Mistake #2:Nickel and diming
After dealing with time-sucking clients who constantly badgered me with question after question — “it’ll just take a second!” they said — I instituted very strict rules for contacting me. They had to honor X time, Y format, etc.
I essentially treated my early clients as criminals!
Who the hell wants to be treated like that?
So I was fascinated when I visited a luxury hotel in Thailand. The manager greeted me by name with 2 glasses of champagne for my guest and me.
(Hilariously, my guest was my brother. The manager greeted us, two guys who look basically the same, with “Welcome, Mr. and Mr. Sethi.” Does he think we’re a couple? Is this weird? Whatever! I’ll take that champagne!)
Why would a hotel give us champagne, I wondered? How do they measure it? Does it really make us come back and stay more frequently?
Then I realized, I was looking at this all wrong. Because this high-end hotel charges us premium rates, they can afford to give us outstanding, top-of-the-line service.
Because they target the right customers and charge top rates, they don’t have to nickel-and-dime us. In fact, they can provide an incredible experience—and we’re happy to pay.
In my early days, I was caught up in nickel-and-diming. Extra charge for this! Extra charge for that! I didn’t want clients to take advantage of me.
As I became an advanced consultant, I charged much more — hundreds per hour, then thousands per hour. And as I moved to serving clients who could afford to pay these rates, I could offer more services without nickel-and-diming.
You want to talk to me for a quick question? Sure, no charge. You want me to refer my bookkeeper or web designer? Not a problem, happy to help.
If you’re able to move up the value chain, you’ll find that the worries you had fade away. Better clients pay more, pester you less, and take your work seriously. Ironically, as I charged 100x what I used to charge, I got fewer inquiries about “Why did you charge me for that?”
And that’s the point: When you’re able to work with selective clients, they respect your time, you can over-deliver, and you’re paid handsomely for your services. Best of all, these clients exist and they want to pay you top rates — if you can position your services as a top-tier consultant.
Instead of dealing with bottom-barrel clients who negotiate fees, pay you late, and make you dread dealing with them, you can start working with premier clients — the ones who WANT your help, WANT to listen to your expertise, and WANT to pay on time.
Mistake #3: Staying tactical
I walked into a meeting with a
CEO who was considering hiring me. I’d prepared my Briefcase Technique and I was ready to wow them. So when he said, “How will you increase our revenues?” I had my answer ready.
The only problem was…within seconds, his eyes were glazed over. I’d lost his attention (and I lost the deal).
I made this mistake time and time again.
Only years later was I able to realize why. He wanted to know how I could help them increase their revenue. I answered with pointless tactical minutiae like, “It would really help you to add graphics to your emails!” and “Research shows that removing XYZ on your signup form will increase signups by 16%.”
So? How are those going to affect the bottom line? Those are tactical tips. For the price I wanted to charge, I had to offer STRATEGIES with a variety of tactics. Unfortunately, as I was moving up, I was “stuck” in a tactical mindset.
How many of us do this? Every day, we worry about responding to all our emails…we remind ourselves we “should” post on social media…we go to yet another networking event…we obsess over sending that email to a prospect…and on and on, spinning our wheels.
You want to know how this plays out?
Years ago, I hired a very talented guy to help me build my initial IWT systems. At first, he did a great job helping me launch two courses. I realized this could be a serious business, so I started thinking bigger. I began reading strategy books. I wanted to grow the business by 2x, 5x, even more — and it was very possible!
I told him my goals: I want X more customers and Y revenue. “Come to me with recommendations,” I told him. He said “Sure” and came back a couple weeks later.
Unfortunately, his recommendations were all tactical. He wanted me to change the copy in paragraph 2. Okay…that might help on a micro-level, but how would that help me drive a 25% increase in revenue?
As my business scaled, he wasn’t able to — he was stuck in tactical hell. After I told him he needed to scale with the business, he couldn’t. I had to let him go.
We all do this. You know how to get 1 or 2 clients. What’s next? Why are we still doing the same things we did a year ago? What got us here won’t get us to the next level.
We focus on the tactical parts of our own business — our email copy, our calendar, even our 3 clients — without thinking of the BIGGER PICTURE.
How are we going to grow? How are we going to build the right systems so we can handle more clients, do better work, charge more…and live a lifestyle we want?
While most of your competitors are focused on pointless tactical minutiae, the very best consultants understand how to pick 3-5 key drivers to relentlessly focus on…ignoring the rest while becoming world-class at the very few, critical strategies that actually matter.
They don’t do it by trying harder. (There are only so many hours in the day.)
They don’t do it by coming up with some blinding insight. (Successful businesses are steady, boring, and highly profitable.)
Here’s how they do it…