In 2016, I bought a business from a former United Airlines pilot in my hometown. We met at Starbucks, agreed on terms and let our lawyers paper it up.

At the time, this was life-changing for me. But what's crazy is that it almost NEVER happened.

"Why?"

Because my entire game-plan for finding and buying a business was a complete mess.

Looking back, I call it the "hope and pray" strategy, which as you might expect, rarely works.

My typical day involved doom-scrolling the obvious top three business listing websites, staring at the same dead-end deals that fifty other people were already shopping.

On my lunch break, I would try to chase down brokers and follow up with business owners who rarely returned my phone calls.

My search felt PAINFULLY SLOW. Limp and lifeless.

I felt frustrated because I actually knew what I wanted (i.e. a high quality business), but I didn't have a plan to get me there.

This part is REALLY embarrassing...

Truth be told: I had no real prospect list. No process for filling (and re-filling) my pipeline. No consistent way of reaching out to business owners. No standard phone script or list of go-to questions for sellers. Like I said, a complete mess.

Being 100% honest: I'm not even sure I could actually tell a good deal from a bad deal if I saw one.

I got really lucky at that Starbucks, but that "hope-and-pray" strategy simply will NOT work in this economy.

The rules of the game have changed.

Now a' days, Searchers who find success have one ENORMOUS thing in common -- a system.

A reliable way to find good deals and get the business owner to talk to you.

This seems obvious, right?

Best part: With the RIGHT system, it's actually never been easier to generate a flood of high quality deal-flow that is practically hidden in plain sight.

If you've been on this journey long enough, by now you probably know WHAT you need, You just don't know HOW to do it.

Here's exactly what I wish someone had told me back in 2016 ---

If you feel like your search isn't really "working" and you're looking for a way to reach your financial goals FASTER, here's what I recommend...

You need to launch an insanely simple, automated system for finding, qualifying and ultimately closing deals, regardless of the economy.

Whether you're just getting started, or your search feels STUCK to the point of giving up, launching a system is the key to giving yourself the best chance for success. It's working smarter, not harder.

This is how ordinary people (like me), end up buying a life-changing business, even while working a 9-5 job and trying to raise a family.

A simple, automated, hassle-free system.

And for the record: this "system" goes WAY beyond picking the right CRM (which I agree is important).

At the end of the day, it's not about the tools you use, but HOW you use them.

That's it! That's the game.