How to hit your six figure year – there are TWO halves you need to nail!
The truth about what it takes to hit six figures in your business
Listen here, read below or scroll down for the video.
When I talk about ‘hitting six figures’ in your business, there are always three camps of people. Which one are you?
Camp 1 – Has a dream of building their own business and six figures is the goal. Has only just started posting or turning up online, and might have sold a few programmes or made a few offers.
Camp 2 – Has made headway with sales, maybe £20k – £30k in the year, and wants to make the leap emotionally and strategically to hit six figures, perhaps so they can quit their job or commit more fully to their business.
Camp 3 – Has experienced some excellent sales months or launches (and knows six figures is within grasp), but hasn’t quite landed on the consistency in terms of revenue or turning up online.
With today’s post, there will be something for people in all camps. As always, let me ask you to find the ONE BIG INSIGHT that YOU can take forward and apply to bring you one step closer to that six figure year, whether it’s in your online business or using online marketing methods to make it happen.
So, when thinking about growing your business to a six figure year, you have to look at it from two angles. The first angle is the strategy you use and the second angle is you as a person.
When it comes to strategy, simplicity is best. You can hit six figures with one core product, one focal funnel and one key traffic source (like FacebookTM ads or InstagramTM). I hit multiple six figures with one course (The Online Course if you know it?) and one traffic source – FacebookTM ads.
When it comes to ‘you’, I’m referring to your capacity to hold a six figure year, which translates to: Can you deliver transformation at that level, can you put the structure in place to maintain it and are you ready to receive and hold that money energetically.
Watch the video here:
But first things first…
Do you really want to hit six figures in a year?
You won’t hit six figures by accident. Maybe, if you’re plodding along year after year doing your thing it will scale to that level through referrals and word of mouth. But that’s not why we’re here – to plod and see are we?
No, you have to set the intention to hit six figures in a 12 month period and be very serious about.
It’s happening. I am working towards it. I am becoming the person who can hold the result…Which might sound like this: “I am so excited to bring in £100k in sales this year. I will do it by selling X places of my Y offer at £Z price”.
You have to know what you’re selling, how many sales you need and you have to talk about it in the present tense like it’s coming to you, like it’s happening now. Because if it isn’t happening now, when it is going to happen? This isn’t just wishful thinking, this is about shifting yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually (yes, I went there) to say NOW, I am ready now and I’m doing the work TODAY.
In this sense, you’re opening yourself up for more business, more clients and more transformations now. You don’t hit £100k tomorrow or next year. You become the person today (now) who operates at that level and the sales follow, always.
Just like the gym analogy you’re probably sick of hearing by now…You can’t ask for a six pack and then work for it once it’s arrived. You have to become the person first. And that means going to the gym today. And eating properly when you get back from the gym (or on the way back haha, hello protein shake!). The second you make that shift (and actually go to the gym TODAY instead of just writing ‘I want a six pack’ as a goal), you’ve made the result possible, and very likely inevitable. The next step is just maintaining the shift.
Be the person, who does the thing and the results will come.
Strategic backbone that scales to six figures
Once you have decided and committed to this outcome 100%, you need to decide on the strategy that will get you there. With my clients I talk about the ‘strategic backbone of your business’.
When I work with people in Expansion Edge, I ask: How are you going to hit that figure, whether it’s £100k or £300k. Often I hear: “Well I have a suite of services. I have a 121 offer, I have a group coaching programme, and I’m thinking about running a membership”.
My response is always: “Got it. Now, if you had to ALL IN on one of those offers, the one you could commit to scaling to £100k (or £300k) on its own which would it be?”. Sometimes people know the answer right away. Sometimes they realise they don’t want to scale any of them! And sometimes they realise none are actually capable of scaling. And that is huge in itself because they know what they have to do next!
Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t continue selling the other offers or upsell something or cross sell something. It just means you’re picking an area of focus, the thing you’re going to lead with in your marketing and sales efforts.
If I lead with Expansion Edge, and it’s too far along for people who are just starting up, of course I’m going to tell them about Pre-Ex, my online start up school. Oh and look, I just did! It’s that easy. Lead with value. Pick your strategic backbone. And up sell, down sell, cross sell as you go. (More on the use of the word ‘sell’ below.)
So what is the strategic backbone of your six figure business? Can you pick THE ONE offer right now?
People can experience a weird mix of resistance and relief when I do this work with them. “Is that going to be enough?” on one hand, and “Oh wow yeah that would make it much easier to focus” on the other.
Remember, I’m not saying DON’T SELL the other things. I’m saying PICK AN AREA OF FOCUS so you can go all in and get momentum, traction, focus. It’s the BACKBONE of your scaling approach.
Finally, I want you to know that £100k in a year, or £8,333 in a month, isn’t actually that much money. It’s only three sales at £3,000. Or 16 sales at £500. When you commit and go all in on one core strategy you can keep trying, testing and tweaking until you get there.
Do you know what is hard? Being so distracted and overwhelmed by the idea of building and selling three or four different offers, building funnels for ‘em all and creating content for each audience segment that you don’t even know where to begin, so don’t! Why make it so hard? Stop thinking. Start building. Or, stop writing ‘I want a six pack’ and just go to the gym. It is that easy!
In this sense, we’re not even realllly talking about money. We’re talking about your ability to create £100k of transformation in people’s lives. So again, before you can even think about that money, you have to really focus on becoming the person who can handle and deliver that transformation.
Your six figure lead acquisition system
Something I’m telling my business clients right now is this…
Every day as a business you must answer two questions: (1) Where is my next customer coming from; and (2) How do I turn up and deliver on the promises I’ve already made?
The first question is about extending your network, meeting new people, finding ways to solve problems for more people, being the help someone else needs. The second question is about getting results for people who’ve paid you: turning up in your groups, anticipating your clients’ needs, continually evolving in your field to help clients get the transformation or outcome they want.
When I’m talking about ‘lead acquisition system’ I’m really asking: What is your plan for introducing yourself, your offer and the way you work to new people…every single day?
You might build a funnel and learn how to run ads. You might go all in on YouTube and focus on organic traffic. You might join several networking groups and build relationships in person. You might book onto stages, speak on people’s webinars or go all in as a podcast guest who adds huge value.
Video: Funnel marketing: 6 ways to get more sign ups to your email list
But notice, it’s not just about growing your reach and meeting new people. It’s about building a process people can use to get to know, like and trust you AND ‘test drive’ your offer…ideally without you being too present.
For example, you might decide to build an amazing audience by posting regular video content and promoting that longer form content using Reels (because they do so well on ‘reach’ right now). Then every few weeks, you run a live webinar or workshop to teach something and make an offer at the end. It really can be that simple.
People fall down because they’re obsessed with ‘posting’. Don’t be obsessed with posting. Be obsessed with introducing yourself to new people, leading with valuable content and inviting them to explore your offer when the time is right.
Video: But how much free content should I make…to sell online
Why I never think about ‘selling’
One more point on this. I rarely think “Ahh I need to sell this offer!”. Instead I think about who I’m going to help and I build the best frickin’ programmes in the market, packing them with the content and support my future clients will need to get the result.
I know there are people out there right now who are looking for exactly what I know, with exactly my level of energy / humour / cheekiness / strategy and support, (who don’t mind swearing because, well I’m bad for it!). Alllll I have to do is (1) Get it in front of them; and (2) Give them a chance to test drive it.
It’s why I’m so bold with my videos (reach!) and my paid workshops (test drive). I know what I know is in demand, that I can back up my approaches, and that I will go crazy trying to deliver a result for everyone who buys from me.
So with that approach, I don’t need to sell. I just need to give the right kind of people (potential customers) the chance to consider me and buy…if it feels right. You see?
Would you like to work with me?
And on that note, I wanted to make sure you knew the different ways you can work with me. There are four:
- If you’re just starting out in business and you’re new to online marketing or don’t yet have a working offer and funnel, PreEx (Pre-Expansion) is where you want to be looking. This will show you how to get to £100k using online marketing.
- If you’re already crushing it in business but you want to show up more consistently with much richer content, sit more deeply in your unique Thought Leadership and scale dramatically with people, systems and processes, you want to take a peek at Expansion Edge.
- If you’re in business and are looking for a 121 coach. Check out my one-to-one offer.
- And I haven’t announced this formally yet, but DARETOGROW / The Online Course is coming BACK for Cohort 14! This is the ULTIMATE course for uncovering your purpose, changing your life and finding happiness. This will be back in January 2022. And I am going ALL IN! You’ll be able to register your interest for this soon!
Now we’re still not done. (I’m thinking at this point that this write up would make an excellent long copy PDF opt in, don’t you think? Watch this re-appear in a few weeks haha.)
Stay with a brand, disappear without
You can certainly hit six figures with a funnel alone, or leaning on ads. People do it all the time. We use funnels and ads to scale in DTG. But what happens when you use funnels and ads to scale, and use content, value and presence to build a really deeply connected community who truly know, like and trust you. Watch out!!
Over the last few years, I’ve been rather obsessed with building a brand in DARETGROW. As a business we aim to stand for certain things. Here are some words I’d hope people would use when describing us: Motivational, honest, real, a kick up the butt in the best way, friendly, fun, chilled, actually helpful, generous, over delivers, brings wonderful people together, insightful, happy to recommend them.
Because we’re building this reputation in the market ‘as a team that will actually help good hearted people change their lives, launch their businesses and scale to multiple six figures’, we can launch multiple offers over the years and make sales. People know us, like us (we hope!) and trust us. We have a brand. When we put our logo on something, it means something. It tells you something about the quality you can expect, how it might be delivered, and how fun it will be to do.
It has taken years to build this brand and we are just getting started in truth! We’ve been experimenting, testing, practicing. And once again we’re preparing to scale up as a business.
I once heard it said that people need to want you to succeed for you to succeed and I like that. I often ask myself: Do my clients and the people in the DTG community want us to grow? And I feel certain the answer is yes.
We go first. We lead with value. We turn up. And in return, our community supports us, clients buy from us and things just keep getting better. (Looks to the sky and says thank you.)
But here’s the funny thing: Filming, editing and posting our free videos on social media doesn’t really lead to sales. Writing my book didn’t really lead to a new influx of enquiries. Posting on the gram doesn’t result in cash. But…when I launch a paid webinar, or bring out a new course or open up places to work with me one-to-one this is what I hear from the people who buy:
“Lisa I’ve been following you for years.”
“Yes, I read your book, twice!”
“Oh my goodness I’ve shared your content with my whole team!”
“I knew it was gonna be you.”
So really, all that wonderful content does lead to sales. But it leads to so much more than that. It leads to a deeper connection with people. It leads to trust. It builds…a family. There, I said it! Some of my clients have become really good bloody friends. A lot of my Expansion Edge clients are connected with me on WhatsApp and send me photos of them in the gym (being the person), doing the work, having a laugh in business. AND I LOVE IT and send photos right back haha.
When you’re building your brand and creating ‘free content’ don’t ask “How can I use this to sell”, but rather “How can I use this to help people, to demonstrate what we stand for, to build a deeper more meaningful connection with our community?”. Because all of this is rewarded with growth, when you then make an offer or open your doors.
Increase your capacity to hold transformation
An idea I want to finish with speaks to the core truth of ‘sales’ and making money. When people say “I want to grow my business and make more sales”, what they’re really saying is “I want to hold more people’s transformations” or “I want to help more people get what they want”.
In order for you to grow your business, you must focus on your capacity to hold the transformations of more people. Just pause and read this sentence again: In order for you to grow your business, you must focus on your capacity to hold the transformations of more people.
It’s the number two reason I am going so hard at the gym. I am preparing to scale…AKA I am preparing to help more people! Therefore, I have to be fitter, stronger, more balanced in myself. I’m not saying it’s the same for everyone. I’m saying I asked “What support do I need to make this jump?” and that was the answer for me.
Video: My journey back to the gym
[The number one reason I’m going to the gym is because it just feels ‘aligned’ for me to be fit and strong. And I really want a six pack haha! If you follow me on Instagram, you know!]
I also invested in a coach doing multi-million pound years. And a lot more besides. I am not worried about the outcome, I hardly think of it. I’ve set my goal to do a million in a year in DTG and I’ve asked: What does someone who has this outcome do? How to they behave? What do they believe? How do they show up in the world. And I am focusing on BECOMING THE PERSON, WHO DOES THE THING and inevitably, THE RESULT WILL COME. I’m telling you.
Do you see that?
So whatever your next level goal, you need to translate it into how many people you need to help, ensure you become the person who can deliver at that level and build the infrastructure that allows it to happen. Oh, and stop writing the goal over and over (I want a six pack) and start doing the thing (go to the gym).
What next?
Well of course I’m running another live webinar!
Want to know what people at six and multiple six figures do, how they behave and what they think about? I’m going to run a webinar on this EXACT topic. Click here to learn more and book your spot. It will be quite a small, intimate group (because this niche!) so you will have the chance to ask me your questions on the session too. It’s live!
