Clay: Why is that?

Robert: Because you loved it.

Clay: I loved it.

Robert: You loved it. Listen out there there’s- I don’t know if there’s a million but there’s definitely a lot of different businesses that you can start. I know there’s something in you that’s your passion that your love, do what you love. Learn how to make money on a small scale doing that and guess what we’re going to help you scale it up, hire people, get everything you need in place, market it, sale it, close it, deliver on it. You listen to the show and we’re going to coach you up, mentor you up and I promise you if you start off –

Clay: Okay.

Robert: – if you start off with something you love –

Clay: Love.

Robert: – then it won’t hit those little low points –

Clay: Low points.

Robert: You know you get the first –

Clay: Never hit them. They’re always just nobody’s perfect all the time never –

Robert: You get the first, “I’m going to make this, I’m going to make my rent today.” you get the first complaint “Oh, that catch [unintelligible 00:16:49]

Clay: First lawsuit.

Robert: If you’re not loving what you’re doing I mean you’re jumping, you’re jumping.

Clay: Here’s the deal. Help me if I’m that thriver listening and I mean that addictive cycle where I’m advertising, I’m delivering and people are saying “Can you personally do that? Can you personally make the food? Can you personally DJ?” How do they begin to do this the second step which is to create a linear workflow that clearly documents the steps your teammates need to take to turn a customer’s order into the results? How do they do it? Z, how they begin to pull themselves out of the DJ booth? How did you do it? How do you put yourself out of the optometry office?

Robert: I was a massive first.

Clay: Okay.

Robert: I had no mentoring, I had no- you you write it down. I told her what to do. Why do I got to write it down? I got to write it and and tell her?

Clay: Tell her put that down on –

Robert: I told her what to do. It’s self-evident, it’s obvious. It’s obvious.

Clay: Common sense.

Robert: I’ve been doing it for so long. It’s the second nature to me. Imagine my horror when when I started off, I got me and one employee.

Clay: That’s two people.

Robert: Two- that’s yes, dos it’s for –

Clay: All right, let’s say-

Robert:- our Hispanic listeners let’s put dos.

Dj Clay: Got [unintelligible 00:17:55].

Dr. Robert: Yes, I’m sorry. I’ll go slower. It’s Math I know Math kind of gets you–

Clay: Yes.

Dr. Robert: But you should be really good at Algebra, you took it, what?

Clay: Three times.

Dr. Robert: Three times that’s– you should be–

[crosstalk]

Clay: Anyway I’m just– [unintelligible 00:18:11] me humble.

Dr. Robert: Whenever I’d–she was checking in and checking out that’s all she did. I did all the patient care and then I got so busy was like, “I got to have somebody else in here to help move the patient care.” and I said, “Okay, here’s how you do the here’s how you do the contact lens stuff.” and then the first up I hear a scream out of the contact [unintelligible 00:18:29] and I come right now the exam room and the patients like “she poked me in the eye, I don’t now what I’m doing. This is horrible.”

Clay: Poked her in the eye.

Dr. Robert: I’m like, “Sally, what did you do?” It’s just like, “I thought I followed your instructions.” but you told him a couple weeks ago and I think I –“What’s step two?”

Clay: Okay, here’s the move. When I would teach people how to DJ at first, this what I would do, you tell me if I was crazy, okay. I would say, “All right, Young Z, imagine your 20 year old self you’re DJ and now.

Automated voice: You’re listening to the Thrive Time Show on Talk Radio 11 70.

Clay: Djing is as sweet gig. By the way, you work just on the weekend, you get a lot of tips. That’s it.Hey, Z, here’s the deal.

Dr. Robert: And you’re good you get a standing ovation, I mean –

Clay: That’s like rare air right there.

Dr. Robert: Yes.

Clay: Here’s the deal, if the party’s ever taken a dive –

Dr. Robert: Oh, oh.

Clay: You got two options.

Dr. Robert: Okay.

Clay: One you-

Dr. Robert: Run?

Clay: – pump it up. You pump it up and you’ve got the party starters which is like YMCA, Cha Cha, Slide, Cupid Shuffle that’s your default or you slow it down.

Dr. Robert: Ooh.

Clay: I got the slow songs.

Dr. Robert: Oh, yes.

Clay: I got one DJ who I’m not exaggerating, I get the feedback from the bride. This is back in the day before email was a thing. People would email but it was more convenient just to call. This is what she says “Hi, I’m Clay, I just wanted to let you know you completely ruined my wedding. I just wanted to [unintelligible 00:19:44] call me back” Sweetest lady. I told [unintelligible 00:19:48] what happened, she goes, “That DJ played slow song after slow song. I pulled the guy aside, I said, “Dude, how many slow song did you play? I’m not exaggerating, out of like a possible 80 songs,

mouth. It’s powerful because the person telling you that is not some stranger, it’s somebody you know otherwise you’re talking to you henceforth word-of-mouth. If that some stranger walking down the street going “Gatos use Clay for DJ connection they’re really good” that’s not the word of mouth I’m talking about.

Clay: And check it out, I’m going to go back to this rule here. This is again the core task number one. You deliver on the promises made by your marketing and sales team check it out. Little addendum without your direct involvement.

Robert: Ooh.

Clay: See that’s the part –

Robert: No.

Clay: We just lost everybody.

Robert: We just lost everything. We just lost I’m sorry.

Clay: Because you as an optometrist could personally sit down with people make sure the right contacts were selected.

Robert: Oh, I loved answering the phone because I was on script every single time.

Clay: Did you really like answer the phone for a while?

Robert: Oh, I did I like doing everything. I like checking them out, checking them in.

Clay: Not a secret.

Robert: Greeting them.

Clay: I still like answering the phone. I do, it’s exciting. Talking to a new person, a new potential customer when you believe in your product, it’s exciting.

Robert: It’s like, Forrest Gump says, “It’s like a box of chocolate you never know what you’re going to get.”

Clay: Absolutely, absolutely and you get you get excited. The problem is that you stay loyal to the cycle of I run my ad, I personally answer the phone, I personally put the contacts in their eyes –

Robert: I love it.

Clay: – and I’m going to keep doing it. Then you say this, “I’m going to multiply my money. I want to make more money.” This is a tip for irritating everyone you know and having no free time. keep doing that. Keep doing everything. Keep doing everything because no one can do it as good as you. Keep saying that to yourself, no one can do what I do as good as me.

Robert: Stop it. I don’t remember when I teach you how to coach up your team to do it.

Clay: You can build these systems.

Robert: You can build the system but you know you know what’s bad?

Clay: What’s bad?

Robert: You know what’s bad we’ve all been there.

Clay: Oh, no.

Robert: Everybody was listening has been there. I think what’s bad is when you reach that box of chocolates and you’re, ” hmm” and you’re holding up to your mouth and your body and set like orange new get stuff, that’s bad.

Clay: That’s bad. Stay tuned. Thrive time.

Ad: This show is brought to you by Adobe Creative Cloud. If you’re photographer, graphic designer, video editor, podcaster, business owner or just creative genius this is for you. All of your creative tools all in one place.

Creative Cloud includes the entire collection of creative apps for desktop from favorites like Adobe photoshop and illustrator, to new tools like Adobe experience design. Check this out, you can create podcasts seamlessly in high quality with Adobe audition. Did you miss the exposure or looking to create a stunning and beautiful photo, you got to download Lightroom, okay. The latest released of Adobe Creative Cloud is here with incredible new features in Adobe photoshop illustrator and all of your favorite apps plus millions of Adobe stock assets and new premium images are built right in. So, you can turn your brightest ideas into your best work fast. Make sure that you check out [email protected]. Once again [email protected].

Automated voice: Live local now you’re listening to the Thrive Time Show on Talk Radio 11 70.

Clay: All right, Thrive nation welcome back. You’re listening to the Thrive Time Show during your drive time home. This is your business school without the BS and yes, we are joined here- he is back its the co host with the mohost, Doctor Robert Zoellner, sir how are you?

Robert: I am fantastic it’s throw back Thursday.

Clay: Throwback.

Robert: I don’t know you started that.

Clay: I don’t know who did.

Robert: Get there’s somebody out there right now going and see how this throwback stuff going on.

Clay: After you started it. After you started that.

Robert: That was me. He’s got nothing for it but it’s like, “You know that hey –

Clay: Tone Loc, started that.

Robert: Tone Loc.

Clay: Tone Loc the old school rapper I think. It has to be Tone Loc or Vanilla Ice someone who has to have a throwback.

Robert: Why is that all great things are always done by a musician? I’m learning that with you, Clay. I think that DJ, I think you may have DJed one too many parties. I’m just saying, may have.

Clay: Can’t get off that DJ train.

Robert: I mean everything all your filters through like a turntable.

Clay: Here’s the thing. We do this, when we were talking today about the 12 core tasks of your operations team and systems and tying into the DJ career, I’m not kidding, this was the addictive cycle I was stuck in and I’m not kidding you know about me. I’m just an old CD –

Robert: Oh, baam. You’re on it.

Clay: – I’m in the cycle. Here’s a deal, I DJ a show, people, tell me how good this would feel by the way. You DJ the show, I would stay up all night, I would choose all my songs to get them not appetizing but I put an order based on the beats per minute.

Robert: Oh, yes.

Clay: Get them all right there, a hundreds of songs.

Robert: Beat matching, is that what they call it, beat matching.

Clay: Beat matching [unintelligible 00:14:46] four hours of music. It’s 200 and 40 minutes of music and you go on. That’s about three minutes per song at 80 songs. They’re all in order.

Robert: Just math.

Clay: And I play it. Billie Jean, interesting, Billie Jean fits in with Rappers Delight perfectly.

Robert: With the other beats matching.

Clay: Billie, they fit right there. You play and you DJ and then you get the mic

Robert: Oh, that gets the soccer mom’s crazy[unintelligible 00:15:05]-

Clay: You make those announcements and you just at the end of the show, my first show, people stood up and went [clapping].

Robert: –Can’t stand it.

Robert: You had a feeling like a rockstar.

Clay: Yes was like a hundred and fifty people at the Holiday Inn going [claps].

Robert: And you started signing forehead. You just started signing–

Clay: The thing is, I’ve never had any people standing ovation. I’m going, “Oh, I feel good.” So a guy comes up “Can I get your card?” “Absolutely” “Hey I got a big party coming up here at the– it’s always like some obscure lodge in Sapulpa. It’s the yadi yada lodge. It’s like the the VFW or something. I’m like, “Sure I’ll do that, boom. DJ that show, rock it.

Robert: You just said, you just touched on something. You don’t even realize what you touched. You don’t even realize it. Anybody listening out there, you’re driving home and you’re thinking you know “Hey I’m thinking I’m starting a business and want to grow my business, I just started it.” I want to give everybody a little word of wisdom –

Clay: Oh, boy.

Robert: – a little word, little nugget. A little nugget of wisdom right here. That is you know one of the primary reasons why DJ connection turned into one the most successful DJ companies in the world — you know why?

Clay: Why is that?

Robert: Because you loved it.

Clay: I loved it.

Robert: You loved it. Listen out there there’s- I don’t know if there’s a million but there’s definitely a lot of different businesses that you can start. I know there’s something in you that’s your passion that your love, do what you love. Learn how to make money on a small scale doing that and guess what we’re going to help you scale it up, hire people, get everything you need in place, market it, sale it, close it, deliver on it. You listen to the show and we’re going to coach you up, mentor you up and I promise you if you start off –

Clay: Okay.

Robert: – if you start off with something you love –

Clay: Love.

Robert: – then it won’t hit those little low points –

Clay: Low points.

Robert: You know you get the first –

Clay: Never hit them. They’re always just nobody’s perfect all the time never –

Robert: You get the first, “I’m going to make this, I’m going to make my rent today.” you get the first complaint “Oh, that catch [unintelligible 00:16:49]

Clay: First lawsuit.

Robert: If you’re not loving what you’re doing I mean you’re jumping, you’re jumping.

Clay: Here’s the deal. Help me if I’m that thriver listening and I mean that addictive cycle where I’m advertising, I’m delivering and people are saying “Can you personally do that? Can you personally make the food? Can you personally DJ?” How do they begin to do this the second step which is to create a linear workflow that clearly documents the steps your teammates need to take to turn a customer’s order into the results? How do they do it? Z, how they begin to pull themselves out of the DJ booth? How did you do it? How do you put yourself out of the optometry office?

Robert: I was a massive first.

Clay: Okay.

Robert: I had no mentoring, I had no- you you write it down. I told her what to do. Why do I got to write it down? I got to write it and and tell her?

Clay: Tell her put that down on –

Robert: I told her what to do. It’s self-evident, it’s obvious. It’s obvious.

Clay: Common sense.

Robert: I’ve been doing it for so long. It’s the second nature to me. Imagine my horror when when I started off, I got me and one employee.

Clay: That’s two people.

Robert: Two- that’s yes, dos it’s for –

Clay: All right, let’s say-

Robert:- our Hispanic listeners let’s put dos.

Dj Clay: Got [unintelligible 00:17:55].

Dr. Robert: Yes I’m sorry sorry. I’ll go slower. It’s Math I know Math kind of get you here.

Clay: Yes.

Dr. Robert: But you should be really good now the [unintelligible 00:18:02] you took it, what?

Clay: Three times.

Dr. Robert: Three times that’s- you should be-

[crosstalk]

Clay: Anyway I’m just– [unintelligible 00:18:11] me humble.

Dr. Robert: Whenever I’d–she was checking in and checking out that’s all she did. I did all the patient care and then I got so busy was like, “I got to have somebody else in here to help move the patient care.” and I said, “Okay, here’s how you do the here’s how you do the contact lens stuff.” and then the first up I hear a scream out of the contact [unintelligible 00:18:29] and I come right now the exam room and the patients like “she poked me in the eye, I don’t now what I’m doing. This is horrible.”

Clay: Poked her in the eye.

Dr. Robert: I’m like, “Sally, what did you do?” It’s just like, “I thought I followed your instructions.” but you told him a couple weeks ago and I think I –“What’s step two?”

Clay: Okay, here’s the move. When I would teach people how to DJ at first, this what I would do, you tell me if I was crazy, okay. I would say, “All right, Young Z, imagine your 20 year old self you’re DJ and now.

Automated voice: You’re listening to the Thrive Time Show on Talk Radio 11 70.

Clay: Djing is as sweet gig. By the way, you work just on the weekend, you get a lot of tips. That’s it.Hey, Z, here’s the deal.

Dr. Robert: And you’re good you get a standing ovation, I mean –

Clay: That’s like rare air right there.

Dr. Robert: Yes.

Clay: Here’s the deal, if the party’s ever taken a dive –

Dr. Robert: Oh, oh.

Clay: You got two options.

Dr. Robert: Okay.

Clay: One you-

Dr. Robert: Run?

Clay: – pump it up. You pump it up and you’ve got the party starters which is like YMCA, Cha Cha, Slide, Cupid Shuffle that’s your default or you slow it down.

Dr. Robert: Ooh.

Clay: I got the slow songs.

Dr. Robert: Oh, yes.

Clay: I got one DJ who I’m not exaggerating, I get the feedback from the bride. This is back in the day before email was a thing. People would email but it was more convenient just to call. This is what she says “Hi, I’m Clay, I just wanted to let you know you completely ruined my wedding. I just wanted to [unintelligible 00:19:44] call me back” Sweetest lady. I told [unintelligible 00:19:48] what happened, she goes, “That DJ played slow song after slow song. I pulled the guy aside, I said, “Dude, how many slow song did you play? I’m not exaggerating, out of like a possible 80 songs, He’s like, ” Well, I tried to go 50 50 blend.” Could you imagine what that would be like at a wedding–

Dr. Robert: Oh, it’s horrible.

Clay: –where every other song is like [unintelligible 00:20:06] the next song is, [singing], lady in red and then it goes back into the pump up, slow down, pump up you’d lose your mind.

Dr. Robert: You lose your mind. There’s a radio station in Tulsa years ago, I won’t mention it by name that did that, that it will please everybody this way. If you want to slow song you use to listen because all You got to do is get through one fast song and I got one coming to you. If you wanted fast songs, you like, “Okay, let’s do another slow song–

Clay: To make it worse, the guy played the same song, Z, multiple times. You know he likes, Take My Breath Away [unintelligible 00:20:36].

Dr. Robert: Who doesn’t like that? I mean seriously that’s a-

Clay: At a throwback Thursday, that’s a great memory.

Dr. Robert: – that’s a great song.

Clay: [unintelligible 00:20:41] Maverick. The thing is he’s playing the song multiple times. I’ll never forget that I’m talking to the lady and she goes, “He played, Take My Breath Away which I like but I think three times.” and when you’re upset it’s like 18 times. She’s like, “He played it over and over the whole night.”

Dr. Robert: Did you apologize to her? This would be a good time to apologize to her if you haven’t, by the way.

Clay: I am very, very sorry to the hundreds of people whose weddings I screwed up. The thing is I learned and I documented it. The main thing- I want to encourage you right now is, what you want to do, is you want to make a timeline. In actual, it’s a white board. If you can’t afford the white board or you don’t have access to one get a series of post-it notes and put it on some poster board. This should cost you about $34. I’m predicting the sales of poster boards should go way up at Walgreens tonight.

Dr. Robert: Way up.

Clay: Get the post-it notes, you put on there in order. You put step one, is post-it note number one on the left, post-it note number two, post number three, four or five. You make all the steps and every time that you make a change to the step you write it on the posted note in the post-it note.

Dr. Robert: Wow, wow. That came in a little hot.

Clay: Came in hot.

Dr. Robert: [unintelligible 00:21:46]

Clay: If you don’t know how to make a linear workflow, when you come back, we’re going to be teaching you the specifics of how to do it. I promise we will not be playing Take My Breath Away, more than twice. It’s in our workflow.

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Automated voice: You’re listening to the Thrive Time Show on Talk Radio 1170.

Clay: What is going on green country and Oklahomies, welcome back. This is the show where we try to get you jacked, get you pumped up, get you ready to get out there and start or grow a business. You want to start a business, you want to grow a business, it’s business time all the time on the Thrive Time Show on your drive time home. My name is Clay Clark, I’m a business coach and the former entrepreneur of the year for the great state of Oklahoma where fracking is normal and I’m joined here with Mr.- Dr. Robert zoellner.

Dr. Robert: Mr. Doctor.

Clay: Sir, how are you?

Dr. Robert: I’m fantastic. And it’s a throwback Thursday which we’re trying to figure out who started it. If anybody out there knows you officially started it other than Tone Loc e-mail us at at [email protected].

Clay: If you do that, we will not only give you a complimentary high five but we will make you regionally famous by promoting the heck out of your business.

Dr. Robert: If you’re on Facebook live right now, I am giving you a preemptive high five.

Clay: That’s the sound of my it.

Dr. Robert: That’s a high ten right there, boom.

Clay: Now here’s the deal. This is what the 12 core tasks of your operations team in the systems. One is you- if you own a business, you have a responsibility to deliver on the promises made by our marketing team. We talked about that. Two, you must create a linear workflow. This is going to document all the steps needed to deliver on what you promised in order. Now someone says, “In order, what do you mean?” Here’s the example, this a the linear workflow that we can all relate to, I’m giving it to you right now. The secret source. Let’s all go to subway. Mental picture.

Dr. Robert: Boop, boop.

Clay: I’ll give you step number one. How does subway get us in the door. They run commercials and they talk about the 599 foot long or whatever it is. It used to be $5 that’s 599. With inflation it could be $7 but I think it’s a foot long. You come in there and you walk in and what happens? What’s the first question the homie asks you up there when you walk into a subway? By the way, they have like a brick wallpaper up there. He says, “What kind of bread do you want?” That’s the first question. You’re like, “Aah”

Notice he doesn’t say what kind of sandwich because that’s too long of a conversation, too big of a line. What kind of bread and you like, “I’ll take the Italian or.” “Great. What kind of meat? Great. What kind of vegetable?” He just keeps going. Do you need me to toast that bro? Sandwich artist, “Hey bro, do you need me to add a little salt and pepper and little– next he hands it to a person, what does that person do? They put it in the plastic bag, they bring it up. “Here, totally this much.” Then say, “Do you want chips with that?

Dr. Robert: Do you want the meal deal?

Clay: The meal deal and you go.

Dr. Robert: Oh, yes. That’s the move.

Clay: They would give you stamps too. [unintelligible 00:25:42] a lot of stamps. The thing is, then you– all of a sudden they give you a gift card or a punch card. They go, “Hey, you get three stamps today, seven more and you get a free sandwich.”

Dr. Robert: [unintelligible 00:25:50]

Clay: Get the best of them.

Dr. Robert: I’m going to get back in line [unintelligible 00:25:54] beat the man.

Clay: If I come here the fourth time I’m already making a free subway sandwich. The thing is that’s the workflow. The genius is that any body could execute it. I mean almost anybody. I don’t know if I could do it but I’ve had friends I know who have worked for Subway. Joe, you definitely gave away too much free Subway to all the high school kids but you’re a good guy. The thing was, it is unbelievable you can’t do that. It’s not a move. The thing is you build that system. Now, Mr. subway whatever his name was, where’s he at?

Joe: Billy, I think he was Billy Subway.

Clay: Billy. Is Mr. Subway. Is he out there making the sandwiches.

Joe: Last time I went into a subway, Mr. Subway was not making my sandwich.

Clay: Is he at one of the ads going, “Hey, I’m Mr. Subway–” but maybe sometimes they are. As an owner you have to think about your highest and best years. Think about Papa Johns. He’s on the commercials but is he in there making pizzas every day?

Joe: I don’t think he is.

Clay: Is he running or is he hustling from location to location to mentor the individual team–

Joe: Oh, I know he’s delivering the pizzas I think but that’s part of what he’s doing because I’m sure is a very efficient driver.

Clay: You as an entrepreneur right now, let’s say you own a security company, Z, If I’m listening right now, I own a security company, I install cameras-

Joe: I got it. I got a security company and we checked the camera. And they tried to break in this whole thing is going to blow up. it’s going to get them.

Clay: I’m somebody listening right now, let’s say I own on a security company and I’m saying I cannot possibly train technicians how to install cameras without me personally do it, personally doing it. What advice would you have?

Dr. Robert: Listen to the Thrive Time Show specifically this show because we’re going to teach you that if you don’t– the only way you grow your business is you’re not working in it, you’re working on it. We’re going to teach you– we know you know how to do the thing. You got a passion to do that thing. The thing is what drives you. You’re listening to the show because you want to do the thing and make a living doing your thing.

clay: You love security.

Dr. Robert: We love that. We know that we know you could put those cameras on zzzzzzz and angle them just right and wire them just put the expertise wireless Bluetooth in them, whatever you’ve got to do. We know you know how to do it.

Clay: Any time a human moves the camera automatically turns on an alarm system or sends me a text message.

Dr. Robert: Sends you a text message. If you only eat what you personally kill, you’re missing the boat missing the boat.

Clay: So here’s the deal. If someone says I don’t have time to work on my business I’m very very busy. What would you say?

Dr. Robert: We get some we would “.Hey get your check list get your workflows go. Listen. Break it down step by step. You’re going to have to revamp it. You’re going to redo it. You’re going to miss a step you’re going to say “Oh, yes, I forgot to tell him to knock on the door before they walk in someone’s house.” Whatever. I mean you break it down.

Clay: Check it out. You’ve done this with an auto auction. You’ve done it with an optometry clinic. You’ve done it with a sleep center.

Dr. Robert: Yes sir.

Clay: Was your previous background were you a big auto mechanic, auto guru. Were you a God’s gift to automotive maintenance.

Dr Robert: Hey, well I’ll have that. Yes. Get a set of tools and just go door to door doing work on cars. That was my passion.

Clay: You like to use a muffler is it?

Dr. Robert: I’ll tell you what? Mufflers [unintelligible 00:28:57].

Clay: It’s like a clarinet you put your mouth on them.

Speaker 1: [unintelligible 00:29:05] I don’t even know how to change over my car. Thank you for the oil changing people out there in the world.

Clay: Once you’ve done this. Now the next step. Step number three here if you had to provide office space for your team. I know it seems obvious like, “Oh, I know I do. But you have to think about the right atmosphere. It could be crazy, crazy ridiculously creepy.

Some of the. So somebody listening to this right now, it’s not you. I’m sure you’re in a car right now there’s two people in the car. You sir, you ma’am, you have a non-creepy office. But some of you’re officing in a in an environment that could be less creepy by you being intentional about creating a positive environment with the decor the ambience the mojo. When we come back we’re going to be teaching you specifically how to dress up that office space to make it a place where the human race would actually like to work.

Dr. Robert: That just seems so so cool. Are you really going to do that or are you just kind of teasing me.

Clay: Well I mean we are going to give you the DMV has eight tips for how they keep all of their locations looking equally unmotivating.

Dr. Robert: I love that –

Clay: The DMV

Dr. Robert: I mean I love the DMV-

Clay: [unintelligible 00:30:07].

Dr. Robert: I learned so much from them

Clay: Coming up next.

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Automated voice: You are listening to the ThriveTime Show on Top Radio 1170.

Clay: Hello Tulsa and welcome back to the ThriveTime Show during your drive time home. Many of you on this throwback Thursday, you’re in your car , you’ve been flipping the stations, and you had a very tough work day.

You worked hard, you worked at a job, you’re just grinding. And you have this inner burning desire. I would call it a flicker. There was enough fanning, enough, maybe, lighter fluid. This is the show as lighter fluid by the way. With enough lighter fluid, it could become a flame, and please it could mean in all-round business.

It could just be this inferno. You have this desire to start a business. According to Forbes, [whispering] 57%- it’s our secret. 57% of you men want to start or grow a business. You want to do it. The good news is I am a business coach and the former SBA entrepreneur of the year. What does that mean? That means that when I was 22, I was named by the city of Tulsa as the Tulsa Chamber Entrepreneur of the Year. That’s what I was, I was 22 years old.

I’m not a genius, but I was very good at selling DJ services. I was really good at Deejaying but I found out I was better at selling Deejaying than Deejaying. Overtime, I found out I was better at Deejaying than selling and then I kept moving down the line going, “Okay, I could sell well, now I can Deejay well, now I got to teach someone else to Deejay.”

That’s when I went, “Oh, crap, I can’t do it.” You can’t teach somebody else to DJ, it’s impossible”.

Dr. Robert: It’s impossible

Clay: Here’s the thing is, if you are good at something and you could sell it but you can’t teach other people to do it, I am going to call it something offensive, something crazy, Z.

Dr. Robert: Oh no, no. Don’t call it crazy.

Clay: It’s called a hobby.

Dr. Robert: Oh ouch, ouch, ouch. Listen, I’m doctor Z here and the only reason I’m on the show is because I’m a man who’s got a couple of things going for me. One, I want to taser, so therefore when Clay gets– I’m here to protect you listening. When he gets too far out there, I just hit him with the bam, just hit him with the taser. And number two, I also for whatever reason, I know how to manage Clay.

Clay: Oh, wow.

Dr. Robert: He’s got all this information jammed in his brain and he just wants to– it just wants to bust out of you. Have you’ve ever been bowling?

Clay: Mm [affirmative].

Dr. Robert: Anybody out there been bowling.

Clay: Do you use bumpers? Can we use bumpers?

Dr. Robert: I’m the bumpers and Clay is the Ball. He goes hurling down there and I had to make sure that it didn’t get in the gutters. I just put up those bumpers and then hits or strike, knock those pins away. And that’s what we’re here to do, and we’re here to take your desire and turn it into a fire

Clay: Oh wow.

Dr. Robert: I can’t believe you missed that one.

Clay: And we have the knowledge, we have the knowledge that you are going to require, right?

Dr. Robert: Very nice. And you’re not going to call us a liar.

Clay: That’s right, because we’re going to inspire. Well, moving on.

[laughter]

The thing is that we’re talking today about the 12 core tasks of your operations team in the system. Step number one was deliver on the promises made by your marketing team. Two, is you got to make a linear workflow. By the way, if you want to watch videos and specifically how to do that, maybe you need some visuals go to thrivefifteen.com. You can watch it. If you’re exclusive, it’s $19 a month. World’s best business school

Dr. Robert: If you recommend those videos, it literally shows them. It literally shows them and you might go “Oh yes, I can–” but you know what, if you just follow the template, follow the system that’s been laid out there, you might go “I got to buy white board”, just get the white board “I got to do that, I got to write it. Yes, I got to actually go do the steps.”

Clay: “Can I use my phone bro?”

Dr. Robert: -Yes, “Can I just text it to myself?”

Clay: “Yes, bro”

Dr. Robert: “Can I e-mail it to a fake email address [unintelligible 00:35:15]”

Clay: Digital clutter. Go off on that, just for a second. This huge thing I have. People have always digital ideas, their email, their text message. All these ideas but they don’t map it out and do a work flow. It’s not a linear thing people can actually see. It’s just clutter.

Dr. Robert: It’s just [unintelligible 00:35:39]. I’ll tell you what and I know, I know, I know that all these new technology is wonderful and we all love it. But every now and then, I’m telling you folks, you need to go old school get a pen and paper–

Clay: [whispering] What’s that ? What’s a pen and paper? Do you guys-

Dr. Robert: Maybe a pencil

Clay: Do you guys hate the environment? Cause like it’s all digital, you don’t have to use paper or pencils.

Dr. Robert: [unintelligible 00:35:52] for killing trees bro. You look like, “Bro, that’s like a posted notice.” Serious bro, that’s like you know-

Clay: Just draw it with permanent ink on my arm you can get tattoo at the workflow.

Dr. Robert: I’m going to get this tattoo workflow anytime. Someone to know I’ll just raise my shirt and go ” See I told you, step three was always backwards.”

Clay: Now here’s the deal, we’re talking about this– now, the step number three is you must provide office space for your team. Once you have a workflow, you got to provide some office space.

Dr. Robert: Something’s missing from that.

Clay: What is that?

Dr. Robert: It’s not just office space. I know don’t mean that. We’re going to change that. Get your pen now Clay, let’s change that. You have to provide great or cool– there’s a lot of adjectives you can put in here. Inspiring.

Clay: Oh, yes. Inspiring.

Dr. Robert: Not creepy. In other words, you have to provide a work space that your people are the most productive they can be.

Clay: This is the thing I was just tell you, I back in a day made a very stupid decision. And what I did is I decided that I would save money, and I would office in a location for awhile. That wasn’t that great.

Automated voice: You’re listening to the ThriveTime Show on Talk Radio 1170

SJ 1: When I say office, it was wedding entertainer. It’s like a mobile office.

[laughter]

Clay: So what you did is you could do–

Dr. Robert: The right back seat of the car, right?

Clay: Well, you can do trade shows. There’s a wedding show called the The Tulsa Wedding Show which by the way-

Dr. Robert: That’s the big tuner right in the industry?-

Clay: That’s the right term. It has the Renaissance Hotel, used to be back in the day, over there at the Double Tree at Warren. And I thought I’ll save some money, it’ll all go to the cheap “Start-up Show” that no one goes to, but it’s cheaper. And it actually prove to be far more expensive.

[laughter]

Because the few brides that did come in to this– I won’t mention the name of the place but it’s this gross downtown wedding hall where they had the wedding show. People just were like– you almost have like a stigma for even being there.

Dr. Robert: Oh, my.

Clay: It was almost like– they would walk in, the brides and grooms were like, “Hey, are you guy is a DJ?” and I’m going, “No, we’re just here”. Because it just felt so gross and nasty. And some of you with your offices– I’m just going to rip on a business. I’m going to rip on one business.

Dr. Robert: Just one?

Clay: -Because I don’t want to offend our listeners.

Dr. Robert: You offend everybody?

Clay: The DMV.

Dr. Robert: Oh the DMV , yes.

Clay: What’s going on?

Dr. Robert: What’s going on– what is up?

Clay: What is going on with its universal move? They’ve got pictures of random celebrities, and all the frames are falling over, the glass is broken, and something’s weird.

And it’s like tile, but some of the tiles are missing and I can see like a yellow pile; and the ceiling tiles are all like stained-

Dr. Robert: Just don’t look up

Clay: -In the bathroom it’s kind of-

Dr. Robert: Yes, don’t go in there.

Clay: –And somebody is cutting back and saving money on signage do they hand writes stuff like, “I’ll be back at around noon.” Have you ever seen that? Have you been there?

Dr. Robert: Yes, we’ve all had this–

Clay: It’s the great equalizer

Dr. Robert: It is the great equalizer. That is a perfect example of what not to do, right? That’s the “not joke”, right?

Clay: Now a good place to a great place. There’s a little place that you love. It’s over there off of a 71st kind of an English themed. I want to say 71st in a Yale? Right there and that. What is that? It’s not the fox but the–

Dr. Robert: Oh, the white lion.

Clay: The white lion. Describe the-

Dr. Robert: Oh Hymee, thank you for listening

Clay: Describe the white lion. What is the white lion?

Dr. Robert: Well it’s like you’re walking, it’s like as soon as you walk to the front door, it’s like you’re walking into a European pub/restaurant

Clay: [European accent] Hello Z, welcome to the this is Gray , look at this.

Dr. Robert: [European accent] Hello Puppet, [unintelligible 00:39:22] and some meat pie

Clay: [European accent] Some crumpets

Dr. Robert: It’s like they actually the furniture, they have the settings, they have the ambiance, of walking into — I think the furnitures actually have a pub that’s 400 year’s old.

Clay: The paintings?

Dr. Robert: The paintings-

Clay: The books?

Dr. Robert: Everything. It’s just like you’re- t’s like your teleport. I think it’s actually a teleportion machine.

Clay: I want to go there tonight.

Dr. Robert: It’s like a teleportion machine. And they only open in evenings, it’s so good. They open at four o’clock, and I’ll tell you what, I just a wonderful atmosphere. It’s a little known, a little known [unintelligible 00:39:53].

Clay: It kind of gets me going just talking about I want to go there.

Dr. Robert: I know, it’s fine, but you walk in, you go, “This place is cool.” The ambience of Oklahoma Joe’s.

Dr. Robert: Oh my gosh, Oklahoma Joe’s is great.

Clay: You go in there it’s kind of a restaurant. It’s like you went into a bar, like a rural Oklahoma Bar. You go in there, and they got all these smokers and all the history and all the photos and it just smells like barbecue. I’m going to give you a quick checklist of how to make the right office environment.

Dr. Robert: Good because I’ll tell you what, here at thrive15 we have a really, really cool environment by the way. We are following the things we are telling you by the way. So if you don’t believe just come down to Thrive headquarters. Maybe come to one of our-

Clay: Workshops.

Dr. Robert: – workshops and come hang out and you will look around and you go, “Wow, this place is super cool.”

Clay: Have you seen the box, the rocks that have been added? Have you seen it yet?

Dr. Robert: No I haven’t.

Clay: I have to show it to you.

Dr. Robert: Oh, my gosh.

Clay: You haven’t seen the renovation? You are going to like it.

Dr. Robert: Oh my gosh, really?

Clay: Really. It’s the box that rocks. I have to show it to you.

Dr. Robert: Oh, I can hardly wait. Folks, we might just have to take the camera in there and just see my expression as I see it. That’s going to be fun.

Clay: That’s going to be great. Now here is the deal, seriously, if you are listening right now I’m going to give you that checklist. So here it is, one, you want to make sure it smells good. Two, it has to look visually pleasing. I don’t know what that is, maybe you need a designer, maybe you need a lady in your life, maybe you need your customers to come in but you have to get that visual.

Dr. Robert: And I’m going to give you a little clue there. If you’re going to Home Depot and you go to the paint section and you ask the dude with the an apron.

Clay: “Yo, bro, can I help you bro” “What’s up bro?”

Dr. Robert: What’s the most popular paint color you are selling right now? You will have to give us a paint. So if you go “ I don’t know what to paint that kind of the wall.”

Clay: “Bro, I don’t know what it is but people are buying this paint right here, bro”

Dr. Robert: And you are like, “Oh cool.” And then you put it on the wall and people come and go, “Wow that’s awesome.”

Clay: It really can help–

Dr. Robert: Anyway, go ahead.

Clay: Another move, the sight. You got the smell. The third is the music. You want to have ambience. This is something that– one of my pet peeves about Oklahoma because I travel a lot. You go to San Diego. When you are out there in Chicago, you go visit Wrigley field you go into a restaurant, all of them have it. They have a good energy, good music going. It creates the right environment. Does it not create a certain energy?

Dr. Robert: It does absolutely and so we are going down the senses. I love it. I love just where you are going with all is.

Clay: You got to do it. When we come back we are ready to get into a few more details on how to make your office environment the very best it can be. And on your way home if you are hungry, Z, if you are looking for something to eat and you want to find a Mojo. A place that it’s kind of a Dojo, a Mojo, a place where you can get the food on the go but you can also just take in that environment, go to Oklahoma Joe’s. Oklahoma Joe’s, baby.

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Broadcasting from the center of the universe featuring optometrist turned entrepreneur Dr. Roberts Zoellner and US SBA entrepreneur of the year Clay Clark, this is the Thrivetime Show on Talk Radio 1170.

Clay: Hello Tulsa and welcome back to the ThriveTime show on your drive time home. You’re in your car right now. You’re headed back after a tough day of work and maybe you had some political fatigue this year. Maybe you just got to that level when you go, “Hey I just want to learn how to start a business. I want learn some self-help. I want to learn some specific things that I can do to improve my life by maybe 2%, 5%. Maybe I want to change my life. I want that kind of positive driving-self today.

We are very blessed. My name is Clay Clark and I am a business coach and the former SBA entrepreneur of the year. I’ve been blessed to have a lot of success in the world of business and I’m joined with another guy who’s had a lot of success in business. It’s Dr. Robert Zoellner. Sir, how are you?

Dr. Robert: I’m fantastic. Happy throwback Thursday and I’m really excited but I’m a little disappointed.

Clay: What’s that?

Dr. Robert: When I go to one of my favorite guys just snuck in the studio and the thing about this is that we love- you know what I love, I love success stories. That’s what this country is built on, success stories. We as your number one business talk radio show–

Clay: Absolutely, number one.

Dr. Robert: We are the only one in Tulsa.

Clay: Only one but we are the best. We are the best only one.

Dr. Robert: We are the best. We love to find success stories out there and highlight them. And so I love seeing Joe Davidson coming on here. The owner, starter, proprietor of Oklahoma Joe’s. But you know what upsets me?

Clay: What upsets you?

Dr. Robert: And I kind of scolded him a little bit.

Clay: No.

Dr. Robert: Not scolding, I probably-

Clay: Chastised?

Dr. Robert: No, maybe a little bit demonized? Maybe–

Clay: Yelled at with a megaphone?

Dr. Robert: I’m sorry Joe I got onto him a little bit. But my dad came out at me and I talked down. I said, “Did you bring us any barbecue?”

Clay: And he said, “I- -.” that awkward pause. But he said, “No, no. But here’s the deal, I have two great restaurants to serve at three locations. I have two that are–” where are your location? If Z wants to get that barbecue there Mr. Joe, where can he go get it right now?

Mr. Joe: You know Z from your location they are at 71st memorial it’s so close. It is 61st, it is two miles.

Dr. Robert: I’m here with a rock–

Mr. Joe: But I’m going to tell you–

Dr. Robert: [unintelligible 00:46:06] through it the other day.

Mr. Joe: -cut across on the 71st, don’t go down the 61st because of that construction. It’s a bugger.

Clay: Z, I’ll tell you why he didn’t bring it, I’ll tell you why. You know why he didn’t bring it? Because today we are talking about the 12 core tasks of your operations team and systems. We are talking about–k system number one is you want to deliver on the promises made by our marketing team.

They promised the world’s best baked beans. He’s going, “I’m going to do that.” He’s made a linear workflow meaning that he’s not the one who has to make every batch of beans. But then the third step is he has to create great, a cool environment. A great atmosphere because the food tastes better when you are in the right environment. And so he didn’t want to ruin the aura by bringing it here. He wanted you to have it there where we can have it how it was meant to be.

Joe I want to ask you, describe to people who have never been to your restaurant, how have you decorated them? How is it designed? Tell me about the interior design you’ve put together there.

Mr. Joe: The number one is we wanted to be open and welcoming. That’s our number one aspect of it. But then once you get in there, it’s not really as much as about the accolades as it is about my family. We want you to be part of our family. We want you to see all the history of our business.

We want you to feel like you are part of that because you are in Oklahoma, we are Oklahomans and we are sharing in this common aspect of Oklahoma is great. We are great business people. We are great entrepreneurs. And you know what we, not just me but we, am talking about all the other world champion barbecues in Oklahoma we are great barbecues and we are sharing that.

Speaker 4: We dominate the barbecue competitions. We show up with our cookers and meat and we say we will destroy you. I don’t care where you are from, Oklahoma has the best.

Speaker 5: No steroids needed [unintelligible 00:47:57] is huge, pump it up.

Speaker 4: We pump up. We have the best meat, the best smokers. I will dominate you with my meat candy.

Clay: I went in there the other day to the Broken Arrow location. I want to make sure I’m not making something up. But I went in there and when I walked in I feel like you had some of the meat out on display.

Mr. Joe: Yes. My favorite thing to do, you can see it. You can see back in our kitchens. You can see every aspect of that. And I will tell you any time that I go through there I always say, “are the ribs coming off?” and I grabbed a giant tray that will have at least six or seven slabs on and walk up through there and our rib sales would go through the roof.

Dr. Robert: You just tease them with all those ribs.

Mr. Joe: Yes. That’s what you do.

Dr. Robert: You just tease them.

Clay: So if you are listening right now and you are going, “How do I make my office space cool?” I’m just walking through the things you can do, okay. So one make sure it smells good. Your place smells like barbecue.

Mr. Joe: It smells like barbecue.

Dr. Robert: Smells like home. That just smells like the beauty.

Clay: Two, visuals. Be intentional about those visuals. Three, the music. Make sure you have an atmosphere that’s consistent, as example, if you went in to Oklahoma Joe’s and you sat down. Let’s do another example. Let’s say you went to Hobby Lobby. Hobby Lobby is a Christian owned business. It’s very transparent in their Christian owned business status.

Dr. Robert: You will probably never hear a hard acid rock in hobby lobby you think.

Clay: Imagine you went in there though and it was just like a really intense smashing pumpkins or some intense rap music and you go in there you are trying to buy a nice painting that says, “Blessed” you know those one’s the women buy. It’s like a thing you put in your bathroom.

Dr. Robert: “Prayer changes things.”

Clay: Prayer changes so many things.

Dr. Robert: I have walked into a store before and there is a dude behind the counter who’s got all these piercings and tattoos which I’m not against piercings and tattoos, don’t get me wrong. But the music on there is like, “Bang, bang” You are just like, “Oh, my God, what did I walk into?”

Clay: And it’s stressful.

Dr. Robert: Oh, it’s stressful and you just like, “Dude, no, no, Nancy.”

Clay: I’m going to give example of what not to do if you are listening to this. Don’t let it just drift by default because Hobby Lobby has the music that goes with the atmosphere. When I walked into your place, I feel like you had country music on. I feel like that we–

Joe: We did. The Honky Tonk Heroes. That’s kind of us.

Clay: Yes. So I went in. The whole thing has to be consistent.

The fourth move, weave in your personality which you hit on. That’s big. You weave in your family’s history into the decor. Why didn’t you just go, “Meh, let’s put up some paint. Wait a minute. Guys, I went to the DMV, a mystery shop, the DMV, and I’ve copied all their tips and ideas and I brought it back. Let’s make Oklahoma Joe’s look just like the inside of a DMV. It would be awesome.” Why don’t you just do that?

Joe: You know what? I didn’t even think of it, damn it.

[laughter]

Dr. Robert: Be glad you didn’t.

Joe: I didn’t even think of that. Somewhat we’re enamored with our own history in a sense and we want everyone else to know about that.

Clay: If you can’t celebrate that, who’s going to?

Joe: No one. That’s exactly it. There’s no one better at telling your story than you.

Dr. Robert: I will tell you you can turn your office decor in to kind of a commercial. You can put some of your history, how you were started, old school photos, old school team members, awards you’ve won, you can put that in there.

Move number four. Move number four here is you want to provide a phone system for your team that is capable of recording calls.

Automated voice: You’re listening to the ThriveTime show on Talk Radio 1170.

Clay: I want to brag on A-max. I love A-max. You call American Express, you’ve got an issue. Somebody always answers the phone. They’ve always been very good to me. You talk to them and they request that your calls being recorded for quality assurance.

What that does is it allows them to know that they are honoring their scripts, following their systems, following their processes. But as a manager, I have managed many call centers. I’ve done call center. I’ve done training.

I went up to Albuquerque to work with Hewlett-Packard to teach their sales people. So I’m out there to teach their sales people and you know what they do at Hewlett-Packard? They record the calls for quality control. You know why they do that? Because as a manager of the floor you’re able to play back the calls, and if you have a certain rep whose conversion percentage is bad or they’re just not selling anything or they’re irritating customers, Z, you know what will happen sometimes when you play back the audio of the rep who’s struggling?

Dr. Robert: Let’s see–

Clay: They’ll usually say, “I’m doing my best. I’m following the system.”

Dr. Robert: “I’m following some pod-script. I just had a–

Clay: But typically you’ll discover they’re not, and in a lot of times they don’t know. There’s need to be coached, and sometimes they need to be promoted to a customer status.

Dr. Robert: Exactly, and sometimes, hey, you are saying what– You are reading the script correctly but you’re not– It’s your inflection, and your tone, and your, “Have a nice day. It’s me from American Express. I’m here to call about your new card.”

Clay: Elephant in the Room, we have mystery shoppers. By the way, Z, I think you should become a mystery shopper at Elephant in the Room.

Dr. Robert: Are you saying I need a haircut?

Clay: No. I’m just saying I think you should become–

Dr. Robert: Or you’re saying I’m not [inaudible 00:52:52]

Clay: No. I think it’s timing. I think it’s time for you to become a mystery shopper.

Dr. Robert: I Facebook a lot. I feel I’m embarrassed now.

Clay: We had a guy come into Elephant in the Room he is one of our mystery shoppers. He comes into Elephant in the Room. It’s our men’s grooming lounge. We have about three locations. He comes in. No one knows he’s a mystery shopper.

Dr. Robert: Can I get one of those one-hundred dollar bill things that you do to some of the mystery shoppers– Okay. If you do that because I–

[crosstalk]

Clay: They think that some mystery shoppers will get him $100 and they can buy anything they want, and they want just to ask– if the person asks them “Hey, would you be interested in an extra product?” That’s the idea. We want to see if they’re asking.

Well, long story short, they go in there and we’ve one of our mystery shoppers who walks in there and they discover– they said the person was following every word of the script because I’ve given them the scripts. They keep analyzing it, but they were saying it, to your point, with the wrong attitude.

Dr. Robert: Yes, and people have to understand that “Listen. Just because you’re saying the right thing, the other person’s hearing, it’s so funny but every single time I get a complaint, it’s always like they were rude.

Clay: Rude.

Dr. Robert: So you’d go to your employer and you ask them, “Were you rude” and every single time what do they say?

Clay: “No.”

Dr. Robert: “No.”

Clay: Or they’d go, “What happened?” “What do you mean?”

Dr. Robert: Yes. It’s kind of like, “Well I said the right things.” I know you said the right things but it’s how– 80% of what you’re communicating is not the words. It’s your body language, the inflection, the tone, your expressions on your face. You’re rolling your eyes and saying the right thing, but that’s not saying the right thing.

Clay: Joe, you have built a business. It’s a very impressive with Oklahoma Joe’s, but before you did that, you actually sold two million smokers at one point. Is that right?

Joe: Yes. Absolutely.

Clay: Again, talking about recording calls, [unintelligible 00:54:27] duplicable- a repeatable system.

Joe: Scalability.

Clay: Scalability. Why is it so important to figure out how to make the smoker without you personally making the smoker if you’re an entrepreneur.

Joe: I think that number one, obviously, is that, we need something that people want. That’s number one. Then we identify that and we build a prototype and we literally re-run it through the paces. Every pace to make certain that’s the right one. Now from that point you know what it boils down to?

Clay: What’s that?

Joe: Price point in value.

Clay: Price point in value.

Dr. Robert: Oh.

Joe: It’s really a cool subject.

Clay: You’re getting kind of deep here.

Dr. Robert: Yes, it is kind of deep, but you know what, I could have sold 10,000 and built the best most expensive smokers in the world.

Clay: But instead–

Joe: I sold two million.

Clay: Two million, baby.

Joe: And resell them for a $149 a piece.

Clay: Oh boy.

Dr. Robert: When we come back, we’re going to come back we’re going to touch that. I’m going to give you my number one rule in business that Joe just touched on. You don’t want to miss this because you can be like Ricky Bobby said, “If you’re not first, you’re last.” So this is my number one. This first, first, first, first. When we come back, I’m going to give you a secret source.

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Automated voice: You’re listening to the ThriveTime Show on Talk Radio 1170.

Clay: Hello Tribe Nation. Welcome back to Talk Radio 1170. You’re now listening to ThriveTime Show during your drive time. It’s Tulsa’s only local business radio show and in the Dojo of Mojo Today Folks Show. My name is Clay Clark. I’m the former SBA entrepreneur of the year in your ear. I’m joined with Dr. Robert Zoellner. Dr. Z, we have a very special guest with us today.

Dr. Robert: Yes and those that are watching on Facebook Live, you’re welcome. We brought a beautiful man on with a beautiful story who makes beautiful barbecue. It’s just a beautiful thing.

Clay: He is pumice. How does he keep his face?

Dr. Robert: I don’t know exactly. No.

Clay: Let me tell you this. He’s a beautiful man. He sold 2 million smokers and he’s the founder of Oklahoma Joe’s. It’s Mr. Joe Davidson. Sir how are you

Joe: Oh, I’m great and better since I’ve heard what you’ve both said. My gosh.

Dr. Robert: Unbelievable. World best baked beans, world’s best face. Now we’re talking about those and it’s like, “Hey, hey, don’t pass over those bag beans.”

Joe: I hope my wife is listening.

Dr. Robert: Seriously Joe I dwell on the beans because they are stunning. I mean you know the bernies ain’t my favorite. The baked beans and the Bernie and it’s like, “Ah.”

Clay: I have a little phrase-

Dr. Robert: How how long did it take you to perfect at that baked beans recipe? Seriously, don’t tease me.

Joe: You know what, I started with great bases from my grandma and then my mom and I thought they were good. Just like most families we continued to go there. You never stop striving to make something better.”

Dr. Robert: Are you saying that down the road they could be better?

Joe: They could be better.

Joe: Wow, that’s hard to believe.

Joe: I think that the secret though would be adding more brisket to them.

Clay: Here is my comment.

Joe: That’s the right thing. Maybe it might be.

Clay: This is my disclaimer, little concern here for the thrivers out there. Someone might be going, “I think I’m going to go eat there tonight.” Here’s the thing, once you put a little bit of that Oklahoma Joe’s food in your mouth. This is a real rule, your conversation will go south. People quit talking. They just sit there and eat. It just becomes all a-

Joe: They just say a hum across the dinner table.

Clay: Looks like a bunch of monks hanging out in solitude.

Dr. Robert: Just eat first and talk a lot later.

Clay: It’s so good. I’m just telling you. I’m getting hungry talking about it. Today we’re talking about these systems you have to build in order to really– the core tasks, the 12 core tasks of your operations team.

What happens is once you can sell something for more than you paid for it, that’s exciting. Then you have the step number two, you make your workflow. Step number three, you’ve got to create that great office space, Step number four you’ve get to have a phone system to record the calls. Then, Z, you we’re talking about it, you said when we come back we’re you’re going to give them the number one rule in business, your number one rule of business. What is it sir? What’s the rule? Tell us.

Dr. Robert: Well, I’ll tell you what, you know what this requires don’t you?

Clay: Farmland you say?

Dr. Robert: I love the farm.

Clay: I did too.

Dr. Robert: I love agricultural societies. I love the fact you can have a farm analogy, everybody gets it.

Clay: Yee-haw, [brays] [oinking]

Dr. Robert: Number one rule in business, and Joe touched on it, why he sold 2 million smokers and not 10,000 smokers to.

Clay: Two million.

Dr. Robert: Those of you driving home, you could have been pulled over in a truck stop. You’re listening, you maybe filling up your car, you ran back in the car real fast, you don’t want to miss in this show. That is my famous animal that I’d drive all my rules from.

That is the pig. Here’s the rule, number one business– number one in business, pigs get fat and hogs get butchered. And what does that mean? That means don’t be greedy. And Joe wasn’t greedy with his smoker and therefore he was able to sell 2 million of them and set it 10,000 of them and therefore made more. I’m going to say the P word, profit.

I’ve heard about that. I was watching the Bernie Sanders debate and he was saying that’s a bad thing.

Clay: No, no, no.

Dr. Robert: Sorry.

Clay: This isn’t politics, this is gardening show, or teaching you how to when and where to plant your hydrangeas.

Dr. Robert: I blacked out. Sorry, I thought it was the gardening show Bernie Sanders. Seriously, We’re trying to help you make more profits. I want to ask Joe this next thing. Step number five is you have an universal place for your team to save their digital files or I would say even to just organize your stuff. I mean, you’re making two million smokers. Why is it important to have a place to put the stop and it’s labeled? I mean why is it so important that that the organization is an absolute must, my friend.

Joe: I think that from our perspective communication among team members is the most difficult thing to do. So if you don’t have a centralized location so that everyone can put their fingers on this– it’s one thing to have meetings every week and talk about it but you don’t have too many meetings to get things done. You can beat yourself to death.

Dr. Robert: You can’t make it.

Automated voice: You been listening to the ThriveTime Show on Talk Radio 1170.

Clay: One thing I want to give to you. ‘Thrivers’ as we move on we organized. move number six, it ties in here. This is move number six at number six. You must have a universal nomenclature system for your team. Nomenclature, the naming of things. This is big.

Speaker 6: Sure is a big word. I mean, I’ll tell you what I’m driving home, it’s Thursday. I’m going to start a business. And that you’re just two big words mean now.

Clay: Now here you go. Here’s the deal. I’m going to break it down. I’ll give you a notable quotable for Elon Musk. This is the guy who started SpaceX, Tesla, PayPal. I’m going to read it to you it’s a little bit longer [unintelligible 01:02:02]. He says there’s a creeping tendency to use made up acronyms at Space-X. By the way this is an e-mail he sent to his entire staff. He’s furious.

He says there is a creeping tendency to use made up acronyms at Space-X. Excessive use of excessive use of made up acronyms is a significant impediment to communication and keeping communication good as we grow is incredibly important. Individually a few acronyms here and there may not seem so bad but if a few thousand people are making these up over time the result will be a huge glossary that we have to issue to new employees.

No one can actually remember all these acronyms and people don’t want to seem dumb at a meeting so they just sit there in ignorance. This is particularly tough on new employees. Elon Musk.

So here we go. Today in my office I’m always waging war on made up words and acronyms. I hate when people say things wrong and put the wrong place. This poor young lady, she’s a new lady, she’s in the office, she is a new designer and she had no idea what anyone in the room was talking about and I saw it on her face. I saw it. She’s in that meeting and she’s going, “Uh-huh, uh-huh. And it’s because the entire meeting was framed after some acronym and I said, “Poosh, poosh, poosh.” Like I’m just going to slap her but wait–

Dr. Robert: Can you preach on this a little bit.

Clay: Yes, I do.

Dr. Robert: Because this is big. This is one of your core things.

Clay: If you don’t name things right–

Dr. Robert: Come on, come on now.

Clay: It’s hard to keep your profit margins tight right. Come on pretty soon you start drifting pretty soon you start pulling to the left, pulling to the right. It starts drifting apart pretty soon. There’s no profits.

Dr. Robert: We don’t want the drift.

Clay: Then there starts to be frustration-

Dr. Robert: Oh, I so like that.

Clay: -because of the lack of communication. The third time you’ve tried to give that order to your team and they keep saying, “Homy, do you mean?”

Dr. Robert: What do you mean?

Clay: They say, “I don’t understand the words that you are speaking out your mouth.”

Dr. Robert: “Tell me what you mean”

Clay: Then you say, “I give up on this meeting. This meeting is going south. I’m frustrated.” Pretty soon you just get to a point where I don’t even know what we’re talking about anymore. That’s what happens.

Dr. Robert: It’s my meeting and I’m the boss and I don’t even know what we’re talking about that is frustrating.

Clay: We are involved in online school. This is nerd read. I’m sure this happens to you when you were making the smokers. I’m sure that the welders would do this but people who are in a niche. Over time I bang my microphone I get excited. But over time they get so into nerd talk where they start going, ” Well, man what kind of a permalink is that?” Well, I’ll tell you what, “What kind of SSL is that while you try put boom boom on a bang bang and you probably want to get–” Or you ask, “Where did you get that server?”

They just start talking and no one in the room knows what they’re talking about. And now the marketing team can’t communicate with them. Has it ever happened in the welding department over there in Oklahoma Joe’s ever back in the day.

Joe: Back in the day, we’d get so hung up in to occasionally when the welding suppliers and come in and they’d say there’s this new technology. This is the new wire, it’s a 70 14 wire

Clay: 70 14, better than 70 30.

[crosstalk]

Joe: It’s the new is the greatest wire that’s ever hit the scale. 70000 tensile pounds of strength.

Clay: 70000 tensile pounds of strength? Are you kidding me?

Joe: It’s pretty powerful. We got a new gas and new gas. It’s a 75 25.

Clay: Nothing makes me more excited than when we start talking about jargon and nerdally that nobody listening knows what it is. Because this happens in every business. It always happens, it’s like creeping tendency to jargonize. When we come back we’re teaching move number seven.

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Live, local, now you’re listening to the ThriveTime Show on Talk Radio 1170.

Clay: Hello ‘thrive’ nation. Welcome back. You are listening to the end of your business frustration. This is the beginning of the end of your business Frustration. Maybe you’ve been frustrated trying to figure out, “I know how to sell something but I just don’t know how to scale it. I can sell it but I can’t make it a repeatable process. I’m just stuck. I just can’t figure it out.”

If you are frustrated you don’t know how to sell it we also have great shows about that. But today my name is Clay Clark I’m the former SBA entrepreneur of the year. I’m joined as always with the co-host with Mohost, Dr. Z and today, Z, we have a special guest.

Who do we have here on the show today?

Dr. Robert: I tell you what? While you’re driving home. After talking about this you’re probably want to go to like 61st and Sheridan on Broken Arrow over there by the Bass Pro Shop and pick up some barbecue from Oklahoma Joe’s because we have the founder, and we are the owner and the proprietor of Oklahoma Joe’s on the show Joe Davidson. Glad you’re on the show Joe.

Joe: Oh man it’s so good to be here.

Clay: And remember next time you’re on the show, because we like highlighting success stories.

Dr. Robert: We do, we love highlighting them.

Clay: We love sharing success stories with you. But one thing that was not a success. He didn’t bring me any baked beans. The thing is he wanted you to enjoy the atmosphere of his two restaurants which are still open if you are listening.

Dr. Robert: I would settle for the baked beans in the studio right now. This is a bean industry. We got the [unintelligible 01:08:14] over here. Those of you who watch we got all the cool decor back here.

Clay: I’m not a Jew apologist. I’m just there when the show’s over at 7. How much longer are you still open. How much more time do we have to get over there.

Joe: We’ve got plenty of time. We’re not closing until 8:30 tonight.

Dr. Robert: Oh, there you go. [unintelligible 01:08:29], but listen if you want to be a hero and not a zero. You’re driving home, you think it’s Thursday. It’s Thursday night football.

Clay: Wow that’s a great start.

Dr. Robert: It’s America. I’ll tell you what, I’m going to tell the spouse. “Tu tu tu tu.” “Honey I got dinner covered.”

Clay: Really? That’s great

Dr. Robert: Yes. What you do is you pull in to Oklahoma Joe’s and you get like a family pack a platter of excellence. Two things you’ve got to have in there. You’ve got to have the bernians and you’ve got have the barbecue. Recently you’ve been up to maccheese know with that with the bernians in it. The ribs.

Joe: Give it slab ribs–

[crosstalk]

Dr. Robert: Slab rib and if you don’t get him he’ll walk by with a platter of them just to tease you with them. You’ll be like, “I got to have some of those.” Unbelievable. Go buy, bring it home when you walk in the door the kids will scream in excitement your spouse will say, “Oh, my gosh.”

Clay: “Oh, my gosh.”

Dr. Robert: “You’re like my favorite spouse ever. You saved the day. You fed the family.”

Clay: You rock the Casbah.

[laughter]

Dr. Robert: Throwback Thursday.

Multiple Speakers: There we go to Casbah.

Clay: Anyway, moving on here. The 12 core tasks of your operations team and systems. One, deliver on your promises. Two, make a linear workflow. Three, provide that cool office space, inspirational space. Four, get that phone system that records those calls. Five, get a universal place for saving and naming things.

Six, agree on how you name things. Seven, here we go seven, you have to provide the tools, resources and equipment your staff needs to do the job right. If you are highly motivated, you’re trying to sell, can you sell two million smokers? It’s crazy but you sold 2 million smokers.

Automate voice: You’re listening to The ThriveTime Show on Talk Radio 11.70.

Clay: If you’re highly motivated and you do not equip your team with the necessary equipment needed to be successful, how successful would they be if you said, “Guys I want you to all bring your own tools to work and do the best job you can with whatever tools you can find?”

Joe: I don’t think that would have worked at all. I don’t understand

[crosstalk].

[unintelligible 00:10:29] and talk about. I don’t care how many batches of beans you’ve made. You use a recipe every single time.

Dr. Robert: Oh, come on now.

Clay: That’s just a little wisdom I get right there.

Clay: Here’s the deal. I had a photography business we grew. We had it for about 10 years called Epic photography. Most of my photography competitors, they allowed the photographers to bring their own equipment.

This is like the movie Braveheart, where all the guys show up to fight. Yeah.

Dr. Robert: Where guys grab like a whole–

[crosstalk]

Clay: They’re grabbing whatever they can have. This is how they’re setting up their photography team. Remember the movie Braveheart except the visual, what are they wearing? Dr. Robert: When they get the stuff for nothing. [unintelligible 00:11:09] killed.

Clay: Unbelievable. The thing is that we required our team to wear a dress code, certain standards. People could go, “Oh, that’s an epic photography person.” But the thing is you’ve got to set some standards in your business you’ve got to provide your team with those tools, the resources and equipment.

Now move number eight, you must provide the website that you need. Your team to have a great Website to make a great first impression.

Dr. Robert: Just something different than when we started off. We didn’t have websites.

Clay: I’ll tell you this if you go there’s a tool you can do called The Wayback Machine. This is a fun fact, google it. Wayback Machine. When you go there you can go back and find there is the internet archive. Just google tonight, Wayback Machine.

Dr. Robert: Oh, this is cool. This is fine.

Clay: You can pull any site how it first looked. They archives all of it. You can go back and look at our first web site for DJ Connection. I challenge you to go up there tonight Google Wayback Machine you’ll find the website, then google DJ Connection you’ll see djconnectiontulsa.com, our first site. It was a deal.

Back in the day people would tell you the marketing guys would say, “You need a website.”And I would say, “But why.” And they go, “Because you can see the potential prospects to it.” I’m like, “Why would I do that? I just want to close the deal. I’m going to send people to the freaking site.”

Then something switch called Google. All of a sudden the pendulum has shifted. Now everyone starts their search on Google. They still listen to the radio. They still watch TV but now they’re listening to Spotify and you got to have that great digital first impressions. If you want us to audit your Website, Z, we do that free [unintelligible 01:12:44] right now. We will tell you what’s wrong with your sift for the canonical, for the for the Google compliance.

Dr. Robert: thrive15.com go and you may say, “That’s a trick.”

Clay: Is this a trick? It’s a trap, it’s trap.

Dr. Robert: What are they going to do? Because they’re to put a worm- virus my machine. No it’s a trick. Go to thrive15.com and we will do it. And you know what funny is, on the break. I asked Joe of Oklahoma Joe’s. I say it’s Throwback Thursday. Give me a little throwback love. Yeah. He didn’t hesitate. He did not hesitate he said Hotel California.

Clay: That’s the song.

Dr. Robert: That’s the song. We’re going to lead with a little throwback Thursday Hotel California for you.

Clay: If you’ve ever heard this song I want you to just sing along Z, crank it up a little bit. It’s important we all kind of sing along here. We come back we’re going to be teaching move number nine.

Dr. Robert: And then we’re going to get to the words.

Clay: That will be quite a wind up.

[laughter]

We might just hum along.

Dr. Robert: We got the last two tips, just come back for them. You don’t want to miss them. Boom.

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Automated: You’re listening to the ThriveTime Show on Talk Radio 1170.

Clay: What is going on T-Town it is now going down at the ThriveTime show. In the studio today we have some incredible humans here. We’ve got Dr. Robert Zoellner Tulsa entrepreneurial success story a guy who has done the optometry game. He’s done the all thoroughbred horse racing game. He’s got involved in a bank. He’s doing a little bit of a sleep center going on. He’s got the [unintelligible 01:15:15] game. Sir you’re doing well. I’m just going to say that.

Dr. Robert: Thank you Clay, I appreciate those accolades but I’m really excited about these last four steps. We started off today doing the 12 core tasks of your operations team and systems. This is so, so important for all of you out there want to start your business or grow young business that you have. The first dates were awesome and if you missed them you can go to thrivetimeshow.com and you can listen to them as many times as you want.

Clay: Many thrivers do. They listen to it over and over.

Clay: Free of charge. It’s our gift to you.

Clay: And help educate the people, help matriculate the entrepreneurs.

Dr. Robert: Let’s finish strong and with this we have a special guest we have.

Clay: We have Mr. Joe Davidson the guy who sold two million smokers.

Dr. Robert: Why do I get hungry every time I see him, though? Why is that?

Clay: It is free time when he wasn’t making us hungry he started Oklahoma Joe’s what makes us even more hungry.

Joe: I think my hair smells like smoke too. That’s probably part of that.

Clay: That’s when you walk by and he is like, “[makes smelling sound]”

Dr. Robert: That’s my new cologne.

Clay: We’re moving on to this move number nine. I wan’t to make sure we get this move number nine. Provide a quality customer service experience for your customers. Now I don’t want to belabor this too much but I’m going to say this if you’re listening right now nine out of nine out of ten of you listening right now, nine out of then are not doing well at this.

According to–

Dr. Robert: Harvard.

Clay: Harvard- you mean Harvard like–

Dr. Robert: Harvard [unintelligible 01:16:34] could just be Harvard–

[crosstalk]

Clay: Harvard though they came up with this thing called the Net Promoter Score. And it is a way to identify how likely people are to refer you to their family or friends. Here’s the deal. Here’s a little simplification for you. If people are not wowed they’re not going to refer.

Now let’s try again. If you if you wow people will refer. Now so companies with the highest net promoter scores are Wholefoods, Apple, we can probably think of him right now. Trader Joe’s, Starbucks. Places that wow–

Dr. Robert: Oklahoma Joe’s?

Clay: Oklahoma Joe’s. I will tell you, you have to create an atmosphere that’s beyond just the food if you’re a restaurant. So Captain Joe Mr. Joe sir I want to ask you what are some of the things you’ve done to try to make it more of an experience as opposed to just the minimal decor you go in, “Hey here’s my money.” “Great. Here’s your meat, Go home bro.” How do you try to make it more of an experience or more of an atmosphere.

Joe: I think the number one is that we try to make them part of our family. You know we’ve got some– we greet some at the door.

Clay: Like you’re adopting.

Joe: Yes we can. Absolutely. Certainly we tie you down in the smokehouse so you’re just back there slaving cooking brisket. It’s fun.

Clay: Oh, I love it. Can I eat what I cook.

Joe: You get to eat everything you cook.

Another thing we do and I do it every single day that I’m in there is I’ll ask people “Would you like to go on a kitchen tour?” Every day. When people get to not only experience the food but they get to experience how it’s made.

Clay: You mean you’re not hiding it from people?

Joe: We want them to come back there. We want to show them the smokehouse. We want to open those doors and expose the treasures of barbecue that they’re getting to eat every single day. And it impacts them, it makes them feel like they’re part of this. And I’m going to tell you I can’t get enough of sharing what we do with our customers. I encourage every employee do the same with our customers.

Clay: Turn it into an experience. I don’t care what you’re selling, what you’re making what you’re doing. Turn it in to an experience. Hey we could go buy chicken. This just in. We could go buy teddy bears but somebody said you know what? let’s make that into an experience we’ll call it build a bear.

Dr. Robert: Build a bear.

Clay: These guys are geniuses you’re actually paying more money to make your own bear, genius.

Joe: That’s right genius.

Clay: Unbelievable.

Dr. Robert: Why didn’t I think of that? That’s one of the thing that upsets me. Why didn’t I think of that.

Clay: What’s the place with the guy looks like a ninja who’s making your food “[making sounds]. Throwing stuff around.

Dr. Robert: Show guys. We have show guys and [unintelligible 01:19:13] but show guys.

Clay: It’s an experience and you get to see the guy prepare the food, it’s is a thing. Thrivers are just trying to stimulate that thought.

We’re moving on to move number 10. Provide a system wow and a high promoter cause interaction for every customers. Here is the deal, you want to create a way to interact with the customer. It’s all possible, we put a mechanism in place. Some way to interact. Z, you do this interaction or you could just sell the cars. But no, no you are serving what my friend?

Dr. Robert: Free lunch.

Clay: Free lunch?

Dr. Robert: Free lunch.

Clay: I thought there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Dr. Robert: You know what we need to do? We need hook up Joe and we need to have him. We need to have him provide some sides or just having to come and provide. [unintelligible 01:09:50] Claytron will do a cross promotion.

Joe: Absolutely.

Clay: I’m painting a picture. I can see it, Z.

Joe: Let’s put some smoke in there.

Dr. Robert: How fun would that be?

Clay: What if we broadcasted live from while eating Oklahoma Joe’s at your auction is that like going to man heaven?

Dr. Robert: Oh I mean it would be right in Manville.

Clay: Maybe it could be in one of your really fun cars that you are selling that week maybe because I from sinus cavity to really.

Dr. Robert: It would be better if we are sitting in a hot tub eating that barbecue.

Clay: So we are sitting in a hot tub that’s mounted inside a limo to be sold at your auction while eating Oklahoma Joe’s now that would be the perfect moment.

Mr. Joe: I want to take that to your camp with me. I’m going to hunt out of that.

Clay: So moving on to point number 11 here, you must put systemic purchasing controls in place. You can’t let just anybody buy stuff. Come on Joe can you preach at first? Why can’t you just let anybody buy stuff?

Mr. Joe: We have a master distribution agreement with Cisco our food service provider. You can’t buy anything if it has not been approved by me on that list ever because that’s what we have proved.

Clay: Z someone’s listening right now they don’t have these controls in place what’s going to happen?

Dr. Robert: Well, I will tell you one thing that my employees love to do and people around me love to do and that is, take a guess. I’m going to give you two seconds. You are driving home. You are driving to Oklahoma Joe’s to get that takeout food to feed your family which is very important. They love to spend your money.

Clay: Oh maybe you have weird employees. The people that work with you are just unique?

Dr. Robert: No, it’s universal. They love to spend your money. “I thought it was a good idea. I thought I would try something different. Don’t you pay me to try to be creative and try to help you grow your business?” “am I not an assistant shift manager?”

Clay: They love buying stuff. The [unintelligible 01:21:39] if you have a person you have just hired yesterday they want a bike. This is a true story that almost made me kill a person then I realized it wasn’t legal.

Dr. Robert: They frown upon it.

Clay: In Oklahoma you can’t do it. I almost claimed it was self-defense though. The printer cartridges, if you buy a printer for $200. You buy the brother printer the black-and-white, for about $200 you can buy it. But the ink itself is about $200. The printer is super cheap but then you get the ink for $200. So the sales rep comes and goes to one of the people, “I can get you the off-brand and if you buy $20,000 of it or more, I can get it to you 20% off.” So this person without even thinking of talking to me says, “Sounds great.” So I get a pallet almost. And here is how I knew that because somebody in my office has taken a dolly. I’m like, “Where are you going with the dolly?” And they are bringing in boxes. I’m like, “what did we buy?”

They are like, “all the ink came in.” I go, “The ink?” I return that stuff. I don’t have to pay the restocking fee a disaster. If I had not have caught that, they literally would not have told me. The person no longer works with us but that was like the-

Dr. Robert: Is that why you give you give cartridges for Christmas every year?

Clay: Z, what a better way to say I love you than cartridge to a printer [unintelligible 01:23:07]. Here is the final one. You want to have systemic cost controls in place. It is different from purchasing. Cost is like when you’re making a smoker the cost of the smoker can get more and more expensive over time if you’re not clear about what the margins are that you want to have and what kind of value an offer for the price, why is it so important that you eventually put a cost? Like you say, “This is the most we are going to spend on this particular smoker that we are making.” Why do you have to do that, Mr. Joe?

Mr. Joe: We always started out with what would consider to be standard cost. That’s the theoretical cost of what that was supposed to be. But then the actuals are very different. Now, systemic costs in place, the reality is that we don’t get to sell things for just whatever we want to. We make a commitment to sell it for a certain price for a specific period of time. And if it goes over that systemic cost all over sudden we go into in a red zone. And we don’t like that.

Clay: If you want to stay out of that red zone, if you want to learn how to do all the accounting, the very specific systemic step-by-step accounting, how to do your break-even point, how to do your cost analysis, how to just break it down like fractions, Z, you and I built a website called Thrive15.com, which many have said, including Forbes, is one of the top websites on the planet to learn how to start and grow a business. Why are you so passionate about Thrive15.com, sir?

Dr. Robert: When you are starting a business, you can learn by mistakes or mentors. That’s just the reality. Now, everybody wants a business coach. I’ve got a lot of young people that come up to me and say, “Hey, I’m starting a business. Coach me up. You are successful. Coach me up.” I’m like, “I don’t have time, I’m sorry.” “I just want to pick your brain everyday for like three hours.” Like, “I can’t. I don’t have time. I’m sorry. I have a life.” So what we have done is that we have dummied it down, instead of spending thousands of dollars on a private business coach, sit down and do all that, now we have it at right in your pocket. Thrive15.com for $19 a month, you can binge watch all the videos you want. All the topics that are pertinent to starting and growing a business. So Thrive15.com, there’s also workshops and there is templates. You want a template to break down how to do a cost analysis of your food–

Clay: People to answer your calls. People are there for you. The video versions of today’s radio show and others, it’s all there, Thrive15.com. On this throwback Thursday we are taking out with a little Hotel California per the request of Mr. Oklahoma Joe himself. A little bit of a special tribute to you, sir.

Mr. Joe: Thank you.

Clay: As always, 3,2,1 boom.

[01:25:35] [END OF AUDIO]

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