Episode 034 Ramit Sethi Part 2

Summary

• Ramit Sethi is an entrepreneur, behavioral change and persuasion expert, and friend of Tim Ferriss
• Ramit has gone from venture backed to selffunded bootstrapping
• Tim has given away a lot of free content and value to establish trust with his audience before offering something for sale
• Ramit suggests giving away as much as possible for free, but being unapologetic about aggressively selling at high price points
• Tim is considering doing an experiment to take 1,0002,000 people and try to get the highest adherence and conversion rate possible for a 48 week period
• Ramit suggests being in total control, writing long form copy, and choosing who to allow to join the material to maintain integrity while selling
• Ramit Sethi prohibits anyone with credit card debt from joining his flagship courses.
• He uses a combination of carrot and stick to enforce this rule, including explaining why it is the right thing to do and banning people for life if they join anyway.
• He has seen a dramatic shift in the type of customers that join his programs as a result.
• Tim Ferriss suggests an application process to avoid people going into debt to purchase a product.
• Ramit Sethi admires this approach and has refined his message to explain why people with credit card debt cannot join his courses.
• Main Points:
• People need boundaries and constraints to be productive and happy.
• Ramit Sethi was raised in a traditional Indian household with two immigrant parents.
• His family was honest and taught him how to negotiate from a young age.
• He talks about negotiating like an Indian and how his parents would spend days negotiating for a car.
• He jokes about being Asian and has a side site called Your Surrogate Asian Father.
• Ramit Sethi discusses the idea of an Asian father who is never quite satisfied with his child's performance, but still loves and supports them.
• Ramit Sethi recommends two books: Mindless Eating and The Robert Collier Letter Book.
• Ramit Sethi suggests three books for 30 year olds who are becoming entrepreneurs for the first time: Age of Propaganda by Pratkanis, Social Animal by Pratkanis, and Jiro Dreams of Sushi.
• Ramit Sethi was inspired by the movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi, which showed him what it meant to be great and the level of detail that can be achieved.
• Tim Ferriss has a longstanding love affair with Japan and has had a great experience at the youngest son's sushi restaurant.
• Ramit Sethi prefers Jason Bourne to James Bond and does not have any pets.
• Tim Ferriss joked about cats being 70 pounds heavier and killing people in their sleep, which caused a PR crisis.
• Ramit Sethi would try eating dog if he was in China, but does not know the difference between species.
• Ramit Sethi has made it a resolution to surround himself with beauty.
• Ramit Sethi discovered the importance of beauty and organization in his life.
• He learned to appreciate the craftsmanship and work that goes into creating something beautiful.
• He has a chef that delivers meals to his home.
• The best $100.00 he spent in the last year was on a second power cord.
• To get a response from someone, introduce yourself, find commonality, and make it clear what you are asking for.
• Aim for people who were in the limelight in the past and give them an easy out.
• Understand the power dynamic when emailing someone busier than you
• Use the "close the loop technique" to follow up with people who have taken the time to meet with you
• Do not follow up with an immediate additional request
• Do not keep in touch just to keep in touch
• Respect the recipient's time and do not send multiple emails if they do not respond
• Do not crowd the recipient's inbox with zero substance emails
• If you have a good experience with someone, they will remember you
• Send thoughtful follow up emails with updates on what you have done with their advice
• Do not persistently follow up if the recipient has said no
• Tim Ferriss interviews Ramit Sethi about his experience marketing the Four Hour Body and how to get the attention of busy people.
• Ramit Sethi recommends three books to help people in their career: The Age of Propaganda, Social Animal, and Never Eat Alone.
• He also recommends the biography of Lee Iacocca and What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School by Mark McCormick.
• People can learn more about Ramit Sethi at iwillteachyoutoberich.com/tim.