The un-productization of Lead Cookie and evolution to higher-quality
"You really nailed it on the productized service front." - This is what a friend who I hadn't spoken to in a few years said to me the other day.
I laughed because to the outside world, Lead Cookie did look like we nailed it as a productized service.
And to be honest, at one point we did... but markets shift and industries change.
In this post, I am going to share how we have been slowly "un-productizing" Lead Cookie. I'll explain why we are doing this, what that looks like, and what you can learn from our journey.
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Stop overthinking it... take action.
Since COVID-19 hit, I've been in a bit of a panic...
In January and February, I was literally working ~20 hours per week and spending all my free time working on fun side music projects.
Then in a matter of weeks I was thrown back into heavy work on my businesses as I realized just how fragile they are.
Through these weeks, I've gone through a lot of ups and downs... mental hurdles... epiphanies... and setbacks.
In this article, I am going to share one of the simple mental frameworks that has helped me through these uncertain times.
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How to generate quick revenue with a reactivation campaign
There is a tactic I have used twice now at Lead Cookie to generate significant sales increases.
It's a simple concept, and it's one that any established business can use.
It's the reactivation campaign.
In short, you reach out to every prospect you have ever spoken to before with a new offer.
In this article, I dive into what a reactivation campaign is in more detail, and share how we did this successfully twice at Lead Cookie.
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How to design an amazing customer experience
Amazing customer experiences don't happen out of luck, or through some magical customer service representative.
Instead, they are designed.
And one of the most common compliments I have gotten for both Lead Cookie and Content Allies is something along the lines of "your processes and the whole experience is on point."
In this article, I am going to share my entire process of thinking through designing a customer experience, and share my most recently revamped experience for Content Allies.
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Getting started with your personal brand
Often I hear from many others who are wanting to get started with building their personal brand.
Yet many times, I hear huge objections, excuses, or reasons for not getting started.
Even when they know the value that a personal brand can bring, they still don't get started.
In this article, I'm going to give you the very simple steps to getting started with your personal brand.
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The outbound industry is evolving... and what to do about it
Over the past few years, I have had countless people come to me who are trying to build a company similar to Lead Cookie.
They look at what we built and want to model something similar.
Yet my advice to them is often a wake up call...
Be careful.
The outbound Industry is evolving... and it's getting way harder...
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The hard emotional side of entrepreneurship
When I started down the journey of entrepreneurship, no one told me that my own emotions would become one of the most difficult aspects to manage.
Yet, over the years, I've learned to see how my emotions can be detrimental to business and lead to very poor decision-making.
In this article, I'm going to talk through some of the emotional challenges that you may wrestle with as an entrepreneur, some of the pitfalls they got me in, and how I have done my best to overcome them.
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Maintaining a positive mindset in a bad economy
The economy is taking a drastic hit.
It will impact all of our businesses.
That's a fact.
But how you choose to react in this moment, that is up to you.
In this article, I'm going to share the mental frameworks I am using to keep positive amidst the chaos of the world and markets.
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Why entrepreneurs should learn about acquisitions, even if they don't want to sell
Since I was 19, I've been running my own companies. Yet, it wasn't until last year that I even began to think about the idea of "selling" the companies I've built.
While the idea was always somewhat on my mind, I didn't even think it was possible or I was anywhere close to being capable of producing something of that value.
Ironically, the lack of understanding acquisitions was actually limiting me as an entrepreneur in building something worth acquiring.
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The importance of iteration for entrepreneurs
"Once I get to that point... everything will be better."
This is a little lie that I have told myself many times in business.
Once I get that salesperson hired.
Once our revenue hits $X per month.
If we could just reduce our churn to X%...
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The shortcut and shortfall of selling to your peers
"If there is one thing I have done right, it's not selling to my peers." - Sam Shepler, Testimonial Hero
This simple statement from a discussion with my friend, Sam, had a profound impact on me. For years, I had fallen into the trap of selling and marketing to my peers. And it wasn't until this simple sentence was said that I realized it.
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How understanding my Unique Ability changed my life
Unique Ability. It's pretty wild but this simple concept (and those two words) have had a profound impact on my life, work, and happiness.
In the early days of Lead Cookie, I started studying the work of Dan Sullivan, of Strategic Coach, which has been around coaching entrepreneurs since the 1980s. One of the concepts that stuck out to me from Dan's work is the idea of Unique Ability.
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Why decision fatigue is so important for entrepreneurs
Everyone likes to talk and write about tactics, how to's, and success stories in entrepreneurship. But today, I want to tackle something a bit more ephemeral, yet so essential.
Decision fatigue.
In this article, I'm going to dive into the importance of decision fatigue, how I do my best to manage this, and the consequences of failing at this.
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The evolutions of freedom from your business
Freedom of time and money. That is what most of us are really aiming for as we go down the route of entrepreneurship.
Some people may care more about time; others more about money. But in the end, these are two of the biggest aspects of freedom that your business can bring you.
Yet, freedom from your business doesn't happen overnight. Instead, it happens in a series of evolutions.
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How I successfully hired, trained, and handed off the sales role at Lead Cookie
One of the things fellow entrepreneurs ask me about the most is how I managed to get out of the sales seat at Lead Cookie. For many entrepreneurs, this is one of the hardest and scariest things to let go of since it is so closely tied to revenue.
Yet, your fears are grounded in reality. The first time I tried this, I failed. The second time, I succeeded.
In this post, I will walk you through the process I went through to hand over sales.
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I failed at selling Lead Cookie, here is what I learned
In early 2019, I made the decision that I was going to try to sell Lead Cookie over the course of the year. I had built the business to a good spot where it ran without me, and the idea of selling it and moving onto something new was quite appealing.
Over the course of the year, I went through the process of preparing the business for acquisition, talking directly with buyers, listing with a broker, getting an LOI, and then having them back out on the deal.
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Why entrepreneurs need a hobby
"If you don't find some other outlet for your creative energy, you will just keep tinkering with your business." - Alex McClafferty
It's amazing how one simple statement can create a ripple effect that can change the course of your life. This quote above is one that my business advisor shared with me about a year ago. And the impacts of that statement has led to massive changes and an increased fulfillment in my life.
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Lesson learned from Explainify's amazing process
Recently, I worked with Explainify on an explainer video for Lead Cookie. It's always amazing how whenever you become a customer of another company, you pick up tips and tricks on how you can improve your own.
In this article, I share some of the things I learned from Explainify's productized process for creating an explainer video.
But before that, be sure to watch their 60-second explainer video below so that you can see the quality of the output.
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Business simplified... And why some find it so hard
Business is not that complex. Yet so many entrepreneurs seem to struggle endlessly and thrash around trying to "figure it out."
For years, I operated in this realm of thrashing around, but as of the past few years, my mindset has shifted.
Today, I view business as this very simple thing.
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The magic of a money-back guarantee
One question I consistently get from other entrepreneurs I talk to is, "How do you offer a money-back guarantee? Won't people abuse that, or isn't that too risky?"
Alas, so many misconceptions are implied in that simple question.
At Lead Cookie, we have offered a 30-day money-back guarantee since the start of the company, and it has been incredibly helpful in our journey.
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