Is Your Business Organized For Profits?

July 2, 2016 By Leave a Comment

I’ll admit it, I’m a bit of a neat freak. Personally, I know it makes me feel calmer and more clear headed when I walk into a space that’s clean and tidy. There is also a lot of research to back up the physical and psychological benefits of keeping things organized.

Here are just a few…

You reduce stress.
You are happier.
You eat better.
You have better relationships.
You are more productive.
You sleep better.
You even reduce your risk of heart attack!

However, there are also important financial reasons to being organized, especially in your business.

When you have systems and structures in place, you create space, ease and flow for money to come into your life.

Think about the physical space of your office. If it’s a mess, your mind is distracted every time your eyes fall on something that isn’t pertinent to your priorities. Distraction equals lost time, mental focus and creativity. How are you going to create the next amazing project if every time you walk in your office, you see piles of unfinished tasks.

If you work online to any degree and even if you don’t, you also have to think about the flow of your business model. Is it organized for profit?

If you don’t have a very clear sense of how your business model should be set up, it is a lot harder to bring in and keep money flowing through your business. Whether you call it a funnel, a pyramid, a money mountain or anything else, you need to know where and how to funnel leads and clients through your processes. If you don’t, you are leaving money on the table.

When you are just starting out, your business model will be simpler and in some ways, that’s a very good thing. Having fewer options makes it easier for you to get very skilled at selling the offerings you do have. However, as your grow, you’ll want to develop a more robust menu of products and services, not only because it will allow you to express your genius and creativity, but because it will also allow you to bring in and keep more clients.

However, more options requires more clarity. You need to know how the pieces fit together and the flow of your funnel. Doing so will make you life so much easier for you and provide more value to your clients.

Here are few things to think about to set yourself up for maximum profits:

1. How/where do the majority of leads come into my funnel?
2. Do I have enough options to sell different levels of clients into my programs?
3. Do I know how to present my offers in creative ways without lowering prices?
4. Do I have up-sells and down-sells ready for sales calls?
5. Do I have lateral options available that might be attractive to current clients?
6. Do I know the best logical order to move clients through my model?
7. Do I know how to bundle services to give juicy sales incentives?

Building business models can be very overwhelming, but once you get the hang of it, things get really, really fun. Suddenly, you feel more confident and grounded in your business. You recognize who is right fit for you much more quickly and sales calls get a heck of a lot easier.

What I know for sure is no model=no money. It is so worth the time to get organized in this part of your business. I can’t promise it will prevent a heart attack, but it just might. After all, what is a better stress reliever than knowing your profit house is order?

If you’d like to know more about how you can maximize your business model for profit, apply for a free strategy session here=>Session Application

Until next time, here’s to hitting all your notes!

Filed Under: Brand Building, Business Building Strategies, Careful Packaging, Increasing profits, Running a successful business, Success Strategies, Winning Strategies Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Structured For Profits

June 26, 2015 By Leave a Comment

We all love the relaxed vibe of summer. We don’t have to rush everywhere. There’s no homework to get done, no carpooling to coordinate. Our schedules are less strict and life is easy-breezy. As much as we love the laid-back feel of summer, however, we still need structure in our business.

A lot of us bristle at the idea of structure and organization because it feels rigid and constraining, but structure actually allows for massive creativity and improvisation. We often think of great artists as being spontaneous, riffing on sparks of inspiration. The truth is, talent must be cultivated first, brush strokes perfected, scales mastered before true freedom of expression is possible. You must learn the alphabet before you can write poetry.

Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.–Pablo Picasso

Think of a dam, it is put in place to harness the power of the water. It captures and leverages the flow of the current. Your personal energy needs to have direction as well. As entrepreneurs we have so many ideas, ideas for products, programs, partnerships, but what we don’t have is a PROCESS. You can have the greatest idea in the world, but without execution there are no profits. You have to have a way to organize your thoughts so others can understand and implement them. This is structure.

Structure is not a cage, it is a vessel for your genius. @HeatherPoduska (tweet this)

When I work with clients on creating signature products and programs, the first thing I ask is, “What is your process?” The answer is often, “I don’t know, I just work on whatever my clients needs at the time. We play it by ear.” That answer is fine if you have a one-on-one coaching client, but if you want to create leveraged income, you need to have a repeatable system. You can’t sell a product or program to thousands of people that is customized to one person. When you do that, you are not following your process, you are following the needs of one that client.

If you don’t have repeatable systems in your business, [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business Building Strategies, Careful Packaging, Entrepreneurial Success, Increasing profits, Simplicity, Clarity & Focus, Success Strategies, Taking care of your instrument, Winning Strategies Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

How to Lose a $40,000 Deal in 10 Seconds.

August 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment

How awesome would it be to have a client walk in your door ready to lay out $40,000 for your product or service?Now imagine how bad it would feel to lose that same client within seconds. That’s exactly what happened to several car salesmen last weekend.

Our family is in the market for a new car. We’ve had the same mini-van for the past 9 years. Even though I’m a little nostalgic about getting rid of the car we brought our babies home in, I’m pretty psyched to be getting something that doesn’t have gummy bears lodged in the seats.

For me, part of the fun of getting a new car is doing the research. I love watching the sleek marketing videos, imaging what it would be like to zip down the road in one of those shiny new rides.  My kids are a little bit older now, so maybe we can get away with something besides a mini-van. Maybe…

Whatever we end up with, I want to be wowed. If it’s a mini-van, I want it to be decked-out so I don’t feel so much like Mommy-from-the-Block. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a mom. I just wish there was a way to look slightly more cool driving back and forth to soccer practice.

I also want to be wowed by the actual experience of buying the car. It’s not something you do everyday, so I want it to feel special. With our short list in hand, we went off to do some test driving.

It would be an understatement to say we are motivated buyers at this point. We’ve probably waited a good 6 months longer than we should have to get this project going. The old girl has served us well, but her time has come. I am ready and excited for an upgrade.

As we head out the door, [Read more…]

Filed Under: Image Management, Importance of Image, Increasing profits, Life Lessons, Success Strategies, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Are Sales Slipping Through Your Fingers?

May 25, 2014 By Leave a Comment

There is one pretty clear rule in business, no sales equals no money. Ugg. Wouldn’t it be great if clients would just enroll themselves? You wouldn’t have to do those uncomfortable sales calls.

Making sales calls is something a lot of entrepreneurs dread. In fact, a lot of entrepreneurs actually avoid making them which is a shame because by doing so they are leaving money on the table. I have to admit I used to be one of those people. The idea of picking up the phone to ask someone for egads, money, made my palms sweats. What was that rule again? Ah, yes, no sales=no money.

There you have it, sales calls have to be done.

But why does it seems so scary?

A lot of it is wrapped up in self-worth. Have you ever had this thought “Who am I to ask for so much money?” Maybe you’ve never had that exact thought, but there are other gems we tell ourselves. Here are some you may recognize:

-I don’t want to be seen as greedy.
-I I don’t want to seem stuck-up.
-I really am asking a lot of money for what I’m offering.
-I don’t want to bother/annoy/pester anyone.
-I don’t want to be perceived as one of those sleazy, high-pressure sales people.
-This person seems so nice, I’m just going to charge them _____ instead of my full price.
-I don’t want the other person to get mad or be offended by my prices.
-What if they don’t have the money, I don’t want to put anyone out.

We all struggle with limiting beliefs when faced with potential rejection, but we have a choice. We can either succumb and suffer the consequence, or we can learn to shift our mindset so we get get what we want. 

Here are a few tips to make your sales calls go from fearful to fruitful: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Increasing profits, Sales Tagged With: , , , , ,