Synergy

Navigating The Remainder Of 2024 with Strategy And Focus

• Daniel & Alicia • Season 1 • Episode 26

Share episode

If you loved this episode, send us a text and let us know!

What if simplifying your business could be the key to thriving in 2024? Tune into this episode of Synergy to discover actionable strategies that can transform your approach to business during challenging times. We'll reveal why doubling down on foundational practices can enhance focus and depth, while also exploring the importance of making your presence known through social media and strategic marketing expenses. Learn how under-utilised resources like email databases, when optimised with AI, can significantly improve your marketing efficiency and success.

Get ready to uncover the nuances of Facebook advertising and understand why testing and optimising creatives is crucial for lowering lead costs. Through an inspiring story about top salesperson Thomas Blackwell, we'll highlight the importance of data gathering during slow periods. Additionally, you'll hear about a remarkable GPS tracking ad campaign that leveraged organic posts to generate epic sales. This episode provides practical advice on targeting specific audiences, managing marketing efforts cost-effectively, and the critical balance of self-care and business assessment for long-term growth. All designed to help you navigate and thrive in 2024.

Connect with us:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/as_one_global/?hl=en
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063829082364

Speaker 1:

One, two, three, four. Welcome to Synergy, the podcast where we uncover the secrets to successful relationships, effective leadership and transformative parenting. I'm your host, Alicia.

Speaker 2:

And I'm Dan, and we'll deep dive into relationships, friendships and, most importantly, the relationship we have with ourselves. Together, we'll explore different strategies, techniques and approaches that can help you achieve synergy in every aspect of your life.

Speaker 1:

Stay curious, keep learning and embrace the power of synergy. Hello and welcome back to another week of Synergy and welcome back to another week of Synergy.

Speaker 2:

We're going to be discussing today what works and what is working in 2024 in business, and I love this topic because this is where the real business owners that have been doing it for a while understand that in times like this, it's time to double down yeah, and to do things that you've never done before and try things that you've never done before.

Speaker 2:

I think so. Part of me agrees with that, but part of me disagrees because I think one thing that I've learned on the business journey of when you are doing well, you tend to add layers of complexity to your business that aren't't necessary.

Speaker 1:

That aren't necessary.

Speaker 2:

You know what I mean by that though Simplification and going back to basics, cause we hear that a lot about you know. Go back to the foundations, go back to basics and really that is the thing that gives you depth in focus. We've got a special guest on the podcast today.

Speaker 1:

What's up, sis? Oh, we just started.

Speaker 2:

And going, going back to the basics and the foundations gives you an element of depth.

Speaker 1:

We've got our kids here with us today. We're just recording a podcast. Skinny, we just gone today. It's on the way.

Speaker 2:

And you know, and I think, like if I speak from my own experience about right now in business, the things that counter, like if you're experiencing a quiet time in business, the things that counter that is make noise, yeah, and what I mean by that is like double down on your social media.

Speaker 2:

If you, if you were rarely posting post five times a day, you know, do stories, do reels, push it out to as many different platforms as possible. I think there's so much magic that happens energetically that when you're available for work marketing and you're pushing yourself out of all those mediums that I've found, even if you don't get a direct response no, it's brand awareness.

Speaker 1:

You got your awareness of your brand out there something.

Speaker 2:

Something transpires in the way of the phone rings, more someone might bring more opportunities more opportunities are presented I want to.

Speaker 1:

I want to speak on this as well, though, because I think, in times that are difficult with um business, the one thing that you might be spending money on which is marketing. Sometimes we can go I'm gonna stop spending money on marketing, and it's actually the last thing that you should stop spending money on. Yeah, or you actually shouldn't stop.

Speaker 2:

We had a conversation just the other day about this. I am quite ruthless with the expenses column in the P&L in the business and I find I'm always looking at like how do I trim it back, how do I lean it out? And there's certain the thing that we're talking about is there are consequences to trimming back certain expenses. Yep, and like hypothetically, let's say I'm spending five grand a month on marketing and that's producing a hundred grand in collective revenue. If I switch that five grand off, then how do I know that that hundred can't then become 20 and then that would be a horrendous business decision yeah, absolutely so what I really want to shine a light on is like how do you act?

Speaker 2:

how do you not cull the marketing expense? How do you optimize it? Yeah and through, how do you post more? How do you look at your ads and go. Are we getting the best you you know cost per lead. Are we getting good return?

Speaker 1:

on ads.

Speaker 2:

Are we getting good quality leads?

Speaker 2:

good conversions, All these things, because often in times like this, where things are, you know, can get a bit tighter and a bit tougher, what's actually required is we just need to be better. You know, I look at databases and emails and I think it's probably one of the most underutilized marketing things in a business, because the amount of effort and creative thought required to sit there and go what's the subject going to be? What am I going to talk about? What am I going to promote or what am I going to educate on. When I think of ad spend, whether it be through TikTok, Facebook, Instagram if I correlate that to your inbox, your inbox is free. It's free, literally free marketing I mean other than if you're paying for a CRM to be able to market out of. But if you've been a business around for 10 plus years and you've got thousands of people sitting in your database and you haven't connected with them, there is literally money waiting to be squeezed out of that list let's okay.

Speaker 1:

So I'm pretty passionate about the fact that. I knew I said email list and I was like no, no, no, not just email list, but I'm passionate about because what I found in business is I think it's so easy as business owners to go. What's the the new thing? How do we market to new clients? How do we get new clients? How do we do this and how do we do that? But there's so much money sitting in your business that is readily available to you, but you just don't know where to look.

Speaker 2:

An email list is one of them. I think a good example of this is the launch of AI and really businesses to deploy emails and and edms and marketing to your list that actually take the brain power and time out of it utilizing these resources. So I think sometimes we can. We can run too far to new tech or a new, the new thing that's come out, rather than going okay, how do I grab that, simplify the absolute shit out of it to optimize what I'm currently doing and in this case, be it with your email and I want to speak on that, because utilizing chat GPT as a team member, right, or a coach or a strategy strategist, you could use it as a business partner, okay.

Speaker 1:

So, for an example, when I had the salon, I was looking into doing Google ads right, I had no idea how to do them. Youtube is free. Go on YouTube and look up how to do Google ads for service-based businesses, like I literally did that, spent 10 bucks a day and it was my main form of how people came into the salon. But not only that. I also put into chat GPT is how do I like up my SEO? Or I can't remember what my, what prompt I use? But I said give me a strategy for Google and my website to create a really good, really good SEO process. And it spat out this whole thing and I just literally, when it did it, told me step by step on how to do it, how to find the keywords, how to do like it was a game changer and I transformed my website to create because I asked it how to do that on my website, did that, and that was the main way I was getting new clients.

Speaker 2:

And I think, like I think of that. You're either going to invest time to learn a skill, to be able to deploy it, so that you don't have to pay someone to do it, or you seek somebody out that is going to be able to implement and execute in a short time frame, and then you're you're paying by way of a cost and I think like that's when you've really got to look at what is the value and potential return.

Speaker 2:

Because I'll give you an example, like recently, I just paid someone six grand to roll out all email sequence across all the different areas in the business.

Speaker 2:

Which you've been meaning to do for how long I have been wanting to do this for probably six, seven years of like, knowing that you know when you look at the funnel of potential clients, the top 3% are ready to buy now. The next, you know, 9% to 10% are over a certain duration of time and the next 20% after that are over a longer duration at a time and often as business owners especially when we're talking about Facebook ads and things like that we're looking for a lead conversion direct off the back of an ad. So really only focusing on that top 3%. So I knew that there was so much value in the nurturing of people over time to broaden the container of sales. So, yeah, a six year journey. Now I thought about it. I was like I can go and chat GPT, I've got the knowledge and skills to be able to set up flows.

Speaker 2:

I can do it, but there's two things I don't enjoy doing it firstly, and, second of all, my value in the business is in sales. So if I can actually outsource something I don't enjoy and that someone can do better, and then I could potentially and you've got to look at your numbers in your business to know it makes sense- For instance like six grand, some businesses might go fuck that's fucking ridiculous.

Speaker 2:

For an email you could go and chat GPT and save yourself six grand In my business. Like translate that to a home theatre sale. Yeah, Literally one sale would pay for the whole structure across the whole business.

Speaker 1:

But that's also what you've got to look at is what's the cost of not doing it? Yes, because when you look at a like a home theater lead, for example, as opposed to six grand like what's a home theater lead to you, the value. The value of it can be anywhere from six grand to 60 grand so one lead out of an email sequence, out of how many thousands of people that you've got on your email list that makes sense for you to spend seven grand or six grand for somebody to do that.

Speaker 1:

But when you're a service-based business like a hair salon, where it costs maybe your lead costs $500. Like long-term, if you go over the year, maybe it's like a couple of grand. That's also a smart decision if you're looking at it from a long-term perspective. But if you can't keep clients for 12 months but yours is just once off, so you're getting that once off.

Speaker 2:

But for service-based businesses you also got to look at how can you nurture them to actually keep coming back so that you're getting the most out of your, your lead and your conversion or it could even be like what you're saying in, like if I think of a hair salon, like that business is, that model is built on lead conversion and retention. And retention, yeah Right. So if you can get a really good solid lead conversion formula mixed with a great nurturing and service, Customer experience.

Speaker 2:

Customer experience and service. Yeah, You're going to grow a business right? So when I look at that, I'm like not having some sequence or something that you're keeping your client engaged, ready to come back in every six weeks or whatever there is to revisit, like that client might become from a six week client to an eight or 10 week client and it's literally the difference of an email saying hey, guess what, it's time.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you want to look at it like and this is the way I tried to look at it is like I don't want to be seeing clients every, just every six weeks. I don't want them to have a touch point with me every six to eight weeks. I want them to see me every week. I want them to be, you know, I want them to be in, I want to be in their inbox, I want to be thought about every single week and that's like one of my mentors said it's like no one's reading your emails, but the people who are ready to buy will open up when they're ready.

Speaker 2:

And it's like.

Speaker 1:

But you know that, and I heard this from somebody else. They said I said I've signed up to this. I can't remember specifically what it was. They've signed up to something and they didn't need that product right then and there. But every week they're seeing that person's name in their inbox, so they know when they need the thing they're calling that person.

Speaker 2:

So I use this spiel in my sales training, when I'm training someone and I've used it many times. Growing up as a around Italian based family, a lot of wogs love gardening and you get to see the process of planting seeds and then picking the fruit or vegetables once they've grown. And I had a realization years ago that sales is just that. Sales is about some days you're going to be planting seeds and some days you're going to be picking tomatoes. And when you're training a salesperson, I think there's a lot of pressure on salespeople to be picking tomatoes every single day and unless you've actually done the work of planting the seeds, you're not going to pick tomatoes every day. And I think success can look like planting the seeds and picking the tomatoes. It's part. It's part of the whole process of you know the marketing working to be able to make the sale.

Speaker 1:

And reality of it is is your marketing is long-term right. It's like long-term sustainability for your business. It's not a quick fix. It's not a one week. You're going to get a whole bunch of people in.

Speaker 2:

Especially social media, especially Like, if you're not doing social media and you do a few posts and go. It doesn't work. Well, you're actually correct.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it doesn't work over that timeframe.

Speaker 2:

Like, do it for three months consistently, then tell me it doesn't work Because it takes time for the engine to start working for you.

Speaker 2:

And you know, I think of, like I've probably been running Facebook ads for I didn't even know if I had a guess probably seven, eight years in the business. And you know, one thing I want to speak on that gets spoken about in the in the Facebook ad world is ad fatigue. Now, I hardly changed my Facebook ads and I've been involved with business models where the ad spends really high and you do get what's called ad fatigue. But I've also heard of businesses saying oh, my ads are fatiguing. I actually think if you're sub a hundred bucks a day, you're not getting ad fatigue. My ads are fatiguing.

Speaker 2:

I actually think if you're sub 100 bucks a day, you're not getting advert ad fatigue. Your ads are just shit, they're not working. Yeah, you know, because if you've got good ads, you shouldn't have to change them often. Yeah, you know you should be optimizing and testing different creatives to see what works, to get your lead cost down. But it shouldn't be something that you're doing every single week spinning through yeah, that just means that your creatives and ads and hooks aren't aren't working. Yeah, you know. So it's really you. You've got to, you've got to put away, fuck up money for Facebook ads in order to know what's going to work.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, for sure you know, and, like you said, it is a long game, you know, but I can tell you. For me right now, one of the threats in the business is like what happens if Facebook ads just suddenly fucking dies.

Speaker 1:

I was going to speak on that. So before, when we're talking about emails, EDMs, the thing with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, all those things is you don't own those platforms. They could literally and I think this happened with Google the Google slap or something. This was like 15 or 20 years ago when Google just came out. I think they had this same thing happens, Like everyone was spending money on Google and it was like amazing and all these things. And then something happened in terms of the algorithm or something and it just completely like ruined people's businesses because they solely focused on just Google ads. Whereas when you've got an email list that you own, it's on your own platform. You have access to those people at all times, Whereas with your Instagram, if you've built up your Instagram and you've got all your people on your Instagram, you don't have email addresses, you don't have phone numbers, you don't have any other way to contact them. If Instagram closes tomorrow, your business would be stuffed.

Speaker 2:

I remember there was this like probably the best salesperson I've ever seen. His name's Thomas Blackwell and he sold a product called Infusionsoft, which was a CRM.

Speaker 1:

I remember when he pitched it.

Speaker 2:

I literally pulled my wallet out of my pocket, was like ready to throw it at him take my money like.

Speaker 2:

I've never heard a pitch like that before and it was incredible. But one thing he's he mentioned that really stuck with me is like, when it's not busy, don't get angry, get data. You know and yeah, that was that has always been a trigger for me is like, if there's a little bit of a downturn in business, all right, it's time to get busy. Yeah, it's time to get busy with marketing. It's time to get busy with emails and just start shaking the the cage, if you like, of hey, people, we're still here. This is what we're doing. Check out the latest thing we've done. Yeah, look at this new product, get attention and I know gary v speaks a lot on this at the moment it and it's very true, it's like you need to be loud because there is so much noise in the media about the economy's fuck.

Speaker 2:

there's a here. There's fucking. Businesses are closing down here. There's so much noise you need to be able to scream louder than what that's screaming, and for the people that are consuming different media and different content, you've got to be able to stop and interrupt that at a time when they're interested or curious already to buy what it is you have.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, or curious already to buy what it is you have. Yeah, there's two things I want to touch on is, when you've got the time and the space to be able to learn things like Google ads or Facebook ads or social media, go and learn them, because they are such an epic skill to have as a business owner, as a small business owner, where, if you know how to do those things and if you know how to pull levers and you know how to do the things that cost thousands of dollars a month, that those thousands of dollars a month that you could be spending on ad, on agencies, you could be putting into your ad spend because you know the skill and, like you said, you need fuck up money though you do.

Speaker 2:

I just want to. I just we've sort of touched on a little bit, but I want to talk on the point about putting out what you want and allowing it to come back, not necessarily in the form that you intended it to come back in.

Speaker 2:

So you know, recently we we had never marketed for GPS tracking, which is a product that we sell, and I did this as a pilot to teach one of the team that has a business of watch what I do in order to be able to generate leads through a paid channel.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, right, and we literally went from the start of like me filming the ad, getting a graphic team to edit it, then plugging it into Facebook, linking it to the CRM to be able to consolidate the lead, and literally went through the process of the point of like generating leads. Now we posted that on Instagram and before the ad went live, so, as an organic post, which is what the intention was, we had an inquiry and a sale within two days of posting that, with our intention of we want to do ads and generate sales, but use this as a training piece for somebody to be able to learn the process. And I have to say, since doing that and it's still currently running and generating leads the amount of sales that have come through that are actually not directly from the advertisement lead itself has blown me away.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, the I would say that the advertising conversion revenue versus the awareness of just people coming to us through us putting it out there, not direct from us shining a light on GPS tracking that has been greater than the revenue generated from that ad. Yeah, and that's what I mean by sometimes you've just got to be detached from what you're it is and look at the overall and go well, we're just open for GPS tracking business. I don't care whether it comes directly from the ad or it comes through another channel, through me, just promoting the fact that this is what we're doing in order to get to the outcome.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think as well, if we go like a few steps higher than that, we had a conversation, and how we came out of having GPS tracking was we looked at ways in your business, that what were the three things that we looked at that were. So we had a few words that we looked at and then we were like, if I can't remember how we had that conversation, leisha and I very much make decisions based on three things freedom, flexibility and finance right.

Speaker 2:

Based on three things freedom, flexibility and finance right and we sort of use those governing principles to make decisions in business and life. Like, is it going to give us those three things? So we asked the question is like, what is it within my business that really enhances and pulls on those levers? And so you know, the nature of GPS tracking is sort of like a telecommunications company, whereas once somebody signs up you get paid monthly recurring for the product and it's self-monitored. So, providing they've got access, then they just keep keep paying. Essentially. So when you look at you know, does that provide freedom? Yes, it does, because you're selling a product once and getting paid multiple times for it. It give you flexibility. Well, yes, because I could outsource the actual installation work and not do it just in melbourne yeah you can be every state and finance.

Speaker 2:

Does it tick the finance box? Well, yes, it's passive recurring income yeah so why would? And at the time, but previous to this conversation, it wasn't really something that was focused on. It was something that was done in the business but it wasn't spotlighted.

Speaker 2:

And so that was a real light bulb moment of going like fuck, we were actually marketing and focusing on the stuff that produces finance, doesn't produce flexibility and is the furthest thing away from freedom. Yeah, but it was because what was done in the business and you know it was like it's. It's really about pressing that pause button and evaluating your business model to serve your life and what you want to do you know, if you don't put life first, business will find a way to take over it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah Well, you'll allow business to take over.

Speaker 1:

And this is the thing for the listeners who have a business, who haven't maybe pressed the pause button and are just doing the things. And this is maybe kind of going to wrap up the conversation about what we talked about around. You know, being in a time which is somewhat the most I think I've been in business for 13 years it's probably the hardest time. This year has been the hardest year, last year and this year has been the hardest year in the whole of the 13 years, and I know that other people are feeling that too. So if there was a little piece of to kind of wrap up this conversation, what would you tell the listeners to go and implement if they're feeling like that right now?

Speaker 2:

I think if it, if you're a, if you're an owner operator, giving yourself permission to be able to go and have a little bit of respite from the business will serve you in longevity in times like this. Because if you're on the mouse wheel hustling and grinding every single day and you know I've spoken to a lot of business owners and you know there's a lot of of business owners and you know there's a lot of businesses working really hard just to break even at the moment if you're in that that part or slightly profiting, it's really important that you look after yourself in that process. And knowing that this time is a short time in the scheme of business longevity and it's about you know you've done the reps to get to this point and this is where this is where real business owners dig their heels in. But just make sure that you don't abandon your own self-care time with your family going to get that massage, giving yourself permission to maybe take a day off you know those sorts of and you know full transparency.

Speaker 2:

I'm speaking to myself here like it's only in the last couple of weeks that I've been feeling I'm like god, this feels so robotic and so monotonous and it doing the same thing over and not great amount of success coming from it, but then going, you know what, for now, that's actually okay. Yeah, is that, if that's what it's got to look like for now?

Speaker 2:

yeah, I'm just gonna do the things I am in control of you know that we spoke on earlier in this podcast the marketing double down on socials. You know, optimizing ads do the things I can control, but live my fucking life and give myself permission to do that how I want to do it simultaneously, irrespective of what pressure I put on myself financially, of what figure I perceive that I should be at.

Speaker 1:

Yep, the thing that I would strategically suggest is like press the pause button and go like am I just doing things because that's the way that they've always been done? Like, reassess what's the highest generating product or service in your business and double down on that thing. And because niching is so important when it comes to like, you know, when you say with your Facebook ads, how you did Facebook ads for GPS tracking specifically, it's like you're looking for a certain type of person and that's why the ad worked as well, right? So, like, I would really be very specific on who you're speaking to.

Speaker 2:

Like what is the pain point? And to wrap up, this is probably just one marketing tip that I'd like to put in there. Everybody is having a conversation in their head about a problem or something that they're experiencing. Your role as a marketer is to interrupt that conversation so that they then take the attention from the internal dialogue to a dialogue with you. Yep, you know, and if you can interrupt that conversation through what's called a hook, one sentence to then get them to have a conversation with you, you then have their attention and that's where you go from lead to sale.

Speaker 1:

Yep, and I want to add as well is if you guys, if you know somebody listening is hearing this and they're like you know, or you're feeling like I really need help or I just don't even know where to start with any of this stuff, reach out to us. I'll put the link below for Synergy Elite, which is our monthly membership, where we talk about all these things, we strategize on all the things. We have weekly We've got two now weekly Q& A's that we've got our members jumping onto and we've actually created together, specifically one person who is just a major executor in our, in our world and our community, and Q and A's for her have been game changing. Like we've three X to her business potential turnover in the next three months just by looking at a business model and looking at the products that she's actually packaged up and what she can offer to her clients so that it's changing people's lives. And I definitely want to invite you and be you know, be open to learning and getting help, because you don't need to do this alone.

Speaker 2:

Yeah and that's probably one of the other points is like business can be especially if you're a solopreneur a lonely sport and doing it with people that are on a similar journey to you and bouncing ideas off people can be quite refreshing. So yeah, if you're keen or interested, hit the link.

Speaker 1:

All right, we'll catch you next week.

Speaker 2:

It's been fun.

Speaker 1:

See you guys. Bye, we hope you enjoyed this episode of Synergy. We encourage you to hit the subscribe button. Rate and comment.

Speaker 2:

If you know someone in your life that may benefit from more Synergy, screenshot this episode and share it with them on Instagram.