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The Simple Mistake That Cost Me $51,000

Jun 23, 2021

This lesson was not necessarily the easiest one to learn. Frankly, I think the most important lesson you can learn from your business is the ones with a little pain. And that's exactly what I learned from this lesson.

How I Recommend Most People Run a Funnel

Start a launch with a lead magnet that builds and qualifies your audience. You move people through into your launch mechanism from the lead magnet. Here, my launch mechanism was a video series. I found that 85% of the people who opted into the lead magnet did not opt into the video series, which was fascinating to me. This is something I didn't realize until I did the launch debrief. I have talked about launch debriefs before, but the importance of actually sitting and watching the numbers cannot be overstated. I wouldn’t have seen this mistake if I had not looked back and didn’t dig into it.

How Did I Figure Out That I Lost 51k?

I didn't actually have $51,000 in my hands. It's not like I made it, and then I spent it on something bad or lost it. This is the potential income I lost because of this mistake. If everyone made it into the free lead magnet and made it through the video series, I would’ve had 1,742 leads for that instead of just 642. So I had 13,042 people who opted in to the lead magnet and only 242 of those people made it into the video series. That's crazy! That 15% of the people who opted into the lead magnet made it into the video series.

I also ran ads for the video series. And I got another 400 people who opted in from the ads, of which 400 plus 1,342 equals 1,742. And that's how I figured out that number. And like I mentioned, that video series converted at a rate of 4.66%, which is fairly average, when I factored in those 1,300 people was when I got that lower 1.9% conversion rate. So if I had the same conversion rate of 4.66%, with the video series, and 100, or 1,742, leads going into it instead of just 642, the result would’ve been 104 sales, rather than just 32 of that offer. And that loss of 72 potential sales equals 51k.

Linear Messaging

I had a free lead magnet that was all about running challenge launches. My video series was all about standing out as a CEO. In my brain, they worked together really well, because challenge launches were a part of the framework that I was teaching in the standout CEO. That part made sense in my mind. But for the observer, they would opt into something that teaches them about challenge launches, and then something that talks about standing out as a CEO. And that did not create a linear path. 

The mistake that I made was that my messaging between the lead magnet which initially attracted people, and the video series, which is where I took them after that did not have a straight line. It should flow easily from one piece to the next down your funnel. If it doesn't, like mine didn't, it's like having a water slide where the pieces don't quite connect. 

North Star Concept

Your content and messaging should all point toward a North Star. That means creating linear messaging that moves people effortlessly through from start to finish so that people make it all the way through. 

Having your Signature

Your messaging must all lead to your signature solution. If you don't have a signature solution. If you're still a short order course creator creating whatever your audience wants. This is probably why your messaging falls flat. By having a signature solution and signature method in moving people toward that thing, it becomes your North Star. It becomes your guide when creating everything. From creating your freebies to creating your launch mechanism, or creating your content. All of it leads to that one thing and that is - all roads connect to the signature solution and you will become known for it.

Takeaway

Think about these, and ask yourself:

  • Is my messaging from top to bottom linear?
  • Is it clear?
  • Do all roads lead to my signature offer?
  • Do all roads lead to my methodology?

If they don't, it's probably time to think about what you are known for and what you want to be known for. By creating that signature method, by having that North Star, and by creating messaging that leads people from each piece down a very simple road or a water slide. That's how you create consistency. That's how you create results. That's how you scale your business. That is how you become a thought leader in your space.