[🐝U] Get new $ from old clients

Most businesses fail at making money.

There are 4 simple money models that make or break your profitability

Even those “success stories” leave money by ignoring 3 of them.

& they know a lot more about business.

But what no one tells you is that you don’t need an MBA, marketing team or oodles of venture capital funding to compete.

When you learn to work the 3 revenue levers the right way, you earn more without risk of burnout.

Before we look at the money models, let’s look at the 3 levers to grow your business
& talk about how you’ve probably been pulling them the wrong way.

3 ways to add revenue to your business

1 - get more clients
2 - charge higher rates / prices
3 - increase your offer count

That’s it!

Everything falls into 1 (or more) of those categories.

Where most freelancers & solopreneurs go wrong…

We can get stuck on #1 - chasing more clients.

That usually means:
→ expanding our target market to “reach more people”
→ lowering prices to get them in the door

Here’s the truth:

While more clients feels like progress …
until you realize you’re drowning in coupon-clippers wanting champagne service at tap-water prices.

If you’re only competitive advantage is “cheaper”, you’ve already lost.

But when your message is generic & your price is the only thing that stands out, they don’t see you, they JUST see the price.

& that’s when the real cost hits you.
→ They won’t see your value.
→ They’ll demand more, for less.
→ They’ll burn you out.

The excitement of new clients turns into a nightmare.

Been there. Done that.

All it got me is a week-long stay in the hospital with blood clots in my lungs & 2 less clients that arguably put me there … because I let them!

The Know-Like-Trust Trap…
You hear a lot about Know-Like-Trust in getting clients.
Lock that in & they’ll move on to Try-Buy
& best-case scenario, they Repeat-Refer

Read John Jantsch’s The Ultimate Marketing Engine for an in-depth breakdown of the Marketing Hourglass.

That all works … until you start discounting

Because discounted clients may try, but they rarely trust.
Instead they micro-manage, nitpick & make unreasonable demands.

& if by some fluke you do make them happy enough …
do you really want them repeating or referring people like them to you?

The Revenue Rabbit Hole
When things don’t work out as well as we want, our confidence takes a hit
We instinctively think it’s our fault.

Which can cause us to lower our rates even more because we’re “not good enough” & to make things worse, you start looking for more generic clients for lower fees

All the while not really paying any attention to those you have

This isn’t the Hotel California …
Your clients can check out & they almost always leave …

As a marketer, I get it.

Focusing on “Lead Generation” is an “easier” sell.
There are fewer steps/things to track & shorter wait times for results.

Marketers can give clients “instant gratification”
But there’s more opportunity to sneak in vanity metrics instead of valuable #s

Sure, all businesses need new clients
& dropping your prices can attract more

But more isn’t necessarily better.

Yes, I’m repeating myself.
It’s something that needs repeating.

You’re not the disount aisle at Walmart …
Stop trying to compete on price.

Think about quality over quantity.

That leaves the 3rd way to add revenue …
increase the number of offers you have.

Remember the people who’ve already raised their hands & opened their wallets you actually wanted to help?

That ideal client you should be focusing on with specific messaging…
That ideal client who “gets” the value & is willing to pay for it?

How can you continue to help them?
How do you offer more value (& charge for it)?

Retention Matters

& knowing what numbers to watch is important, especially the Retention Point … that line in the sand where clients disengage & decide not to renew

That point is rarely just before it’s time to renew a service (or subscription) …
or buy more of the thing they already have

Finding (& fixing) the retention (& even getting the referrals) takes more time & effort to see the results

But here’s the thing, it can cost 5-6 times more to get new clients than keeping current ones happy.

There’s a LOT more to retention than good customer service.
& a successful retention strategy goes beyond “fewer refunds”

Your clients should want to stay & spend more.

& while you have the answer to their problem
when done well, that solution creates another problem

You want to be able to help with that too!

& that goes beyond creating an offer to get them in the door.

There are actually 4 Money Models in Alex Hormozi’s new book took him from broke & maxed out credit cards to literally making $100 M a year (& more)…

1 - Attraction Offers
2 - Upsell Offers
3 - Downsell Offers
4 - Continuity Offers

The secret sauce isn’t in just having a “killer” offer that gets people in the door.

You want to develop & use all 4 money models so you’re not leaving money on the table
You want your “old” clients to give you new $$ so you can increase your lifetime value & their results

You want your business by continuing to solve the “problems” your other solutions are creating.

Your solutions creating new problems is a good thing when it moves you & your client forward!

TL;DR?

Most businesses fail at making money.

There are 3 ways to add revenue:
1 - get more clients
2 - charge higher rates / prices
3 - increase your offer count

We tend to focus on #1 while doing the opposite of #2
& ignore #3 all together

We don’t need “more”
We need better-paying & staying-longer

Better retention & higher lifetime value comes from building & using multiple money models

Learn about the $100 M Money Models, along with the other $100 M books in the series:
→ $100 M Offers: How to Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No
→ $100 M Leads: How to Get Strangers to Want to Buy Your Stuff

You can check the books out of the library, listen to the audio on his podcast (you have to dig a bit), or watch the videos on his website acquisition.com ← no opt-in to access

→ The Ultimate Marketing Engine ← link to Social Media Examiner podcast interview
→ Retention Point by Robert Skrob is written for membership & subscription models but we all want new (ideal) clients to go from “Quitters to Lifers”

Make it a great “money-modelled “ week!
EG

PS:

Techpresso gives you a daily rundown of what's happening in tech & what you shouldn't miss as a start-up business owner.

Clients on Tap gives you more “feel-good” client acquisition that works ... without the "bro marketing" tactics

PPS:

📣 Tell me what you want to read about … here

📈 Let’s talk about how you can create your money models & improve retention by being yourself?
Find a time that fits your schedule.