by Melanie Benson Strick

One of the biggest challenges facing a service-based business is how to grow bigger than just you. When your revenue is a result of the work solely you perform, you can only get as big as the amount of time you can actually work for a client.

Time constraints can create a wealth ceiling; without proper leverage strategies your revenue will be limited. Or worse yet, you’ll work yourself into the ground trying to fit in more clients.

It’s time to unleash leverage into your business so you can explode your profits without giving up your life. Here are some strategies I teach my clients to grow.

Think  “Leveraged” Offerings

To avoid getting caught in the time-for-money trap, you’ll want to think in terms of “how can I get this  knowledge to many people at once?” The following are some of the best strategies for leveraging your time and being able to impact multiple people at once.

1. Books or Audio Programs

One of the easiest ways is to take a proven system, unique approach to solving a problem or some other technique that you teach over and over again and document it. You can write a book, make an audio recording or a combination of both. Or you can produce a training video. Create a way to teach your methodology in a systemized way.

I personally found that there was a sequence of 10 steps I took every client through. So I created a workbook outlining these steps with two audios, which were a visualization I almost always conducted for the client. I packaged everything into a system called “The ULTIMATE Success Generator” and charged $297 for the self-study program.

Two things happened. First, because I can’t possibly perform this process for a client for less than $1,500 and multiple sessions, I can now help more people get clarity, direction and focus at an affordable rate.

Second, I can expedite the value of my coaching program because my clients can take this system, complete the steps on their own and use my time for more customized support needs.

Consider creating your own book or audio program to offer clients a more leveraged approach to a routine methodology. If you will be speaking or offering your services online, a book or audio program can also be a low-risk small investment to introduce a potential client to your services.

Self-study programs of this nature typically run between $50 and $2,000.

2. Small Group Trainings

Another approach to leveraging your time is to take a small group through your process. This can be done virtually or in person depending on your topic, target audience and industry standards.

The benefit of offering small group training is twofold.  1) You can work with multiple people at once and 2) your price point will be less than an individual engagement, thus creating a more affordable option for cost-sensitive clients.

Typical small group training will include some tangible benefit or outcome such as leaving with a marketing plan, designing a speech, setting up social media or web presence or becoming media-ready. The idea is that the participant gets a tangible outcome, and can utilize your wisdom and benefit from what others in the group are learning.

Small group trainings can run between $100 and $5,000. I’ve even seen some as high as $15,000 to $100,000 for a one-year, ongoing commitment.

3. Live Events

The difference between a live event and small group training is typically the number of attendees and the content. Often a live event is much more generic in topics, won’t always have a specific, tangible outcome and may include multiple experts.

We call it going wide vs. going deep. Live events are great if you want to bring a large number of people together, introduce them to your ideas and entice them to hire you or buy your program. The price is typically between $100 and $2,000 depending on the focus of the event.

Create  Packaged Pricing

Another way to set up your private consulting to avoid getting into the time-for-money trap is through pricing strategies. Of course, if you have multiple leveraged offerings your private coaching becomes more exclusive and you can offer it at a higher price point.

One strategy I teach my clients in my “Fast Track to Lifestyle Business” program is to create packages.

Here are three examples of packages:

• A certain number of sessions or hours. Give your clients the option to buy in advance so you’ve locked in a certain amount of time with them. This also helps you plan for availability.
• A time frame such as three months, six months, etc. Getting your client to commit to a monthly retainer fee over a certain time period is a great way to lock in recurring revenue.
• Bonus products or workshops with the purchase of a higher package. The idea that they are getting extras by paying for a package is a great value proposition.
• Discounts for paying upfront. Another package idea is to give the client a significant reduction in price for paying in full. This also can help with cash flow.

By offering packages, you also help clients understand they are in a process with you that will unfold over time. A tip on positioning the need for a package is to let them know how long your system or blueprint takes to complete.

Scalable Growth Strategies

One other way to explore leverage options for growth is to consider a scalable business model that actually removes you as the sole provider of the service and expands your bandwidth to deliver to your market.

Three options that are the easiest and most popular are to integrate subcontractors, certify others in your work, or consider licensing your materials or system for third-party usage.

• Subcontractors (or employees) would be trained in your methodology and could deliver your program or service to the customer on your behalf. Profit does go down in this model, but you have the ability to scale your growth, have a global reach and remove yourself from the “technician” role in the business.
• Certification allows you to train others in your methodology, but they deliver the program to their own clients. Certification requires you to train people, but you can charge for the training, the annual certification fee, and any copyrighted tools or materials they use.
• Licensing is a way you can take a proven system or process and allow other vendors to offer it to their client base. A license can deliver somewhere around 10 to 20 percent of the gross fee, or you can charge an annual license fee with unrestricted usage.

The real point is to get out of the mindset that you are stuck being the only one who can make money for your business. If you have your sights set on anything more than $150,000 per year in revenue, leverage is a sure-fire technique for unlocking more time, money and growth potential.

by Melanie Benson Strick

Melanie is a StomperNet Faculty member and knows first-hand how to build a successful, thriving company with her secret weapon — LEVERAGE. With over 12 years working for a Fortune 500 company, Melanie now works exclusively with entrepreneurs who want proven strategies to double and triple their revenue, eliminate unnecessary costs, and stay sane as they grow their business.  Visit her at www.successconnections.com

How To Create Inputs for Your Test That Get Higher Response And Conversion

By David Bullock

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Stompernet Blog

By Melanie Benson Strick

One of my favorite routines is a walk to my local Starbucks. Sometime before noon, I grab my Ipod, tune it to a success audio program, throw on my sneakers, and trek the half mile to enjoy my favorite pick-me-up – a half caf soy latte.

When I walk in, the barista asks me, “Hot or cold today?”

I always smile when I pull out my shiny Gold Starbucks card with my name imprinted on it. This is how I get my free soy and rack up points to get to my free drink.  I think to myself… Starbucks certainly knows how to KEEP me coming back. I actually cringe if I have to go to another store. I feel like a traitor.

Starbucks understands that the cost to acquire a new customer is much greater than the investment in keeping the ones they have happy.

Check out this statistic from “Leading on the Edge of Chaos”, by Emmett C. Murphy and Mark A. Murphy: 

“Acquiring new customers can cost five times more than satisfying and retaining current customers.”

So why then, do a majority of internet based companies focus primarily on marketing at the expense of taking care of the clients they have?

Because when it comes to cash flow and growth, most of us mistakenly are advised to focus on generating more sales. Now, if you are a brand new company, this is true.

You must focus on marketing to generate the leads.

But don’t make the mistake that I’ve helped so many business owners dig themselves out of. They get so good at marketing and sales that their company implodes because they can’t take care of all the customers they worked so hard to win over in the first place.

A business has fallen into this trap if it:

• Is hyper-focused on new marketing and lead generation campaigns, even though current clients haven’t received products or services.
• Customers are complaining because of technical challenges, lack of communication on how to get or use the product.
• Moves from the glory of the sale to the next conquest and forgets to truly bond with the new client.
• Does not have a clearly documented product fulfillment system for timely delivery.
• Is not offering a customer service or support ticket resource with a minimum of 24 hour response time.
• Has not implemented customer feedback loops or survey systems to understand the level of impact of program deliverables.
• Is “losing” more clients than they are enrolling each month.
• Can’t keep up proactively with client “consumption” of product through appropriate communication and training.

Here are a few more statistics from Murphy and Murphy:

• A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect on profits as cutting costs by 10%.
• A 5% reduction in customer defection rate can increase profits by 25-125%, depending on the industry.
• The customer profitability rate tends to increase over the life of a retained customer

So what can you do to turn this trend around, increase the WOW factor in your customer fulfillment, while radically increasing your profits?

Here are four tips you can implement almost immediately:

Tip #1. Welcome them

Make sure someone on your team is dedicated to welcoming your new client immediately. If you are using InfusionSoft or any other customer contact system, you can pre-determine this in a customer welcome checklist.

The best strategy is for YOU to pick up the phone and call them. Second best is to have a member of your team call on your behalf.

When I got my Mercedes a couple of years ago, the sales man called me about a week later to ask how much I loved my car. I thought that was pretty classy and I have sent the guy a bunch of referrals since then.

Tip #2 Over Deliver

Instead of putting all your bells and whistles on the sales page, hold a few back and send them a surprise “welcome” gift. Get products to them in half the time you promised. Give them more time for coaching or consulting than promised.

Another way to over deliver is to wow your new clients with how you teach them to consume your program.

Give them video training. Provide a roadmap for how to proceed. Make using your tools easy and fun.

Tip #3 Stellar Customer Service

Not too long ago we had a technology snafu during the first 30 minutes of open coaching time. One person was upset that he missed his time so we emailed him and gave him 15 minutes on a special day. He was blown away at the special treatment.

Wowing people isn’t that hard. It starts with what you believe is important. Then you create a company culture to make sure it happens.

Tip #4.  Give them an incentive

Starbucks has a great concept in rewarding consistent buying behavior in me. I hate going anywhere else. Another way to focus on retention is to give your customers an incentive to do more business with you. From points programs, to branded credit cards, to discounts; how can you say thank you to your clients for using MORE of your offerings?

Humans are pretty simple – we are wired for behavior reinforcement. Reward us for using something we like and we’ll do it over and over again.

The opportunity here is to ask yourself if your method of approaching your growth is working. If clients are leaving as fast as you can bring new ones on, it’s a sign you are focused on the wrong end of the solution.

The good news is, it’s cheaper to solve this problem than it is to market your business. So dig in and get your systems on track.

by Melanie Benson Strick

Melanie is a StomperNet Faculty member and knows first-hand how to build a successful, thriving company with her secret weapon — LEVERAGE. With over 12 years working for a Fortune 500 company, Melanie now works exclusively with entrepreneurs who want proven strategies to double and triple their revenue, eliminate unnecessary costs, and stay sane as they grow their business.  Visit her at www.successconnections.com

“Relationship List Building:  Why and How List Building Begins… Before the Optin” (1 of 4)

Ryan Garey

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Stompernet Blog

By Melanie Benson Strick

The holidays are just around the corner and with them, the craziness of business planning for 2012, and the non-stop holiday celebrations. And – for some of us – it’s time to get our products in the hands of those holiday shoppers.

This year, why not do it differently?

Let’s get some stuff off your plate NOW, to make room for more important activities.

There are more than 101 tasks you can delegate to free up your valuable time, but I’m going to just focus on my nine favorite ones (three of which are actually more personal than business). Before I dive in any further, let me remind you WHY delegation is so valuable for someone pursuing six figures or beyond.

First of all, it allows you to focus your time and energy on what you do best. Thousands of dollars are wasted when you spend countless hours learning everything. Even with the training you are learning here at StomperNet – you can hire someone to implement it FOR YOU!

Secondly, you’ll never be able to accomplish everything alone. When you come to that realization you either a) start to focus on your top 5 – 10 activities and abandon everything else or, b) outsource and delegate so you get more done in record time. Personally, having coached thousands of entrepreneurs to achieve the 6 – 7 figure mark, I believe option b works best. Here are my top nine tasks to delegate and to free up your time:

Stop managing your own email!

Now don’t flip your lid yet. I started with this suggestion, because this is the hardest one for many people to delegate. But hear me out – email is not only a HUGE time waster but it is a massive bottleneck for most biz owners.

If you don’t personally answer it then you have to come back to the email later. Time slides by…and a prospect or opportunity goes away.

Instead, why not redirect your incoming public email (and maybe your private one too) to your assistant and notice how much more time and sanity you have. Hey, they can always forward an email to you… and you won’t have withdrawals, trust me.

Delegate routine marketing.

If you do things like blog posts, article marketing, press releases, ezines, or any other routine marketing activity …have someone on your team do it for you.
Simply create a calendar of when the activity should be completed, provide them with guidance on where the marketing material comes from (you write it or they pull it from product, etc.) then let go and watch the leads arrive.

Pass off the bookkeeping.

This should be a no-brainer for most of us. Truthfully, who in their right mind likes to balance their checkbook?

And even if you don’t mind it, how much time does it take? Or do you procrastinate sending those client invoices and wonder why your bank account is low?

Get a bookkeeper to help you out with updating your weekly transactions, managing client billings and tracking payables. You can even have them create your monthly financial reports.

Offload online technology!

Are you still setting up auto-responders, posting squeeze pages and making your own graphics for your websites?

Now I know saying that you should outsource these tasks to an Internet marketing crowd is risky. But really…don’t you think you could focus on the strategy and have someone else do it better, faster or cheaper than you?

You bet you can. Your magic is in your strategy…not in being the technician! And with all the overseas outsourcing firms out there, with rates as low as $5.00 per hour, I think you can hardly justify doing it yourself.

Put down the order fulfillment

Hopefully this holiday season you’ll be having at least one product sale which will be generating an onslaught of orders! The last thing you should spend your time doing is producing your own products or even shipping them out. Can you say huge time waste!

Find a qualified order fulfillment company to outsource too. Be sure to find out if they have a minimum “stock” or production run. And ask for references before hiring – you want to make sure their current and former clients have excellent things to say about them.

Call in customer service help!

Really, you can outsource this? You bet you can! In times like these I’d suggest going beyond automating customer service with an online ticket program and having live people helping “stick rate” but you’ll create more raving fans.

Hire a call center, implement Live Chat or even better, train someone on your team to take excellent care of your clients. But get it off your plate – it can be an emotional and energetic drain on you.

Stop Shopping!

What if you could just give your personal shopper a list of items, a budget for how much you want to spend and have them come back with all of your gifts ready to be delivered?
Sounds good, right? Especially for all of you who wait till the day before, run around like a crazy person fighting the crowds only to nab that “so-so” gift at the last possible second.

That’s right, you know who you are. This year, hire a personal shopper. You’ll find tons of them listed on CraigsList or in your local newspaper as the holidays get closer.

Really? Wrapping?!

When I was 10 years old my aunt would invite me over two days before Christmas and pay me to wrap the three MILLION PRESENTS that she had bought for her two kids. Now at ten years old I was pretty dumb and I think she paid me like $10. But these days, I pay someone a lot more to handle all the wrapping and shipping of my holiday gifts.
Even better, often if I’m doing my own shopping, I’ll have the store wrap them for me or drop them with my mail center guy to wrap and ship.

Hire out the house cleaning

Ah, my personal favorite, having a clean house courtesy of my house cleaner. This one isn’t just for the holidays but during this season it seems we have a lot more family and friends in and out of our home. And many people are obsessed with showing off a clean space.

So whether you get your house cleaned all year long (I certainly do, at $10/hour it’s ridiculous to do it myself) or just get some holiday help, remember your time is WAY too precious to spend scrubbing toilets and floors.

Now remember, this list is just a start. The idea here is to start thinking about what your time is really worth and to make sure its invested in the highest payoff activities (aka the tasks that generate the greatest financial payoff.)

I can’t think of a better way to reward yourself over the holidays than to give yourself the gift of more time. Enjoy!

by Melanie Benson Strick

Melanie is a StomperNet Faculty member and knows first-hand how to build a successful, thriving company with her secret weapon — LEVERAGE. With over 12 years working for a Fortune 500 company, Melanie now works exclusively with entrepreneurs who want proven strategies to double and triple their revenue, eliminate unnecessary costs, and stay sane as they grow their business.  Visit her at www.successconnections.com

Customer Service Benchmarks
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Stompernet Blog

By Melanie Benson Strick

In our fast-paced society we encounter a constant feeling of “how can I get more done.” There is a study that revealed the average human being is bombarded with over 1,000,000 bytes of information in a minute. And that was before Twitter and Facebook existed! No wonder it’s so challenging to get things done. Think about how many times you ended your day wondering how your to-do list didn’t even have a dent made in it.

Most of us suffer with terminal “over-commit and under-perform” habits, especially when it comes to our own businesses.  Some of it has to do with the habits we have cultivated for years. Some of it is due to the nature of how our businesses are set up. But a good portion of why we don’t get more done is because of the conditions we live in.

The conditions we set up in our life either pull us forward or block our progress. Most of us have unconsciously set up conditions that sabotage our growth and make getting things done ten times harder.

If we jumped into a really frustrating situation that we weren’t used to it would not feel good and we would get out quickly. But most of us have been living with our way of thinking and doing things for so long that we have adapted to them. Thus, these sabotaging conditions become second nature, and we don’t even realize there is a more effective approach to getting things done.

Here are some of the ineffective conditions people set up:

• Choosing to be in reactive mode because of a lack of discipline or habit of planning ahead.
• Working from home with inadequate workspace or with family that constantly interrupts.
• Setting up client billing or work relationships that require constant attention or micro- management to accomplish the goal.
• Waiting until a resource (such as printer paper, computers memory, financial reserves, etc.) is depleted to replace. This causes major disruptions and energy drains.
• Surrounding ourselves with negative forces, toxic people or non-supportive friends who pull you away from progress.
• Overly complicated programs or systems that have multiple steps, which provides way too much opportunity for breakdown and sucks up your time.

I’ve been working with entrepreneurs for almost ten years to help them get the “edge” in their game so they can easily surpass their own goals and expectations. The ability to get more done can easily occur when we sharpen our “saw” (as Stephen Covey would say).

Here are a few ways you can upyour game level a few notches to get more done.

1. Get Organized

After spending an hour searching for that email on how to log into your membership site, you now have no time left to download the library of audios. Feeling behind, you jump to the next task only to realize you don’t have all the information to complete your project. Deflated, you move on to the next project, which requires a phone call with a client. You can’t get a hold of them. Frustrated with your lack of progress, you shut down the computer and head to the T.V. for a Law and Order re-run.

Not being organized is a huge waste of time. With our rushed pace to fit everything in, many entrepreneurs have horrible time management, let alone a process to manage the flow of data. Here are a few tips to get organized to be more productive:

• When you join a new program, take five minutes to create an email folder and automatic rule for all information to go directly into that folder. Or, create a binder, print your important materials out, and put them directly in the binder. That way you can easily find what you need.
• Immediately schedule important phone calls, coaching calls, client meetings into your calendar with: Name, phone #, details of call, links to any important data. This will save you tons of time for the actual call (even better…have your assistant do this for you.)
• Take a few minutes to handle paperwork coming in so it doesn’t stack up and get lost. By using folders, binders or some type of paper management system, you can easily find any paper or note necessary. Use a system like Paper Tiger if you really want to get organized.

2. Batch Similar Tasks

For most entrepreneurs, the way we approach getting things done is like a ping-pong match. We jump on the computer to check Facebook, and then we are writing an email campaign, then spend 20 minutes talking with a client, then off to seven other tasks. It’s a lot of activity with very little traction.

Along time ago I read a magazine article about running errands. The article talked about “batching” errands and handling them in order, from the farthest away to the closest. It eliminates back and forth driving and saves a lot of time. Well you can do the same thing with tasks.  By doing similar types of tasks at once you can create momentum and accomplish a lot more in less time.

For instance, what if you schedule a block of time to do all your financial activities, then a block of time for returning phone calls, then a block of time to complete email follow up, etc. What you are doing is giving yourself focused blocks of time to accomplish like tasks – allowing yourself to create momentum and traction.

Try batching your tasks by scheduling blocks of time (or even whole days) for activities like:

• Client and Prospect Meetings
• Self Care or Exercise
• Writing or Product Creation
• Administration, Planning and Team Meetings
• Phone Calls and Email Follow Up

3. Delegate Ruthlessly

A lot of time is wasted when a business owner is doing a task that someone could do better, faster or cheaper than himself or herself. Now granted, when the cash flow is tight, sometimes it’s really tempting to just keep it all in house and do it yourself.

But have you ever stopped to think about what doing certain activities yourself is costing you? If you spend 10 hours a week doing billing, then you aren’t focused on growth. With those ten hours you could be meeting with new clients, creating customer retention programs or even designing a new offering. You could be hiring new team members or even mapping out a new marketing technique. But, no.  You are convinced that you should be doing a $25/hour task yourself (at the expense of generating tens of thousands of additional dollars).

When your mind shifts into how powerful delegation can be to getting more done, you’ll discover more tasks that can be completed faster through other people. Or even better, how you can accomplish more of those “bigger dream” projects when you aren’t distracted by the every day minutia.

Here are a few key delegation areas to consider:

• Managing incoming phone calls and emails. A virtual assistant can handle 90% of the routine follow up and free you up to focus on more important tasks.
• Data entry. It’s a $10/an hour job at best – so find someone who can do it for you. Most bookkeeping and invoicing tasks fall under this category, although you may pay someone closer to $25/hour.
• Online Marketing. Anything that you’ll have to spend more than 2 hours learning is probably more effective to have an admin or expert set up. For instance, if you spend four hours figuring out how to set up a Facebook or Twitter account when someone else could do it for you in 20 minutes, you’ve now wasted your time. Consider having an online business manager set up your social media accounts, squeeze pages, shopping cart, materials, affiliate programs, etc.
• Client Communications. By creating a schedule of regular communications, an admin support person can ensure that newsletters, blog posts or email updates are sent on time.
• Program Management. Membership sites and group coaching programs often require a lot of handholding and new customer training. Delegating this to someone who can stay on top of it not only makes sure you can accomplish brining on lot of new clients quickly – it also helps customer retention!

4. Shore up Standards & Boundaries

Standards and boundaries are like castles. Aristocrats built beautiful castles in Europe for centuries, but, lacking protection, they were vulnerable to thieves and other warring nations. When a castle was designed, they would build lookout towers to watch for potential danger as well as a drawbridge and moat to keep the castle safe.

In our own lives, our standards are our beautiful goals and lifestyle desires. The boundaries are what we put in place to protect our ability to sustain them. If distractions, energy drains, problems, and other people’s toxic influences constantly bombard us, it can be very difficult to achieve new heights.

In my Extraordinary Results Academy I teach specific steps on exactly how to set up boundaries. Here are a few ideas for you to get you started:

• Create a disruption free workspace.
• Communicate proactively about deadlines, procedures and needs.
• Eliminate (or limit) time spent with negative people.
• Turn off your phone or email when working on projects.
• Stop solving problems for your team by coaching them on how to solve on their own.
• Set up reserves for key resources such as money, supplies, etc.

5. Simplify Your Approach

The other day I watched a friend of mine drive 4 hours all over the city to pick up mail, cash checks and get banking done. Honestly, I was perplexed.  I understand that some people still have checks mailed to them from their clients (not all businesses use online payment processing), but the fact that his mailbox is a good 30 miles away from his office AND it took him 3 stops to get it all done blew my mind.

Not to mention that it takes him about 30 hours a month to do the billings for his accounts. WHAT? Wow, what a time consumer.

So I threw out a novel idea: “What if you put all your clients on a monthly retainer. You could give them a price break for paying up front for your monthly services and save both you and your client a ton of time servicing the accounts. “ His response – “I love it.” Has he implemented it?  Nope.

It’s easier to keep doing it the way he’s done it for 25 years even though it costs him valuable productivity time. But what about for you? Where could you simplify the way you are doing things so you can get more done (not to mention eliminate of a lot of stress!)?

Here are some areas you might consider:

• Scheduling appointments. By using an online scheduling tool you can let other people pick from available appointment times and sync it right into your calendar. Two tools I recommend are www.genbook.com and www.timedriver.com.
• Using Contact Management Systems. Especially if you have more than one person who needs up to date information about prospects, purchases or affiliate relationships, using a contact management system like InfusionSoft, SugarCRM or Goldmine will make your entire team more productive.
• Automate Bonuses and Coaching Benefits. If you have a lot of moving parts, be sure to map out the entire sequence of steps and automate as much as possible using software. If you are using InfusionSoft, this is a great tool to pre-program deliverables.
• Billing and Invoicing Systems. Another area that can suck a lot of time is managing client receivables. Look for ways to stop the on – off payments and the need for monthly billings. Consider packages or set up retainers.

Getting more done starts by making a decision to do what works – not what’s comfortable or what you’ve become accustomed to over time. Make a commitment to implement even just one of these five ideas and track how much more effective you are – and how much more quickly you accomplish your goals!

by Melanie Benson Strick

Melanie is a StomperNet Faculty member and knows first-hand how to build a successful, thriving company with her secret weapon — LEVERAGE. With over 12 years working for a Fortune 500 company, Melanie now works exclusively with entrepreneurs who want proven strategies to double and triple their revenue, eliminate unnecessary costs, and stay sane as they grow their business.  Visit her at www.successconnections.com

Decisions ARE Productive

Dr. Lisa Lang (FOH)

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Stompernet Blog

By Melanie Benson Strick

It’s been one of “those days” when…

…your assistant forgets to send the “welcome package” to your brand new program enrollees, and ten people withdraw the same day.

…the product launch is behind by two weeks and when you finally go live, your site goes down.

…you spend months planning an amazing live retreat for 100 people and only 25 show up.

Let’s face it: we’ve all experienced the breakdown – that place where something unexpected surfaces that compromises the desired outcome.

In my experience, breakdowns occur mostly due to one of two reasons:

Reason #1

We are moving so fast we haven’t taken the time to properly systemize and plan.

Reason #2

We are going the wrong direction in our life or career and the Universe is delivering a message to get back on track.

Let’s tackle Reason #1 first.

Entrepreneurs like to get results. They like to do what makes them feel good. And they love the creative juice of ideas and opportunities.

Mostly, they don’t like to figure out HOW to get to the outcome. So because we move at the speed of light, we often break as many things as we build.

This strategy is costly – energetically, financially and often times results in peaks and valleys.

Take my client Susan (name changed to protect her identity.) as an example. Susan has a habit of taking on seven billion projects that all need to be done within one month. And I’m not talking about a website and a couple of marketing documents – I’m talking overhauling all of their products, launching a live event, delivering two new online courses and of course creating an entirely new company with a partner!

Excited at first, her team would step up to the challenge. Then reality hits – no way we can get everything done! Exhaustion, overwhelming despair, and hopelessness eat away at the morale.

And…on top of everything…they don’t achieve the timeline anyway because it was unrealistic. So now Susan is frustrated because her team can’t keep up.

I point out to Susan that every day she has given them a new priority. Most of the tasks are completely new. And there is no written plan or systems to explain HOW to complete the task. So the breakdown of missing the deadline is a result of her lack of realistic expectations.

If you look back over the places in which you’ve experienced a breakdown, what you will find is this: it always starts with the entrepreneur’s lack of willingness to slow down and put the right elements in place.

Breakneck speed does not result in fast cash.

Here are some ideas for turning these kinds of breakdowns into profitable breakthroughs:

1. Identify the true source of the breakdown.

* Does your team member have the right skill set to be in charge of that task?
* Have you given enough training or guidance (aka: a system) for someone else to accurately complete the task?
* Are you using the right technology for the job?

Uncovering the source of the breakdown gives you ammunition for how to fix the problem.

2. Determine the best and most cost-effective resolution.

Knowing what to do to resolve the problem provides you and the team a roadmap towards sanity. Brainstorm possible solutions, pick one and decide on a timeline to implement the fix.

3. Test and track results.

It’s not enough to implement the solution – you want to track how well it solves the problem and make sure the problem is completely fixed. Take three months to track the new system, how well it works, and if it completely resolves the initial breakdown.

Now on to Reason #2 — I call it the Melt-Down. This issue typically reveals itself like a Universal 2 x 4. It’s a sign that we are going the wrong direction in our life or career. The direction we are heading in our business has become unaligned with our values.

In my experience this breakdown evolves over time as we pursue a goal or dream that someone else has influenced – through the media, by experiencing the celebrity energy of a peer, by not being clear about our values (or having conflicting values), or not being in touch with our true self.

Here are some of the signs you may be experiencing a Business Melt-Down:

- Even though you are working crazy long hours and investing thousands of dollars your business growth is stagnant
- All of your great ideas fail once you launch them into the market place
- Previously good responses to your programs/products are now getting dismal results
- Loyal clients fall away and no longer relate to you or the direction you are going
- You are no longer motivated or excited about your programs/products

I’ve personally experienced this type of breakdown in my business several times. It’s not always easy to spot this type of breakdown before it unleashes havoc on your bank account. So the key is to remove the blockage as soon as you can.

Here are some keys to turning a Melt-Down into a Profitable Breakthrough:

1. Handle Personal Breakdowns First

It’s really easy to let personal challenges get in the way of our business. Marital strife, financial chaos, family issues, and major life changes can all impact our ability to focus. Tackling these kinds of situations is imperative to removing emotional barriers to growth.

Breakthroughs surface when you handle the toxic drains that weight you down. You’ll have more energy and stamina to do the heavy lifting required for your next leap.

2. Resolve Values Conflicts

Unconsciously many of us suffer from conflicting desires. We want our business to make a million dollars, yet we also want to be the perfect parent and spouse. We love the idea of being on the cover of Inc Magazine, but giving up Saturdays on the slopes just isn’t going to happen. The fear of what we’ll lose can often influence what we allow ourselves to believe is possible.

The breakdown comes from getting clear on where we are internally at war. When you find the winning path to success, it’s the key to eliminating those inner saboteurs.

3. Reconnect to Your Calling

Sometimes we get led astray from our real calling on this planet. A well-meaning mentor “sees a better path,” following them you invest tons of time and money into a new business. The next thing you know you hate everything about your business. But you feel stuck because you built it – shouldn’t you finish it?

Or you think you want to go in one direction and when you get there, you realize that it’s just not working. With the passion gone your business begins to decline. You panic, start trying to do “fast cash” projects and things just get worse. Disillusioned, frustrated and lost, you sort through the rubble to figure out where things went wrong.

A breakthrough is just around the corner. Reconnect to your bigger why. That thing you do when the magic happens. Uncovering that passion is the pathway to opening the right doors.

4. Leap into Your Genius

When you get comfortable in mediocrity the Universe just has a way of smacking you upside the head until you get it’s time to leap forward. Gay Hendricks, author of The Big Leap, said it best when he explained the Zones of Comfort, Excellence and Genius. Too many people stop before they fully express their genius on this planet.

It can be pretty scary when you have a great life and all of a sudden it’s all stripped away. It’s downright anxiety-producing to discover that all of your hard work and success is going down the tubes because you fell short of playing in your ultimate game of genius.

Recognize that when the old falls away you are being prepared for something even greater. The breakthrough comes by accepting that a next step is being revealed – even if you don’t know what it is.

Breakdowns are a part of life. Knowing how to move from the breakdown to breakthrough is where success is born. One of the most life-altering opportunities you will ever have is to be mentored by someone who supports you in transitioning through the breakdowns into your full expression of genius on this planet.

It’s just one of the many ways our clients are building wildly successful businesses in The Big Idea Incubator program.

Melanie Benson Strick is a StomperNet Faculty member and knows first-hand how to build a successful, thriving company with her secret weapon — LEVERAGE. With over 12 years working for a Fortune 500 company, Melanie now works exclusively with entrepreneurs who want proven strategies to double and triple their revenue, eliminate unnecessary costs, and stay sane as they grow their business.  Visit her at www.successconnections.com.

Download: Five Ways to Launch Your Big Idea

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Stompernet Blog

What’s the most important rule in getting and keeping followers?

Loyalty.

And one of the easiest ways to maintain active interest and engagement, create brand awareness, and improve search engine optimization is by using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and blogging.

How should you leverage social media to create a buzz in your business?

Find out this week as we welcome the ‘Big Idea Catalyst’ Melanie Benson Strick who will share some of her insider secrets on how to really make social media work for you.

Check out our free resources and media to see how StomperNet can help you grow your business today.

Talk soon and enjoy the resources below!

Ryan Taylor
Director of Operations
StomperNet, LLC

IMPORTANT: Some of the resources shown are only available to members. Not a StomperNet member? Join us today for just $1.00 to get access to the world’s largest Internet Marketing community plus all the tools and resources you need (including upcoming free webinar replays) to start, build and grow a thriving Internet-based business!

Curriculum Resources

• “How to OWN Your Social Media Marketing (Literally)” with Tammy Kahn-Fennell

New Posts and Media

• “Hands-on Business Building” with Lee Vance

• “Webinar Legends” with Wil Mattos

• “Rapid Local Selling” with Rob Canyon

Faculty Office Hours

TUESDAY, May 17th at 3:00 pm Eastern

“Conversion By Numbers” with StomperNet Faculty Member Vin Montello.

The secret numbers you must know to take your sales copy to the next level.

Vin Montello is a former stand up comic and Hollywood television writer that brings his 20 years experience as a storyteller, to every direct response sales letter he writes. These days Vin and his crew are responsible for crafting some of the most successful online marketing campaigns, earning him the nickname “The Millionaire Maker”.

Members: Register Now

WEDNESDAY, May 18th at 1:00 pm Eastern

“Insider Secrets from the Big Idea Catalyst” with StomperNet Faculty Member Melanie Benson Strick.

Learn how to leverage your social media efforts to get more clients, generate leads, and increase revenue. Melanie knows first-hand how to build a successful, thriving company with her secret weapon — LEVERAGE. With over 12 years working for a Fortune 500 company, Melanie now works exclusively with entrepreneurs who want proven strategies to double and triple their revenue, eliminate unnecessary costs, and stay sane as they grow their business.

Members: Register Now

* Free Live Webinars This Week

TUESDAY, May 17th at 8:00 pm Eastern
Public Webinar: “Your Marketing Funnel and Membership Site” with Rick Dearr.

Learn how a funnel with upsells, downsells, cross sells and bumps can increase revenue from the same number of visitors. Rick will also show how converting those visitors into paying membership and over-delivering on value creates longer-term income and stability to members and site owners. Register Now

“How to Leverage the 7 Hidden Trends to Profit More on the Internet”

We will pull back the curtains on the ‘Age of Voice’, an unprecedented shift that has created the biggest opportunity in history for nearly effortless and massive money creation. Register Now

The recording of the “Hands-on Business Building” with Lee Vance from last week is available! The number of requests for access to the replay was so HUGE we decided to forego our normal “replays are only for members” policy and make this replay available to the public – free of charge.

Download here: flv | mov | mp4

Special Announcements

THURSDAY, May 19th at 7 pm Eastern
Charter Member BBG
Charter Members: Please note new time. We have adjusted this time per your request to have this later in the evening. If you need the registration link, please email Janet at stomperjanet@gmail.com.

SEO Pro 2-Day Essentials Workshop - May 20th and 21st in Dallas, TX
Only 4 seats remain for our Dallas event! Two bonus sessions just added: Mobile Marketing 101 and How to Sell Your Services Fast! Register Now

StomperNet LIVE 11! – June 23rd – June 25th in Phoenix, AZ
Register for our “Early Bird” list!

Stompernet Blog

What a month! Jumping in as the CEO of StomperNet just one month ago has been like jumping into the cockpit of a 747. Mid-air.

But that’s okay. I kind of like it. Actually I like it a lot. I like to work fast and I talk even faster. I love getting things done, like, yesterday. I especially love building and growing companies at lightning speed.

So that’s why – one month into my stint as StomperNet’s CEO – I’m happy to announce a little growth spurt in our Faculty ranks.

Try seven new faculty members (see their bios below).

Some of these names you will definitely recognize, some might be new to you, but all of them are incredible. We are thrilled to have them join us and we are excited about the enthusiasm they have already shown. (This particular airplane ride’s about to get a lot more fun.)

Talk soon,
Brad Fallon

If you have any questions or comments, I want to know! Leave a comment below!

Welcome New StomperNet Faculty Members…

Anne Holland, founder of Marketing Sherpa and WhichTestWon.com. Anne’s been conducting tests and research into what works best in marketing for more than 20 years. As Founder and Past President of MarketingSherpa Inc., Holland published pragmatic research studies such as annual Search Marketing and Email Marketing Benchmark Guides and the bestselling Landing Page Handbook. 237,000 professional marketers in corporate America read her newsletters featuring exclusive Case Studies and fresh data every week. Holland has been a featured speaker, and often keynote, at more than 100 industry conferences including Email Summit, Business-to-Business Lead Generation Summits, eTail shows, Affiliate Summit, Direct Marketing Association events, Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conferences, and Ad-Tech conferences (for which she is also a former Advisory Board Member.) She has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, DMNews, Entrepreneur.com, Fast Company and Business 2.0 among others. An award-winning marketer herself, since 1992 she has served as a Judge for many industry awards including the Viral Marketing Hall of Fame, the Ad-Tech Awards, the Electronic Retailing Association Awards, MarketingSherpa’s Email Awards, and the Interactive PR & Marketing Nettie Awards.

Dave Taylor, of AskDaveTaylor.com fame and Intuitive Systems. He’s baaacck! As one of our exceptionally popular original faculty members, Dave is back from his StomperNet Faculty hiatus. Dave is an absolute expert at helping your company learn how to grow through savvy use of business blogging and associated social networks and new media, business or technical topics, leading a class of adult learners, or writing a business or technical book for neophytes, my central focus remains the same: to explain complex concepts and technologies in a way that lets you gain insight into the subject. His most recent books are The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Growing Your Business with Google (Penguin/Alpha) (widely hailed as a must-read by business experts), Teach Yourself Unix System Administration in 24 Hours (Sams/Macmillan) (which focuses on three operating systems: Red Hat Linux, Solaris and Mac OS X), Solaris 9 for Dummies (Wiley), Learning Unix for Mac OS X Panther (O’Reilly), Wicked Cool Shell Scripts (NoStarch), and Creating Cool Web Sites (Wiley).

Erik Stafford – Described by Ross Goldberg as “…the best person I know when it comes to helping newbies, guiding them into a business model that works, and teaching the basics of internet business in a way that can be understood.”

 Erik formed Stafford Marketing, LLC in late 2006, launched The Faster Webmaster in early 2007, and has been helping people get started building online businesses ever since. He looks forward to conducting site reviews for Stompers, especially focusing on copy, design, and sales funnel (magic offer) strategies.

Alan Bechtold – Alan’s been in publishing for over 30 years and been online since before the real “internet” existed with online bulletin boards. He’s a self-described ” A jack of all trades and a master of info-publishing and marketing.” His primary focus in StomperNet will be teaching creative writing for content, info product creation, and copywriting.

Melanie Benson Strick – Melanie’s a brilliant marketer specializing in business growth, team building, and breaking through the 6 figure area into 7, 8, and beyond. Melanie really knows her stuff. She’s known as The Million Dollar Lifestyle Business Coach because she knows first-hand how to build a successful, thriving, freedom-based company with her secret weapon — LEVERAGE. With over 12 years in corporate America and eight years as a business owner, Melanie works exclusively with entrepreneurs who are ready for a “sustainable” lifestyle business. Melanie’s clients, who are typically coaches, consultants, authors, speakers, trainers, service professionals and information marketers, average a 172% revenue increase while creating more time for living their dream lifestyle.

Vin Montello – Vin’s the brilliant copywriter behind some of the greatest successes on Clickbank. His copy is some of the best we’ve ever seen. And he’s excited to help Stompers make their copy some of the best their customer’s have ever seen.

David Wilkinson – Finally, we’d love to introduce a faculty member who can only be described as a “phenom.” He’s a 15-year-old super affiliate from the U.K. who makes five figures per month and he’s still in high school. (Think you might be able to learn something about affiliate marketing from him.)

Stompernet Blog