- Oct 9, 2010
- 516
- 1,106
[DEEP Behind The Scenes Guide]
@HustleTong replied to one of my recent post about Gated Online Networks.
I mapped out their capacity for lucrative low radar high yield lead gen.
The full backstory can be found at this link if you're interested. [Click here]
@HustleTong delivered a reply which triggered my own personal thought bubble
from a real life business affair and era that I promised to share openly and exclusively here
on this forum.
Specifically the word TONG after HUSTLE triggered my random thought
bubble, because the word TONG reminds me of HONG KONG, Mr. WONG or
sometimes King Kong. Get it.
My mind works that way. My brain cells are in constant search for companion words
that rhyme or have relevance when I'm in the mood.
For instance if you say Covid, C-19 or make any mention of potential recent bio
warfare I'll think China Virus, not because I'm a racist but because compelling rationale
even from the most credible Chinese sources like Dr. Li Wenliang roots the virus
geographically in CHINA, or Chyyyyyna!
This thread won't be as short as an old school Tweet, but it won't be super long either.
In the end you'll discover how someone that I worked well with turned his SEO within
a little known Gated Online Network into a residual high income cash cow by out smarting
2 micro bigots by leveraging a Gated Online Network.
Mechanically this is what it looks like-
Not too long ago after a track record of good stuff I was invited to become a founding
investor / partner of a venture scale startup, that is the context & backstory of this
fractioned chain of events.
Cast of Characters-
I'll chop the point down quickly and tight.
Controlling the narrative can and does make or break deals of all sizes and in
almost any business category. SEO & Full Stack Marketing Services products
included.
I've written about this before. Yet it's a concept that many still struggle with
if my DMs reflect generalist thinking.
Narrative Control is not limited to SEO yet this is a specific SEO
example - finalized yet not initialized within a Gated Online Network.
I've explained before that SEO IS THE INTERNET. Yet most practitioners in
this space can't see beyond the dominant search engine giants.
This story is also proof that less can be more.
For the sake of this micro lesson,
Lets affectionately refer to our guy as Mr. Hong Tong - this is not his real name
though he was born where intelligent people claim the China Virus started.
After a diligent HR recruitment effort which narrowed down 4 people for
1 key role within our startup, Mr. Tong was a finalist for a specialist directorship
which if gained and all went as planned would ultimately place him among other
things inside the coveted 7 figure circle.
In fact for him this directorship would be 100% remote (Phone+Email+ Fax).
Tong was London based in the heart of our scheduled European presence.
His responsibility?
Complete European business dev which at the time encompassed over 15 EU
territories. For him this would have been a big score if selected.
For us also a BIG score because our EU operations could be consolidated
despite the severe complexities of EU differentials which often stifles growth for
service and product based GSI metrics.
Intelligence on this key role demanded that the selected candidate would be
literally buried in hard core strategic grunt work for at least 6 months until the
sweet spot became clear.
The forces against Mr. Tong being granted the directorship among the short list
of rivals despite his qualifications were enormous. Initially he was unaware.
The deep behind the scenes forces against Mr. Tong were drawn on ethnic lines.
Why?
Simple.
The luxury products that we were rolling out had a distinct European tradition
and heritage. The most influential voices did not want a Chinese in that leadership
role.
It's not that the products were Anti Chinese, but they were distinctly European and
like it or not, certain elements of media in certain markets and representation have
distinct European frameworks and character. Often these are market driven.
Without getting into specifics in our case, I'll offer a crude analogy which involves
Media presence and tradition or heritage. Just Google Mexican Weather Girls.
Oh never mind I'll save you the Google trip, thank me later if you would enjoy being
in any weather with a girl with these curves.
Anyway, the point being you wouldn't see Awkwafina as a presenter on the Mexican
Weather Channel. Not because Mexicans dislike Awkwafina, but because the
Mexican tradition highlights Mexican Women.. get my drift. Crude Example. Probably
not the best example, but I know what I mean inside of my own head.
When you dwell deep in the business of media sometimes these things matter and
sometimes they don't. In this instance I personally didn't think that it mattered
that Mr. Tong was Chinese. I felt that his qualifications and positioning made him the
best candidate for our needs, yet I understood the opposite view.
I was outvoted by Mr. Harvard Biz Advisor & Mr. CEO. It is what it is.
Descriptively,
A huge part of the operation involved luxury media sales campaigns and a unique
invitation process where Chinese or Asians in general represented a small fraction
of the world customer segment.
Having Mr. Tong as head of all European products at the time did not sit well with the
European majority calling the shots. The issue wasn't one of capability, the issue
was optics.
But Mr. Tong was unaware of this. The decision was made to give Mr. Tong the
bad news that another candidate had been selected as the head of European
products, a European.
Yours truly was given the responsibility of communicating to Mr. Tong during a
final conference call that he had not been selected.
The Plot Twist.
Mr. Tong was a master of scrappy narrative control specifically as it relates
to Search Engine Optimization. As a result Mr. Tong landed himself a very lucrative
recurring 6 digit arrangement against all odds for doing very little work.
Well, technically for doing great work ONCE during the course of about 6 months
and getting paid on a residual basis for maintenance and management etc.
Think in terms of building a toll gate entry system where you've dedicated the time
and resources to construct and maintain the toll gate which funnels traffic from multiple
directions, yet you get a small cut every time a car enters the toll.
Here's how he did it.
Sensing things weren't going in his favor (he had already low key soft probed me and
I was honest enough to give him a sense of his obstacle in a way that he didn't think we
were Sinophobic)
Shortly afterwards ..
He asked me if I could call for a short meeting before the final meeting with every
decision maker. At the time there were only 3 of us and 2 silent partners / investors
who had no opinion on the matter beyond project success.
Mr. Harvard Biz school advisor refused to attend the meeting as the matter was settled
in his mind that Mr. Tong was OUT. Wrong genetics to put it bluntly. His words. Micro
bigot. My words.
Which is precisely how he framed his vote for a NO for Mr. Tong. This is Deep Behind
The Scenes.
Mr. CEO decided to side with his special biz advisor based on the same grounds.
I decided to vote with the team to maintain consensus. Though the team well understood
my opinion that Tong was in fact the best candidate for the directorship based on prior
works and the mechanism by which we had discovered him anyway which in fact was
the Google Search engine.
The CEO was classy enough to accept the final meeting requested by Mr. Tong
which made the conference call a 3 way call between myself, Mr. CEO, and Mr. Tong
who did the unusual and pulled a rabbit out of his hat.
During the call, he asked if we were in front of a computer. Mr. CEO sat in my office
for the anticipated let down, we were on speaker phone and our reply was Yes, we are
here in front of a computer.
Controlling the narrative- 101
Mr. Tong basically backtracked, walked us down roughly 4 weeks of memory
lane.
He REMINDED US how we found HIM to begin with. A series of precise Google Searches.
He brought into focus that we had a problem, and identified him as a potential solution for
the problem. His goal at this point was to amplify that our instincts in shortlisting him was
accurate and required conclusion by selecting him as the most valuable candidate.
Great no problem, we are aware that he dominates the Google search engine for relevant
keywords for our goals. Giddy up happy days etc.
Mr. Tong started pleading his case in a very sophisticated way. He understood
that a key component of our European goals involved unification of a collection of
EU based independent operations which relied on a from of luxury media identity.
The Search Engine Hack Begins!
Mr. Tong then said to us, "before you make your final decision please go to this
website....Name of prominent Gated Online Network......." hmmm ok.
This was a curve ball. Interesting. Unexpected.
So, as instructed I entered this url into the search engine. The CEO took a look
at my screen, shrugged his shoulders at me.
Looking at my screen his eyes opened widely. Then he spoke into the speaker
phone...to Mr. Tong, he asked in his own distinct accent. what exactly is this?
The url had an intriguing name and a unique interface. The central point was
it represented exclusivity and prestige and this was obvious by the headline
copy.
Paradoxically exclusivity and prestige were also key features involving the startup
project where Mr. Tong was a final candidate.
Mr. Tong answered the CEO's question this way.. "It's the most exclusive online
portal in Europe and the members of this community are the types of people that
can help us spread the word about this project in ways that you can't buy and
also involve networks which take a long time if ever to penetrate. These are
the real movers and shakers, business owners and connectors throughout
Europe who then connect to the world."
Mr. Tong grew up in Hong Kong but lived in London full time. He was the
First Chinese person that I've met at the time with a strong British
Accent. ha ha. It was very unusual to me at the time as an American.
The CEO instructed me to Get Into the site ... Let's see what he's talking about,
have you ever heard of this site before he asked?
I said NOPE! Never heard of it before. Let me look around.
Long story short, after navigating the site for a bit and reading the text, clearly this
was some kind of Gated Online Network with Affluent & Demonstrably Accomplished
People, apparently based in Europe our target territory.
Then Mr. CEO leaned into the speaker phone to say.. "Tong, how do we get inside
to look around? His reply...
"You Can't... because it's a Gated sight Mate, it's by Invitation Only,
But don't worry, I'll send Cj an invitation right now vial EMAIL and he'll be able to
get in based on my private referral LINK. And then you can go to the SEARCH
ENGINE.
When you get inside. Enter these Keywords, [Which were targeted Self Serving
Keywords profiling and featuring Mr. Tong within the capacity of our larger goals]
And then you can see my connections."
Mr Tong further stated, "I'll bet NONE of your other candidates have this type of
network and setup already in PLACE because this can really help the EU rollout!"
Our candidate Mr. Tong dominated the keywords for the relevant terms inside
that Gated Online Network the same way that he did with Google.
Beyond that he was the Go To Guy within that Gated Online Network with existing
valuable connections. Heaps of them.
Plus his profile member date predated our outreach to him. Proof that he was very
forward thinking and strategically diversified about the quality of his professional
contacts and capabilities long before we reached out to him.
A BIG Plus which proved his level of dedication and consistency to his unique
profession and skill set.
These were Hidden Advantages that he held which were not obvious to us
during the vetting process and did not exist within a mainstream social media
Google Search.
A gated digital country club in Europe.
That is the compressed version of how Mr. Tong became
our partner in Europe against all odds.
For discerning eyes you'll recognize that Mr. Tong did 3
things very well that out competed 3 other candidates.
Thing #1 He didn't give up after he sensed that he was not going to be selected.
Thing #2 He controlled the narrative by directing our attention beyond google where
ANYONE could DWELL online with basic SEO.
Thing #3 Perhaps the most important thing is that he provided an expert
lesson in the extreme value of Gated Online Network SEARCH ENGINES
and their native value to our Newco project.
Tong was positioned where other competitors weren't, in a place of value.
The key thing to know for the sake of this context is this. Not All Search Engines
Are Created Equal!
Compound that micro lesson with... You don't know what you don't know until someone
else points you in that direction. That's also the value of mentors and credible guidance.
Mentors & Guides know BLIND SPOTS that have never crossed your mind, and they
know things that the majority simply don't know, it comes from deep experience in doing
things that fail and succeed.
Not just random things, but things of high value that can accelerate your growth and
change your life for the better.
SIDE NOTE!
Mr. Harvard did not react well to the CEO reverse decision to onboard Mr. Tong.
We were on the front lines we instantly discerned the value, that little thing made a
big difference.
This Gated Online Network actually functioned very well as an enabler for much larger
derivative deals and connections.
I don't think that Mr. Harvard Biz School advisor was a bigot or a racist.
But some think that he is within this context. I think he's just a traditionalist and
imagined the European territory being headed by a European instead of an ethnic
Chinese.
Just like Mexican News Girls are traditionally Mexican not Chinese.It's tradition.
The CEO and Mr. Harvard Biz were older guys. Mr. Harvard was actually in his early
70's at the time and wicked smart and accomplished. Retired and sat on the board
of several successful companies. A different type of connector.
Mr. CEO was probably a decade younger than Mr. Harvard perhaps more, but these
were not technology guys.
They were people who had achieved enough success within traditional business models
to bring in or hire people in their orbit to understand and execute nuances in a way to
produce success for the New Co.
Convincing Mr. CEO to change his mind about Mr. Tong was easy once he realized
that it actually took an invitation to gain access to the site because that confirmed
exclusivity in a part of the world where He was actually from.
Plus for reasons too nuanced to dissect here, once the CEO and I gained access
to the site for what equated to a 24 hour demo or visitors pass at the time, it became
clear that Mr.Tong was our guy. Hence the original decision to dismiss Mr. Tong
as the right candidate became reversed.
Things worked out well despite Mr. Harvard Biz never quite warming up to the idea
of what he called in a gruff way a "Hong Kong wheeler dealer running all of Europe".
So yeah, by leveraging the use of that Gated Online Network, paired with the
SEO which existed by Mr. Tong within the search engine and google, he succeeded
in displacing his rivals.
It enabled him to carve out a high recurring income and exclusive partnership from
that distinct body of work.
This is how winners THINK and DO.
By sharing this story my hope is that media entrepreneurs of all spectrums gain a better
grit and agility about SELLING themselves and their products, and many ways exists
to do that which defy convention and "mass me too" concepts. Several lessons
within this story denote that.
Often you must create your own success or be prepared to pay fair market value
to piggyback the success of what someone else has already built, that's why
franchises exist.
Underdogs like Mr. Tong prevail because somehow they've figured out something
unique that their competitors and the masses have not.
When you're first starting out chances are you are an underdog facing congested
competition from angles that may not be apparent to you, similar to underdog
forces experienced by Mr. Tong.
The good news is this.
Unless you allow yourself to fall prey to distractability from analysis paralysis, inaction,
and mind clutter - the resources to gain higher levels of Remote high yield sales
success are abundantly available within this forum.
Thanks for reading.
@HustleTong replied to one of my recent post about Gated Online Networks.
I mapped out their capacity for lucrative low radar high yield lead gen.
The full backstory can be found at this link if you're interested. [Click here]
@HustleTong delivered a reply which triggered my own personal thought bubble
from a real life business affair and era that I promised to share openly and exclusively here
on this forum.
Specifically the word TONG after HUSTLE triggered my random thought
bubble, because the word TONG reminds me of HONG KONG, Mr. WONG or
sometimes King Kong. Get it.
My mind works that way. My brain cells are in constant search for companion words
that rhyme or have relevance when I'm in the mood.
For instance if you say Covid, C-19 or make any mention of potential recent bio
warfare I'll think China Virus, not because I'm a racist but because compelling rationale
even from the most credible Chinese sources like Dr. Li Wenliang roots the virus
geographically in CHINA, or Chyyyyyna!
This thread won't be as short as an old school Tweet, but it won't be super long either.
In the end you'll discover how someone that I worked well with turned his SEO within
a little known Gated Online Network into a residual high income cash cow by out smarting
2 micro bigots by leveraging a Gated Online Network.
Mechanically this is what it looks like-
Not too long ago after a track record of good stuff I was invited to become a founding
investor / partner of a venture scale startup, that is the context & backstory of this
fractioned chain of events.
Cast of Characters-
- Harvard Business School grad (some say racist I disagree -I'll explain why)
- CyberJunkie - The most handsome and multi talented, probably also the most loopy in the head.
- CEO of the venture scale startup probably the most confused in the group ..Strange but true.
- A Chinese wheeler dealer who outfoxed Mr. CEO, Sir CyberJunkie, and Mr. Harvard Biz School
using a simple SEARCH ENGINE Strategy involving a mainstream search engine, and a fringe
gated online network.
I'll chop the point down quickly and tight.
Controlling the narrative can and does make or break deals of all sizes and in
almost any business category. SEO & Full Stack Marketing Services products
included.
I've written about this before. Yet it's a concept that many still struggle with
if my DMs reflect generalist thinking.
Narrative Control is not limited to SEO yet this is a specific SEO
example - finalized yet not initialized within a Gated Online Network.
I've explained before that SEO IS THE INTERNET. Yet most practitioners in
this space can't see beyond the dominant search engine giants.
This story is also proof that less can be more.
For the sake of this micro lesson,
Lets affectionately refer to our guy as Mr. Hong Tong - this is not his real name
though he was born where intelligent people claim the China Virus started.
After a diligent HR recruitment effort which narrowed down 4 people for
1 key role within our startup, Mr. Tong was a finalist for a specialist directorship
which if gained and all went as planned would ultimately place him among other
things inside the coveted 7 figure circle.
In fact for him this directorship would be 100% remote (Phone+Email+ Fax).
Tong was London based in the heart of our scheduled European presence.
His responsibility?
Complete European business dev which at the time encompassed over 15 EU
territories. For him this would have been a big score if selected.
For us also a BIG score because our EU operations could be consolidated
despite the severe complexities of EU differentials which often stifles growth for
service and product based GSI metrics.
Intelligence on this key role demanded that the selected candidate would be
literally buried in hard core strategic grunt work for at least 6 months until the
sweet spot became clear.
The forces against Mr. Tong being granted the directorship among the short list
of rivals despite his qualifications were enormous. Initially he was unaware.
The deep behind the scenes forces against Mr. Tong were drawn on ethnic lines.
Why?
Simple.
The luxury products that we were rolling out had a distinct European tradition
and heritage. The most influential voices did not want a Chinese in that leadership
role.
It's not that the products were Anti Chinese, but they were distinctly European and
like it or not, certain elements of media in certain markets and representation have
distinct European frameworks and character. Often these are market driven.
Without getting into specifics in our case, I'll offer a crude analogy which involves
Media presence and tradition or heritage. Just Google Mexican Weather Girls.
Oh never mind I'll save you the Google trip, thank me later if you would enjoy being
in any weather with a girl with these curves.
Anyway, the point being you wouldn't see Awkwafina as a presenter on the Mexican
Weather Channel. Not because Mexicans dislike Awkwafina, but because the
Mexican tradition highlights Mexican Women.. get my drift. Crude Example. Probably
not the best example, but I know what I mean inside of my own head.
When you dwell deep in the business of media sometimes these things matter and
sometimes they don't. In this instance I personally didn't think that it mattered
that Mr. Tong was Chinese. I felt that his qualifications and positioning made him the
best candidate for our needs, yet I understood the opposite view.
I was outvoted by Mr. Harvard Biz Advisor & Mr. CEO. It is what it is.
Descriptively,
A huge part of the operation involved luxury media sales campaigns and a unique
invitation process where Chinese or Asians in general represented a small fraction
of the world customer segment.
Having Mr. Tong as head of all European products at the time did not sit well with the
European majority calling the shots. The issue wasn't one of capability, the issue
was optics.
But Mr. Tong was unaware of this. The decision was made to give Mr. Tong the
bad news that another candidate had been selected as the head of European
products, a European.
Yours truly was given the responsibility of communicating to Mr. Tong during a
final conference call that he had not been selected.
The Plot Twist.
Mr. Tong was a master of scrappy narrative control specifically as it relates
to Search Engine Optimization. As a result Mr. Tong landed himself a very lucrative
recurring 6 digit arrangement against all odds for doing very little work.
Well, technically for doing great work ONCE during the course of about 6 months
and getting paid on a residual basis for maintenance and management etc.
Think in terms of building a toll gate entry system where you've dedicated the time
and resources to construct and maintain the toll gate which funnels traffic from multiple
directions, yet you get a small cut every time a car enters the toll.
Here's how he did it.
Sensing things weren't going in his favor (he had already low key soft probed me and
I was honest enough to give him a sense of his obstacle in a way that he didn't think we
were Sinophobic)
Shortly afterwards ..
He asked me if I could call for a short meeting before the final meeting with every
decision maker. At the time there were only 3 of us and 2 silent partners / investors
who had no opinion on the matter beyond project success.
Mr. Harvard Biz school advisor refused to attend the meeting as the matter was settled
in his mind that Mr. Tong was OUT. Wrong genetics to put it bluntly. His words. Micro
bigot. My words.
Which is precisely how he framed his vote for a NO for Mr. Tong. This is Deep Behind
The Scenes.
Mr. CEO decided to side with his special biz advisor based on the same grounds.
I decided to vote with the team to maintain consensus. Though the team well understood
my opinion that Tong was in fact the best candidate for the directorship based on prior
works and the mechanism by which we had discovered him anyway which in fact was
the Google Search engine.
The CEO was classy enough to accept the final meeting requested by Mr. Tong
which made the conference call a 3 way call between myself, Mr. CEO, and Mr. Tong
who did the unusual and pulled a rabbit out of his hat.
During the call, he asked if we were in front of a computer. Mr. CEO sat in my office
for the anticipated let down, we were on speaker phone and our reply was Yes, we are
here in front of a computer.
Controlling the narrative- 101
Mr. Tong basically backtracked, walked us down roughly 4 weeks of memory
lane.
He REMINDED US how we found HIM to begin with. A series of precise Google Searches.
He brought into focus that we had a problem, and identified him as a potential solution for
the problem. His goal at this point was to amplify that our instincts in shortlisting him was
accurate and required conclusion by selecting him as the most valuable candidate.
Great no problem, we are aware that he dominates the Google search engine for relevant
keywords for our goals. Giddy up happy days etc.
Mr. Tong started pleading his case in a very sophisticated way. He understood
that a key component of our European goals involved unification of a collection of
EU based independent operations which relied on a from of luxury media identity.
The Search Engine Hack Begins!
Mr. Tong then said to us, "before you make your final decision please go to this
website....Name of prominent Gated Online Network......." hmmm ok.
This was a curve ball. Interesting. Unexpected.
So, as instructed I entered this url into the search engine. The CEO took a look
at my screen, shrugged his shoulders at me.
Looking at my screen his eyes opened widely. Then he spoke into the speaker
phone...to Mr. Tong, he asked in his own distinct accent. what exactly is this?
The url had an intriguing name and a unique interface. The central point was
it represented exclusivity and prestige and this was obvious by the headline
copy.
Paradoxically exclusivity and prestige were also key features involving the startup
project where Mr. Tong was a final candidate.
Mr. Tong answered the CEO's question this way.. "It's the most exclusive online
portal in Europe and the members of this community are the types of people that
can help us spread the word about this project in ways that you can't buy and
also involve networks which take a long time if ever to penetrate. These are
the real movers and shakers, business owners and connectors throughout
Europe who then connect to the world."
Mr. Tong grew up in Hong Kong but lived in London full time. He was the
First Chinese person that I've met at the time with a strong British
Accent. ha ha. It was very unusual to me at the time as an American.
The CEO instructed me to Get Into the site ... Let's see what he's talking about,
have you ever heard of this site before he asked?
I said NOPE! Never heard of it before. Let me look around.
Long story short, after navigating the site for a bit and reading the text, clearly this
was some kind of Gated Online Network with Affluent & Demonstrably Accomplished
People, apparently based in Europe our target territory.
Then Mr. CEO leaned into the speaker phone to say.. "Tong, how do we get inside
to look around? His reply...
"You Can't... because it's a Gated sight Mate, it's by Invitation Only,
But don't worry, I'll send Cj an invitation right now vial EMAIL and he'll be able to
get in based on my private referral LINK.
And then you can go to the SEARCHENGINE.
When you get inside. Enter these Keywords, [Which were targeted Self Serving
Keywords profiling and featuring Mr. Tong within the capacity of our larger goals]
And then you can see my connections."
Mr Tong further stated, "I'll bet NONE of your other candidates have this type of
network and setup already in PLACE because this can really help the EU rollout!
"Our candidate Mr. Tong dominated the keywords for the relevant terms inside
that Gated Online Network the same way that he did with Google.
Beyond that he was the Go To Guy within that Gated Online Network with existing
valuable connections. Heaps of them.
Plus his profile member date predated our outreach to him. Proof that he was very
forward thinking and strategically diversified about the quality of his professional
contacts and capabilities long before we reached out to him.
A BIG Plus which proved his level of dedication and consistency to his unique
profession and skill set.
These were Hidden Advantages that he held which were not obvious to us
during the vetting process and did not exist within a mainstream social media
Google Search.
A gated digital country club in Europe.
That is the compressed version of how Mr. Tong became
our partner in Europe against all odds.
For discerning eyes you'll recognize that Mr. Tong did 3
things very well that out competed 3 other candidates.
Thing #1 He didn't give up after he sensed that he was not going to be selected.
Thing #2 He controlled the narrative by directing our attention beyond google where
ANYONE could DWELL online with basic SEO.
Thing #3 Perhaps the most important thing is that he provided an expert
lesson in the extreme value of Gated Online Network SEARCH ENGINES
and their native value to our Newco project.
Tong was positioned where other competitors weren't, in a place of value.
The key thing to know for the sake of this context is this. Not All Search Engines
Are Created Equal!
Compound that micro lesson with... You don't know what you don't know until someone
else points you in that direction. That's also the value of mentors and credible guidance.
Mentors & Guides know BLIND SPOTS that have never crossed your mind, and they
know things that the majority simply don't know, it comes from deep experience in doing
things that fail and succeed.
Not just random things, but things of high value that can accelerate your growth and
change your life for the better.
SIDE NOTE!
Mr. Harvard did not react well to the CEO reverse decision to onboard Mr. Tong.
We were on the front lines we instantly discerned the value, that little thing made a
big difference.
This Gated Online Network actually functioned very well as an enabler for much larger
derivative deals and connections.
I don't think that Mr. Harvard Biz School advisor was a bigot or a racist.
But some think that he is within this context. I think he's just a traditionalist and
imagined the European territory being headed by a European instead of an ethnic
Chinese.
Just like Mexican News Girls are traditionally Mexican not Chinese.
It's tradition.The CEO and Mr. Harvard Biz were older guys. Mr. Harvard was actually in his early
70's at the time and wicked smart and accomplished. Retired and sat on the board
of several successful companies. A different type of connector.
Mr. CEO was probably a decade younger than Mr. Harvard perhaps more, but these
were not technology guys.
They were people who had achieved enough success within traditional business models
to bring in or hire people in their orbit to understand and execute nuances in a way to
produce success for the New Co.
Convincing Mr. CEO to change his mind about Mr. Tong was easy once he realized
that it actually took an invitation to gain access to the site because that confirmed
exclusivity in a part of the world where He was actually from.
Plus for reasons too nuanced to dissect here, once the CEO and I gained access
to the site for what equated to a 24 hour demo or visitors pass at the time, it became
clear that Mr.Tong was our guy. Hence the original decision to dismiss Mr. Tong
as the right candidate became reversed.
Things worked out well despite Mr. Harvard Biz never quite warming up to the idea
of what he called in a gruff way a "Hong Kong wheeler dealer running all of Europe".
So yeah, by leveraging the use of that Gated Online Network, paired with the
SEO which existed by Mr. Tong within the search engine and google, he succeeded
in displacing his rivals.
It enabled him to carve out a high recurring income and exclusive partnership from
that distinct body of work.
This is how winners THINK and DO.
By sharing this story my hope is that media entrepreneurs of all spectrums gain a better
grit and agility about SELLING themselves and their products, and many ways exists
to do that which defy convention and "mass me too" concepts. Several lessons
within this story denote that.
Often you must create your own success or be prepared to pay fair market value
to piggyback the success of what someone else has already built, that's why
franchises exist.
Underdogs like Mr. Tong prevail because somehow they've figured out something
unique that their competitors and the masses have not.
When you're first starting out chances are you are an underdog facing congested
competition from angles that may not be apparent to you, similar to underdog
forces experienced by Mr. Tong.
The good news is this.
Unless you allow yourself to fall prey to distractability from analysis paralysis, inaction,
and mind clutter - the resources to gain higher levels of Remote high yield sales
success are abundantly available within this forum.
Thanks for reading.
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