2 Critical Skills You Need To Make Money Fast

What are the most important skills for making money in business?

“after well over 10 years actually over 15 years now working in business and really investing a lot of my own time effort and energy to discover which skills result in the most money being made and which are the the skills that you can learn that will most dependably lead to profit and long-term income I've realized that two of them really stand out and there are actually two similar skills that start in one skill and these skills are marketing and sales”

— Eben Pagan▶ 0:30

Marketing and sales are the two most critical skills for generating profits and long-term income in business. These skills directly help you get customers, which is the fundamental activity that creates revenue.

What is the difference between playing business and doing business?

“playing business involves everything you think you should be doing to run a business you want to avoid wasting your time on things that don't directly relate to getting customers and selling your products and services”

— Eben Pagan▶ 1:32

Playing business involves activities that feel productive but don't generate customers, like designing business cards, choosing website colors, or naming your business. Doing business focuses exclusively on customer acquisition and selling products or services.

Why do entrepreneurs avoid learning sales skills?

“when most people think about the idea of selling they get a bad feeling in their stomach the connotation in sales is that you're going to be trying to talk people into buying things that they don't want and they don't need and using high-pressure tactics to do it professional selling in reality is not about coercion and manipulation it's about helping”

— Eben Pagan▶ 3:07

Most entrepreneurs avoid sales because they associate it with shady tactics and high-pressure manipulation. They think of used-car salesmen or coercive techniques, when professional selling is actually about helping people get what they need.

What business activities should entrepreneurs avoid when starting out?

“these will be things like well what do I name my business and what should I make my business card look like and what should the colors be on my website and there'll be a million little details okay this all this stuff is like setting up and playing business”

— Eben Pagan▶ 2:03

New entrepreneurs should avoid setup activities that don't directly generate customers, including choosing business names, designing business cards, selecting website colors, and other branding details that distract from sales and marketing.

What is professional selling really about?

“professional selling in reality is not about coercion and manipulation it's about helping”

— Eben Pagan▶ 3:27

Professional selling is about helping people get what they need, not using coercion or manipulation. It's not high-pressure tactics or being overly friendly, but a skilled approach to genuinely assisting customers with solutions to their problems.

The Two Skills That Generate the Most Money

After 15+ years of business experience, Eben reveals that marketing and sales consistently produce the most dependable profits. These skills focus on the core business function of customer acquisition, which directly translates to revenue generation.

Playing Business Versus Doing Business

Most entrepreneurs get distracted by setup activities like business naming, card design, and website colors instead of focusing on customer acquisition. This distinction between 'playing business' and 'doing business' determines whether efforts translate into actual revenue.

Reframing Professional Selling

Selling has gotten a bad reputation due to associations with high-pressure tactics and manipulation. Professional selling is actually about helping people get what they need, not coercion or simply being friendly and answering questions.