What would it take to ’10X’ your business and what would your life look like?”
She didn’t know and wanted help exploring the possibility.
So we played with some questions:
- What would your business look like if it grew by 10X?
- How much monthly revenue would that mean? Annual revenue?
- What’s the current average value of your clients (click here to see a complimentary, no opt-in training on this subject from our Get It Done Right Community)?
- Assuming average value of clients remains static and retention is 100%, how many new clients do you need to meet that monthly revenue number?
- How many years do you want the process to take? (My client chose 4.)
Once she knew how many years she wanted it to take, she went back and adjusted her retention number to her actual (63% retention of clients who stay 3+ years).
And the interesting thing? Once we had all the numbers, it was realistic with some tweaks to her business:
1 – Put an Extreme Client Care™ process in place to maximize client retention and increase the number of referrals by optimizing the clients’ experience with a goal of increasing client retention by 10% each year for 3 years.
Create an online library with most-used templates, bonus programs/products (yours and/or someone else’s), send periodic and client-specific gifts, cards to commemorate achievements, etc.
2 – Increase the average client value by constantly asking (and answering) “what’s next” for clients and, to the extent possible, setting up Escalators™ (funnels with full nurturing sequences leading clients to the next appropriate offer) so that as much of the process as possible is automated while feeling personalized.
What can you add on to your offerings? Done for You? Partner with another vendor? Additional levels of training/mentoring? Complementary services?
3 – Create and grow a leveraged continuity program. She doesn’t currently have a continuity program so we brainstormed one and then how to fill it through well-built and executed Escalators™.
What content or service can you provide on a continuous basis that your clients won’t want to do without? How can you add value to their lives/businesses, save them money, make them money or save them time/energy and effort? Be creative.
4 – And once the above is done, set up several processes to attract clients. Ideally no one process/channel will be responsible for more than 20% of your new clients — just in case something happens to a channel, you want to ensure that your business is continuing to bring in new clients.
The goal here is to bring in clients in as many profitable ways as possible: book sales on Amazon, CEOReads, and other sites; blog posts on appropriate sites; direct mail; referral partners; affiliates; speaking; social media — both paid and organic; multiple free giveaways, each with its own Escalator™. . .the list goes on.
And then there are the final questions: How will your life look if your business is 10X what it is today? What effect will it have on your family? Would you live where you are today?
It isn’t about empire-building, although you could if you wished, it’s about playing and seeing “What if” and whether or not those scenarios make you smile or cringe.
A major benefit of this type of exploration is to open your mind to things you wouldn’t typically think of.
It’s amazing when you add the word “How” or the phrase “How can I” to X. For example:
- “How can I generate $100,000 this month instead of $10,000?
- “How can I keep more clients for longer?”
and see what your mind comes up with. Even better, brainstorm with friends, colleagues or a mentor and list each idea without judgment — even the ones that make you giggle.
Once you’ve exhausted the brainstorming session, walk away and let things percolate before going back to the list.
Have fun with this!
And if you want some help, let me know. I’m here to support you when you’re ready to take the next step.