How One Business Went from Stuck to $10 Million Per Year in 4 Months

One of our portfolio companies went from being stuck to generating $10 million per year in just four months. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through the marketing and sales tactics we used so that you can apply these strategies to your business too.

Marketing Strategies

Webinar-Based Business

The company was running a webinar-based business, where ads directed potential customers to a video presentation by the founder. Here’s the starting state:

• Show Rate: 18% (goal was 25% or higher)
• Calls Booked per Webinar: 58

Improving the Show Rate

We made four key changes to improve the show rate:

1. Email Sequence: We introduced a nine-email sequence, simplifying the language and making it benefit-driven. We hit different angles such as pain, speed, and ease to drive motivation.
2. SMS Notifications: Added SMS notifications to communicate in more places and ways, considering that people like me are more responsive to texts than emails.
3. Behavior Response: Sent behind-the-scenes content to those who engaged with emails, showing more sophistication in marketing.
4. Voicemail Messages: Sent voicemail messages to cover multiple communication channels.

These changes increased the show rate from 18% to 24%, a 33% increase.

Booking More Calls

With an improved show rate, the next focus was to increase the number of calls booked. We made four changes:

1. Faster Intro: Scripted a faster introduction for the webinar, getting to the point quickly with a proof-promise-plan format.
2. Live Indicators: Emphasized that the webinar was live by mentioning the date, time, weather, and current events.
3. Takeaway Strategy: Clearly defined qualifications and added scarcity to create urgency.
4. Call-Outs for Bookings: Encouraged attendees to announce their bookings in the chat, creating social proof and urgency.

These changes resulted in a 77% increase in total booked calls, from 58 to 102.

Sales Strategies

Improving Close Rates

The sales process had a low close rate of 14%. We made four key changes:

1. Better Framing: Changed the introduction to set the right frame and expectations.
2. High-Level Discovery: Kept the discovery phase focused on high-level questions to avoid getting caught in the weeds.
3. Three-Pillar Pitch: Simplified the pitch to a three-pillar framework, avoiding overwhelming the prospect.
4. Execution: Ensured the team practiced regularly, tracked KPIs closely, and incentivized closers based on cash collected.

These changes resulted in a 35% close rate, more than doubling the previous rate.

Results

The combined marketing and sales improvements led to impressive results:

• Cost to Acquire a Customer: Decreased from $5,763 to $2,868
• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Improved from 1.62 to 3.96
• Monthly Revenue: Increased from $569,000 to $860,000
• Profit Margin: Reached 30.7%

Conclusion

By focusing on improving existing processes and executing effectively, the business achieved remarkable growth in a short period. Here are the key takeaways for your business:

1. Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing: Focus on what drives the most significant results.
2. Execution Over Plan: Prioritize excellent execution over having a perfect plan.
3. Measurement as Intervention: Measure the right metrics consistently to drive improvement.
4. Use What You’ve Got: Leverage existing resources and communicate perceived benefits, scarcity, and urgency effectively.

FAQs

How can I improve my webinar show rate?

Implement a comprehensive email sequence, add SMS notifications, use behavior response tactics, and send voicemail messages.

How can I increase the number of calls booked from my webinar?

Script a faster intro, emphasize live indicators, use takeaway strategies, and create social proof through call-outs.

How can I improve my sales close rates?

Set the right frame and expectations, keep discovery high-level, simplify the pitch, and ensure regular practice and tracking.

Why is execution more important than planning?

Excellent execution of a mediocre plan will outperform poor execution of a great plan. Focus on doing things well.

How can measurement drive improvement?

Consistently measuring and reporting on key metrics influences behavior and drives improvement.