Top closer Yemi Oniya Jr, and founder and head of online growth at YO Digital Agency, says in our interview – ‘Unless you’re going into the professional fields like Medicine, Law, Engineering or even Teaching, I don’t think you should waste time or money on a 4 year institution. This message is especially important for 17-24 years olds. Take it from those who’ve gone the college route and are now
making a living utilizing high income skills. I’m not saying don’t go to college at all, I’m saying consider all your alternative options first’.
‘Given this current climate, job security isn’t what it used to be anymore. Fifty years ago one could work at the same company all their life that would provide them an adequate income to take care of themselves and family and even retire with benefits. That’s not the case anymore especially with mass jobs going overseas and the advent of A.I. and machine learning. Both of which employers don’t need to provide with healthcare or holiday time.’
He adds, ‘Nowadays you have to take the reins in your own hands and determine your future. That’s where entrepreneurship comes in and in particular learning a specific skill. Preferably a high income skill such as UX/UI, coding, copywriting, closing, SEO etc. Something that is highly in demand and will be needed for the next decade or so. These skills can be learnt on your own through online/YouTube content if you’re resourceful enough or you could invest in a mentor or teacher who is an expert in the skill and really fast track your progress’.
Yemi goes on to further state, ‘here’s the kick, investing in a mentor will cost you up to 3k at the most. Your first client potentially can pay you that same 3k a month for your skill(s) which you would provide as a service and boom you’ve already made your investment back with ROI in month 2!
Compare that with paying 20k (on average) per year for a four year university. That is 80k in debt upon graduation with no real skill other than a degree that will land you a job at 45k annually starting out if you’re lucky. Factoring the cost of living with rent, groceries and miscellaneous expenses and your salary is barely keeping your head above water. Oh and this is before student loan repayment kicks in after your 6-9 months grace period post graduation.’
‘Bear in mind you’ll be competing with loads of other fresh graduates and even then you’ll have no real work experience and will be turned down more often than not unless you’ve got connections that can hook you up.
You need a job to get experience and you need experience to get a job. It’s a vicious cycle that isn’t practical. So now you tell me which is the smarter investment, the 3k for an in demand high paying skill? Or 80k for a piece of paper?’
‘Skills pay the bills, you get the point?’
Yemi advises that if you can only invest in one skill to learn then try to master how to close. Specifically sales closing through the phone. In the industry its High Ticket Sales Closing. ‘To give you a brief rundown, entrepreneurs and business owners usually have a service or product they are selling. Services or products can range anywhere from $2k-10k (high ticket price). Most customers will want to speak to someone from the business before investing such a high dollar amount whether to ask questions or address concerns. However the business owner is so busy with content creation, fulfillment of services, marketing etc that they usually don’t have time to talk to the customer and make the phone sale.’
‘That’s where you as a high ticket closer come in. You use your skills of probing, problem solving and being a people person to help close the sale for the business owner. The business owner is happy that you are bringing in sales and is more than willing to pay you an industry average of 10 percent commission of the ticket price. (10 percent of $2000 or $10,000 is $200 or $1000) The better you get at closing, the higher commission percentage you can potentially charge. Which regular job do you know of that allows you to make $200-$1000 per hour after graduating?? You do the math.’
To connect with Yemi Oniya Jr, please visit him @yemioniyajr on Instagram.
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