Fresh Start, No More @$#%# Action-Faking!

[MattR82]

Full steam ahead! Almost finished with my sales funnel pages and upsells. Also wrote a 2000 word lead magnet and shot a couple upsell videos.
Working on my email automation sequences and integrations right now. I was skeptical about working with a business consultant (ugh, I hate the word "coach") but it's been awesome. He and his tech team have made this much, much easier.

Should be ready to start driving traffic within another week.

It's amazing how much more efficient things are when you're working for yourself vs working at a company. I get things done 10x faster---no meetings, no back-and-forth, no waiting.

Oh also---I've set up a couple of Fastlaners with free review copies for my course. I'll open it up for 8 more users---if your business does B2B sales and want to explore using webinars, just send me a PM. I'll also give you a free consult to help you set up your campaign, in exchange for an honest testimonial.

Man that is kick a$$! Very motivating for me in moving mine forward. It's too bad mine is not B2B or I would be all over it.

Glad you found some good help. Just because there are a lot of phonies out there doesn't mean there isn't some genuine guys out there that know their stuff. As much as I love FLF it is a bit light on with course creation so looking forward to you and one other guy on here pioneering it somewhat.

 

[JustKris]

Email sequences are done. Man, I can't believe how much work they took. No bullshit, I've written pilot scripts in less time than it took to write these emails. But it was worth it.

Also took a bit longer than expected to build out the pages and get everything set up (silly stuff like Stripe/Paypal, lead scoring, etc).

Doing the audience research now and writing ad copy---will be ready to start running ads in a few days.

And that's when the REAL work begins.

 

[JustKris]

Is there a squeeze page asking for an email? People now don't like to give out emails because they know they'll get spammed. Also marketing emails are auto filtered by many email providers. Why would someone use your service if they can get something similar for free elsewhere?

Yes, there is a squeeze page and a whole lead scoring sequence. Also, LOL at people not opting in with emails.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

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[JustKris]

And the Facebook ads...are...LAUNCHED!!!!!

Whew. The last month has been a crazy amount of work (and there is still plenty of work to do). But it feels awesome to actually put a product out and get out of my silo.

Thank you to all the beta users and your feedback.

I'm nervous, excited, relieved, and hopeful all at the same time. There's still plenty of work to do, but today feels like a big milestone.

 

[JustKris]

Crazy couple weeks. Evacuated out of our place due the wildfires getting a little too close for comfort. (Plus, our house smelled like a campfire even with the windows shut and the air purifiers on)

Lead cost is getting better. My best performing ad is running about $3.50 per lead. Some days it's been under $2, which is the real sweet spot.

It's been great getting feedback from the new students---clarifying topics, coming up with new modules, and being able to provide actionable game-plans for their launches.

Also have some good appointments set up for some big consulting clients this week.

What else...

Reading this thread was eye-opening: Not Fulfilled? Depressed? Maybe You Need An Alignment

Taking a more holistic look at how I spend my time and energy. I've been extremely out of alignment---not exercising, eating poorly, and not doing anything creative. It's definitely taken a toll.

 

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[JustKris]

Time is flying! Quick check in:

Consulting is going pretty well. I signed a number of new clients in the last couple of weeks. And I had some really good sales calls in the past few days, so October is looking very promising.

I see how the Scale part of the CENTS equation is missing with consulting. I've moved from hourly to retainer-based contracts, which focus on the value delivered.

The problem is—all I own is my labor. I'm the one writing copy, launching ads, building automations, and creating campaigns. I could farm out some of it, of course. And I'll need to staff up pretty soon, if things continue at this rate.

But it's all just labor. Even when it's something really easy for me, like writing an ad. I'm like the analogy in MJ's book---the brother who lifts the stones to the pyramid himself. I don't have a machine yet.

I'm thinking of relaunching my course once I have some more case studies from these clients. Getting DEEP into the nitty-gritty of every single step.

The other options? Branch out, once things stabilize a bit with this work. E-commerce and SaaS come to mind. E-commerce because I can outsource the product creation, which is my biggest challenge. And I've spent the last several years marketing SaaS platforms, so I have a good handle on it.

At the end of the day, I'm still grateful to be able to work where/when I want, solve problems, and get paid more than my old Slowlane job.

But I know there is something more...

 

[JustKris]

Quick update. October and November were really strong, sales-wise.

This month has been fairly slow. One of my bigger clients wanted to "take off" for December and restart in January. Still have a couple of smaller clients for this month.

And some new folks should be coming on in a week or so, but it's still frustrating.

Thankfully, I kept some cash in reserve from the previous months to still pay myself well for this month.

Doing some more "me" activities, like creative writing, to stay balanced.

 

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[JustKris]

Back in the swing of things. A couple of old clients are back on for Q1 2019 and just signed another person today, which is cool.

I've made a big goal of having 100k per month in gross revenue in one year.

Obviously, it would be impossible to deliver that much work myself, so I'll need to hire people once I sign on a couple more clients. I'm writing out EVERYTHING I do and building out checklists and processes, with the eventual goal of replacing myself.

I still use some contractors for little things (design for ads, Wordpress stuff), but I would like to have an account manager, Facebook ad manager, a copywriter, and an email marketing manager in the next 6-9 months.

In non-business news, I've had an eye-opening couple of weeks simply by tracking what I do each day with an iPhone app. Suddenly, my excuses of "not having enough time" to work out or write look ridiculous. Oh yeah, I've got 3 hours to watch television (and do half-assed work), but not 45 minutes to go to the gym? Sure.

Anyway, onward and upward!

 

[Rabby]

Nice. Documenting your process is going to make it so much easier to shift work around. The checklists and other controls too. Subscribing!

 

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[JustKris]

A lot of momentum in the last couple of months. After reading Built To Sell, which blew my mind almost as much as TMF , I realized that I not only needed to standardize my processes, but also my entire service offering.

Moving to a productized service, where I can outsource 90% (eventually 100%) of the day-to-day work. I'm still running around like a chicken with my head cut off, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Got the documentation in a great place. Now it's just a matter of testing it out in real life with new hires. My goal is to make the instructions extremely clear and easy to follow, onboarding them the same way I would onboard a new client.

I've got 2 clients on a pilot program of the productized service and it's going well. Also doing a bit of other client work for the time being---I don't feel comfortable bringing on too many people to the new program until it's running smoothly.

I set a target launch date of 8/15 to have 2 new employees completely up and running. And a target of 09/30 to completely phase out all unrelated client work. (Man, it feels weird to turn down money.)

 

[JustKris]

Hired my first employee!

Having an actual human to pay has been a great kick in the a$$ for making sure these processes are perfect. I'm writing out EVERYTHING---I want them to have complete clarity on their day-to-day tasks.

I'm also going to build out templates and checklists (Asana maybe?) so that I have confirmation that everything is on schedule.

Ironically, I'm not terribly detail-oriented. So this will be a good challenge...and a great thing to get off my plate, hahaha.

 

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[JustKris]

Haha, thanks. I still definitely want to write and perform, but the "day job" side of things just isn't working. Even just getting 60% of my Slowlane income with a business would feel like a gigantic victory, because I would be able to control my time.

 

[JustKris]

On the plate for this weekend:

- Shoot a few videos (one for the course site, one for Youtube, and one for the sales page)
- Write out email launch/follow-up sequences
- Work on my website

This last one is the most annoying. I hate design and I've spent far too much time trying to tweak the Optimizepress and Genesis themes that I've got. At this point, I may just write out what I want and pay a developer.

 

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[JustKris]

Building out my consulting funnel. The baby could come any day now, so I'm hesitant to start scheduling calls since I'll be out of pocket for a few weeks. But it will be nice to be able to hit the ground running in mid-October.

One thing I'm dealing with is OVERWHELM. I've definitely gotten caught up with the tools for business, instead of focusing on getting customers. At work, I can focus on what I'm good at (writing and selling), while handing over the design and coding to others. I either have to start outsourcing this stuff or find ways to QUICKLY execute on tasks. I spent 15 hours this week noodling on my website and have nothing to show for it.

After reading Joe's thread on using Facebook ads to a low-priced ebook, I may try a similar tactic. I originally was going to package the book with the course, but maybe it would be better to drive leads to an a la carte book purchase, then nurture those leads and upsell them the full course.

 

[Sander]

Even just getting 60% of my Slowlane income with a business would feel like a gigantic victory, because I would be able to control my time.

And speaking of leverage---I'm blown away at how LITTLE I need to sell to replace my Slowlane income. One sale a day, plus a couple consulting clients, and I'd easily double what I'm making now.

I'd gladly work twice the hours for 1/2 the money I make now, if it was all for my own company.

And it's not even about money.

I kinda get a feeling that it is.

 

[MattR82]

What's your opinion on the course platform sites? (Thinkific, teachable and kajabi? Not gonna mention udemy... I hate it). Or do you get a bit of a mates rates deal from your current job?

I'm not sure how it works, if you can get any kind of link juice boost from being hosted on a popular platform to get started with. After some financial.issues I had from a tenant trashing my investment property I'm looking to keep the cost as low as possible while validating the idea anyway, so thinkific it is for me to begin.

I'm writing the ebook now, turning out longer than I thought.. going to try Designerr software that instantly formats it into a nice looking ebook. Could do it myself but just want to get it done. Can always go back later.

Set up a wordpress blog, then start giving the lead magnet ebook out to people interested in relevant Facebook groups and forums, get some feedback and a bit of awareness (You should check out the how to use Facebook and forums thread by Andy). Set up a Facebook group (already have really with some people I have already been helping which gave me the idea), Instagram, YouTube channel etc. And finally a webinar once there is a decent enough following. Hopefully the webinar can be largely in place of any 1 on 1 calls, although to begin with I'm not worried about that too much.

Then look at how to go about pre selling the course before shooting it. Is going to be longer than I thought. Had you looked into pre selling for validation? What's your thoughts?

I'm going to keep the video super basic. No green screens or anything. Probably buy a blue yeti Mike. And I'm going to give it all away for free to get a following first. Always had that idea but it's being backed up by some info I've seen in course creator Facebook groups. Are you doing this also or charging out of the gate? I'm sure both would work. But my target market doesn't exactly have a huge disposable income. That can kind of be turned into a strength for me though, but that's another conversation. Once I've got a following (hopefully) I'll reach out to bloggers/try guest posting etc if possible, and then start charging. Any sales would go into PPC on all the different channels.
That's my first draft plan anyway. Just have to finish the ebook first off lol.

I'm being such a perfectionist with it (the ebook), which I knew would be the case. My attitude to video is very different though. Don't quite know why that is!

There's one other thing that comes in as an option at the very end. I won't go into it here though, but it's a huge benefit as a USP and exceptional customer service. It's not scalable though, which is the downside, but can eventually be largely outsourced.

How are you planning to promote the ebook as a lead magnet?

 

[MattR82]

Jesus.. didn't mean to hijack your progress thread, I'll be starting my own soon enough, sorry about that. I was just interested in comparing plans.

We need a good course creator thread, I don't think there is one like an AMA yet? Hopefully yours turns into that!

 

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[JustKris]

I kinda get a feeling that it is.

So...saying that I'd work twice as much for less money means that it's about money?

No. It's about time. It's about freedom. It's about control. Now go chase whatever is important to you.

 

[MattR82]

I can recommend joining the Thinkific studio Facebook group. Seeing regular posts from a bunch of people working on, launching and sharing their course successes (and problems) is a good little motivator.

By the way, where did you come up with the idea that you had to have your video course done a week after pre selling it for validation? I actually haven't seen much info on this, about to start researching it.

I'm thinking of pre-selling it after I have the ebook finished. No idea on what price to put in anything yet, so will use made up numbers for the example below:

Free or <$10 ebook -> pre sell course for $50 down from 300. After the pre sell period is over and I have a bit of data to go off (although I will probably still shoot it no matter what the results are), I would refund the $50 and tell them they will have the course for free when it becomes available. Should help assuage their feelings that the course won't be ready in a week, but in 4-6 weeks or so. Also a great little booster for good reviews and building up an audience from the get go.

 

[fhs8]

Is there a squeeze page asking for an email? People now don't like to give out emails because they know they'll get spammed. Also marketing emails are auto filtered by many email providers. Why would someone use your service if they can get something similar for free elsewhere?

 

[Raleighwood]

What's your sales conversion rate from facebook traffic?

How much is your course?

Sometimes you've got to spend $$$ to get some traction.

 

[JustKris]

Hustling. Doing lots of content creation, sales calls, ad campaigns. It's amazing how much you can get done when you're not hamstrung by other people's processes and systems.

I've had to turn down a couple of clients, which was a strange feeling. They were really interested in moving forward, but they just weren't a good fit. One guy wanted a million hits/day on a free app and I just said "Try SEO, influencers, and paid traffic. I don't think I can help you."

(Who gets into business to say no to money? Me, I guess.)

On the ones that are a good fit, it's really a matter of determining if they're a better fit for the online course or a consulting package.

Reading 80/20 Sales & Marketing by Perry Marshall. Absolutely terrific and has shifted my whole paradigm on where to focus my efforts. (I've been doing a ton of freeform, individualized videos for prospects and the results have been outstanding.)

A really cool part of the book is the Marketing DNA quiz you get as a free upgrade. Just got this email---

You are an Impromptu Orator - Wordsmith

Kris,

You were created for public speaking, moving the masses, leading people, shifting the culture, improvising and advocating grandiose ideas.

I don't know about "moving the masses", but "Impromptu Orator - Wordsmith" is by far the best description of my sales/marketing strengths. (Or maybe I'm just lazy and hate to prepare, hahaha)

Looks like that 20 years of improv comedy finally paid off.