Your Clients Don't Hate Contracts—They Hate Bad Ones Pt. 2
Release Date: 08/28/2026
Carl-Gould-#70secondCEO-Stage 7: Is Your Business Ready for Succession?
Carl Gould #70secondCEO
Hi Everybody, Carl Gould here, author of The 7 Stage Growth Method and your #70secondCEO, where you invest a little more than one minute a day for a lifetime of results. Today’s topic is: Stage 7, The Succession Stage We’re ranking your business right now. Where are you in this growth trajectory? 1 is, huh? 10 is, we got it! Alright, The Succession Stage: to what degree do you have: Management team in place? Tight controls? Solid operations? You’re running like a finely tuned machine? You have a lead generation machine? A sales team that’s closing...
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Carl-Gould-#70secondCEO-Stage 6: Build a Management Team That Makes Your Business Sellable
Carl Gould #70secondCEO
Hi Everyone, Carl Gould here. I am your #70secondCEO and the author of The 7 Stage Growth Method. Just a little bit more than a one-minute investment each day for a lifetime of results. Are we ranking your business on the 7 Stage Growth model, OK? Stage 6, give yourself a ranking on a scale of 1 to 10. This is the Stage of Scalability. Remember Stage 3, when you’re building your implementation team? Now you’re building your management team, OK? You need to have in place a consistent resource for a lead generator: Your chief marketing or lead generation officer Your VP of...
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Carl-Gould-#70secondCEO-Stage 5: Is Your Business Known for More Than What You Sell?
Carl Gould #70secondCEO
Hi Everyone, Carl Gould here with your #70secondCEO, I’m also the author of The 7 Stage Growth Method. Today’s topic- Stage 5- The Sustainability Stage This is the stage when you can first start considering scaling your business. You’ve laid the foundation in stages one through four. Let’s see how you're doing in Stage 5; give yourself a rank on a scale of 1-10, 1 low, 10 high. Stage 5 is when the systems have taken over to the point they’ve created such a consistent experience for your customer base that you are now known for something other than your product and service....
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Carl-Gould-#70secondCEO-Stage 4: Build Systems That Help Your Business Run Without You
Carl Gould #70secondCEO
Hi everyone, Carl Gould here with your #70secondCEO—just a little over a one-minute investment every day for a lifetime of results. You’ll know you’ve entered Stage 4 when every role in your business begins to take on a life of its own. Things start happening without your direct involvement. The pace of the business slows down—but in a good way. You might walk into the office and find it calm, almost quiet. That’s not a bad sign—it’s a sign of growing efficiency. This is a big shift from the hustle of Stages 1 and 2. It’s not that your business is moving slower; it’s that...
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Carl-Gould-#70secondCEO-Stage 3: How Aligned Is Your Team with Your Business Mission?
Carl Gould #70secondCEO
Hi Everyone, Carl Gould here, author of The 7 Stage Growth Method and your #70secondCEO, a little more than a one-minute investment every day for a lifetime of results. Today’s topic: Stage 3. Give yourself a rank on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 low, 10 high. Stage 3 is the Synergy Stage. This is where you’re building your implementation team. If you have a great plan, you’re an authority in your niche. Now you’re busy and in demand, and you need people to help you. They have to be fully aligned and bought into: Your mission Your vision Your values Your purpose for your...
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Carl-Gould-#70secondCEO-Stage 2: Build Your Credentials to Maximize Your Earning Potential
Carl Gould #70secondCEO
Hi everyone, Carl Gould here with your #70secondCEO. Just a little over a one minute investment every day for a lifetime of results. The challenge that you have here is that, most of the time, the business runs the owner in stage two; this is an area of concern. Part of your focus needs to be implementing your MVP plan, working with your strategic partner, your advisor, building those credentials, and maximizing this stage by making sure you're among the highest compensated in your field, because in stage two, there is a limit to what you can earn. There is a limit, because there are...
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Carl-Gould-#70secondCEO-Stage 1: Design Your Business Future and Win Your First Customer
Carl Gould #70secondCEO
Hi everyone, Carl Gould here with your #70secondCEO. Just a little over a one-minute investment every day for a lifetime of results. Stage one: strategic planning. If you look down at the graph, you'll see in front of you what the personality of this particular stage is. Well, your major focus is going to be drive; your other major focus is going to be income and interaction because, remember, we have to persuade the marketplace that we have a good idea, and we have to sell it first before we create it. Now that's high risk, because you have to live up to what you said after the fact you have...
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Carl-Gould-#70secondCEO-Stage 1: Turn Your Business Idea into Demand Before You Build
Carl Gould #70secondCEO
What are the 7 Stages?. Hi everyone, Carl Gould here with your #70secondCEO. Just a little over a one-minute investment every day for a lifetime of results. So what are these 7 stages? We've been talking about them a lot already. Let me give you an overview of each of the 7 stages before we get more into it. Stage one is the strategic planning stage. This is where your dream is born; you're going to focus on the direction, the planning of your company; you're going to sell your business first, then you're going to create it. Well, what the heck does that mean? Have you ever heard of a...
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Carl-Gould-#70secondCEO-Your Business Mirrors You How Owner Strengths Create Business Blind Spots
Carl Gould #70secondCEO
Your Business Mirrors You: How Owner Strengths Create Business Blind Spots Hi everyone, Carl Gould here with your #70secondCEO. Just a little over a one-minute investment every day for a lifetime of results. As we’ve said many times, the business mirrors the owner's personality; it must. In order for this business to get off the ground, it must mirror your personality and your personal strengths. The strengths of the owner become the strength of the business; along with that come the blind spots, and here’s one of the ways that you’ll know where your strengths lie and where your...
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Carl-Gould-#70secondCEO-Build the Right Team Match People to Their Strengths Roles Your Business Vision
Carl Gould #70secondCEO
Build the Right Team: Match People to Their Strengths, Roles & Your Business Vision Hi everyone, Carl Gould here with your #70secondCEO. Just a little over a one minute investment every day for a lifetime of results. When you create your organizational chart, you'll match people to their styles. And that's step number one: most people are going to gravitate towards the jobs that they're good at already, and we're gonna, when we talk about attributes, we'll talk about the skills and what they mechanically bring to the table. People gravitate towards certain roles because people like what...
info_outlineHi everyone, Carl Gould here with your #70secondCEO. Just a little over a one-minute investment every day for a lifetime of results.
So Jim, what I would do is I would look at what would be favorable, what would be the terms and conditions of the contract that you would be willing to say to a customer: I'll eat the price increase if it comes up in the next whatever 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, whatever.
Here's what I would need in order to guarantee it. And here's what they would need in order to sign the contract. And you work it back and forth until you have something that you think would be favorable enough that they would be willing to sign. Now remember, when you go to them with this, and you say, listen, I'm willing to eat the price difference if you sign this contract. And they're like, "Wow, you must be confident in your ability." I'm like, absolutely.
I don't want to do that, but I'll go with you. Remember, this obnoxious offer, people will either buy. or you will use it as a closing tool for your other levels. So it serves two purposes. But the one thing it will do is it will differentiate you as the guy who's willing to guarantee and put his money where his mouth is. And that will differentiate you.
Like and follow this podcast so you can learn more. My name is Carl Gould, and this has been your#70secondCEO.