How To Productize A Service-Based Business & Make It Scalable Via Recurring Revenue Programs
Youtube link: https://youtu.be/gnRgDl98sFo?si=eCcOZ5XXW3OjEWlb
Guest: Brad Martineau from Sixth Divisio
- he put the context
- What do we have happening here? What does success look like?
- Some people take principle even though is outside of context
- “Return document”
- What is the return they want to have after you invest. The business is to serve YOU and your clients. Both sides need to be happy.
- Time - how much u want to work, schedule
- Energy - role in your business, do the things u want to do and the rest you.
- Money - what is the floor that is acceptable.
- Set a realistic # … have some data behind-it
- Personal budget
- Pre-spent… regular expenses plus realistic vacations.
- What is the return they want to have after you invest. The business is to serve YOU and your clients. Both sides need to be happy.
- “I do not want to be quoting custom projects for the rest of my life”
- He went to an event and decided to have three options
- 2-day makeover
- Monthly subscription (did not work)
- $100 membership (did not work)
- We need to be the ones in control (the system needs to work for you first!)
- Structure lets you get more done in less time
- Preparation
- Example of the logo guy that impressed Bret and inspired him on his new system
- During the meeting, the guy was just walking through the questions, nothing exciting, very routinal but it worked!
- Brett’s way to fit his business - 2 day intensive
- Client signs-up
- Client has do do about three hours’ worth of training videos
- Why? To prep the client
- Think differently about the problem
- Get familiar with their terminology
- That way on the live call, they are aligned and on the same page
- Why? To prep the client
- Strategy session/kickoff call happen
- Have questions written out and tool designated where answers go in (Notion, Monday, etc)
- Then get off the shelve and customize the 20% because the previous answer to the questions tells them what the client needs and does not need
- A two day thing and at certain time, deal is done and close… no lingering
- Bret will argue that is not productive but systematize because there is a system and structure. You have clear steps, grab something of the shelve, customize, and done
- Is like running through a checklist, you know what is going to happen next
- If there is friction with the customer at any point in time, they probably did not prep them in that area enough. Have to go back and fix.
- To replicate across tam
- Have questions written down
- Do videos on the process
- And then can hire others to take over and replicate
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Reocurring Revenue Programs ( you explain how it works and they agree)
- He did not get rid of what he had built he just integrated and structured it
- He told the client when each thing was done (he had the control)
- He schedules them for two days in advance for the next 6 months or so
- Consistency in place
- Example of the web designer
- Client buys full or 1/2
- For the 1/2, they meet in the morning and in the evening she works on between 6 to 10pm. Delivers and is done.
- Example of the landing page guy
- Landing page in a day - Greg bought that
- Had the pre-kickoff call
- Then he had to be available between a certain block of hours to jump on zoom calls to ensure guy was on right direction
- Recap
- Prep client with videos or whatever
- Buy 2 day package - they need to be available in those two days
- If nothing or not as much gets accomplished, it is your fault, no refunds
- You would have probably gotten less completed
- Does not have to be 2-days back to back but you set boundaries basically!
- “You need to operate within this time frame or you won’t get as much done, period”
- The sprint happens at the beginning to provide value
- NEW program remodel
- Now the 2-day program is a day
- Bret and his team are committed to the client in a day
- The program is now called “the accelerator”
- During sales, explain you can but the accelerator program
- To start you have a 1-day intensive session (craft a plan)
- Then transitions to 6 or 12 month package to implement (implementation/execution phase)
- You need 6 months to really have this integrated and adopted into your business
- You can discuss and tell them “this is what we should cover in the next months, each session” *an estimate
- If they want to cancel, have to give them advance notice so that the next bill is the last bill and the Bret team has enough time to wrap-things up.
- During sales, explain you can but the accelerator program
- Now the 2-day program is a day
- Bret’s suggestion on website pages
- Homepage
- “Who we help” page
- Have some testimonials
- “How we help” page
- Programs/Services page
- About us (optional)
- What happens when they get questions outside the scope project
- Just set office hours once a month and answer free of charge
- Or could have a place where they can place the questions (like a FB group)
- and then you can answer them in a specific day all of those questions via recorded video like loom and post it back
The Four Things
- Systematize like you are running through a checklist
- Create and record the training
- You also have it written down
- Create and record the training
- Consistent frequency over a certain period of time
- Have a call once a week or once a month [whatever is the frequency]
[If you do it well, people will love the experience as they go through the program]
- Then repurpose what you built to create a “group coaching program”
- what is included?
- the videos aka the course
- office hours (recurring) and a “fb” group…I think for me it would be more a slack channel or something
- maybe can include like [5 months of office hours and then have to buy more?]
- what is included?
- The Membership
- and the ones from the accelerator can downgrade to “office hours and FB group for questions and charge a few dollars a month
*look into basecamp guys that used to be called 37th signal that talk about this
- selling your bi-product like when the wood people notice they could sell the dust
If you are starting a new business
- Pick one group and repel everyone else
- Have one inbound channel
- He was talking at events
- Let him to lead capture
- He was talking at events
- Email follow-up campaigns
- Retargeting via ads
*That familiarity leads people to convert eventually
Other notes
- He does not think you grow or scale businesses but you scale product lines (you grow the product line)
- You branch out into a new product line AFTER the first one becomes stable
Another recap
- Be very clear what you want for yourself.. what you are trying to create for yourself
- Time, energy, money [remember]
- Systematize your services by creating a course that outlines the work that is going to be done
- And that eventually can be replicated by your team
- And that you can also give to your clients (not the whole thing but like the pre-kickoff material)
- All support material for clients put it in one single channel (medium)
- Have a program.. sprint and then a healthy jog
-
$2,250 a month
The NEW NEW model
- The accelerator
- $3k to $4k paid for this part
- Clients does the video training
- he has a kickoff with client to understand the situation (that would be the form or assessment for poquillo)
- then they have the actually day with them for full implementation
- $3k to $4k paid for this part
- Then they transition to the monthly cadence “the agency”; on the next month on the 15th, the monthly payments kick in which are $2k a month for the monthly syncs for 6 or 12 months.
- they can cancel at anytime and it will take effect AFTER the next upcoming payment to make sure have time to wrap up
- The accelerators start in specific dates before prospects come in
- If they have a big project where they need a big project or wants to go faster, they buy another accelerator
- He calls it the “lab” program where you just buy the office hours and access to channel with questions and answers
- The agency program is the one where you have the monthly cadence and if you are in that “the lab” program is already included as part of the package
- 1:1 consulting and implementation
- The academy is the online course that comes with 30 or 60 days access to “the lab” program and after that time they can roll into “the lab” subscription
- “The academy” program is used as the training prior to starting “the accelerator” program
**important: have to understand how much clients can each coach handle, in my case, how many clients can I handle a month
- if you can pause sales from time to time to review things, they he does not want to be part of your business
- basically being able to forecast revenue for the future and have the knowing that is stable
- he makes sure that operational expenses, salaries, and commissions are covered and what is left as a profit. he works everything out ahead of time.
- every time the business revenue from the accelerator dips down below a specific number they have (bc is recurring) they pause everything and go find out what is going and fix that