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3 Tips You Need To Grow Profit Right NOW

Published on: 2nd April, 2024

n this episode, Samantha Varner shares tips and strategies for creating a thriving and profitable business.

Takeaways

  • Enhancing the customer experience is crucial for increasing profitability.
  • Regularly evaluate and raise your rates to reflect the value you provide.
  • Analyze your pricing structures and consider bundling services or implementing tiered pricing.
  • Conduct a financial assessment to identify the most profitable products or services. Carve out time to assess expenses and find areas to save money.
  • Focus on increasing sales and seek help if struggling with cashflow.
  • Set money targets for the next quarter and have regular money dates with the business.
  • Implement the Profit First system for better financial management.
  • Emphasize visibility in marketing and lead generation.
  • Determine the number of offerings and handle pricing objections confidently.
  • Be willing to fail and try new strategies.
  • Use client language and gather feedback to enhance the customer experience.
Transcript
Speaker:

Welcome to the She Needs Profit podcast.

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I'm your host, Sam Varner.

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You know, in my 15 years of business

experience, I've noticed there are three

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things required to create a thriving

business.

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Sales, visibility, and profit.

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And yet most business owners find

themselves overworked, overwhelmed, and

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underpaid.

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If you own a private practice or are a

service -based business owner, this

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podcast is for you.

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On this show, I give you the tools,

strategy, and coaching,

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to run a profitable business and share

stories and insight from people who are

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right there with you.

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Let's dive into today's episode.

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You are in for a treat today.

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I am really excited to share this audio

content with you on the podcast today.

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I got an opportunity to speak in the Sales

Mastery course for Network in Action last

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week.

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And I wanted to bring this content to you

because each and every one of you are

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dealing with these exact problems.

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And this is a chance to hear a little bit

of how I am when I speak live in a group.

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and answer questions and have

conversations all around making more sales

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in our business.

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So get ready, listen in and enjoy this

episode.

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Before we get started though, I wanna

remind you my birthday is coming up.

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I turn 45 on May 7th.

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And my biggest ask for you as podcast

listeners is for my birthday, please,

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please leave a rating and a review.

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I wanna see if I can get 45 new,

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reviews for the podcast before I turn 45.

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So we've got a little over a month and I

am asking you, I know that listening to a

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podcast and getting things done around

your house while you're doing that and

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hopefully I'm inspiring you and helping

you grow your profit in your business.

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And the best way that I know either if I

am doing a great job or missing the mark

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or you want to see different content is by

a review.

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So hop into your podcast player wherever

you hear me right now, take two seconds to

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do a rating and a review, and then send me

a screenshot.

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I would love to enter you into the draw to

do a 90 minute coaching call with me.

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So please, for my birthday, as I'm turning

45, get in there and be one of those 45

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reviews for the podcast.

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And without any further ado, here's me

speaking at Sales Mastery.

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giving you all the goods.

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Hey everybody, welcome to the Sales

Mastery course.

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You are in for a treat.

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Samantha Varner has been a member of NIA.

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This is her third year and she has helped

numerous amounts of people.

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I think we counted like 10, close to 10

that are just NIA members.

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So you're gonna learn from the best.

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Crush.

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profit.

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That's what she's all about.

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So if you want more profit for your

business, listen up and hold on tight

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because she is an ass kicker, but gentle,

but gentle.

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It's good to see some of our members on to

support you, Samantha, and just do your

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thing girl.

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And y 'all can catch the other she's done

this two other times.

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So you can catch the recording of her

other sessions that she's done in the

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video library.

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So you're on Samantha.

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Welcome.

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Thank you for being here.

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Yeah, no worries, Helen.

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Thank you for that.

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You're right.

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I have been around in NIA now for three

years and I'm really excited to get an

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opportunity to talk to you guys again

about profitability.

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So as business owners, we think about all

the time a whole slew of different things,

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right?

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But at the end of the day, if we're not

making profit, then if nothing else, we're

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very frustrated, right?

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We're not taking a paycheck home and

probably getting a little resent.

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of this business that we're operating

with.

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So today my goal is going to be give you a

couple of tips that you can actually

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implement right away and get yourself

started in the degree of more

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profitability than what you have right

now.

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I will be sharing my screen.

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There'll be some slides up there mainly to

keep me on track more than anything else.

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And if you have questions or you want to

make a comment, I welcome you to do that.

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At the end, I've given time.

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we absolutely have time for you guys to

ask me specific questions.

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So if there are things in your business

that are plaguing you right now, or that

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come up over the course of this

conversation, I guarantee first and

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foremost, you're not the only person in

this Zoom room that has that problem.

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So be bold, be brave, put it out there

because the person next to you in the

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Brady Bunch squares is going to appreciate

the fact that you did.

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All of us are struggling with similar

things at similar times in our business.

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And so the more help you can get, the more

you ask me questions, the more you engage,

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the more value you're going to come out of

this session today.

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Okay.

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All right.

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Let's talk a little bit about me.

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So before we get started, so that you have

an idea of what my background is and what

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my experience is.

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I have been now 14 years in PR and

marketing, finance strategy and business

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development.

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I used to work in a corporate job in

multiple different facets and did that in

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Canada.

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Then I moved with my family to Australia,

got all re -qualified to do that again.

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And lo and behold, my husband came home

and said, hey, how do you feel about

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Texas?

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And I'm like, well, it's not Australia or

Canada, which is where I can work.

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So I ended up in Texas.

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And so we've been here in Texas now for 10

years.

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At that point, that's when I decided to

actually start my own business instead of

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continuing to just re -qualify into the

corporate world in terms of finance.

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So I have a lot of experience helping

business owners make more money from all

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sorts of different facets.

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And that's what I decided to do when I

started my own business was help business

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owners make more money right from the

beginning using those skills.

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So I kind of combine the PR and marketing

promotional side of things.

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with finance and business development.

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And all of that together means you should

be profitable and growing your business.

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So who am I?

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I have four kids.

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They used to be my tiny humans, but now 50

% of them are bigger than I am.

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They are 16 down to almost 11.

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I've been doing this profit coaching gig

now for six years, and I host the podcast,

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She Needs Grip.

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So if you're ever looking for more of me

in your ears when it comes to building

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your business,

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go on any of the podcast platforms and

listen to She Needs Grit.

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It is there and it talks exactly about

what we talk about day to day on these

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presentations.

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It's the same sort of material that's

helpful.

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At the end of the day, I think with a show

of a thumbs up, the majority of us have

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started businesses because we want more

freedom for time and more money freedom,

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right?

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We want to be able to make more money in

less time, ideally, or at least equivalent

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time.

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And,

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the reality is a huge portion of us as

entrepreneurs aren't even taking a salary.

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So we get into these businesses thinking

that's what we want to create for our

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lives.

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And then the reality sets in and it's

maybe a little bit harder than we

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anticipated.

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So what we want to talk about today is how

can we get from where we are right now to

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that goal that we had when we started our

business, when it comes to finances,

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profitability.

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making a salary that actually gets all the

way home into your genes, that of course

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is when it makes a difference to us as

individuals.

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So we're going to hop straight into this.

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The number one tip I'm going to say to you

today in terms of increasing your

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profitability in the shortest window

possible is enhancing your customer

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experience.

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And enhancing your customer experience

isn't just what it looks like to actually

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deliver the product at the end of the day.

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But in fact, it is as soon as you start

putting your information out there,

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communicating with potential clients all

the way through to when we get to the

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point where we're off boarding people,

where they're no longer our clients, and

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we're still creating a seamless transition

for them all the way through those full

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steps.

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Right now, most of my clients are

struggling in this area.

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I am noticing that we understand the...

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service that we're providing, we're

probably very good at the actual service.

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So doing that client work, I have to

create a deliverable and I have to do the

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work to create that deliverable and then

I'm giving it to a client.

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What is probably happening though, at

least some of the time is missed

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communication, misunderstandings between

clients or potential clients, falling off

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and dropping things on the follow -up

standpoint.

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So when you think of all the people that

you've ever met,

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that have expressed even a minute level of

interest in your business, there is a huge

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portion of those people that have fallen

through the cracks in some way.

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They're either that pile of business cards

that are on your desk right in front of

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you where we're sitting, or they're the

people that you're like, oh yeah, I spoke

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with Tom and he was mildly interested and

then I forgot Tom existed altogether until

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Sam just said that and now I'm like, oh

crap, I need to write that on a post -it,

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right?

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How many of you are in that situation

where you can think of at least a couple,

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if not a handful of people that should

have been touched in some way that we've

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dropped the ball on?

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Anybody in that position?

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Okay, yeah, yeah.

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Okay, so what do you have to do in your

business to streamline that process?

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What do you have to do in your business to

better capture those people, better put

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them into whatever your marketing funnel

is?

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It doesn't matter what your marketing

strategy is, right?

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What your promotion strategy is for your

business.

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What matters more is whether or not you

have a way to track those people right

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from when they connect with you

originally, all the way through the

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process.

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And it takes effort.

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One of the things that I will do is if I

meet you in person and you hand me a

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physical business card at this point, I

will write a note on the back.

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I will find out from you that you just got

your house painted.

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I will find out from you that you've got

kids similar age to mine.

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I will find out from you that yes, you're

also frustrated with 13 year old boys

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because they're crazy or whatever it might

be, those connection points that we make

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in a conversation.

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I now am 44.

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I am no longer able to keep all of that

information in my head and reliably

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remember it when I meet you somewhere down

the road.

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But if I do that and I write it down on a

business card and then I enter it into my

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CRM, I am going to remember those things.

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So what that means is when I have

conversations with you or when I email you

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something directly, I can pop in a little,

hey, how's it going with the team?

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Or are Air Jordan's as big a deal at your

house as they are at my house?

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Or whatever that might be, that connection

point that we've come up with, that makes

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all of us feel really special.

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that makes us feel like we care.

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And the beginning of that is just putting

that in place, right?

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Giving yourself the opportunity to

remember those things.

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I would argue that almost everybody that's

on here and putting so much time and

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effort into building their business and

doing it through networking in particular,

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you do care.

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You do remember those things.

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Those things are important to you.

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So start to make that systemized in your

business.

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and see how that starts to change how you

interact with clients.

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Does anybody have any questions around

that specifically or any circumstances

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they've dealt with in the past in regards

to this?

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This is Tamika.

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I just wanted to say that the point you

made about finding out something about

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your potential client in terms of

connecting with them, I'm finding that to

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be more and more true.

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I have a nonprofit organization.

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And what I'm learning is that people

invest into people.

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And so when you just said that, again, it

just reiterated that getting to know

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people and knowing something about them

will cause them to want to connect more

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with you than you just trying to sell

something to them.

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So thank you for bringing that up.

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You're welcome.

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You're welcome.

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It's one of the pieces that I think I

share with clients in particular when they

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have the feeling that.

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there's 10 ,000 people in their same

industry.

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So are providing a similar service.

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I think realtors always come to mind that

there is lots of realtors all looking to

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do the same thing, right?

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They're helping you buy or sell a home.

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And we don't buy from somebody because

they have a fancy sign.

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We don't buy from somebody because they

have a deckle on their truck.

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We buy from somebody because there is some

sort of intimate connection made between

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that other human being.

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There's a connection where you're like,

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I recognize you, I see you.

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We are living a portion of the same life.

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That's why people buy from you.

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They buy because of who you are as a

human, not because of what it says on your

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business card.

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So the better we can get at actually

caring and actually finding things out and

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asking questions that have nothing to do

with the sale, but just truly because you

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want to get to know this other human being

that is in front of you, the better.

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The other piece,

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about this that I have here is surprising

clients with unexpected bonuses or

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personalized offers.

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This can go a really long way if you have

this available in your business.

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Not everybody will have this just

depending on the nature of their business.

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But saying to somebody, I am personally

inviting you to this specific offer and

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you are truly specifically inviting them.

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Don't BS about this, right?

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We want to be legit.

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We want to say, hey, this is to just my

clients who

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have been with me for a year.

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This is for just clients that have gone

through my programs.

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This is something for people just in the

NIA space, something along those lines.

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But people feel valued when you think of

them individually.

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I know that we are in this period and

system of automation, and I strongly

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believe in automation in your business.

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But there is something so great about

getting somebody's email that is actually

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just talking to me.

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And it's not just sounding like it's just

talking to me, but it's actually an

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individualized email with information just

for me because they were thinking about

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just me.

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So I want you to think about ways in which

your business, you can just step it up a

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little bit, right?

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1 % better in this area will create

greater profit.

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And it does because people will be

purchasing or repurchasing from you more

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frequently when they feel that kind of.

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love from you if we want to call it that.

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Okay?

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So in terms of action steps on this, I

want you to make sure you have a client

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customer database.

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I want you to use it to its full potential

and lean into using it.

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Okay?

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Make sure you take advantage of the note

system, but don't be like the doctors.

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They come into the room after they have

your chart on the wall, you know, that

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little spot where they put it on the wall

and you hear them pick it up.

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They don't even look at it.

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They come in the door and they ask you all

the questions that are already answered in

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there.

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Take the time to review the notes before

you hop on a call with a client and then

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shout out, how was your spring break?

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How did that go?

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What was the vacation like?

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Did you have trouble with your flights?

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Whatever it might be, ask the question.

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Take the time to do that.

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It'll make a big difference.

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Implement a loyalty program.

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There are a lot of businesses where you

can implement some sort of benefit for

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being with you for a long time.

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is going to take a bit of creativity

depending on what your business is and how

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it's structured, how that could look, but

it is worthwhile doing that and saying to

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clients, I want to keep you are a valuable

member of my client database.

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How can I show you that?

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Right?

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How can I show you that with a discount on

your third purchase or something along

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those lines that are going to just make

them feel better?

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The third thing is train.

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staff on exceptional customer service.

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Now, everybody talks about exceptional

customer service, but what I need you to

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do if you haven't done this already is I

want you to define what exceptional

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customer service looks like to your

business.

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What does that mean from the original

greeting, the tone of people on the phone,

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the way that you respond to emails, the

sign -off on emails?

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What is it that makes exceptional customer

service look like that in your business?

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This is different than how everybody else

does it, but that standard in that care in

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training your people to also deliver in

that way will make a big difference moving

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forward as well, because they get that

consistent level of customer service, no

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matter who they talk to, whether it's me,

whether it's my assistant, it should all

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sound the same.

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It should all come across the same with

the same level of warmth or ass kicking or

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whatever it is that they get from me.

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I want that to exist across the board in

my company.

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Okay.

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So that's tip number one is really looking

at that customer service standpoint and

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seeing by doing those things, how you can

increase your profitability.

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Tip number two.

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And the first point on here, I tell you

guys, I say this every single time I talk

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about profitability.

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When is the last time you raise your

rates?

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And for those of you that are groaning

right now and you're like, Oh, I don't

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want to, I will lose clients.

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I have all of this thought that comes up

when Sam says raise your rates.

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I guarantee to you,

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You could also raise your rates and get

more clients.

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You can raise your rates and your clients

will say, yeah, no problem.

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Not a problem at all.

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Of course I will pay that.

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You will be surprised.

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And it is an immediate jump in

profitability because nothing else has

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changed.

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The cost for you to provide said service

is the same.

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It just is being brave and having that

conversation and figuring out what that

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looks like.

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But I really want to give you that push to

say if you haven't raised your rates in a

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long time,

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or even arguably in 12 months.

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If you need help with that conversation, I

can help you with the wording, but it's

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time to do that.

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Some of the other things I want you to

think about in your business, assuming of

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course that you have control over these

things, is how are you speaking about your

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rates?

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How are you speaking about the cost of

your services?

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And how are you selling that to a client?

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Are you talking about value -based

pricing?

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Are you talking about the benefits that

your service provides clients?

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Are you being very clear that that is

answering the actual problems that they

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are saying they have?

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We sometimes will get in our heads about

how we speak about our business and we

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think we're solving X problem for a

client.

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And the reality is that's not the words or

the way that they would describe that

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problem.

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So I want you to really go into that and

go back through reviews that you have, go

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back through testimonials you have from

clients and make sure that when you're

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selling to the next

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versions of clients that you're using the

same language as your current clients.

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It'll be an easier sell if it sounds like,

oh, that's exactly what I was thinking.

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That's exactly what I needed.

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That is exactly what I was looking for.

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Sometimes we can miss the mark on that a

little bit.

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The other option for increasing or looking

at your pricing strategy is bundling your

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services.

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Is there a window of time in this season

of your business where it's a bit slower?

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Is there a way to bundle things together

and get

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most of the money that you would have

gotten for two separate?

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Is there a time where it makes perfect

sense that somebody would want to do

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pressure washing and window washing all at

the same time?

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Does it make sense to give them a little

bit of a cut so that you're getting both

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parts of that job?

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Think about the ways that you can do that.

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And maybe you do it occasionally

throughout the year, but you're getting

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more sales with the same client base.

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You're just offering it at a different

time.

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The fourth one there is the idea of tiered

pricing.

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If you have the ability to start to think

about if you are a bronze, silver or gold

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client, where can I add value and also add

revenue for your business?

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:

There's a lot of times where we get stuck

in, we have done this the same way over

378

:

and over and over again for the last five

years and we haven't ever looked at these

379

:

things.

380

:

There is no reason why you can't go back

to the drawing board and be a little bit

381

:

creative and see,

382

:

what parts of this might be really

appealing to clients.

383

:

You may be surprised that by talking about

a bundled service for a quarter of the

384

:

year, you make far more sales than you did

when you were talking about the individual

385

:

products.

386

:

So I want you to just take the time to be

super creative and figuring out ways that

387

:

you could create additional revenue just

through pricing in general.

388

:

Anybody have any questions on there?

389

:

Anybody?

390

:

ducking my eyeballs to try and avoid

talking about pricing because I know it's

391

:

hard.

392

:

Question is, uh, when do you know it's a

good time to up those prices?

393

:

Ooh, my profit coach self says, if you're

asking me that question, it definitely is.

394

:

If you haven't raised your rates in the

last 12 to 18 months, absolutely,

395

:

absolutely.

396

:

It's time to do that.

397

:

And if it's been longer than that, it's

not even a question.

398

:

Samantha, it's Patrika.

399

:

Would it make sense to do?

400

:

Hello.

401

:

Just a standard 3 % at the beginning of

each year just because of cost of living

402

:

and inflation?

403

:

You definitely can.

404

:

I'm not opposed to that, but I do think

sometimes looking at your increase of

405

:

rates, you can do it from a cost of

living.

406

:

Everybody's getting very used to that

discussion, right?

407

:

The inflation, et cetera.

408

:

But also, where are you trying to go with

your goals?

409

:

Would it be a 5 % increase is actually

going to hit those goals that you're

410

:

trying to hit?

411

:

Is that beyond the realm of what people

are willing to pay, right?

412

:

We still are operating in an open market.

413

:

So we still need to be cognizant of what

our competitors are doing or how we're

414

:

standing apart from our competitors.

415

:

But I like the idea of making the

assessment both on what does the company

416

:

need for growth and what does the market

bear?

417

:

Yeah, that makes sense.

418

:

I was just thinking at a minimum.

419

:

It is.

420

:

better than doing nothing, but run the

numbers, right?

421

:

Run the numbers and say like, we went 3 %

across the board, that turns into X, but

422

:

we're still 10%, let's say lower than the

competitors.

423

:

Okay, well, what if we did seven?

424

:

Would people still like, what would be our

expectation or what if we did 7 % on a

425

:

certain portion of what we're doing and

then 3 % on something that has a lower

426

:

margin or whatever that might look like?

427

:

I have some input.

428

:

So we recently increased our base packages

up from, I think it was 550.

429

:

We did a hundred dollar increase to 650

for some digital SEO stuff.

430

:

But when we did that increase, it wasn't

based on percentage.

431

:

We looked at what we were doing.

432

:

We asked ourselves, how can we do even

better?

433

:

And then we looked at the numbers and we

kind of worked backwards, right?

434

:

So we didn't just look at it from a profit

perspective or like, how can we charge

435

:

more because of inflation and

436

:

We just want to get more money.

437

:

We asked ourselves, how can we make this

worth a hundred more dollars?

438

:

Right?

439

:

So what we came up with was something

pretty simple, but we just improved our

440

:

communication instead of responding to the

client when they would reach out, we

441

:

proactively reach out to them now on a

monthly basis.

442

:

And we just give them those updates and

the small wins along the way.

443

:

And you know, just that open line of

communication has seemed to be worth the,

444

:

you know, the

445

:

the increase for a lot of the clients.

446

:

So we're also doing some technical stuff

as well.

447

:

But I think that I think it's relevant for

the conversation.

448

:

Yeah, that's a really good point.

449

:

And I want to say kudos to you for raising

your rates.

450

:

I think that's really good.

451

:

I also want to say in most cases with most

business owners, when I talk to them and

452

:

actually look at like, what are you what

are you providing?

453

:

And what are you charging?

454

:

You're still mostly under charging.

455

:

So

456

:

There's a place for that evaluation

Matthew, it's fantastic, right?

457

:

That like, what could we do better?

458

:

What can we step up?

459

:

What can we improve in the business

overall?

460

:

And how will that be of value to the

clients?

461

:

But also knowing that oftentimes you could

change nothing and still raise your rates.

462

:

It doesn't necessarily have to be both.

463

:

Not to say that we can't all improve

because we 100 % can, but just knowing

464

:

that too, most of us are undercharging for

service -based businesses full stop.

465

:

I 100 % agree.

466

:

Thank you so much.

467

:

You're welcome.

468

:

So here's the action pieces.

469

:

And again, this PowerPoint is going to be

available to you on the NIA site.

470

:

So you will be able to go back if you're

not taking notes or screenshots like a

471

:

crazy person.

472

:

Don't worry.

473

:

I promise you'll get it.

474

:

So taking action.

475

:

We want to analyze our pricing structures

in terms of your pay.

476

:

So how much are you wanting to get paid?

477

:

The cost of providing your service, which

is going to be obviously your physical,

478

:

tangible things that are costing you

money.

479

:

your time and whatever overall expenses

you have just to keep your doors open.

480

:

Look at that in the evaluation phase of

how much are you charging?

481

:

And this is what I help clients with all

the time is actually coming to a number

482

:

and that number shifts over time.

483

:

Asking clients, this is a big one.

484

:

And if you can be brave and open to the

dialogue and it's really important that

485

:

you take this not as a personal affront.

486

:

But if you ask a client what they wish you

provided, what service is not available to

487

:

them that would go in conjunction with

what you do, and just ask the question.

488

:

We're not saying we're going to provide

it, but at least it would give you some

489

:

insight into the breadcrumbs of the path

that you could start following and ask

490

:

them where they think you can improve.

491

:

If you have good relationships with

clients and you nurture those

492

:

communications, those open communications

the way that Matthew just said, especially

493

:

in a case where it's...

494

:

them saying, Hey, we're going to now start

updating you every single month with

495

:

what's happening in the small wins and all

of that.

496

:

And then also at the bottom of that email,

you say to them, we are open to your

497

:

feedback.

498

:

Is there anything we could have done

better in the last 30 days to help you

499

:

with the growth of XYZ SEO in this case,

or whatever you're doing in your business,

500

:

be open to the responses and then respond

back with thank you so much.

501

:

I appreciate your.

502

:

feedback, we will take that into

consideration as we move forward to build

503

:

bigger and better things for you.

504

:

So you don't necessarily have to implement

everything, but if you can ask them what

505

:

they wish you had that you don't and where

they feel you can improve, those two

506

:

things can give you really clear direction

as to where you can go, especially if you

507

:

get it from more than one person.

508

:

Okay, then experiment with different

pricing models and monitor your results.

509

:

So talking about what we talked about on

the slide previous,

510

:

thinking about bundles, thinking about

different creative ways that you can start

511

:

assessing your pricing model and see what

the results are.

512

:

If you put in a bronze, silver, gold

package for what you're doing, and all of

513

:

a sudden you realize people are actually

less interested in the bronze, which is

514

:

your standard, but they're actually

interested in that upgrade that they see

515

:

over there in the silver package, that can

be great insight.

516

:

And you can just make that standard

pricing and maybe you drop the bronze

517

:

package altogether.

518

:

So,

519

:

Take the time to do the evaluation of

these things as you go through and you'll

520

:

be surprised what you will uncover.

521

:

Anybody else have any questions before we

move to the next one?

522

:

No?

523

:

Okay, cool.

524

:

And here's the big one.

525

:

You guys are really excited about this.

526

:

I know everybody is like, yes, can I do a

financial assessment?

527

:

Okay, here's what we need to do.

528

:

We need to know what of our services or

our products are bringing in the most

529

:

cash.

530

:

and which ones need a boost in sales or

need some attention and need to be revised

531

:

or possibly need to be just dropped

altogether because they're not making us

532

:

any money.

533

:

As entrepreneurs, we get very, very busy

in the actual creation of the product

534

:

themselves and the interaction with

clients.

535

:

And we don't always go back and say like,

is this still working?

536

:

Does this still make sense in my business?

537

:

Do I still need to offer all of these

things or can I offer less?

538

:

This is an opportunity to do that.

539

:

You have to carve the time out as a CEO to

be able to do that.

540

:

Okay.

541

:

It can be hard, but I want you to carve

the time out to do that.

542

:

The next piece is checking your bills and

your expenses and figuring out where you

543

:

can possibly save some money.

544

:

One of the first things I do with clients

is let's look at your expenses because I

545

:

can often make cuts there that are not

detrimental to the business and not

546

:

detrimental to what you're creating, but.

547

:

the cashflow all of a sudden is just a

little less tight than it was the day

548

:

before.

549

:

We all have expenses that we're used to

paying that aren't necessarily being used.

550

:

Software is we've signed up for, programs

we figured we would do, any number of

551

:

different things, advertising strategies

that we thought were gonna work and

552

:

they're actually not creating any return

on investment, those sorts of things.

553

:

We sometimes let those slide for months

just because we're busy and we're not

554

:

assessing those things.

555

:

So taking a look at those with an eye to,

do I need you?

556

:

Are you necessary?

557

:

And are you creating a return for me in my

business is critical.

558

:

Okay, make sure you're selling enough.

559

:

Now that seems kind of obvious, right

guys?

560

:

Like make sure you're actually selling

things.

561

:

But I also know that there are people in

this audience right now that are like, oh

562

:

Sam, that doesn't feel good at all.

563

:

Because some of us are not making enough

sales full stop.

564

:

And if that's the issue where you're not

making enough sales to pay yourself and or

565

:

to keep your doors open, right?

566

:

If cashflow is starting to become a very

tight thing month in, month out, month in,

567

:

month out, I cannot tell you enough that

you have to come up with a different plan.

568

:

You have to figure out how you can

increase your sales.

569

:

I can help you with that.

570

:

There's lots of people I know within the

NIA family that can help with that, but

571

:

it doesn't have to be that way.

572

:

You don't have to be struggling for sales

and struggling to make payroll, that sort

573

:

of thing.

574

:

It's time to ask for help if you're in

that position.

575

:

And part of it is making that assessment

that we talked about those first two

576

:

bullet points.

577

:

And part of it is just maybe you need an

objective view to say, hey, have you

578

:

thought about this or this because you're

so in it, right?

579

:

It can be very difficult to make these

assessments when you're knee deep in it on

580

:

your own.

581

:

It can be lonely.

582

:

The other thing is,

583

:

making sure you have enough cash to pay

the bills.

584

:

So there comes a point as a business owner

where there is cash in the business and we

585

:

need to be deciding, are we investing this

cash?

586

:

Are we reinvesting it into equipment or

people or software technology, that sort

587

:

of thing?

588

:

Are we keeping it in the rainy day fund?

589

:

What are we starting to do?

590

:

And so this is where you want to start

really working with somebody as an advisor

591

:

to your finances.

592

:

to help you both with your personal

finances, but then also with your business

593

:

finances and making sure that they're

working together.

594

:

We want to start to have some liquidity in

the business that is not there for the

595

:

month to month turnover of cash.

596

:

Okay.

597

:

The last and most important part is what

money targets do you want to hit next

598

:

quarter?

599

:

We are almost at the end of March now.

600

:

It is important that you keep those goals

front and center.

601

:

Most of us at the very beginning of the

year were very clear.

602

:

We want to make $200 ,000 in our business

this year.

603

:

And we're very excited and we know exactly

what it would work to do that.

604

:

How many of us have gone back to the

drawing board and said like, okay, based

605

:

on the reality of sales for January,

February, now March, are my numbers still

606

:

there?

607

:

Am I doing more than I anticipated each

month?

608

:

Am I doing less than I'm anticipating?

609

:

And if less, then how do I switch things

up?

610

:

What do I need to do?

611

:

Let's do that at the beginning of Q2.

612

:

rather than waiting until the end of the

year, right?

613

:

Too many of us don't look at our goals

again until we're like in November.

614

:

And then at that point, it's a mad

scramble or just to throw our hands up and

615

:

we'll wait to 2025.

616

:

So if that's you, again, I want you to all

the time be looking at what we're doing.

617

:

Okay, so taking action in this book, a

money date with your business.

618

:

Yeah, that really uncomfortable one that

you don't wanna do, sit down.

619

:

actually block out time in your calendar

and do that, right?

620

:

Sit down and evaluate those numbers.

621

:

If you need help with that, please book a

consult with me or with any of the other

622

:

kind of financial experts that we have

within NIA.

623

:

This will make the difference.

624

:

If you are watching your numbers and

understanding your numbers, even if right

625

:

now your numbers look abysmal, I know that

feels really hard.

626

:

I know that it feels very...

627

:

Difficult when you are in that situation

where you're like, I don't know how to get

628

:

more sales I can't seem to find more

clients other people seem to be doing this

629

:

better than I am and I don't want to raise

my hand and say I'm really struggling

630

:

because that feels terrible I will

guarantee to you that in this room anybody

631

:

who has been in business for any length of

time has been in that position we all have

632

:

okay, so Continuing to stay in that

position is the only thing you would be

633

:

doing wrong at this point

634

:

Get some help, get somebody to help you,

get somebody to answer your questions and

635

:

make clear what your next steps are so

that you don't have to stay in that place.

636

:

Making profit and finance as a priority in

your business is absolutely critical to

637

:

long -term success.

638

:

And we want to get to that point where we

have time freedom and financial freedom.

639

:

And we are actually seeing a thriving life

personally from our business.

640

:

Okay.

641

:

So just to kind of top that off, I want to

tell you guys a little bit of a success

642

:

story of a client that I've had recently.

643

:

So she's a lawyer.

644

:

She is running her own law firm.

645

:

She's kind of just getting it up off the

ground.

646

:

She's doing it a little bit differently

than a traditional lawyer would.

647

:

And one of the things she decides is the

money part of things, right?

648

:

So not unlike what we've been talking

about today.

649

:

And she kind of was just avoiding it,

right?

650

:

She didn't want to have to call clients

for...

651

:

bills that weren't getting paid.

652

:

She didn't want to have conversations

about invoices that were outstanding or

653

:

clients that had moved through their

entire retainer and not done anything.

654

:

And in one of our coaching sessions, I had

suggested to her in my ass kicking, loving

655

:

way that she had no choice.

656

:

She had to do this.

657

:

She was struggling with revenue in

February in particular, but January a

658

:

little as well.

659

:

And I'm like, make the calls, make the

calls.

660

:

And she was able to in four days generate

$13 ,500 from current clients that either

661

:

paid their bills and actually, you know,

settled up or clients that needed to go to

662

:

the next step.

663

:

And she was just hesitating because she

didn't know if they would be unhappy if

664

:

she asked for more money.

665

:

The vast majority of your clients feel the

same way when it comes to if you have

666

:

outstanding invoices.

667

:

If you have stuff where you have used all

the time that you've allocated for a

668

:

client, but they still have more work to

do, you can ask for more money.

669

:

You can come back to the table and say,

yes, that project is done to this point.

670

:

Everything that you ask me to do from here

on out actually will require more

671

:

financial commitment.

672

:

Okay.

673

:

So just as a reminder of that, that you

can be in that situation of struggling and

674

:

feeling like I'm not making any money in a

month and then.

675

:

A couple of conversations with clients can

create a five figure month.

676

:

That's possible to you as well, as much as

it is to her.

677

:

Okay.

678

:

Those are my tips, my tricks, my

suggestions.

679

:

I want to open the floor at this point so

that you guys can get some coaching if you

680

:

want coaching or ask me any questions

around what we were talking about today,

681

:

but it's open forum.

682

:

So take advantage of that.

683

:

I have a question about the profit first

system.

684

:

If you've had any.

685

:

success implementing that and would you

recommend it?

686

:

Yeah, I absolutely do.

687

:

I am a huge believer in particular with

the concept of taking kind of your revenue

688

:

minus your profit equals what you have to

spend on expenses.

689

:

That is a huge portion of his kind of

philosophy, Mike McCallowitz.

690

:

And I think just having that mental switch

in your brain of I pay myself and then I

691

:

build my business on what is remaining.

692

:

Instead of the other way around where it's

like I get whatever crumbs are left at the

693

:

end of the day Which is business owners

know it's next to nothing.

694

:

So that piece of profit first is huge and

then spreading out and Separating your

695

:

money into separate bank accounts I have

found to be incredibly effective and I've

696

:

got I don't know handfuls and handfuls of

clients that have implemented the same So

697

:

I'm a huge fan.

698

:

Do you have any specific questions?

699

:

Have you read the book?

700

:

Where are you at?

701

:

Yeah, I read the book and I went as far as

like um,

702

:

There's this bank called Relay that he

endorses.

703

:

So like I kind of set up an account with

that and I have like the different bank

704

:

accounts set up.

705

:

I've been kind of like, I don't know,

maybe we can talk about it later.

706

:

Sure.

707

:

Yeah, absolutely.

708

:

There on the next slide, there's a QR code

and you can find me through NIA as well.

709

:

I'll be able to track you down.

710

:

If you're getting to that point and then

need help with the next step, I can help

711

:

you with that.

712

:

Just, you know, even deciding like what

portions, what percentages of revenue and

713

:

things like that go where.

714

:

I can give you a hand.

715

:

Thank you.

716

:

Got a question in the chat tool.

717

:

First one, what's the number one tip for

marketing and lead generation?

718

:

What you got?

719

:

Just in general, that's a big broad thing.

720

:

Okay.

721

:

Marketing and lead gen.

722

:

I think my number one tip is visibility.

723

:

So you have to decide where you're going

to be visible and then you need to go all

724

:

in and you need to go in until you are

sick to death of your own messaging.

725

:

Until you are tired of saying it and

thinking everybody hates hearing you,

726

:

you're not saying it enough because

they're not seeing it as frequently as you

727

:

think they are.

728

:

So like ad nauseum, you are saying the

same things over and over again.

729

:

I am Sam Barner.

730

:

I am the profit coach.

731

:

I help small business owners make more

money.

732

:

I help them generate five figure paychecks

and scale their business.

733

:

And you can find me on my podcast and or

Instagram.

734

:

You need to be like that and you need to

be like that until you know, your sister

735

:

is telling you to stop and even then you

keep going because social media or even in

736

:

person stuff, it's less frequent than you

think.

737

:

People need to hear it seven to 14 times

before it resonates, right?

738

:

So more is better.

739

:

More is more.

740

:

Right on.

741

:

Next question coming up from Marie.

742

:

I'm curious if you have a specific number

or guideline on number of offerings that

743

:

are good to have.

744

:

And I can.

745

:

Yes, please.

746

:

I can give you more details on that.

747

:

I am a holistic wellness coach.

748

:

So I do, I'm transitioning from straight

personal training to also offering

749

:

wellness coaching.

750

:

My five -year goal is to be completely

shifted over to wellness coaching and no

751

:

longer doing any personal training.

752

:

So I recently closed the personal training

side of my business to new clients.

753

:

I raised my rates.

754

:

Unfortunately, only one client decided to

quit training with me.

755

:

Everybody else was like, oops, great.

756

:

I love to pay more.

757

:

Okay.

758

:

And which is fine.

759

:

Um, but eventually, you know, I want to

drop that piece altogether.

760

:

So I'm kind of refining the coaching side.

761

:

I have one class that I, an eight week

class course that I teach.

762

:

I have a new one that I have developed

that I am going to be starting for the

763

:

first time next week.

764

:

Um, I usually give workshops in promotion

of the classes as opposed to just giving

765

:

workshops to give workshops as an

offering.

766

:

So they're more of.

767

:

part of my launch with the classes.

768

:

I am also now start giving retreats as

another piece of my business because one,

769

:

I think it complements the coaching very

well and I just love going on retreat.

770

:

So if I'm leading it and getting to be on

retreat and make money, it just seems like

771

:

a win -win for me.

772

:

So my thought is I don't think that

there's a number of offers that

773

:

necessarily is good or bad, but.

774

:

I always liked the idea of getting one

offer up solid, reliable, and then moving

775

:

to the next and then moving to the next.

776

:

Cause otherwise you're trying to market

multiple prongs and it becomes kind of

777

:

money when you're like, if you're talking

about the retreat, let's say you're doing

778

:

it every six months.

779

:

So you're talking about that with a long

launch schedule because of course it's a

780

:

bigger commitment and people need lots of

love on that.

781

:

And then you've got the eight week courses

and then you've got the workshops.

782

:

it becomes people are like, wait, so does

she do wellness?

783

:

Does she do retreats?

784

:

Does she, it makes it hard for you to

promote that.

785

:

It's not impossible, but it separates the

amount of work you can put and effort you

786

:

can put all towards one thing.

787

:

So what you could do is kind of have, I

like the idea of a workshop to launch your

788

:

eight week course.

789

:

So if you, if you create that and continue

with that until you get to the point where

790

:

you're like, okay, I've now had 32 people

go through the eight week course.

791

:

Now I have an audience with which to

promote the retreats.

792

:

They're already bought in on who you are

and how you coach and they love you.

793

:

And you will have that out of 32, you'll

probably have like 16 people that are

794

:

like, really love you, right?

795

:

The other ones like you, they really love

you.

796

:

Those are now who you're going to promote

that retreat to.

797

:

And that retreat is probably going to be

eight people.

798

:

So in your whole email, you know, all of

your contacts, you still may get one or

799

:

two that come out of the blue.

800

:

But most of the time they're kind of

coming up the ladder of expense and or

801

:

value for you.

802

:

Gotcha.

803

:

Thank you.

804

:

Yeah, you're welcome.

805

:

All right.

806

:

Anybody else?

807

:

Yes, Samantha.

808

:

Hi, my name is Bill Fahlmeyer.

809

:

I have a photography business and so a lot

of times my pricing, I quote my pricing,

810

:

but then people are like, well, they want

to spend that much money.

811

:

And so how do you combat like, I guess,

the knowledge that that's the correct

812

:

pricing.

813

:

But they're reluctant to pull the trigger

on that.

814

:

Yeah.

815

:

When you're talking to clients, how are

you structuring it?

816

:

Are you structuring it where you've got

kind of like a session price and then

817

:

they're purchasing the prints after that

or what, which way are you doing it?

818

:

Yeah.

819

:

So it's typically like the, the, the

session price plus a certain number of

820

:

digital files that come with that.

821

:

And then if they want to purchase

additional prints after that, then there's

822

:

a cost per file.

823

:

Okay.

824

:

And.

825

:

Can you give me an idea of your price

point?

826

:

Like what would it look like if I wanted

to do family photos and I wanted to walk

827

:

away with 15 photos, for instance?

828

:

Yeah, so the like an hour session is like

$500 and typically that comes with five to

829

:

10 photos.

830

:

If they wanted to get more than that, they

typically are, I'm thinking the price

831

:

range is $25 to $50 a file.

832

:

So you're looking at, you know, $600, $700

for a shoot.

833

:

And then that includes, you know,

834

:

whether I'm on site or in studio, you

know, after processing, uploading, and a

835

:

lot of extra, just a lot more stuff that

goes on than just taking the photo.

836

:

Yeah.

837

:

Okay.

838

:

First off, I think your pricing is fine.

839

:

That I, I think your pricing is fine.

840

:

Where do you think you lose clients in

that talk?

841

:

Is it as soon as you talk about the

numbers or like what point are you like,

842

:

Oh, I had them and then I lost them.

843

:

Yeah.

844

:

So they show interest when I talk with

them about it.

845

:

So like maybe doing a shot of their kid or

something like that.

846

:

And then.

847

:

They go, how much would that cost?

848

:

And I said, well, I have a package that's

$500.

849

:

It gets this many files.

850

:

And it's kind of like, oh, yeah, okay,

great.

851

:

I'll think about it and that kind of

thing.

852

:

So it's really the cost.

853

:

Once I quote the number, they kind of

start to shy away.

854

:

Okay.

855

:

One of the things I would do is see if you

can ask a couple of questions before you

856

:

get to the number.

857

:

So they say to you, whatever, are you

running to these people and they've got

858

:

kids running around and they want a family

shot.

859

:

So you say to them, they say to you like,

oh, you do,

860

:

photography, that's great.

861

:

Like would you do my family?

862

:

How much would that cost?

863

:

And you're like, oh yeah, I have a package

for that.

864

:

Where do you see the photo going?

865

:

Is this like, are you looking to replace

the one above your mantle or do you want

866

:

to do a gallery wall for your family?

867

:

Like what are you looking to do?

868

:

They're going to hopefully have an answer

to that.

869

:

Oh, I don't know.

870

:

Maybe.

871

:

Cause then you can come back with saying,

Hey, listen, I think the package that

872

:

includes like five to 10 shots is more

than adequate.

873

:

You'll get some great ones with you and

each individual kid.

874

:

yourself and your husband, you know,

whatever you're going to do.

875

:

But also you're going to get that big

picture that's going to go up above the

876

:

fireplace.

877

:

And that's the one that everybody sees

when they come in the house.

878

:

Paint the picture a little bit more.

879

:

See if you can pull out for them the

emotional level of that.

880

:

Because I know in most cases that sticker

shop is always, people are always like,

881

:

like they go to look at a TV at Best Buy

and they're like, what?

882

:

$1000.

883

:

We actually don't care that it's a

thousand dollars.

884

:

We want to watch the football game and we

want it to be clear and we want it to fit

885

:

that space in the living room so that when

our friends come over, we don't look like

886

:

we have that 32 inch TV nobody can see.

887

:

So you want to just pull the emotion out

of them there and see if you can get just

888

:

a little bit more of their buy -in of the

value, not necessarily the cost, and then

889

:

go that way.

890

:

There is a book that I read a couple of

years ago that is actually specific to

891

:

photography businesses and it talks about

892

:

there's a low end and a high end and

there's no longer a middle ground.

893

:

But the way that she talks about marketing

photography in general was really good.

894

:

If you pop your email in the chat, I will

save that and I will go find a book.

895

:

I can't see it from here, which may or may

not be my eyes or maybe the book's not on

896

:

the shelf, but I'll send it over to you

and you can take a little peek at it.

897

:

But it was high value in terms of

marketing yourself as a photographer.

898

:

Great.

899

:

I'll put my email in there.

900

:

Thank you.

901

:

All right.

902

:

Okay.

903

:

We have a couple of questions in the chat.

904

:

Actually one from Prem.

905

:

For sales and marketing, what is your top

three basic skills that has worked for

906

:

you?

907

:

And inverse, what's one strategy that

certainly did not work and why?

908

:

Ooh, in sales and marketing.

909

:

Three basic skills.

910

:

Okay.

911

:

Number one basic skill, being able to say

what your costs are confidently without

912

:

stuttering, without feeling foolish,

without having it feel weird.

913

:

I want everybody to get to the point where

they can say the price of working with

914

:

them like they say their phone number.

915

:

Okay.

916

:

So like,

917

:

you tell the pizza delivery guy where your

house is.

918

:

You're like, my house number is two eight,

two, two.

919

:

You want to say that working with me costs

X amount of money.

920

:

And we just say it's smooth.

921

:

That's first.

922

:

So the way that I suggest people figure

out how to do that, if you haven't heard

923

:

me say this before is every time you go to

wash your hands, when you come out of the

924

:

bathroom, you say it in the mirror to

yourself like a weirdo and it's totally

925

:

fine.

926

:

You're usually by yourself.

927

:

If you're in a public bathroom, somebody's

going to ask you why you're doing it.

928

:

And then you can share your business.

929

:

So get confident in saying your pricing

and standing calm and firm in your

930

:

pricing, but without urgency.

931

:

If you don't make the sale, you actually

don't care.

932

:

They're not the right fit.

933

:

And really leaning into that can be

important.

934

:

So can I bounce off of that?

935

:

Yeah.

936

:

OK, so literally 10 minutes before this, I

was giving my price to a prospect and I

937

:

tried to approach it with that confidence,

but I add kind of a caveat, which is like,

938

:

OK, I'm.

939

:

My price is $100 an hour to work with me.

940

:

The way that I typically price things out

is by the day.

941

:

So an eight hour day, look at it like

that.

942

:

Does that kind of have hair on it?

943

:

What do you think?

944

:

Do you feel like you need to offer an

explanation?

945

:

And do you feel like you need to provide

them eight hours?

946

:

I feel like I need to kind of prepare them

for what's to come here.

947

:

So if I'm charging two days of work, this

is why this is basically how I'm looking

948

:

at it.

949

:

Right?

950

:

OK.

951

:

I don't think it's bad to say it that way,

but I think then you set the expectation

952

:

up that you're going to spend eight full

hours doing the work.

953

:

Now you might spend eight full hours doing

the work, right?

954

:

Or 16, if you're working with them for two

days.

955

:

Yeah, I could do like, I could do half a

day as well.

956

:

You know, like I'm not going to.

957

:

Yeah.

958

:

So I think you can say like, yeah, I work

with clients in either half day or full

959

:

day sessions and it's a hundred dollars an

hour.

960

:

So a full day would be $800.

961

:

half day would be $400.

962

:

Okay.

963

:

You could save that.

964

:

All right.

965

:

You need to give this guy two more basic

skills and then one that doesn't work.

966

:

Okay.

967

:

Two more basic skills.

968

:

Get really confident.

969

:

We kind of talked about this before, but

back to that really confident about who

970

:

you are, who you help and what you

provide.

971

:

What do you actually create for people

that they are looking to solve?

972

:

So take time and write down 10 different

ways that you help people.

973

:

And what are you actually solving for them

in those ways?

974

:

In most cases, you're solving the same

problem 10 different ways, right?

975

:

With 10 different skills, with 10

different pieces of knowledge that you

976

:

already have.

977

:

So get confident in saying that, get

confident in saying how much you charge.

978

:

Do it before you're ready.

979

:

That's the other thing is be brave and do

it before you're ready.

980

:

You do not need a fancy website.

981

:

You do not need a fully formed CRM.

982

:

You do not need a...

983

:

perfect landing page in order to make

sales.

984

:

You need to be able to talk to a human

being that is looking for your solution

985

:

and you can sell to them and you can send

them yourself or your PayPal or whatever,

986

:

right?

987

:

We hesitate and stop ourselves often.

988

:

So be brave, go forward before you're

ready and then you can build the plane as

989

:

you're flying.

990

:

I promise most of us do it that way.

991

:

There's lots of things that I've tried

that haven't worked.

992

:

For me, thinking about things for too long

doesn't work.

993

:

So I am a very quick start kind of

personality.

994

:

I am like, I randomly had this thought,

I'm going to try it.

995

:

And if I hum and I call and I try and

think about all the things, I never

996

:

actually take action.

997

:

So being bold and just being like, worst

case scenario, it doesn't work.

998

:

And we've learned one more way it doesn't

work.

999

:

And then we are onto the next way it

doesn't work or the way it does work.

:

00:51:13,088 --> 00:51:18,498

But being willing to try things and fail,

be willing to fail.

:

00:51:18,498 --> 00:51:19,898

So that's another thing that does work.

:

00:51:19,898 --> 00:51:21,102

But like I've failed.

:

00:51:21,102 --> 00:51:24,102

a lot and it eventually works.

:

00:51:24,102 --> 00:51:26,382

But you have to put yourself out there.

:

00:51:26,382 --> 00:51:28,082

Does that answer your question?

:

00:51:28,082 --> 00:51:29,172

Yes, yes it does.

:

00:51:29,172 --> 00:51:29,812

Yes it does.

:

00:51:29,812 --> 00:51:30,422

Thank you.

:

00:51:30,422 --> 00:51:31,942

Okay, you're welcome.

:

00:51:31,942 --> 00:51:36,942

I had one more question earlier in the

session, which was you're saying to use

:

00:51:36,942 --> 00:51:39,922

the same words your client uses.

:

00:51:39,922 --> 00:51:41,662

How do you go about doing that?

:

00:51:41,662 --> 00:51:44,682

I do it in a lot of different ways.

:

00:51:44,682 --> 00:51:46,670

So I will do it where if...

:

00:51:46,670 --> 00:51:50,210

you and I are on a consult and you are

coming, you book a call with me and we're

:

00:51:50,210 --> 00:51:51,690

having a conversation.

:

00:51:51,690 --> 00:51:55,120

As we're having a conversation, I will

make sure to make notes.

:

00:51:55,120 --> 00:52:03,430

So if you use the words, I am overwhelmed,

I am so tired in my business, I can't find

:

00:52:03,430 --> 00:52:05,930

clients anywhere, for instance.

:

00:52:05,930 --> 00:52:11,730

When then we're talking about the solution

I offer, my response is gonna be, I help

:

00:52:11,730 --> 00:52:14,798

you with overwhelm and finding clients.

:

00:52:14,798 --> 00:52:17,118

and getting to that point in your

business.

:

00:52:17,118 --> 00:52:22,438

So I'm regurgitating right back to you the

language that you recognize and are

:

00:52:22,438 --> 00:52:25,478

familiar with and identify your problems

as.

:

00:52:25,478 --> 00:52:26,378

Thank you.

:

00:52:26,378 --> 00:52:26,818

Yeah.

:

00:52:26,818 --> 00:52:30,758

I do it there and I also look at

testimonials or reviews and they can be

:

00:52:30,758 --> 00:52:34,778

good reviews or bad reviews, but going

back and seeing what clients are saying

:

00:52:34,778 --> 00:52:39,838

about you gives you an idea of what they

really liked or what stood out to them or

:

00:52:39,838 --> 00:52:42,818

what perhaps was a gap that you can

backfill.

:

00:52:42,818 --> 00:52:43,728

Well, that's great insight.

:

00:52:43,728 --> 00:52:44,494

Thank you.

:

00:52:44,494 --> 00:52:45,774

Yeah, you're welcome.

:

00:52:45,774 --> 00:52:50,934

One of the things that I've done over the

last several years is that do an exit

:

00:52:50,934 --> 00:52:56,094

interview with every single client and

asking them those those specific

:

00:52:56,094 --> 00:52:56,604

questions.

:

00:52:56,604 --> 00:52:58,194

What did I do?

:

00:52:58,194 --> 00:52:59,934

Well, what did you like?

:

00:52:59,934 --> 00:53:02,614

What areas did I fall down in?

:

00:53:02,614 --> 00:53:06,014

What areas do you wish I would have done

more?

:

00:53:06,014 --> 00:53:08,234

Was it in communication?

:

00:53:08,494 --> 00:53:09,744

Whatever it might be.

:

00:53:09,744 --> 00:53:11,438

And I found those to be.

:

00:53:11,438 --> 00:53:15,478

very helpful, not only in solidifying the

areas that I want to concentrate my

:

00:53:15,478 --> 00:53:20,938

business, but it gives me a help as to how

I can improve what I'm doing.

:

00:53:20,938 --> 00:53:24,918

And some of them have been watershed kind

of events.

:

00:53:24,918 --> 00:53:27,198

They've been very, very helpful.

:

00:53:27,198 --> 00:53:27,938

Yeah.

:

00:53:27,938 --> 00:53:32,638

It's so valuable to be open and willing to

listen to that kind of feedback.

:

00:53:32,638 --> 00:53:34,378

It can sometimes feel not great, right?

:

00:53:34,378 --> 00:53:37,870

Because clients sometimes haven't said

anything up till then.

:

00:53:37,870 --> 00:53:40,610

And then they share stuff with you and

you're like, I could have fixed that

:

00:53:40,610 --> 00:53:41,819

probably, but you didn't tell me.

:

00:53:41,819 --> 00:53:44,230

And also I feel a little bit bad that I

didn't do it.

:

00:53:44,230 --> 00:53:48,190

The other thing that I have found as a

trick, and this is not my trick.

:

00:53:48,190 --> 00:53:53,410

This is, I think a Mike McCallow it's one

from the pumpkin plant book, but he did a

:

00:53:53,410 --> 00:53:57,670

number of interviews with clients to say,

what was the thing that the company that

:

00:53:57,670 --> 00:54:00,450

used to do this for you didn't do?

:

00:54:00,450 --> 00:54:05,410

What's the thing that really got your goat

when you were dealing with the last people

:

00:54:05,410 --> 00:54:06,606

that were doing this?

:

00:54:06,606 --> 00:54:08,156

And so he's already got the business.

:

00:54:08,156 --> 00:54:11,226

He's not looking to sell them, but he's

looking for like, where's the thing you

:

00:54:11,226 --> 00:54:12,906

definitely don't want me to do.

:

00:54:12,906 --> 00:54:18,486

And I thought that was a really smart way

of also uncovering areas and pitfalls that

:

00:54:18,486 --> 00:54:20,586

you want to be sure to avoid.

:

00:54:20,586 --> 00:54:22,506

A quick comment on that as well.

:

00:54:22,506 --> 00:54:27,376

It helps you to identify what the clients

want you to do as well.

:

00:54:27,376 --> 00:54:28,896

If you look at the inverse.

:

00:54:28,896 --> 00:54:29,986

Yeah.

:

00:54:29,986 --> 00:54:31,706

Is that the pumpkin plan?

:

00:54:31,706 --> 00:54:33,116

It is the pumpkin plan.

:

00:54:33,116 --> 00:54:33,436

Yep.

:

00:54:33,436 --> 00:54:35,022

Mike McCallowitz as well.

:

00:54:35,022 --> 00:54:37,102

He's the same guy as the profit first.

:

00:54:37,102 --> 00:54:38,102

Cool.

:

00:54:38,102 --> 00:54:38,842

Thank you.

:

00:54:38,842 --> 00:54:39,342

Yeah.

:

00:54:39,342 --> 00:54:40,662

I'm a big believer in his books.

:

00:54:40,662 --> 00:54:46,282

If you're looking for reference books on

business growth in general, they're very

:

00:54:46,282 --> 00:54:49,922

well written and they're very concise and

they're easy read.

:

00:54:49,922 --> 00:54:52,602

So if you're not somebody who wants to

read all the time, business books, that's

:

00:54:52,602 --> 00:54:56,122

fair, but they're, they're worthwhile

reading for sure.

:

00:54:56,222 --> 00:54:56,572

Okay.

:

00:54:56,572 --> 00:55:00,382

So we've kind of said, so these are our

three things, right?

:

00:55:00,382 --> 00:55:04,242

Is enhancing your customer experience,

optimizing pricing and financial

:

00:55:04,242 --> 00:55:05,134

assessment.

:

00:55:05,134 --> 00:55:10,934

So taking the time to do those things

moving forward will absolutely create more

:

00:55:10,934 --> 00:55:13,354

profit in your business and will do it.

:

00:55:13,354 --> 00:55:16,874

If you take the time to do these things,

you'll see a return on that fairly

:

00:55:16,874 --> 00:55:17,914

quickly.

:

00:55:18,114 --> 00:55:18,734

Okay.

:

00:55:18,734 --> 00:55:19,394

All right.

:

00:55:19,394 --> 00:55:21,934

Now here's, here's the part y 'all need to

know, right?

:

00:55:21,934 --> 00:55:23,244

How do you get ahold of me?

:

00:55:23,244 --> 00:55:25,994

How do you reach out and say, Hey, I have

questions.

:

00:55:25,994 --> 00:55:31,314

I didn't want to put my hand up in the

public or Hey, that's kind of interesting.

:

00:55:31,314 --> 00:55:33,646

I want to hear more about what you do.

:

00:55:33,646 --> 00:55:38,266

take a screenshot, get on that QR code on

your phone and book a call with me.

:

00:55:38,266 --> 00:55:44,286

I am very, maybe let's call it focused,

but I want business owners to be

:

00:55:44,286 --> 00:55:45,476

successful and profitable.

:

00:55:45,476 --> 00:55:47,566

That is the reason I have this business.

:

00:55:47,566 --> 00:55:51,846

It's the reason I do so many of these

sorts of things where I'm speaking and

:

00:55:51,846 --> 00:55:56,156

hopefully providing a lot of value so that

when you guys leave, you're not just like,

:

00:55:56,156 --> 00:55:59,506

oh yeah, she has a business and I guess I

need to hire her to get help.

:

00:55:59,506 --> 00:56:01,550

I'm hoping that you're leaving.

:

00:56:01,550 --> 00:56:05,609

having things that you can tangibly take

away and really start implementing in your

:

00:56:05,609 --> 00:56:07,090

business right away.

:

00:56:07,090 --> 00:56:13,250

But I also believe that you need more help

than what you have probably right now.

:

00:56:13,250 --> 00:56:18,090

There are too many business owners that

aren't making enough money, and this is a

:

00:56:18,090 --> 00:56:19,470

solvable problem.

:

00:56:19,470 --> 00:56:22,810

So I really want to encourage you to take

advantage.

:

00:56:22,810 --> 00:56:26,350

The reason you spend the money to be part

of NIA is to get out of the business.

:

00:56:26,350 --> 00:56:31,250

to all of the knowledge that is here in

this group in all of its facets, right?

:

00:56:31,250 --> 00:56:32,750

In all of our businesses.

:

00:56:32,750 --> 00:56:36,670

And I want to just encourage you to take

advantage of hopping on a call with me.

:

00:56:36,670 --> 00:56:40,390

I'm not going to hard sell you into

coaching, but I will give you some insight

:

00:56:40,390 --> 00:56:44,670

into your particular business and what can

be game changing in terms of the direction

:

00:56:44,670 --> 00:56:45,510

that you're headed in.

:

00:56:45,510 --> 00:56:46,190

Okay.

:

00:56:46,190 --> 00:56:50,130

And if you want coaching, I'll help you

with that too, obviously not crazy, but I

:

00:56:50,130 --> 00:56:51,930

am here to help regardless.

:

00:56:51,990 --> 00:56:52,930

I just one last thing.

:

00:56:52,930 --> 00:56:54,470

So this is just your homework.

:

00:56:54,470 --> 00:56:55,620

Book a call with me.

:

00:56:55,620 --> 00:56:56,142

Okay.

:

00:56:56,142 --> 00:56:58,042

and I'll help you make a plan.

:

00:56:58,082 --> 00:57:01,792

Make a money date with your business

before the end of the month.

:

00:57:01,792 --> 00:57:04,882

So you have four days, chop chop, you need

to get it done.

:

00:57:04,882 --> 00:57:09,822

And then find some level of accountability

for whatever today you've decided is your

:

00:57:09,822 --> 00:57:12,632

action that you want to do, that you want

to change in your business.

:

00:57:12,632 --> 00:57:16,902

Doesn't matter what it is, but get some

accountability, whether that is a friend

:

00:57:16,902 --> 00:57:19,902

or social media or myself, doesn't matter.

:

00:57:19,902 --> 00:57:24,322

Just get yourself in that position so that

you can actually achieve those goals that

:

00:57:24,322 --> 00:57:25,202

you're trying to achieve.

:

00:57:25,202 --> 00:57:25,710

Okay.

:

00:57:25,710 --> 00:57:26,990

Now I'm done.

:

00:57:27,010 --> 00:57:28,250

Right on Samantha.

:

00:57:28,250 --> 00:57:31,250

Thank you so much for being a part of this

and your presentation today.

:

00:57:31,250 --> 00:57:32,270

It was wonderful.

:

00:57:32,270 --> 00:57:36,390

I just want to remind everybody that on

the first, third and fourth Wednesday of

:

00:57:36,390 --> 00:57:40,290

every month, we are going to be doing our

network with the nations, our sales

:

00:57:40,290 --> 00:57:43,970

mastery and our speaker series next week.

:

00:57:43,970 --> 00:57:47,150

Our founder, Scott Talley, founder of

network and action will be presenting.

:

00:57:47,150 --> 00:57:49,130

So we definitely think you all should show

up.

:

00:57:49,130 --> 00:57:52,540

And yeah, again, thank you for being here

and we hope you all have a great day.

:

00:57:52,540 --> 00:57:53,730

Thank you again, Samantha.

:

00:57:53,730 --> 00:57:54,638

You're welcome.

:

00:57:54,638 --> 00:57:56,398

Have a good day, you guys.

:

00:57:56,518 --> 00:57:59,818

And that's this week's episode of the She

Needs Profit podcast.

:

00:57:59,818 --> 00:58:04,398

If you like what you heard today, connect

with us on Instagram at Sam, the Profit

:

00:58:04,398 --> 00:58:07,698

Coach, or leave us a review in your

podcast player.

:

00:58:07,698 --> 00:58:11,498

Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter

packed with more profit tips.

:

00:58:11,498 --> 00:58:13,278

The link is in the show notes.

:

00:58:13,278 --> 00:58:14,838

See you next week.

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About the Podcast

She Needs Profit
A kick-ass approach to business growth and life freedom! More profit and less bull*
Want to build and grow a profitable service based business? Are you tired of just breaking even?

With solo episodes focused on sharing business profit coaching gold nuggets and interviews featuring gritty women entrepreneurs, this show will give you strategies around building an offer that gets results without wasting time or energy!

We’ll also talk about why it’s important (and necessary) when scaling a biz from one person operation into something bigger than yourself to lean into understanding the money part of business! And, of course, there will be plenty of real-life examples along the way too because I want you walking away feeling like "I CAN do this!" Not just listening but actually doing it!

I’m your host, Samantha Varner, profit coach and founder of She Profit School. My 16+ years of experience in financial services, public relations, and profit coaching are being poured into this show so you can avoid indecision, frustration, and confusion when it comes to building and scaling your own business.



Email me at sam@crushprofitcoaching.com
and Connect with me on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/samtheprofitcoach/

So let's go. Roll up your sleeves...get gritty & let’s create wildly profitable businesses together!

About your host

Profile picture for Samantha Varner

Samantha Varner

Sam Varner is a momma to 4 kiddos ages 16 - 10 and she is the founder of CRUSH Profit Coaching. She is a money making business creator for driven female entrepreneurs. Sam has 16+ years in PR & Marketing, Finance Strategy and Business Development. After living in 3 different countries and getting re-qualified to work over and over again Sam decided to create her own business serving women business owners online.
Her mission is to coach women to realize they are capable of changing their financial reality through business ownership.