Recently a new client came to me in total frustration. She
had been working with another coach who had insisted she
focus on offering, and aggressively marketing, only one
service. Now she was out of energy, out of money, and
couldn’t understand why she was failing. A great
salesperson in her previous work, she was struggling to
sell enough of this one service to support herself.
This talented and skilled professional was on a slippery
slope to a failed business. She was using one of the most
enticing and dangerous models for the direction of her
business: Offering just one service to just one market.
One service, one big client, one product, does not make a
one-person business that can thrive. And, it can get you
in hot water if your one client with your one product or
service is corporate: you start to look too much like an
employee to keep the IRS happy.
So, what’s the answer? For this new client, my first
question was “Have you done the numbers?”
Her blank look was enough of an answer. So, we walked
through the numbers process:
==> how many contacts she needed to generate a lead
==> how many leads to make a sale
==> how long the sales process took in both hours and days
==> how much it cost out of pocket to develop a paying
customer
==> how long to deliver the service
==> how much she needed to sell to cover her expenses, to
generate enough to get by, and provide a quality life for
herself, and
==> how long before the customer was ready for the next
service session.
The answer to her problems was very clear. She needed to
sell six new clients a week to get by in order to pay her
bare living expenses. But, it took significantly more time
than 40 hours per week to generate the leads, close the
sales, and deliver the service. More like 80 hours per week.
She had also not taken into account the amount of money her
marketing and sales was taking, as well as the money needed
to produce the service. So, although her target was 6 sales
a week, she really needed to make at least 7 to cover both
the costs of production, and the money she needed to cover
her living expenses.
An undoable plan!
The answers to her dilemma were the strategies one-person
business owners need to consider for themselves. What kind
of multipliers can you implement so you can provide for
yourself in a manner to which you would like to become
accustomed, and at the same time provide quality products
and services to your target market.
Start with a commitment to yourself that you will never
again have just one service or product for one market. Aim
for at least 3 service/product offerings in 2 – 3 markets.
(I know when you are just starting out, it is hard to
develop all three at the same time. Just make sure it is in
your plan, and then work your plan.)
Devote your next executive meeting with yourself to
reviewing your product/service packages. Look for ways you
can multiply your efforts, or transfer your current
offerings to another market. Ask yourself:
==> Is it time to make one of your service packages into a
stand alone product you can make once and sell, sell, sell?
Consider ebooks, workbooks, resource guides, quick start
guides to using a product or service. Plus with add on’s,
hard to source supplies, and specific tools.
==> Can you bundle stand alone, or individual services into
an ongoing coaching, consulting retainer agreement with
your existing or new clients?
==> Can you service a number of clients at the same time?
They can get the benefit of learning from one another, and
lower individual fees while still increasing your total
income/time. Consider teleseminars, group coaching, group
counseling or therapy, seminars, workshops or training
classes.
You can also look at unserved potential clients in the work
you are already doing. Many professional speakers develop
products or services so their audience members can take a
part of the speaker home with them, or continue learning
more than what was possible in one presentation. Consider
what you could offer the executives who make the decisions
to hire you. Or, additional products or services for
meeting planners. This means you have three different
potential client bases all in the room with you when you
are presenting. Do you leave them wanting more…or do you
have products and services just for them?
Bottom line-one product, service, or client doesn’t make a
viable one-person business. Make a commitment to yourself
to build a stronger, more profitable business.
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Need to get your small business more strategic, organized,
automated? Click here => http://www.1PersonBusiness.com for
Pat Wiklund’s complimentary introductory course on How to
Run a One-Person Business Without It Running You.
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