Subj: what if you lost a 300k client?
Hi ~Contact.FirstName~
Have you ever lost a big client?
It is an awful feeling when it happens hey? We know too well.
Over the 11 years that Toby and I have been running Bluewire Media, there have been many ups and downs. And losing a client is right down there with the lowest ‘lows’.
It makes you sick in the stomach.
Short version / TL:DR
Join me for a webinar this week with Frank Bria: How to Grow and Scale a Consulting Business Where You Earn 5- and 6-Figures for Every Client
Register here.
Thursday, May 26th, 2016 10am Sydney (AEST)
5pm Pacific US (Wed) // 8pm Eastern US (Wed)
Back in 2005 we were a ‘digital agency’ and a few years later our business evolved into more a ‘consulting company’. In that did some one-off website or training projects and also had clients on monthly retainers. They typically paid pretty well….. when everything went to plan.
However often things got derailed. Maybe you’ve experienced the same with your business?
One of the challenges we faced was the ‘feast or famine’ nature of our business. Sometimes clients suspended or cancelled their retainers or put projects on hold — through no fault of the Marketing Manager/CMO mind you… Unforeseen things like global policy changes, the company getting acquired, new CEOs changing project priorities and spending freezes on things like social media. It was something new each time.
When projects got cancelled or suspended with little notice, it left Toby and me with the team’s wages to pay but not the income we’d been banking on to fund it. It meant we had to scramble to bring in work to fill the void. We needed the cash flow to pay all our expenses, and since it was short notice often we couldn’t find clients and we took the financial hit. Or we brought on the ‘wrong clients’ who weren’t a good fit which was more expensive because projects ran over time or budget. Plus often these clients weren’t prompt at paying and could be draining for our team to work with.
It was painful at times. It was like being on a very unpleasant cashflow roller coaster!
Things have smoothed out now, thanks to changes we’ve made and thanks to things we’ve implemented based on advice we’ve received from peers and mentors.
We’re grateful to have learnt a huge amount from many wonderful people we’ve met over the last decade. One such person is Frank Bria. You may recall I participated in his online summit last year and I did a 30 min interview where I shared my strategy for growing an email list, plus he was on episode 106 of our podcast. He’s a good guy — generous and smart.
Anyway let me share a story of Frank’s.
A while back, Frank had a consulting business that really depended on 1 big client.
In fact, they were paying him an average of $12,000 a month on retainer. That retainer had gone on for about 3 years.
Oh, Frank was doing great work for them. He saved them millions of dollars on their rollout.
The retainer renewed every 6 months, and so about 30 days before renewal was coming up, he asked them, “so are we planning on rolling over into the next 6 months?”
“Yup. Looks good to continue on.”
So, he didn’t worry.
He sent off the next statement of work to be signed, sealed and delivered for another guaranteed $72,000 contract.
Two days before the contract expired, he got a call.
“We’re on a spending freeze. We have to suspend your contract for a while.”
“How long is a while?” he asked.
“I have no idea.”
His 6-month plan for this $72,000 was up in smoke. Instantly.
And it hurt.
That client represented almost 70% of his income! (Yes, it’s a bad idea to not diversify your consulting income – but we’ll talk about that later.)
Suddenly he went from a strong 6-figure consulting practice to a mid-5 figure…on a good day. This one event could ruin his business. Literally bankrupt him.
He was going to have to replace 6-figures of income … and fast. But he was annoyed.
He was annoyed at the client. He kept thinking:
“How could they lie to me? Or at the very least, mislead me? Do you really think they didn’t know the freeze was coming? They just didn’t want to have the hard conversation until the very last minute.”
And he stewed. And stewed.
Of course, the whole time, he wasn’t working to replace it. That’s because there was one thing he wasn’t realizing.
It was all his fault.
He had gotten lazy.
Fat and lazy.
He had a good thing rolling in and didn’t bother to build the pipeline in case he needed it.
Oh, sure, he had a bunch of excuses. “I don’t have any capacity.” “Why sell work I can’t do?” or “I don’t have the time to sell right now; I’m busy delivering for my client.”
But it’s those very excuses that keep us trapped in “feast or famine” income.
Do the work. Finish the project. Have no clients.
Sell, sell, sell hard. Then get another client.
Do the work. Finish the project….
Well, you get it.
Do you want to know the ironic part?
He knew how to solve the problem! He had been teaching Fortune 500 companies and big businesses on 4 continents the secret. With those companies, he had closed 5-, 6-, and yes, even 7-figure consulting engagements.
But he didn’t do it in his own business.
The answer is to build a sustainable high-ticket consulting company.
But for 5- and 6-figure consulting clients, there are certain things you have to do. The marketing you use is special. Specific to high-ticket consulting engagements.
And you have to talk like a high-value consultant. You have to express your value proposition in a sophisticated way.
You have to use sophisticated marketing with real world techniques – like direct outreach – all working together.
If it sounds like something you want to use in your own business, then you need to join this FREE training session called How to Grow and Scale a Consulting Business Where You Earn 5- and 6-Figures for Every Client … Even if You’ve Never Charged That Much Before.
I’ll be joined by Frank Bria who will tell you how he fixed that 6-figure hole in his income. And the system he developed so you can replicate the results.
Click here to register for the webinar.
Here’s what you’re going to learn on the webinar:
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How to attract 5- and 6-figure consulting clients and make them want to talk to you.
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How to never again wonder where the next client is coming from.
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How to avoid wasting time with tyre-kickers and focus on those most likely to buy from you.
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When to know it’s time to call your prospect – and when it’s not time to call.
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And much, much more.
Get off the “feast or famine” roller coaster forever!
Learn the techniques that will keep new leads coming in on a regular basis.
Oh, so what happened to Frank’s business?
Well, fast forward 12 months and now Frank has replaced that one $12,000 per month client with over a dozen $12,000 per year clients. And the great thing is, he’s actually working fewer hours. That’s more money. Less time.
Over the next 2 days, I’ll explain how he did that.
Sound good? Then you need to learn about this system so you can do it yourself.
Click here to register to attend this FREE webinar
Frank is doing this training especially for Bluewire News readers, so please clear your calendar and make time to learn.
I’ll see you on the webinar.
Cheers,
Adam
Adam Franklin
Co-founder of Bluewire Media
Co-author of Web Marketing That Works
PS. Here’s the link to join the webinar.
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