Today we’re talking about how to Plan, Prepare and Refuse to Give Up with podcast host, branding expert, and author Henry Kaminski, Jr. Henry is the founder of Unique Designz, a full-service design, branding and digital marketing agency dedicated to helping authority brands; coaches, consultants, influencers, speakers and authors to scale their expertise and personal brands into profitable business models. Henry started twelve years ago as a freelance graphic designer, eventually growing his business into a mature, boutique brand development agency.  His average client is typically worth $50-100K over a calendar year. But Henry remembers not so long ago when he was working for Fiverr. As sales reps, we know how it feels to want to get to the top as quickly as possible. We think it will be easy but then it is not long before we hit the hiccups. PLAN AND PREPARE Henry says it all comes down to preparation. He credits himself with once being the worst salesman on the planet. These days, Henry follows a very specific, tried and true script that he practices on a weekly basis. He does not deviate from that script and, as such, he is closing more and more sales. People perceive our value based on the questions we ask so planning ahead of time what to say is key. As Henry says “asking stupid questions only gets you stupid answers.” You will be perceived as an amateur. As a brand strategist and brand developer, Henry wants to position his clients to become subject matter experts.  He wants people to be on the edge of their seats whenever one of his clients is speaking. It is all about positioning and that comes with preparation. Do your research on your client. Know as much about them before you make the call. This is a lesson Henry learned the hard way. You have to know the answers to the questions but you will want to challenge the person that you are speaking to. There is no value in telling the client what they already know. Let your client know that you may ask them some tough questions – questions they maybe haven’t about thought before. Be sure they understand that your intent is not to pry but to get to the root of the issues in order to be the most helpful. BE INTENTIONAL Henry became intentional with his desire to start his own business after Hurricane Sandy blew through New Jersey and wiped out two of his biggest clients. Henry tried to continue living the lifestyle to which he had become accustomed but with a revenue loss of a quarter of a million dollars, it just wasn’t possible. At the same time, Fiverr entered the design world and disrupted the entire industry. Henry couldn’t beat them so he joined them. But it wasn’t a sustainable position. He remembers a $120 paycheck for over 90 hours of work and he remembers earning $5 for six hours of revisions on a business card. And he remembers telling his wife that they needed to make a change. She got out the laptop and said, “Let’s get to work.” Henry started working with a mentor, Russell Brunson. He couldn’t afford to pay for the coaching program but he couldn’t afford not to, either. So he maxed out his credit card and got on the phone with Russell. At the end of the one-hour call, they were both crying hysterically as Henry was hired on the spot to help with Russell’s first book launch. That gave Henry the confidence boost he needed. It was the biggest sale he ever made and it led to another job with Russell a few months later. More importantly, Henry received the most important tidbit of insight from Russell. Despite all his fancy websites and great designs, Henry himself was nowhere to be found on any of it. His big personality was hiding behind the logo. That has all changed now and Henry doesn’t regret it for a minute. He has found his lane. Content creation and working one-on-one with the clients is where he wants to stay. GET SEEN As a podcast host, myself, I can relate. People came to my webpage and listened to my podcast, but if they wanted to see me, they coul