Many Experts limit their ability to grow profits and leverage their time by only selling themselves.
The time-for-money business model is a dead end. The only way to increase turnover is to increase the hours you work, and/or increase the price you charge for those hours – which introduces a new challenge: it becomes harder to sell your time as the cost of that time increases.
The solution is to build a leveraged ‘ascension’ model for your business, whereby you and your time stop being the first and only product, and instead become the premium offering in a suite of products and services.
This suite of products and services also forms the backbone of your marketing funnel: through which people enter your business and remain as ongoing customers.
It can also liberate you from needing to spend so much time on free consultations, as you can build trust through the evidence and education of your products – meaning that leads for your high-end products and services come to you pre-qualified.
Here are some basic steps to build your ascension model:
- First, define what you know into a system or an organised library of intellectual property
- Next, map out the products and services you wish to offer (see list below)
- Then, build pricing into your model – starting with free and building up to premium
- Finally, map out the path your customer takes through your business
For example:
- Entry point: free information download from your website
- Offer 1: a low-cost ebook
- Offer 2: a published book
- Offer 3: a ticket to an event
- Offer 4: membership to a online program
- Offer 5: one-on-one service
Your options as an Expert for creating your suite of products and services are many, and they expand every day as technology and the internet continues to grow. Below are some suggestions to get you started:
- Home Study Courses
- Transcripts
- Assessments
- Workshops
- Seminars
- Software
- Questionnaires
- Newsletters
- Webinars
- TeleseminarsGroup Programs
- DVD Courses
- Private Coaching
- Membership Programs
- Private Retreats
- Monthly CD
- Training Courses
- eBooks
- Tools
- Apps
- Books
- Consulting Projects
- PDF Worksheets
- Keynote Speeches
- Team Training
- Boardroom Training
- Bootcamps
- Faxes
- Quarterly Events
- Critiques
- Call In Days
When you diversify the means by which you share your Expertise, you not only grow your profits, but you reach a far wider audience with your message, and can help even more people.
It’s time to stop being your product, and instead start being an entrepreneurial Expert Practice Owner with leverage and dexterity.