Client Magnets Official Blog

Do you want to change your business model?

Do you want to go from trading time for money to creating an information empire?

If you’re serious about it, you will need to look at every aspect of your business to find the areas where you can make changes that will grow your business.

As always, I remind you that you might not immediately see how something applies to your business. Keep an open mind.  You never know where an idea might apply later on.

Maybe the following example will inspire you to make changes in your own business.

Imagine you are a management development consultant selling your time to businesses. Last year you had 80 billable days at £1,000 a day. So altogether you earned £80,000 of revenue.

The remaining 200 working days were spent identifying potential clients, selling to clients, writing proposals and following up.

The only way you can see to generate more income is to sell more billable days – because you’re caught in this trading time for money model.

You’re thinking, “How do I sell and land clients more effectively? How do I reduce the sales cycle? How do I convert interest into paying business?”

As long as you’re caught in this old manual labor way of thinking, you are trapped in the idea that you can only generate income by trading time for money.

What if there’s another way?

In reality, companies aren’t hiring you because they want to buy time from you. They hire you for what you can do for them. They recognize you as a problem solver with expertise that helps them to achieve their goals.

So, how do you switch your business model to an information empire?  You need to restructure you business offering so you can deliver more value to more people – while working less.

Identify the essence of what clients really want.

Sometimes we just put ourselves in a box and give ourselves a label – sales trainer, therapist, coach. We define ourselves by the activity that we do or the one way that we deliver service to clients.

But you are a lot more than that label.

When you’re working with a client, you bring more than just one methodology to the table. Coaching is one of the tools in your toolbox. Training may be another. But they are both just ways that you help people achieve the end result. After all, a plumber doesn’t describe himself as a wrench.

Look at what you are bringing to the table. Identify that quality that draws clients to you.

Find a way to package the solution.

Turn what you normally deliver in person into a standalone kit that can be sold off the shelf. For example, you might record a training session and sell that as a product.

Will someone who buys that have the same experience as being in a room with you? No. But they will still get a good portion of the information. And many people prefer this to attending events or workshops.

Create two variations of the new product.

There is a very good reason for this. Imagine a basic version that will cost buyers £249, and a deluxe version that sells for £349. A percentage of buyers will automatically upgrade to the deluxe version. These premium buyers want more and are willing to pay more. Give them the opportunity to spend more, and they will gladly take it.

Devise a plan for using existing resources and opportunities to develop products quickly.

You can’t spend months or even weeks creating products. You haven’t got that kind of time. Use what you have efficiently and effectively to develop the products you want to market.

Spend the bulk of your time promoting and marketing the products, identifying additional needs of your clients and customers, and creating more products to meet those needs.

Find the shortcuts to market your products.

You don’t have to have to write proposals for every single sale you make.

Use direct response marketing, the Internet or maybe direct mail or e-mail. The market you are selling to will determine which venue is best. But the point is that you can sell products automatically.

Launch the products.

Let’s say that you average two orders a day and 35% of the customers take the upgrade (which is a fairly typical percentage). Over the course of 12 months you will sell 325 of the basic version and 175 of the deluxe version. That will bring in £142,000 in income.

Remember that you were originally making £80,000. So you will have already doubled your revenue by switching to this model.

Switching to an information empire really will dramatically increase your income. Keeping an open mind while, examining your entire business will reveal opportunities for changes that will double or even triple your revenue.

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