There are so many strategies for so many different aspects of running a business… how do you know which ones are right for you?
Subscribe to the podcast here
Today, we are talking about decisions we have to make as business owners, and the expert advice that I’ve received that I’m not going to listen to.
At the Ops Authority, we pride ourselves on not repeating what other people do just because it is the easiest thing to do. We also want to make sure we are not using a cookie cutter model. We believe in picking the pieces that work for us, but not copying and pasting a strategy, because that never works the way you want it to.
Seven Pieces of Advice I’ve Decided Against
These are seven different pieces of advice that I’ve received that I’ve decided not to implement. Keep in mind that these are completely specific to my business.
1. Launching vs. Evergreen Products
As you know we have the Director of Operations (DOO) certification program, and we have chosen to use a launch methodology. This means we have a launch (conversion) event that I pour my heart and soul into. During that time it is my goal to help someone to see if it is the right program for them, and also to see me as I am. This way, someone gets a really good understanding if this is truly for them.
The other approach would be to have an evergreen program. I’ve never had a coach tell me to continue with a launch model. Once you get traction, you often switch the launch model over to evergreen (meaning it is available at any time.)
When someone is ready to buy we may not be in a launch and so we have to put them on a waitlist. Buyer behavior tells us that if you wait to buy something, the impulse may pass them by when the opportunity comes back around.
Coaches continuously tell me that I am leaving money on the table, but the reality is that when you go into an evergreen cycle you lose the personalization and one to one connection… which is what I am all about. It’s important to me to be involved and to mentor my students.
2. A Cohort Based Model
What is a cohort? It’s when we get a collective group together to go through your program at the same time.
I’m a big believer in community and that there is greater transformation and a lot more progression within a community.
Community is at the base of my audience. We want that community to celebrate, learn, and grow together. Cohorts seem to be the best way to do this.
Again, coaches are always encouraging me to make this program evergreen, but it is not the way we have chosen to deliver. I am really passionate about achieving results together.
“If I’m making money and people aren’t having transformations… and achieving the results that we promise, it’s not good money to me.”
3. Dripping Content
Dripping content is a method of releasing content in a staged manner in a timeline that you see fit. Coaches have told me to keep the program open so that people can learn as much as they want as they have time available.
When I look at the stats and I understand how few people actually complete courses and trainings, it is surprising to know that those numbers are less than 15% based on people who purchased something. If I’m promising a transformation, it makes much more sense for me to bring people through in a cohort style and to drip the content so we can do it all together.
I’ve delivered this program 17 times now and we have learned a lot about the behaviors of operators. We have learned how people learn and in which ways they are going to get the best results. We go chapter by chapter so we can see what we need to elaborate on. It also helps our coaches to be in tune with the students they are supporting.
4. Payment Plans
I’ve been told that I would be doing people a service to offer a payment program.
We have a high ticket program because it’s high touch. I want to make sure that we can give people a variety of ways to finance this.
The experts will say that there should be a “tax” for people who cannot pay in full (the inflated price that comes with the payment plan). I completely disagree with this.
I listened to this advice for the first few years of my business, but it just didn’t feel right. It feels a whole lot better to have a flat price that you are not penalized for when taking a payment extension.
5. Sales Process
I feel very validated in having an in-house sales team vs. an outsourced sales team. Internally, inside of our business our coaches also help students during our launch cycles. They are a resource for our prospects, helping to answer any questions.
The reason we do this is because these are the people who know this business. Our coaches are all DOOs and feel very connected to the vision and mission of The Ops Authority, and they also know the DOO industry.”
“I would rather have an authentic view of someone who has been in the trenches and done this work vs. somebody who is an excellent salesperson who can talk the talk very well.”
“I love when someone understands where you start, and gets to see you all the way through to success.”
6. Automation
Another piece of advice I have ignored is to completely automate everything.
We have many custom outreaches to our applicants, students, and graduates. There are just some pieces of this process that I want to hold close. If someone has questions, I want to be able to give them the opportunity to get that answered before we take their money.
Also, we have amazing accountability advisors so we make this a very human connection and we know that is best through conversation and face to face follow up.
7. Keeping it Lean
Experts are always telling me that having a coaching team is so expensive and they want me to keep it lean. Yes, it would help us to have tighter margins, but would the results be the same?
NO!
Instead of keeping it lean, we have a robust team. We have an operations team, a marketing team, and a student success and coaching team that is truly dedicated to getting the results that we have promised them.
“We are paying for premium coaches to get premium results, and that is just a cost I was willing to take in.”
8. Marketing
We are told we need to be on every platform and be seen everywhere. Lately, I’ve been feeling the pressure to adopt video marketing. Honestly, I am probably better on video, but I have chosen to be very selective with the way we market.
We are quite predictable here… I usually pick something, optimize it, get comfortable, see results, look at the data, and then make decisions whether to outsource or optimize.
We have been feeling the pressure, but we have been really focused on growing and delivering in 2022, so time, money, or the right strategy have not been available. I wouldn’t be surprised if we focus on this in 2023, but in 2022 we’ve been focused on the podcast!
I am influenced by people just like you are, but I want this to be the reminder to you that nobody has to do it the exact same way.
“Find the things that feel the best to you even if your coaches and role models are doing it a different way… it just may not be your way.”
Weekly Ops Activity
What is ONE piece of expert advice you’ve chosen not to listen to? Let us know in the Facebook group!
Stay Connected:
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app.
Join the Ops Insiders Facebook Community:
Other Ways to Connect with Me:
Private Facebook Community
Facebook Page
Instagram
Share with your biz bestie