Now, let me share with you the story of Jess and Ben.
They run a design agency. Now in the first instance, they did the right thing and they kept themselves affordable.
They managed to get the business off the ground from literally nothing. And they were doing some absolutely amazing work. They did, however, wait just that little bit too long before they decided to switch things up. You see, Ben was the technician and he got to the point where he just didn't have any free time.
He was just working so many hours to make jobs get over the line. He was near burnout. The income was good and they were living a pretty nice lifestyle. The issue though now was how to take the next step in order to give Ben back some time they needed. The problem, however, was that help comes in the form of hiring someone and that costs money.
They've got used to the lifestyle that they've got. Now, if all they did was go and hire someone else, so Ben could work some less hours, then the money that they'd be able to take would drop and the lifestyle that they would have would have to just go and take a step back. There would be no real way to grow and improve it again without Ben working some more.
So, it seems like a vicious circle. Yeah, one that probably sounds familiar.
So, here's what we did in my view. There's three ways in which you can win clients:
YOU SIMPLY CAN'T HAVE ALL THREE! However much you might think is possible. It's simply not possible.
In the long term for multiple clients, cracks will start to appear and things will start to go wrong in multiple areas, potentially with catastrophic results.
Just think about it.
If you want to be convenient, but deliver high quality work, both which cost money.
First by needing to build in spare capacity to react to the new work.
Secondly, highly trained staff to be able to deliver that high quality work.
Then it is also highly unlikely that you'll be able to be low on price. You just couldn't afford to.
YOU SHOULD HAVE ONE MAJOR FOCUS AND ONE MINOR FOCUS.
Now with Ben and Jess, we shifted the process to be all about high quality service and convenience on the website design front, there would be a defined process that would deliver the desired website in either eight, ten or twelve weeks. So, it would be clear to the client and delivered in a convenient way with defined review points and a clear communication process.
There would also be quality control standards, which would mean. Started taking more control of the platform, the systems, the hosting platform, and generally leading the overall design process, telling the customer that while something may be possible, that if it compromises quality, an alternative would need to be fined. No more cheap websites where they had to cut corners and compromise on quality to get it through on budget or as little over budget as possible, no mates' rates and no discounts just to win a job.
This was all great, but the prices had to change. Now, That's a scary time. The usual fears were unlocked around confidence.
We covered the concerns. We made moves forward.
Now they've got the target audience upon which to focus. They were now selling so much more than a website. With their target audience in mind, they started to understand that people weren't wanting to buy a website.
The website was just a tool, a tool to maybe get in front of the client's target audience, maybe to gain customers and grow their business, or maybe even change their own life so that they could do X or Y or Z.
And since these changes, that business has gone and grown from strength to strength, they've increased their prices further.
They've further taken control and they've positioned themselves as more of the experts within their field. They've learned how to say no. Ben is working far less hours and the financials have improved from where they were before. Now we haven't only done this with Ben and Jess.
We've done this for multiple clients and not just me, our team regularly do this too.
The system isn't complex. It takes some deep thinking which 80% of people just won't do.
Are you on that journey to being overworked?
Underpaid? Maybe you're already there.
What's most important to you?
Is it the quality that you deliver, how convenient you are to your customers or how affordable you are to your customers?
Just really think, think about it all.
If you could really be one of those things only, what would it be. And it doesn't really matter which one it is. There isn't a right or a wrong answer. It's more about being aware of it and then aligning yourself to it.
You see, if you want to make yourself move from surviving to thriving,
So that you really can excel and move to those next levels.
Now, have you identified how you wish to be identified by your customers?
How will you ensure that you stick to that?
Now I'd love to continue the conversation. Look me up on social media, come and join my Facebook group of like-minded business owners. It's called the THRIVING BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
Come on, let me know what's going to be your major and your minor focus and why, what actions have, or will you be taking to make sure that you identify as exactly that to your customers and your potential customers come and join me, come and have the conversation I'd love to carry on with it. 📍
