Daniel Newsletter 4/10

Email 1 Subject line: this = run laps around everyone Preview line: (N/A) I wanted to talk about a form of separation you can create between you and your competition. When it comes to running a service-based business, you have to understand that in almost all cases… Someone is offering the exact same service that you are offering and they want the exact same clients that you want. Let's just assume that both of you are at the same level when it comes to business. You both send out a lot of cold outreach emails. You both offer a really good service. You both are really good at sales. The only form of separation that can be created between the two of you lies in the realm of efficiency. You can’t afford to be operating at 65% when they’re operating at 90% because they’re not wasting their time on dumb shit. This is why I talk so much to you guys about simplifying your life… But your schedule is not the only way to increase the efficiency of your business. Sometimes the best form of efficiency is just making better decisions. Think about it… You can be efficient in your work process… But if you’re working in the wrong direction, you’re pretty much wasting your time. Because then a whole new realm of work is created should you decide to backtrack and go back to what you were originally doing. But that’s another conversation, anyways… Not every single minute of every single day needs to be spent doing manual labor… Sometimes one of the most efficient things you can do is take the time to properly analyze the decisions you're making. Let's say both you and your competition are considering whether to go into a new target market… Or to double down on the existing market that you're going after. You take an entire day to look at the pros and cons of both paths… But your competition takes maybe 5 minutes and then makes a rush decision to go after the new market. After spending a day collecting all the data and really taking time to process the decision… You decide not to make that decision and instead double down on the existing market It could very well be that this new market is actually a bad idea but because your competition did not think that through it all… They enthusiastically ran in the wrong direction And while the results may not immediately show, over time it will become very prevalent that you made the right decision and they made the wrong decision. So when I say efficiency and I'm talking to you guys about being conscious of your competition and making an active effort to perform better than they do… You have to understand that that does not just come down to hours worked on the computer. Sometimes it does but once you have leverage in place in the form of systems, and manual labor from employees… One of the best ways to increase your efficiency is to focus on making the right decisions… Which usually means sitting down and thinking. Yes, thinking is very efficient. Simple, really. - Daniel @ Client Ascension[a] Email 2 Subject line: how to make good decisions Preview line: SOOO simple Earlier this week I sent out an email talking about how making the right decisions can improve the efficiency of your business… And effectively allow you to run past your competition. What I wanted to do today was talk about a proper decision-making process that allows you to really be able to see all possible outcomes from start to finish… That way you're not making the wrong decisions. Here’s where we should start… Often times a lot of what you need to do is just sit down and spend time coming up with answers to a specific question. But here's the thing, you need to actually have the right question in place and that's what makes or breaks this entire process. Asking the right question is what allows you to be able to accumulate the right data to brainstorm on. So you may be thinking that I need to sit here and think about, “How do I bring in more revenue for my business?” And you certainly will be able to come up with dozens and dozens of ideas to create that outcome… However, it may very well be that you instead need to be focusing on asking the question, “How can I increase the profitability of my business?” Two very different questions with two very different answers. When we ask the right questions we are then able to get the right answers we need in order to get us to the outcome we're looking for. What you need to do is first ask the question, “What outcome am I trying to achieve?” Get crystal clear on that. Then brainstorm on the question, “What are the possible questions that I need to be asking that will allow me to achieve the goal at hand?” From there, once we've been able to pick out which question we wrote down was the best question for us to ask… We NOW want to actually start the process of being able to brainstorm the possible answers and responses for the question at hand. I feel like most people just skip straight to this part and don't take any time on anything I previously stated… They’re just coming up with answers and running with them. Not smart. So again… 1. What is the outcome we want? 2. What questions should you be asking to achieve that outcome? 3. Pick the best question 4. What answers can you come up with to answer that question There's a GREAT book on this called The Road Less Stupid. I really do think this is an absolute must-read for every entrepreneur… This book revolves around the core concept of… “If you had made fewer mistakes in the past year you would have made more money and you would have kept more money as well.” Amazing read, highly recommend reading it. - Daniel @ Client Ascension[b] Email 3 Subject line: sales, sales, sales Preview line: it’s pretty much everything… Everything is sales and marketing It literally does not matter what you are trying to convince someone to do… A proper understanding of sales will allow you to achieve the outcome you're looking for. Sales is really nothing more than the understanding of someone's current problem and their desired outcome. Realistically it’s just asking the proper questions to help understand those two scenarios and then offering a solution that can help them achieve what they're looking for. It really is that simple. You wanting to get a free first-class upgrade at the airport…that’s sales. You convincing a girl to go on a date with you…that’s sales. You wanting your employee to step up their performance…that’s sales. What I’m trying to get across to you is that sales is not just the art of getting someone to whip out their credit card… Sales is the art of getting someone to do what you want them to do. Now, this is where sales branches off into two directions… 1. Manipulation 2. Persuasion Manipulation is when you convince the other party to do something that does not benefit them but benefits you. Persuasion is where both parties benefit and it’s a net positive for everyone involved. That’s just my view on it. So you have to understand… Selling NEVER stops. Even after you’ve collected someone’s credit card information and they paid the first invoice. You have to sell them on continuing to work with you. You have to sell them on listening to you. You have to sell them on the next steps of your strategy and so on. The sooner you get in the mode of constantly analyzing problems and desires… And then providing the solution to help bridge that gap… The better off you’ll be. That’s just how it works. Simple, really. - Daniel @ Client Ascension[c] Email 4 Subject line: question quick Preview line: reverse subject line psychology I have a question for you… What's stopping you from pulling the trigger on booking a call to speak with our team about joining client Ascension? Please respond back to this email with your thoughts so I can help provide better solutions to help you get what you want. - Daniel @ Client Ascension[d] [a]Hyperlink [b]Hyperlink [c]Hyperlink [d]Hyperlink