Just The Tips, with James P. Friel and Dean Holland

On this week's episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I are suffering from a bit of conference withdrawal after hanging out with each other at Funnel Hacking Live in Orlando, Florida. But we're shaking off the cold sweats to welcome my good friend Trey Lewellen back to the show as our first returning guest. Trey has made a huge name for himself as an e-commerce expert, and launched a fantastic podcast called Kommerce Kings. He also led a roundtable at Funnel Hacking Live, so the three of us run through our takeaways from the conference.

How to explode your e-business

One of the first things Trey talked about is his concept of the micro-niche. So let's say you just started working out, and you're interested in learning more about fitness, you're looking to buy some products to help you on your journey. You're in the fitness micro-niche. Now, if you're looking for recommendations for those products, you're going to ask someone who's been in that niche for a long time, who's tested and researched various products and can recommend one for you. Trey says that a key to success in any e-commerce venture is to identify those products that in-the-know people in the niche recommend and take them to the wider world. And Trey has a legitimately mind-blowing way to do this that you have to hear on this episode of Just the Tips.

Don't let it bleed

Trey told a story from his roundtable about a guy who was doing $10 million in sales a year, and he was making 5% of that. So he wanted to double that, so he could make twice as much as he was making. But Try suggested that he turn "180 degrees." Instead of looking ahead at how he was going to add business to make it to $20 million, he needed to look at where he was bleeding money. Anytime you can identify a way to save how your business is spending money, Trey calls those "saves." And he provides some really great, actionable examples on this week's episode of Just the Tips.

How to stop the bleed from returns

One of the biggest bleeds for any company is cancels or returns. Most of the time, it's out of your control. Someone wanted a product, but when it arrived, for whatever reason, it didn't live up to expectations. For a small operation, this can be difficult. But Trey has worked out an ingenious way to not only improve your customer service, but stave off the bleed from returns. Of course, you have to listen to this week's episode of Just the Tips to find out what it is.

A must-listen

This episode is so full of value for our listeners, it's like getting three hours of face-time with Trey distilled into less than 30 minutes. If you're looking for easy, sensible ways to grow your business or to stop money from leaking, you have to listen to this episode. Trey doesn't provide just the tips, he drops a couple of atom bombs.

Outline of This Episode

• [3:22] Trey's takeaways from Funnel Hacking Live
• [5:40] Trey's number one tip
• [11:52] How Trey figured out this tip
• [18:30] Finding "saves"
• [23:15] How to handle cancels

Resources & People Mentioned

• Trey Lewellen
• Kommerce Kings

Music for "Just The Tips" is titled, "Happy Happy Game Show" by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Connect With James and Dean

James P. Friel:

• AutoPilot Entrepreneur Program: www.jamespfriel.com/autopilot
• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/autopilotentrepreneur
• Site: www.jamespfriel.com

Dean Holland:

• Blog: www.DeanHolland.com
• FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ
• Digital Business Entrepreneurs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DigitalBusinessEntrepreneurs/

On this week’s episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I are suffering from a bit of conference withdrawal after hanging out with each other at Funnel Hacking Live in Orlando, Florida. But we’re shaking off the cold sweats to welcome my good friend Trey Lewellen back to the show as our first returning guest. Trey has made a huge name for himself as an e-commerce expert, and launched a fantastic podcast called Kommerce Kings.

On today's episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I chat about his talk, "The Ultimate Funnel," and whether he'd be better off staring silently at the audience for 24 of his 27 minutes on stage, or if he should do his actual presentation. All joking aside, the talk should be dynamite, and it provides a great launchpad for our episode today, talking about what gets us up in the morning to do what we do. How do we locate the passion for our business and for our customers? If you've ever felt like you're in a rut, only working for the money and not for that something else, this is the episode for you.

How to rekindle your passion for your business

While many small business owners are often focused on getting the perfect funnel, the one thing that will put their sales through the roof, Dean talks about the need for multiple funnels. You need a funnel to get to your ideal customer, and then you need a funnel to get them to your product (and for that, you need to make the perfect offer). In talking about this, Dean opens up a bit about how 18 months ago the worst thing that could happen to him as a business owner happened—worse than making a bad investment, making a bad hire, you name it. He lost his passion for what he was doing. How did that impact him, and how did he get it back? Listen to this week's Just the Tips to find out.

Even success demands changing gears

It can be so hard to change gears when you're successful. Dean talks about a picture of himself from a couple years ago, curled up on the couch, looking so unhappy, and about how that was taken at a time when he was more financially successful than he'd ever been. And it's so hard to stop and say, "This isn't what I want. It's only bringing me money, not happiness." And then from there rebuild. As Dean says, it's a very strange feeling to be in a place where from the outside it looks like you have everything, but on the inside you feel like you have nothing. I asked him how long it took him to climb out of that hole, and he gave a surprising answer on this week's episode of Just the Tips.

There are unique people, but common problems

One of the things Dean talks about in today's episode of Just the Tips is the feeling of embarrassment, or isolation, when you're feeling unhappy with what you're doing, or you've lost the passion. As he says, he felt he couldn't tell other people because he thought they would think he's crazy. But once he opened up to a couple of mentors, they immediately recognized what he was going through, and were able to help him identify the issue and chart a new path. As I told him, there are no unique problems, just unique people. So you can find someone who's been through what you're going through, and that person will become invaluable to you on your journey.

Become okay with the absolute worst possible outcome

The title of this week's Just the Tips episode references a "dirty little secret" entrepreneurs harbor: A feeling of vulnerability, and then the dread that arises when that vulnerability manifests itself. But as Dean says on this week's episode, it was a friend of his who said, "Become okay with the absolute worst possible outcome." Understand what could happen, factor that into your work and your life, and that sense of dread will begin to dissipate. This week's episode is a lot more introspective than a lot of the business podcasts you'll hear out there, but I think it's an important one for people who may be reluctant to talk about the sorts of things Dean went through. If you're an entrepreneur struggling with this sort of issue, sincerely, reach out. If we can help you, we will.

Outline of This Episode

• [1:32] Should Dean intentionally choke
• [3:33] Dean loses the passion
• [12:07] The fear factor
• [16:20] Failure to move the posts
• [25:00] The need to share your story
• [30:05] Become okay with the absolute worst possible outcome
• [41:16] Why James turned down a dream job

Music for "Just The Tips" is titled, "Happy Happy Game Show" by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Connect With James and Dean

James P. Friel:

• AutoPilot Entrepreneur Program: www.jamespfriel.com/autopilot
• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/autopilotentrepreneur
• Site: www.jamespfriel.com

Dean Holland:

• Blog: www.DeanHolland.com
• FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ

Digital Business Entrepreneurs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DigitalBusinessEntrepreneurs/

On today’s episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I chat about his talk, “The Ultimate Funnel,” and whether he’d be better off staring silently at the audience for 24 of his 27 minutes on stage, or if he should do his actual presentation. All joking aside, the talk should be dynamite, and it provides a great launchpad for our episode today, talking about what gets us up in the morning to do what we do. How do we locate the passion for our business and for our customers?

When you think of fun and happiness, generally the three things that come to mind are family, maybe traveling, and of course, accounting. No? Just us? Well, on today's episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I welcome somebody who went from being an accountant to being sort of an entrepreneur whisperer, helping startup founders achieve their goals and, yes, happiness. She is the creator of Founder's Haven, which believes that "the driving force behind a startup's ability to succeed is in the founder's capacity to evolve, personally and professionally, while actively leading their company through its early stages of growth." What that means is ensuring there is joy alongside all of the hard work. If you've been feeling like the grind is just the grind these days, this episode is for you.

Compassion for the fraudsters

Molly told us about how she started out getting her degree in accounting, and actually took a very interesting left turn, conducting audits for casinos and other huge organizations around the world. And while she said the work was fascinating, it wasn't really what she wanted to do. She found herself fascinated with the people behind the audits, even finding compassion for the people who were committing fraud. And as she heard more and more stories about people starting businesses, and struggling at the outset, she found that was her calling: Helping entrepreneurs. But before we got into that, and because this is Just the Tips, of course we had to hear some good casino audit stories.

Get back to the "why"

After seeing so much fraud and corruption in her job as a forensic accountant, Molly decided she needed to do something that allowed her to use her empathy and compassion. As she says, often entrepreneurs lose sight of their own well being while pursuing the dream of their business. And often, when doing that, they lose sight of all of the reasons besides money that they love what they're doing. So what Molly does is go in and reconnect business owners with the "why" of what they're doing, set new expectations and new goals to align with why they're doing it, and take off in a new direction. If you've ever felt that you're caught up in the slog, you're going to want to hear this week's episode of Just the Tips.

Molly's framework for clearing your head

A lot of what Molly talks about in today's episode of Just the Tips jibes with what Dean and I have been saying this year: It's important to keep things focused and simple. She says she often talks with entrepreneurs who are scattered, losing their way, and one of the first things she suggests is: Turn off social media, turn off your phone, and just grab a pen and a piece of paper and write down everything going on in your head. Basically, do a brain dump of everything you've been thinking about or worrying about in your life and in your business. Do some meditation, and then identify what it is you need to focus on.

Reset your expectations

One of the things that Molly mentions that really resonated with me and that I think will hit home for a lot of our listeners, too: If you've been in your business a year or two years or even longer, you're different now. You're a different person maybe doing the same things. You need to stop and check in every once in a while and see if what you're doing is working, if it's working for you, and if it's still leading you where you want to go. Molly calls that "resetting your expectations," because as things change, so should your expectations. Molly was a really interesting guest with a unique, warm perspective that you don't often hear when talking business, and I think this episode of Just the Tips will really strike a chord with you.

Outline of This Episode

• [2:26] Molly's backstory
• [6:15] Casino stories
• [10:06] Hotel caper
• [14:36] How Molly helps entrepreneurs
• [19:29] Molly's framework
• [22:58] Resetting expectations

Music for "Just The Tips" is titled, "Happy Happy Game Show" by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Resources Mentioned

• Founder's Haven

Connect With James and Dean

James P. Friel:

• AutoPilot Entrepreneur Program: www.jamespfriel.com/autopilot
• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/autopilotentrepreneur
• Site: www.jamespfriel.com

Dean Holland:

• Blog: www.DeanHolland.com
• FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ
• Digital Business Entrepreneurs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DigitalBusinessEntrepreneurs/

When you think of fun and happiness, generally the three things that come to mind are family, maybe traveling, and of course, accounting. No? Just us? Well, on today’s episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I welcome somebody who went from being an accountant to being sort of an entrepreneur whisperer, helping startup founders achieve their goals and, yes, happiness.

On today's episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I welcome…nobody. We welcome nobody. Because on today's show, Dean and I are catching up with each other about what's happening in each other's businesses, where we've been and what we have coming up. We find that we actually have a lot in common in terms of what we're trying to achieve this year (in fairness, Dean copied me), we talk about what's coming up on the show, and I tell Dean about a Vegas experience to end all Vegas experiences. This is a fun one.

Optimism is a double-edged sword

We started off the show hearing from Dean about what's been happening in his business. He's talked about it a bit on the show before, but the last 14 months have been a time of enormous transition for Dean and his team. He's moved his office out of his home and into a beautiful new space, expanded his team and encountered numerous challenges and roadblocks along the way. Revenue was up, but as he said, he underestimated how tough the transition would be, how much it would cost, and how much he'd have to learn on the fly. And as he learned, optimism is a double-edged sword because it can push you to make big decisions, but it can also blind you from the repercussions.

The four-minute mile of presentations

On this week's episode of Just the Tips, I told Dean about a recent trip I made to Las Vegas with Russell Brunson from ClickFunnels. He had a massive presentation, something like 8,500 people in the audience with a $3,000 offer. I'm not going to tell you here what the results were, but watching the presentation was electrifying. As I told Dean, it was like watching someone crush a four-minute mile. If you're interested in funnels or just how to make an offer, you'll want to listen to this episode of Just the Tips. (And you'll really want to listen when we have Russell on the show coming up.)

Keep it simple, simply

One lesson I learned from that presentation, however, is how hard it is for people to visualize how something relates to them or their business. I talked to so many people who loved Russell's presentation and who ended up signing up, but the thing they always said was that they didn't see before how what Russell was speaking about related to their business. That's why it's so important to keep your offer simple. The more complicated your offer or your product, the more you have to explain it, and the more you're going to have to invest in marketing to explain it. Keep it simple, but don't be like Dean and make a complicated plan to simplify.

A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention

I read the quote in a book recently, and I can't stress enough how true that is. Everyone wants to pick up a new idea or a new project or is afraid of missing out on the latest trend or technology. All that does is make you lose focus, and if you don't have a direction, you're not going to get anywhere. Let go of the fear of missing out, the FOMO, and embrace focus and simplicity. Dean and I are both aboard the simplicity train this year, and we're really excited to see where it takes us. Stay tuned for more fun episodes like this one, and of course, with our awesome guests.

Outline of This Episode

• [2:30] Dean is the man of the hour
• [5:03] How the year is going for Dean
• [8:15] Optimism is a double-edged sword
• [14:15] James's trip to Vegas
• [18:39] Visualization problems
• [23:50] FOMO

Music for "Just The Tips" is titled, "Happy Happy Game Show" by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Connect With James and Dean

James P. Friel:

• AutoPilot Entrepreneur Program: www.jamespfriel.com/autopilot
• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/autopilotentrepreneur
• Site: www.jamespfriel.com

Dean Holland:

• Blog: www.DeanHolland.com
• FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ
• Digital Business Entrepreneurs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DigitalBusinessEntrepreneurs/

On today’s episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I welcome…nobody. We welcome nobody. Because on today’s show, Dean and I are catching up with each other about what’s happening in each other’s businesses, where we’ve been and what we have coming up. We find that we actually have a lot in common in terms of what we’re trying to achieve this year (in fairness, Dean copied me), we talk about what’s coming up on the show, and I tell Dean about a Vegas experience to end all Vegas experiences. This i

On today's episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I welcome a true entrepreneur, someone who has been building businesses literally since she was a kid. When she was just 5 or 6 years old, Sheri Fitts looked at the empty glass baby food jars that her younger brothers were feeding from and saw opportunity. She cleaned them out, put some rose petals and water in them, and began taking them around the neighborhood, selling rose-petal perfume. But that's just the beginning of Sheri's story. Now she's a sought-after speaker in the financial services industry, an expert in marketing financial services, and has twice been named one of the 100 top influencers in the retirement planning industry. This is someone who has been an entrepreneur her entire life, and the insight she shares on today's episode of Just the Tips will blow your mind.

Early adoption put Sheri ahead of the pack

Going from working in financial services to specializing in digital marketing seemed like quite a leap, so I asked Sheri how she got started down the path she's on now. And it turns out, thanks to her father's work as a computer programmer, she's always been an early adopter of technology. So early on, when she took on a marketing role, she taught herself PageMaker so she could excel at design. And she began email marketing before email marketing was even a term entrepreneurs used. It's that willingness to dive into what's coming next that has made Sheri so successful, and her company ShoeFitts Marketing, such a prominent player in financial services marketing.

Want to connect with your customers? Be vulnerable.

One of the biggest differentiators for any successful company is creating a great customer or client experience that connects with people in a genuine way. Sheri is the real deal when it comes to branding and customer experience, so I asked her what's working effectively right now to create that connection. And for Sheri, it really comes down to authenticity and vulnerability. The more "real" you are in your business life, the more people will feel that and connect with it. That's a tricky thing to do, of course, but Sheri provides a crystal clear, real-life example of a company that is doing just that, and is growing very quickly, and is just about to announce that's it's been purchased. If being authentic in a business setting has been a struggle for you, you have to listen to this week's Just the Tips.

Customer experience is as important as customer acquisition

This is a topic near and dear to Dean's heart. As he says in this episode, businesses spend so much time and money on new customer acquisition, but don't focus enough on the happiness (and retention) of current customers. As he says, customer acquisition can be the most costly part of any business, but if you're able to turn your current customers into lifelong fans just by doing something small, or going beyond what you promised, that becomes incredibly cost effective. As Sheri says, if you do a little bit of work after the sale, it can go a long way. She and Dean are on the same page with this one, and I do my best to disrupt the chemistry, but even I have to admit they're onto something.

Connect with your audience: Make them feel significant

As Tony Robbins says, the number one need people have is to feel significant. And as Sheri says on this week's episode of Just the Tips: "The people who understand there is no line between business and the personal are the ones who will be successful." This episode may be a bit of a lovefest between Sheri and Dean, who are of one mind when it comes to making a great customer experience, but it's also full of tips for how to create that experience. You won't want to miss it.

Outline of This Episode

• [2:35] Sheri's origin story
• [9:00] How can companies connect with their audience?
• [10:10] An example of a company being real
• [15:34] Keeping your current customers
• [18:35] Simple ways to improve the customer experience
• [24:43] No line between business and the personal

Resources Mentioned

• ShoeFitts.com

Music for "Just The Tips" is titled, "Happy Happy Game Show" by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Connect With James and Dean

James P. Friel:

• AutoPilot Entrepreneur Program: www.jamespfriel.com/autopilot
• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/autopilotentrepreneur
• Site: www.jamespfriel.com

Dean Holland:

• Blog: www.DeanHolland.com
• FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ
• Digital Business Entrepreneurs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DigitalBusinessEntrepreneurs/

On today’s episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I welcome a true entrepreneur, someone who has been building businesses literally since she was a kid. When she was just 5 or 6 years old, Sheri Fitts looked at the empty glass baby food jars that her younger brothers were feeding from and saw opportunity. She cleaned them out, put some rose petals and water in them, and began taking them around the neighborhood, selling rose-petal perfume.