Hi All,
I'll start off by saying I so appreciate the incredible value that so many of you deliver here on a daily basis as well as MJ's dedication to the Fastlane community. I am a long-time lurker firmly entrenched in the rat race at present time but fully aware of that fact that looking for a way to try to break free.
I am curious to get your thoughts around a concept I have been kicking around for a bit, shared below with the caveat that this does not seem to meet the CENTS criteria on its surface for a number of reasons. I share that because while I have kicked around ideas for years, I firmly decided it is time to step out of the realm of consumption/ideation and move towards creation/implementation. Even a small win for me or proof of concept that it's possible to make money outside of my 9-5 (while of course I intuitively know it is) would help provide the confidence and foundation for me to build upon to escape my golden handcuffs.
The Idea
The core idea would be to serve as a connector between local businesses and specific agencies/service providers that specialize in the particular identified needs of said businesses from a digital marketing standpoint (Google Ads, SEO, email marketing, etc.).
Step 1: Initially target contact information of businesses advertising in local publications or mailers given that you know they are already spending money to acquire customers.
Step 2: Optimize for higher open rates of cold email outreach by leading with some sort of value. Thought would be to create a sort of front-end PDF or document that offers "Top 10 Ways to Get More Customers" or "Free Tips to Optimize Your Ad Spend." Alternatively, could conduct a site audit and offer some unsolicited tips to help with conversion, etc. Goal here would be to trigger enough interest for them to want to learn more.
Step 3: Email would include call to action asking them to fill out a brief intake form with three to five questions (Ex. What are you currently struggling with in your marketing efforts? What is your current budget to explore solutions?) and book a call if they are interested in exploring further with a no-risk, no-pressure conversation conducted in a consultative manner.
Step 4: During discovery call, identify the core areas of need and see if there is a desire on the part of the prospect to invest in that area. Offer done with you, done for you, or done by you options at various price points. Collect initial setup fee and negotiate 3-6 month retainer OR set up a performance-based agreement against a defined key performance indicator.
Step 5: Outsource the work to a white-label partner who specializes in the area of need and use the fee to pay for services with a bit of premium built in as the agency. Before launch, the idea would be to have this network already established and vetted so you know you are staking your reputation to a reliable business partner without needing to be a jack of all trades and master of none.
The idea is admittedly a bit half-baked at the moment, but wanted to get this out of my head and in front of the community.
Pros
- J.R.
I'll start off by saying I so appreciate the incredible value that so many of you deliver here on a daily basis as well as MJ's dedication to the Fastlane community. I am a long-time lurker firmly entrenched in the rat race at present time but fully aware of that fact that looking for a way to try to break free.
I am curious to get your thoughts around a concept I have been kicking around for a bit, shared below with the caveat that this does not seem to meet the CENTS criteria on its surface for a number of reasons. I share that because while I have kicked around ideas for years, I firmly decided it is time to step out of the realm of consumption/ideation and move towards creation/implementation. Even a small win for me or proof of concept that it's possible to make money outside of my 9-5 (while of course I intuitively know it is) would help provide the confidence and foundation for me to build upon to escape my golden handcuffs.
The Idea
The core idea would be to serve as a connector between local businesses and specific agencies/service providers that specialize in the particular identified needs of said businesses from a digital marketing standpoint (Google Ads, SEO, email marketing, etc.).
Step 1: Initially target contact information of businesses advertising in local publications or mailers given that you know they are already spending money to acquire customers.
Step 2: Optimize for higher open rates of cold email outreach by leading with some sort of value. Thought would be to create a sort of front-end PDF or document that offers "Top 10 Ways to Get More Customers" or "Free Tips to Optimize Your Ad Spend." Alternatively, could conduct a site audit and offer some unsolicited tips to help with conversion, etc. Goal here would be to trigger enough interest for them to want to learn more.
Step 3: Email would include call to action asking them to fill out a brief intake form with three to five questions (Ex. What are you currently struggling with in your marketing efforts? What is your current budget to explore solutions?) and book a call if they are interested in exploring further with a no-risk, no-pressure conversation conducted in a consultative manner.
Step 4: During discovery call, identify the core areas of need and see if there is a desire on the part of the prospect to invest in that area. Offer done with you, done for you, or done by you options at various price points. Collect initial setup fee and negotiate 3-6 month retainer OR set up a performance-based agreement against a defined key performance indicator.
Step 5: Outsource the work to a white-label partner who specializes in the area of need and use the fee to pay for services with a bit of premium built in as the agency. Before launch, the idea would be to have this network already established and vetted so you know you are staking your reputation to a reliable business partner without needing to be a jack of all trades and master of none.
The idea is admittedly a bit half-baked at the moment, but wanted to get this out of my head and in front of the community.
Pros
- There is a "need" for businesses to want to acquire more customers, increase average order value, and improve their bottom line
- While barrier to entry seems relatively low, the ability to consistently deliver high quality results would eventually weed out the lower-quality competition
- Time would be spent more on customer acquisition from the agency standpoint rather than fulfillment (Though this could be a con as well, as noted below)
- Control: Maintaining the quality and reliability of network partners would be out of my control and dependent on their level of skill delivery, timeliness, follow up, communication, etc.
- Scale: The initial acquisition model is more of a shotgun approach than a laser approach, and thus without niching down or being very good at achieving "depth" over "breadth," it would be a constant struggle to refill the pipeline with qualified leads. Also the issue of margins if only a fee is being collected and the actual white label provider is doing all the work.
- J.R.
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