I get it. You want to do things the right way.
Whether it’s blogging, holding a consult, writing a bite-sized offer, or building your list, you want to avoid costly and embarrassing mistakes.
You’re afraid that if you do things the wrong way, you’ll push people away instead of bringing them closer.
And you most definitely don’t want to look like a fool, come across as too salesy, or be one of “those” people who are constantly promoting themselves in Facebook groups.
Avoiding mistakes seems like the smartest move as you’re building your business… but you’re not sure it’s possible.
Well, this is exactly what I’m going to help you with today. You’ll learn how to completely bypass costly and embarrassing business mistakes, so you can get to “success” faster.
The “Mistakes” I’ve Made
Since we’re talking about mistakes, I may as well share with you some things I’ve done—what may seem to be BIG mistakes—as I’ve grown my business.
Getting Too Good at Sales
In 2012, I really began to find my groove in business.
I had a solid process for helping clients get their businesses up and running, my reputation was growing as someone who delivered stellar results for her clients, and I was building a roster of fantastic clients.
At the same time, I felt like some perfect prospects were slipping through the cracks; I couldn’t quite get them to say “yes” on a consult. I thought that if I got better at sales, I could convert more people into paying clients.
I worked with sales genius Kendrick Shope and honed my consult and follow-up processes and immediately increased my consult conversion rate from around 30% to almost 90%!
But there were two problems.
First, some of my new clients weren’t perfect fits for me. They were needy, whiny, and too afraid to take action. (I work best with motivated, self-directed action-takers.)
Second, I took on too many clients and was working long hours.
If you could have looked inside my business, you’d have thought I made a terrible mistake.
Sending Too Many Emails
Statistics suggest that 50% of all purchases happen in the final 24 hours of a promotion, and 50% of those purchases occur in the last hour.
In the past, I’ve been rather “soft” with sales emails, both in terms of the relative pushiness of the messages and the number of emails I’ve sent.
With launches and program sales as one of my growing edges, I wanted to see what would happen if I tried something radically different.
During my most recent Make It Work Online launch, I decided to send four emails (two of which were pushier than my usual style) on the last day. That’s four times more sales emails than I’ve ever sent in one day!
To many on the outside, this looked like a horrible mistake.
Hear This: Those Were Not Mistakes
It may seem like taking on too many clients and sending four emails were mistakes. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Sure, things were hectic with 20 clients.
And yes, we received two uncouth emails and one childish comment on Facebook after sending four sales emails.
[Side note: We also received over 100 emails full of LOVE and APPRECIATION—plus countless Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram comments—from amazing readers like you who deeply value all of the free business-building information I share with you. For those, I thank you!!]
But here’s what you need to understand:
Whether or not something is a mistake has nothing to do with your audience’s reaction and everything to do with your intentions. (No, not woo-woo “intentions.” I mean, like, plans and stuff. We’re getting to that in a second.)
Of course I love emails full of love and mean emails are obnoxious, but the truth is the negative responses didn’t bother me at all.
They didn’t burst my bubble.
My feelings weren’t hurt.
I didn’t cry.
I didn’t dream of quitting my business and getting a job.
I simply kept going as if it was the plan all along.
BECAUSE IT WAS.
And this is the crux of the whole post.
The Pendulum Effect: Pushing the Limits to Find Your Sweet Spot
Several years ago I learned how important it is to push my own perceived limits.
I’m not talking about the limits of fear and self-doubt. I’m talking about action limits, meaning overdoing or under-doing the actions I take. Like being too pushy doing a consult, taking on too many clients, and sending too many emails to my list.
Or spending less time on social media, doing less to grow my list, and working fewer hours. (More on under-doing in a post coming soon.)
It’s only by overdoing and under-doing that we find our sweet spot. Tweet that!
And in the process, we completely skirt around making mistakes.
If you create and follow-through on a deliberate, calculated plan of action. This can be to send more emails than usual or take on 20 clients to see what happens. Whatever the result, it’s never a mistake.
This is because you’re taking action with the goal of learning. This means that no matter what others’ reactions are, you simply can not make a mistake if your number-one goal is to learn.
So hear this:
Click to TweetDeliberate actions can not result in mistakes—period!I took on 20 clients on purpose. I sent 4 emails on the last day of the launch on purpose. These were not mistakes even if they didn’t look perfect to anyone on the outside.
And I’m not pretending to be all enlightened about this. You know the “there are no real mistakes” BS. I’m not talking about that. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, but the examples above are NOT two of them.
I made these decisions deliberately and don’t regret them for a second, because I learned A TON when I created those plans, followed through, and observed the results. And that was exactly what I intended.
Putting This Into Action In Your Business
I’m curious what you think about this.
Do you understand why you need to push the limits? And that when you do this deliberately it’s not a mistake?
Or do you think it’s a load of BS? (It’s okay to say so!)
When have you pushed limits and learned something valuable?
Where in your business do you need to push some limits now?
Let’s have a conversation in the comments below.
Then stay tuned for next week’s post, where I’ll share my insider secrets on how to push your own limits and not let fear and self-doubt stop you. It’s going to be a game-changing one!
Hi Jenny. This is a very cool post. I don’t think I’ve heard it quite articulated, but I realize it’s something I do naturally in some areas. Being more aware and making it an intentional strategy in more areas is sure to bring some good things. Thanks
Yes! I agree that most of us use this approach, and the power comes in when we make it an intentional approach — just like you said. Great addition.
This post sums up why you’re the best. YES there are some things we do that we may not do again but the point is we learn. It’s all information. With that information we uncover what works for us and for me specifically.
I don’t want to do things the way everyone else does just because it works. I want to find my comfort level but to do that I have to experiment and learn.
It’s kind of like discovering a workout routine that you love. You may try somethings that make you very sore. You may try somethings that have little to no effect but if you keep trying you’re sure to find the sweet spot that produces results.
I’ve never thought of it quite so clearly until now AND I just used a work out analogy so you know you got my attention because I hate to sweat!
Thanks again for your brilliance and always being willing to share. I learn every time I listen to you speak
Yes!! The point of taking steps is to learn and gather information. You’re totally right that we might not do those things again, but doing them tell us whether or not they work! And that’s the kind of information we need to keep growing our businesses and helping more and more people with our work.
I’m honored you’re here commenting! Thank you!
I love reading behind the scenes of your biz, Jenny!
I ‘ve done 2 small launches in the last 4 months and on one I definitely was “underdoing” when it came to emailing my list. I planned on sending final push emails and chickened out. sending half what was originally planned. The other launch I had the emails set and scheduled to go out no matter what…so even when I wanted to back out it was on autopilot.
I set out to take specific actions on purpose too…. but it’s easy for me to talk myself out of it (fear, self-doubt, indecision)…which is why working with you or being in a group like MIWO has been so biz-changing!!
If I’m going to grow to a new level with my biz ,I know discipline and consistency are my key strategies and where I need to push myself next. ..Mainly I need the discipline to be consistent. 😀
Thanks for getting my head straight, Jenny!!
Carla xo
Such a great insight for you, Carla! I love that you have a fresh example to look at in you own business so you can use it as a learning experience! (No matter what we do or don’t do, we can always learn!)
It’s so good for you to see what your kryptonite is and how fear, self-doubt, and indecision can hold you back. Because now, in advance of your next scary thing, you can create a strategy or a plan to work on addressing it before it strikes. See, no matter what we do or don’t do, we can always learn for next time.
I’m excited to see what’s next for you!
Hey Jenny!
This is exactly what I needed to hear today, Jenny! I feel Jan and Feb I played small and didn’t put into action the plans I had created. So, as I look towards March, I really want to push the limits on my list building and mini-workshops! Thanks so much for giving me permission to take deliberate action as a means of learning. This kinda makes the fear melt away in and of itself.
Looking forward to the next post.
Cheers,
Jennifer
Permission granted!! Time to take action and overdo it — you’re ready! I can’t wait to see what happens…. 🙂
Love this! I am ALL about what I call “safe to fail experimentation.” It’s all about trying something out in the name of learning. I would add that being intentional not just about your action but about the subsequent learning – by journaling about it, keeping track of statistics, or getting feedback from clients, for example – can make the process even more valuable.
Love this addition, Jessie! Yes, we want to be deliberate about our learning and making sure we capture what that was. Thanks for sharing!
I love this post Jenny. Since a new client came to me , I crafted a tangent to my business, project managing and helping him delegate things to a VA. It wasn’t perfect at least in his eyes but I learned a TON! He changed his mind often and in the end ( meaning the last day of the push ) told me attendance at his event was critical whereas in the beginning he said it didn’t matter, it was just for marketing. I was up at 1 am taking texts/emails to accomplish this at the last minute for him. Talk about reactive…something I never advise my clients to do. All said, I think this can be a valuable side service for some of my clients, and next time I will have much firmer boundaries.
I can totally relate to this, Karen! My first project management client went…. interestingly. But I learned SO MUCH from the process (and hardly charged for my services, so it all felt okay). Sometimes the learning HURTS but the learning in itself can be so good.
Thanks for sharing such a great story — a good one for all of us!
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