One of the challenges of success is that from the outside it can look easy. One of the problems with confidence is that we compare how we feel on the inside with how others look on the outside.
So, when one of my private clients asked a question about what goes on inside of our business, I thought I’d share our answers with you.
QUESTION: When you have an idea as a team, or when Rich has an idea, what’s the workflow for taking it from concept to offering and launch?
ANSWER: [Danielle] I’ll use our current Deep Dive program as an example, as it’s the first “new” offering we’ve had in a while!
[Rich] Danielle will tell most of this story. She is a founder member of my team and her title is “Miss Alignment.” You see, she’s a brand development expert, a marketing strategist, and a graphic designer, and as she explains:
When your words are in alignment with your images… And your words and images are in alignment with the experiences you create… Then people trust you. When people trust you, they become your clients and join your community. When they trust you a lot, they’ll stay with you for years. ????
In this case, the idea started with Rich. He knew he was going to Estonia, and thought it would be a great way to serve Europe/another area of the globe. And, wouldn’t it be cool if he could finance the trip by hosting an event while he was there?
[Rich] I am constantly experimenting and creating new ideas for ways to create value for our clients. Over the years, only a handful have become our signature programs. Some have run for just a short while. And some have never, ever seen the light of day.
We usually ask Rich to create an Impact Filter for any new projects. This helps us determine if it’s a “shiny object” or a detour worth taking.
[Rich] This was a tool I learned from Dan Sullivan. It’s a great way to prevent me (someone who has a bias for action) from overwhelming my team with a new idea to pursue every few weeks!
Once the Deep Dive was determined to be a project worth pursuing, Rich wrote up a first draft of the sales page copy and sent it to me.
I edited it and got to work creating the sales page and thank you page in WordPress.
We enlisted Sarah and Laura’s support in setting up the back-end systems in Infusionsoft — payment buttons, post-purchase email sequence, etc.
Wendy supported in getting the dates for the event and the follow-up calls on Rich’s calendar. She was also my liaison for the location information.
Right before we launched, we got the idea to add a second date — later in the year, and in LA.
You see, we wanted to test the concept of this type of offer. And it felt like we were using a LOT of variables: new offer, new location, and a very short enrollment window. If it failed, it would be really hard to tell WHY. So, we added a second date and location.
This seemed like a simple change… and in reality, it required a lot more work behind the scenes! The sales page copy needed a major overhaul (the first version had Estonia woven through it). And we needed another thank you page + even more setup on the backend.
I went back to Rich with a punch list, which included recording new videos for the sales page and thank you pages. I reworked the sales page copy and sent it to him for approval. Sarah and Laura worked their magic again in Infusionsoft. Wendy worked the calendar again.
Rich and I collaborated (and continue to collaborate) on the content strategy. He often writes the first draft and I edit/polish/punch up.
And, as the campaign goes on, we’re adding and creating more content into the lineup.
So, this particular launch involved 4 team members + Rich.
- Idea: Rich
- Copy/Content: Rich + Danielle
- Design/Development: Danielle
- Systems/Admin/Deployment of emails: Sarah + Laura
- Scheduling + Event Coordination: Wendy
[Rich] Over the years we’ve built a team of truly talented individuals. Our explicit mission is to free each of us to work more and more in our Zone of Genius. The more we do this, the more we fly – and the more fun we each have!
My own Zone of Genius is Coaching, Creating & Spending time with fascinating people. Danielle’s is Creativity & Building Alignment. Sarah’s is Creating a Roadmap for the business and identifying the people and resources we need to make everything recur with ease. Laura is our Client Concierge, whose genius is in making problems go away.
It’s amazing to me that I can do what I love – e.g. create a program called The Deep Dive, to provide something truly special to our community. And then our team will kick in to spend hundreds of hours behind the scenes building systems, troubleshooting and innovating in order to turn my ideas into reality.
At the beginning of this article, I wrote that “one of the challenges of success is that from the outside it can look easy.” I hope that you can see that while we do our best to make things effortless, that’s not the same as easy. Together, we are all constantly working really hard behind the scenes to serve our community and to make things appear “magical.”
I also wrote that “one of the problems with confidence is that we compare how we feel on the inside with how others look on the outside.”
People watching see what you do, they never really know how you feel…
Over the past few months, I’ve felt scared, frustrated, angry and lonely. I’ve fired a marketing consultant, who didn’t get us (that was an upsetting and expensive mistake). I’ve frustrated my team by creating too many ideas for them to implement at once. And I’ve even angered team members by proposing drastic changes at short notice.
As Patrick Lencioni once wrote:
Teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.
Love. Rich
P.S. There are only two ways to be coached by me for the rest of 2018. Apply for the final spot as my Coaching Apprentice, for the next 13 months. Or join me on The Deep Dive for 3 days of transformation.