Staying Sharp: How Our Team Transformed In Just 2 Weeks

With so many self-help books, courses, seminars and programs, often the hardest step isn’t making the decision to move forward, but how to move forward. 

That’s why when Machines4U co-founder Steve Krebs unveiled his master plan for business evolution, the team replied with excited grins and plenty of gusto. As no stranger to Tony Robbins seminars himself, Steve’s plan was for all of us to complete the 10-day Mastering Influence course. 

“I’d noticed the vibe in the office was different; I was seeing a lot of slumped body language and a lack of confidence. And I knew they could be thinking and feeling a different way,” said Steve.

“One of our culture points is being obsessed with being better, so it was about living our culture and genuinely learning and growing. We could have done this all on our own, and it would have had a completely different outcome. The beauty of learning as a team is you can learn from each other.  We did it to communicate to our customers better and understand our product and more about ourselves. 

It’s about us, our beliefs, our state and how we’re running ourselves. A lot of people aren’t aware of that, and it brings that awareness of oh my God, I could be thinking differently and asking myself different quality questions that will put me into a different state.”

Here’s how Tony Robbins’ Mastering Influence transformed Machines4U from individuals in a team to a unified hive-mind.

Looking Inwards To See Outwards

As with all Tony Robbins’ courses, there is an element of self-reflection, commitment and analysis in Mastering Influence. There’s a reason day 1, step 1 is ‘Start with Yourself’. And funnily enough, upon completion of the course, it was marked as one of the most important and fundamentally transformative parts of the entire 10-day program. 

That’s because the crux of helping others is first helping yourself. And that isn’t easy. It forced us to see what was holding us back from achieving our goals, both personal and professional, and what we might have lost by allowing those fears to take hold. That includes money, relationships, material possessions, security, freedom…  

That part was especially hard.

But it also hit home for all of us. 

And only when presented with and really feeling those losses, were we pushed to change the patterns that caused them in the first place.

A few big ways we changed these thought patterns included:

• Identifying when our emotions were ruling our bodies, i.e. when we’re not ‘in state’, and how to get back into a positive state quickly. 
• Visualising our future selves: What did our future self look like without any of our current worries, hindrances or anxieties? Allowing ourselves to push through those feelings of fear and strengthen new, positive thought patterns in its place.
• Creating our own daily positive affirmations that Tony calls inCANtations, to get our mindsets right and ready for the day ahead.

From Sales to Serving

If you’re around anything long enough, you take it for granted.
— Law of Familiarity 

Shifting our thought patterns for our own behaviours was tough, yet an essential part of transforming the way we think, function, market and (of course), sell. Next, we had to change the way we understood our interactions. Not just those with our clients and prospects, but with everyone around us; our colleagues, families and friends. 

It’s easy to fall into the trap of living everyday on autopilot. Coming to work, writing the to-do list, ticking it off and finally, going home. We’d hardly remember half the conversations we’d had! And it’s even less likely we harnessed those interactions to work in our favour.

It was something that was lacking in a lot of us; the ‘serving’ mindset. Because generally autopilot serves only ourselves, and to master influence, that just won’t fly.

So we had to shift another part of our brain, to move from a sales focus to a serving focus. To understand that sales is fundamentally about building long-term friendships and rapport. It’s about being on the same side of the desk, and understanding their fundamental needs. 

It’s such a simple concept that we always knew in the backs of our minds, but never truly harnessed properly. 

Now, just 10 days later, our team is unified in our goals, perceptions, thought patterns, focus and approach. It is one of the most powerful things to do in business. And we’re already seeing the positive change in each other and the flow-on effect it’s creating. 

“I’ve seen so many massive changes within people; their confidence and their outlook. It’s so exciting for me to see, right across the board. I didn’t realise it was going to change people as much as it has. A huge part of the process was the commitment to each other and coming in early every day,” said Steve.

“I think it touched everyone. When we finished the course, we had a big lunch and gave out certificates. It was really cool to hear how it’s affected people personally, not just in business. It’s given us all a better understanding of ourselves and how to interact with people around us. And to top it off—this week we’re having our record sales week.” 

“It’s been amazing, and now I’m like right, onto the next stuff, let’s keep progressing.” 

People-Centric Sales & Marketing

It’s no easy feat to do a 180 on how you think and perceive the world. And there will be plenty of practice to come to solidify and incorporate all the values and changes we’ve been learning over those 10 days into all areas of our lives.

We haven’t just moved from being business-centric to client-centric. We’ve shifted from being self-centric to people-centric.  

All aspects of our business now put people first. All in the same way, using the same language, ensuring the same end goal and results that the clients and prospects really, seriously want. That’s the real beauty of investing in your team and allowing them the time to workshop it together. The concepts, ideas, interpretations and opinions that arose from each and every chapter were invaluable to each other and the business.  

“Tony Robbins has enlightened the process and art of selling to the extent that it is not always about the product.”
—Jonathon ‘Jono’ Simister, Machines4U Account Manager 

“Masters of Influence has proven to be a true catalyst for growth in both my personal life and professional career. I loved every second of it.”
—Lyndon Smith, Machines4U Account Manager

“I did this course 10 years ago and still use it every day.”
—Steve Krebs, Machines4U Co-Founder

“The course allowed me to reconnect with who I really am and get back in touch with who I was as a kid before the world had its way. The questions we ask ourselves are what determines our quality of life.”

—Aidan Willis, Machines4U Account Manager

What were our key learnings?

While we tackled this course as a team, of course we all had specific concepts that really meant a lot to us, and provided us with the key to essentially change our lives. These key learnings included:

• Understanding why we all do, think and buy things—what drives us?
• How to shift unhealthy or unserving thought patterns into those that move us forward and better ourselves.
• How to manage our state, and not let emotion drive us.

Have you participated in a course that changed your life? Tell us about it below!