I had a mentor share something with me last year that completely turned my thoughts about business upside down.
It also made me realize that I TOTALLY over-complicate things!
Here’s what my mentor said that shifted everything for me:
All businesses come down to three things:
- Offers
- Leads
- Sales
Pretty basic, right?
No matter what type of business you’re in, you need all 3 of these things. Without them, the best positioning, brand, story and customer service mean nothing (o.k, that might be a little dramatic, but you get my point). You need something to sell (your offer), you need someone to sell it to (leads) and you need to make a profit (sales).
The minute I heard this I knew what I needed to fix in my business.
Which brings me to over-complicating things.
I spent the last week in Orlando, FL with a mastermind group I’m in. We have 3 mentors who run this group (the same one who taught me about offers, leads & sales is part of this mentorship). Nothing compares to being around a group of like-minded individuals who are taking massive action in their business on a consistent basis… without all the crazy hype you see online.
They’re not ‘big names’ or ‘influencers’ per se but are creating amazing lifestyles by building long-term, sustainable businesses. Their business model doesn’t revolve around a product launch, speaking on stages or attending big events (nothing wrong with any of those things btw, they’re just not required to succeed online).
What this does for me is confirm that I can build my business in a way that works for ME and at a pace I’m comfortable with.
If I see one more post about “doing the work” I think I’m going on sabbatical.
Here’s the rub.
Being a part of this group has definitely helped me take things to a whole new level in terms of what I offer and what I charge. I value what I do in a way I couldn’t conceive of before being a part of this group (it’s been almost 3 years now). What I discovered last week though was that I was making everything WAY more complicated than it should be.
Fortunately I wasn’t the only one.
One of the exercises we do when we get together is break down our offers (front end offer, back end offer) how many people we’re able to convert at each level and how many leads we need to attain our goals. At first I thought this was going to be overwhelming (attaining the financial goal I set)… until I saw the numbers (I know, I know… there’s power in writing things down).
Now I KNOW it’s possible.
The over-complicating came when I realized I had created ‘rules’ around what it looked like to attain that number.
Meaning, I was only giving myself credit for the money that came in through that specific offer.
I wasn’t counting all the other work or revenue that my business generated (I know… it sounds ludicrous even as I write this). I have recurring revenue through my outsourcing company, web development income and some coaching income. Somehow I was treating it like it “didn’t count”.
Guess what?
It ALL counts (there’s a new hashtag in the group now… #itallcounts).
Which is when another one of our mentors pointed out how much money we were leaving on the table with this notion.
Just because you have set packages for certain things in your business doesn’t mean you can’t work outside of those criteria.
Here’s an example of what I’m referring to:
I had a previous coaching client who was using my outsourcing team. She was concerned that some months she wouldn’t have enough work to use the hours and other months she would go over her hours. We have it set up on a recurring monthly payment for a set amount of hours (so we can manage the staffing). She approached me and asked me if she could pay for 6 months up front and simply average the time. My answer?
Absolutely! And not just because it was nice to have that income up front (which it was), but because it was a great reminder that I could do what I wanted in a way that works for me.
Maybe you’ve had someone tell you that you have to offer website packages (which is what someone told me years ago).
The problem with this is that I have yet to have any two clients want the same thing for a website, so the ‘packages’ are kind of a moot point.
Side note
I’ve been meaning to create a meme that says “Asking how much a website costs is like asking how much a car costs”… kind of ambiguous, right? Do you want a Honda Civic or a Model S Tesla? #justsayin
So let me ask you this:
What would your business look like if you worked with the clients you wanted to work with in a way that worked for both of you?
Love serving people one on one? (even though everyone else is telling you to do group programs?)
Do it!
You can even create things on the fly if someone reaches out to work with you.
Another one of my mentors who is very tuned into his spiritual side will come up with an idea at night, get a ‘download’ (internally) and offer the webinar on Facebook and to his list the next day. The results? He sold over $40k because he simply showed up, provided value and made an offer (he’s also hosted over 4000 webinars, so he’s pretty good at this, but he didn’t worry about whether or not he promoted it a week ahead of time, had his ads running for x amount of days, practiced his slides, etc.).
See where I’m going with this?
Not everything needs to be run like a systematic product launch (she says breathing a sigh of relief).
I’m going to give you one more example of a good friend of mine who has created an amazing business (doing over a million dollars in sales per month). He’s created a recurring revenue model in a niche that I never would have thought would have supported a digital continuity program, but he’s done it.
Before I share this example, I’m going to preface it that the purpose of the example is not to make a political statement nor am I giving an opinion on the niche (I don’t know if that’s a public service announcement or disclaimer, either way, try to focus on the business model).
He’s in the gun niche.
They don’t sell guns, they sell physical products to gun enthusiasts (targets, gun oil, etc.). They’ve built an email database of almost 270,000 people in two years. They did this by creating content (content marketing works in EVERY niche), providing value, building a relationship and then selling to their audience.
He has over 3000 people in their monthly continuity program at $38/mo.
It’s ALL digital content.
For gun enthusiasts.
I’m not afraid to say that I probably wouldn’t have picked this niche as one that would support a digital continuity program (not that I know anything about this niche). What it DID do for me was make me realize there is no reason not to follow this model (continuity program).
Here’s the beauty of it.
He didn’t create a massive course with modules, steps, PDFs, videos, downloads and a zillion bonuses (zillion has to be a real word in another universe. I’m sure of it).
He simply provides NEW content every month and listens to his customers.
Not a bad business model, right?
It’s O.K. to KEEP IT SIMPLE.
You don’t need to create complicated programs, in depth modules or stick to what you’ve always done.
If people want to work with you… let them.
Do Business. As Only YOU Can Do.
#itallcounts
