A Very Expensive Vacation
Two summers ago, I celebrated my 20th anniversary by taking my wife on a cruise. We'd never been on one before and it was 11 days of relaxation and disconnection.
Well, as a self-employed professional, I'm never really disconnected - or on vacation for that matter. And I figured, "hey, the ship has WiFi, right?"
Sure, it did. For about $100 per hour if you count up the data transfer costs.
Because my business couldn't operate without me, I was constantly checking email, updating things online, and having to push my sales and marketing efforts forward. That turned out to be an expensive proposition. Not just for the WiFi costs, but my wife wasn't really happy about the setup either.
I realized that as a self-employed consultant, it was actually more difficult to disconnect than I thought. Not to get away - that was the easy part. No, feeling like I could leave my business for awhile and everything would still be running when I got back was almost impossible.
I knew something had to change.
The 3 Critical Marketing Systems
The problem was in my business. I just didn't have any systems in place to keep it running while I was gone. I needed a way to continue sales and marketing efforts so that my leads didn't dry up by the time I got back.
I determined that there were three systems I needed to create in order for my marketing to be more automated.
1. Lead Generation
Because my consulting practice had been built on referrals and my personal network, leads came in only when I asked for them. That needed to change. You can certainly get busy by using referral and networking strategies. These are the core self-promotion strategies suggested by Michael Port in his book, Book Yourself Solid. In fact,
they're so critical that he calls them "mandatory."
But if you want to grow your business beyond your own effort, you have to start generating leads in other ways. There are several to choose from, but I started a podcast, Scale to Success. That plus other efforts now generate leads for my business. Even when I'm on vacation, that process still runs.
2-Part Formula to a Unique Selling Proposition
2. Care and Feeding
A lead doesn't equal a sale. Of course, you need to spend time developing a relationship with a prospect before they buy. In my old model, that would consist of me engaging with each prospect, learning about what they need, and custom tailoring an offer to solve their particular problems. That's very difficult to automate.
I recognized that building a relationship over time was the best way to qualify prospects as well as be ready when
they were ready for a sales conversation. I do that now through a fairly simple communication automation process - including e-mail, timed targeted offers, educational events such as webinars, and my podcast. Since that relationship grows as my prospect engages, I can step away and it goes on without me.
3. Product Offer
The third and most important element of the plan involved productizing my expertise. By creating a low barrier to entry offer from which my clients could benefit - without me personally delivering it - I was able to even close some sales without me being present.
I still offer personalized services that involve delivering consulting services, but now my clients can self-start. That also means that I can leave for awhile and still generate income.
The challenge is finding the product which encapsulates your expertise. I help coaches, consultants, and other experts distill down their core value proposition into a product they can offer without personally delivering it to each individual customer. Once you've identified that, you are more free to grow your business and life the lifestyle you want.
Systems are the Key
The key is to put the systems in place to grow your business. It's not difficult. Many before you have done this already. Start by automating your sales and marketing efforts. Build an automated communication strategy that grows relationships. Then develop a product offering beyond your coaching or consulting services. These three steps will drive you to more revenue and more freedom.
And, I'm about to take my family on another cruise. This time, no WiFi.
Want to hear more?
Check out this episode of Scale to Success: Productizing your Expertise