Does what you do make CENTS?

[eliquid]

I have always found CENTS ( not the terms, but the idea ) hard to grasp.

The fact people are ratings things as .3 and .2 and such shows me others have the same issues I did.

Lets take a RE agent idea:

For example, do people really need a house? Or is it they need a RE Agent to buy a house. Both are no, you could live at home with parents or in an apartment or even a hotel room. You can buy a home without an agent.

So how do you really grade these things? To me no one needs a home, but others would disagree with popular opinion. Or do you flip the idea as "do you need an agent to buy a home?" No, our mortgage lender did the work for us/me personally.

See how complicated it can be? How do you ask the question, how do you answer it?

For ecommerce, is it really control because you pick the products and who you market to, or is not control bc ultimately you are dependent on some traffic source somewhere.

 

[AndrewNC]

Why do I feel like most people here want to believe that they have all the commandments. Maybe it's just me, but I'm constantly paranoid of my business in all aspects. Once you get too comfortable, you will lose that edge. Based on a few previous responses and Andrew's included, it makes me think that people overestimate their business's ability to grow and sustain.

For example, on the issue of control above. You have listed IOS app store, website, email list and FB community. To me, there is no control in 3 out of the 4. IOS store is obvious. Your website is at the mercy of search engines, UNLESS your have built you brand. For example, if Pepsi.com no longer existed in Google or Yahoo results, Pepsi would not miss a beat. I would bet that if your website became absent from Google, you'd take a huge hit. Email list I agree is something that you control. FB group, I'd say that you have no control of it. What if FB bans and removes your group one day?

The issue of need is not, does someone need the product or service. The question is, does someone need YOUR product or service. Is there a need for Coke or Pepsi? Clearly the market says yes. But is there a need for Biophase's Cola? How can I answer yes to this without exploring the quality and value of it? Does the world need another soft drink? That is the question. Maybe if I created a cola that tasted like Pepsi, had 0 carbs and 25g of protein!

Andrew, you missed the Time commandment. I don't see how you can say yes when you have 1 on 1 sessions. If you are talking about the App magazines, then I'd say yes.

Sorry don't mean to pick on you, but just using your answers as an example.

I think more people should be realistic about their business's weak points and not give themselves a 1 or .5 in the commandments to make themselves feel better about their business being fastlane. If any of you think you have a 4/5 and it were truly 4/5 you should be multi millionaires within a year. I hope you can understand why this would be the case.

Thanks for the feedback.

Since reading your post last night, I:

Control - Exported my email list from Aweber onto my computer. And I'm funneling users from my email list to the Facebook group. Sending subscribers from my Limitless Success Magazine app to instagram and email list.

I'm not sure if we can have full control, but I'm taking steps to remove that "one point of failure".

Time - I'm in the process of personally mentoring someone in NLP to get him to the point where he's better than I am. By early February, he should be ready to take over client sessions as a freelance contractor. For sales, I'm partnering up with someone to manage the sales of the 12-week (or single sessions).

I'm still putting in the time myself, but planting the roots for removing the time aspect of the business as it grows in the upcoming years.

Where I'm stuck....

I'm still kind of stuck on the need portion of it (and I could use help on this part if you see something I don't).

With the testimonials and referrals I'm getting - I 100% am confident in the services I offer, and I know it solves a need.

As far as needing MY service over others - I feel that with what I do, and the market I'm serving, the market is unsaturated enough where there's no industry leaders such as the pepsi or coke example.

• For example, if you need help overcoming a junk food craving, I would tell you to move a picture in your mind, change the brightness, size, etc. and lock it in place - and the craving goes down (like I showed you), or completely goes away (adding some more tools to it.)
• If an early-stage entrepreneur can't find a business idea - I would have them imagine floating up out of their body, floating into the future on a timeline, look down in their imagination at a future version of themselves where they already have the business idea.

There's more too it, but it's been getting results for my clients - and from virtually everyone I came across - the things I do are nothing like anything they've seen before.

Is the undersaturation of the market enough for the NEED?

Or do you think that I could be doing something else to improve this accept of CENTS?

Thanks again.

 

[eliquid]

There is clearly a need for an RE agent. This is evidenced by the number of people making a living as a real estate agent. But this is not the question. The question is, does the world NEED YOU as a real estate agent. The NEED question is specifically directed to you, your service or your product. It is not directed at the business category.

Let's say that you are an average worker and decide to become an average RE agent. And you make average money. You are an average negotiator, sometimes you screw up paperwork, provide no inspection recommendations, etc...

You quit after 1 year thinking the whole doesn't need more RE agents.

On the other hand, someone who is a hustler, becomes an RE agent. Kicks a$$, finds her clients awesome deals, is super detail oriented, closes every time. She gets referrals like crazy, makes $200,000 a year and now has an assistant, etc...

The world did NEED her. Her area needed a responsible, competent, real estate agent.

So is the NEED in CENTS analysis only post-action then and not really something that can be trusted pre-action?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[devine]

Whats that? www.dash.org?

Yes.

 

[Raoul Duke]

@Late Bloomer

 

[Late Bloomer]

@Late Bloomer

Thanks for the heads up! I missed this thread, will add my little summary here!

Helping local Mom & Pop restaurants with online marketing
(full details in my Speedway thread: local sites plus a lead gen portal inspired by Limos.com)

Need: 8/10
Restaurants need to find diners. Diners want to find restaurants. Online's a great way to do this. Online's a mystery to Mom & Pop. Presence of competition proves it's a valid business model.

Entry: 5/10
Basic sales and web skills needed, then basic management skills to scale with other people using my checklists.

Control: 8/10
I can control my sites, I can control my portal, I can control my sales process, I can control my tech process, I can control my hosting. I can't control quality of the restaurants. I can't control social media services that might be used for advertising.

Time: 9/10
After the initial setup, let Mom & Pop email me a weekly update, otherwise it's hands-off for subscription renewal income.

Scale: 9/10
The more the merrier when it comes to a portal.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Gepi]

Wow, cool thread. This really gives some insight into different kinds of business models.

I will throw mine in here:

3D design, 3D modeling, 3D printing jewelry expert with some occasional graphic design going on. -> Phialo

Need: 4/5
My clients need what I do. While some are very oldschool and don't understand it yet, more and more jewelers see the opportunity of 3D modeling (that is, costs less time + money, lets you easily replicate something, gives you the ability to show customers pieces before making them real in photorealistic quality, and so on). The fact that I have graduated as the best traditional goldsmith in my state makes this a good niche for me.
And so I expect rising demand.

Entry: 3/5
It is possible for anyone with the right effort and mindset to learn the program and gather experience in 3D printing. On the other hand, to apply this to jewelry from start to a successful finish is not so easy. You need to know the ins and outs and also the crafty part of creating it in the real world. And of course, you need an eye for aesthetics, design, fashion and wearability.

Control: 5/5
I have my own website, I contact my own clients, I sell my time for money. This gives me all the control I want over it. I also sell some of my models in online marketplaces, but this is minor compared to the main thing.

Time: 1.5/5
Yeah...this is where it gets slow. No hours worked, no money made. While it has potential, my models on the marketplace do not make nearly anywhere enough. I would have to focus on launching my own jewelry line. While this is something I have pondered often enough, so far something kept me from it. Designing the models for other jewelers was something that gave immediate positive response and so I focused on that. On the other hand it would be a way to scale my business beyond outsourcing the occasional thingy.
Another idea was to make instructional videos and online courses. Have no idea if people would pay money for that, though.
I guess I have to get more information about some of the above. But at the moment getting bills paid and growing the main biz is priority.

Scale: 1.5/5
See Time.

Nice insightful exercise.

 

[ZF Lee]

Err...MJ can this be a GOLD or notable post? We need this kind of classification. There are lots of niches and areas to specify so that we understand what systems to introduce.

 

[ZF Lee]

Sure, I'll go.

Ecommerce - 2.8/5


Need - No. (0) I'm going to say no to this because people don't really need what I sell as evidenced by it being a niche. Small percentage just seem to want it.

Then we need some copywriting to convince the majority otherwise!

 

[Insaint]

Buying/selling websites - 2.2

Control - Kind of (0.4) - While I decide what sites to buy/sell the traffic that comes to each site is mostly outside of my control (social media networks/search traffic/etc.). Because I own multiple sites at a time the risk is reduced, but it is still there.

Entry - Not really (0.3) - There are some barriers. One is the investment size, but plenty of people have enough money to buy the sites I can currently afford. Another is the knowledge required to evaluate sites and running them. Based on some buyers I have talked to they do not see this barrier at all. All they see is the yield.

Need - Yes and no (0.4) - Nobody needs me to buy their website because there are enough buyers. Good websites are not easy to find so buyers are very interested in the websites I've sold so far. I find it hard to quantify this commandment.

Time - Yes and no (0.6) - I only buy websites that require very little work or are almost fully outsourced. So that's a big plus. On the other hand the buying/selling process is all on me as is figuring out how to improve the websites. Outsourcing those parts will be almost impossible unfortunately.

Scale - Limited (0.5) - The ceiling for this is websites worth a few million max. Sites worth more than that are rarely sold on the open market and to get the scoop on those I imagine you need a large network and be prepared to pay a serious multiple. I don't need a bigger scale to be honest, but nonetheless I can't give it a high mark.

Overall this exercise has driven home some of the weaknesses of this part of my business. Working towards becoming a marketplace would eliminate most of these weaknesses, but I'm not sure if I want to go in that direction yet.

 

[eliquid]

@MJ DeMarco

Can you do one based on options trading?

 

[theag]

DASH

Whats that? www.dash.org?

 

[Florian]

Sure, I'll go.

Ecommerce - 2.8/5

Control - Yes and No (.3) Giving it a .3 because yes I have my online stores, but Google still controls its traffic and a huge chunk of my sales are from Amazon, so that's a big No.
Entry - Yes and No. (.5) While it's certainly easy to open a store, list on Amazon, contact a factory and import similar things. It's not that easy to replicate the brand I've built.
Need - No. (0) I'm going to say no to this because people don't really need what I sell as evidenced by it being a niche. Small percentage just seem to want it.
Time - Yes. (1) A huge yes to this.
Scale - Yes. (1) A huge yes to this. These last 2 make the absence of first 3 all worth it.

You could go more into social media in order to create more control about who'll see your website. If you give enough content and here and there sprinkle in some hooks, you are good to go. But I'm just a newbie so feel free to ignore me

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[mindfulimmortal]

I would like to comment on the subject of need. The concept of need is itself highly subjective. What one person considers a need is for another person, even in the same demographic, a luxury.

Once, after 3 1/2 years in B2B selling I was obliged by my next employer to take an in-house sales course. Lesson #1 was: 'Establish The Need!" This was correctly interpreted by the instructor to mean that sales people should find out if the prospect saw the product or service as a need, and if they didn't, the next step was to convince them that they did need it.

Having previously had an extremely successful 3 1/2 years as a technical sales representative, (800% increase in sales in the first 3 years) I already knew that and had successfully applied it. A good sales person can persuade a person to feel the need without resorting to unethical methods, but after Lesson #1 the sales course became boring and the instruction was heading into sleazy and unethical territory so I quit. That's when I started my first business.

I appreciate that B2B selling is different to online B2C sales because you don't often get to personally interact with the potential customers. To overcome this, I suggest research into the reasons why the customers who have that "need" are convinced that they need the product or service.

Once you know that, the world is your oyster. What you will sell online is: The reason/s why your product or service meets their need, whether or not they originally believed that they had that need.

Having said all that, I would like to make it clear that convincing a person with no feet that they need trainers/sneakers/running shoes/ballet shoes/steel capped work boots, is not what I have in mind.

Walter

I struggle with the need part also. The theory of Jobs To Be Done make it much clearer to me. Basically the concept is to focus on the customers struggle to make their life better and how customers imagine their lives being better once they have the solution. You focus on the customers motivation vs the solutions and technology that fulfills those needs. Two good examples of this are:
- What job to be done are people buying cars? there are many reasons such as they want to get from point a to point b. they want a car that gives them "status", they collect them as an investment. Purchasing, leasing, renting, sharing, taxi's, Uber all provided solutions for the Job to be done.
- Why do some people buy milk shakes on their way to work. The first thought is they were thirsty but when interviewed it turned out that many bought them because they took a long time to drink and occupied their desires during traffic congestion.
A Job To Be Done (and need) describes why (motivation), not how (functionality)
Once you look at needs as "is there a job to be done" it makes it easier and clearer to focus on solutions.