Welcome back to the ProfitSchool podcast Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Goals for 2025.

• Top of Funnel Focus: Mercer and Jeff outline plans to strengthen their marketing presence through YouTube channels, aiming for 20,000 subscribers for MeasureU and 5,000 for ProfitSchool.

• Product-Led Marketing: They emphasize creating marketing content directly from their products, ensuring authentic value delivery while maintaining high production standards.

• Brand Evolution: MeasureU will expand from pure analytics to broader marketing optimization, while ProfitSchool will build out its product catalog and coaching programs.

• Team Development: Moving from founder-focused to team-led operations, with staff taking ownership of content creation, coaching, and system improvements.

• Systems Refinement: Maintaining systems at 90% completion to allow continuous improvement, while encouraging team members to create and teach systems to others.

• Market Expansion: Plans to reach broader audiences by reframing their offerings - MeasureU focuses on marketing improvement through measurement, and ProfitSchool addresses growing freelancers and established team managers.

Welcome back to the ProfitSchool podcast Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is End of Year Recap.

• The Original Plan: Jeff and Mercer share their initial 2024 merger strategy: Q1 for internal combination, Q2 for public announcement, Q3 for ProfitSchool focus, and Q4 for expansion.

• Revenue Reality: Starting with an ambitious $1.8M target, they adjusted expectations to $1.1-1.2M as the year progressed, learning valuable lessons about realistic goal-setting.

• Quarter Progression: They outline the year's journey: Q1 (combination), Q2 (integration), Q3 (simplification), and Q4 (unlocking new opportunities).

• Brand Evolution: The creation of MeasureU emerged as a solution to managing multiple brands, bringing together their separate strengths under one unified vision.

• Key Learning: Supporting multiple brands and systems created unnecessary complexity; simplification led to better results and easier operations.

• Future Growth: The year's challenges and solutions created a stronger foundation for future growth, with streamlined systems and clearer direction for both brands.

Welcome back to the ProfitSchool podcast Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Handling Conflict - I to We.

• From I to We: Jeff and Mercer share how they transformed personal perspectives ("I") into collaborative solutions ("We"), using their experience of merging separate brands into one unified company.

• Understanding Different Views: They explain how conflict often stems from different but equally valid perspectives, like their contrasting approaches to using "I" versus "We" in business communications.

• Market Feedback: External customer feedback helped guide internal decisions, showing how market response can help constructively resolve internal conflicts.

• Conflict as Process: Rather than viewing conflict as negative, they present it as a natural process where two different viewpoints or forces meet, creating an opportunity for growth.

• Growth Through Discussion: The hosts share how their perspectives make each other's ideas "10-20% better" through constructive disagreement and resolution.

• Solutions Focus: Instead of trying to prove who's right, they recommend focusing on the situation and finding common ground to create new, better solutions.

Welcome back to the ProfitSchool podcast Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is How to Price Your Products.

• Supply and Demand: Mercer and Jeff explain how pricing isn't just about charging more - it's about understanding market dynamics and finding the right balance between supply, demand, and profitability.

• The Profit Formula: They share a practical approach to pricing: calculate your costs, double it for unexpected issues, then multiply by 3-4x to create the necessary margin for marketing, taxes, team bonuses, and business growth.

• Value Communication: Price is a conversation between your company and the market about value exchange. Success comes from helping clients understand and agree with the value you provide.

• Market Alignment: Different markets expect different price points - the same service might need to be priced 10x higher for enterprise clients versus small businesses, simply because of market expectations.

• Recurring vs. Project Pricing: The benefits of recurring revenue models over one-time project fees, including the ability to recover from initial setup costs and build long-term profitable relationships.

• Price Increase Strategy: The importance of graceful price increase communications, with real examples of both successful and unsuccessful attempts at raising prices with existing clients.

Welcome back to the ProfitSchool podcast Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Keeping Great Team Members.

• Beyond Happiness vs. Engagement: Jeff and Mercer discuss how managers shouldn't focus on making employees "happy" (which they can't control) but rather on creating an engaging environment where team members can thrive and grow naturally.

• The Growth Factor: The key insight is that people stay with companies as long as they learn and grow. Creating an environment of continuous growth and development is crucial for retention, more than just high compensation.

• The Abundance Mindset: Success in retaining talent comes from adopting an abundance mindset rather than a scarcity mentality. This includes investing in team members through training, coaching, and professional development opportunities.

• Building the Inner Circle: Bringing valuable team members into the decision-making process and teaching them to think strategically helps create lasting engagement and loyalty, especially in small businesses where individual contributions matter more.

• Recognition and Results: The importance of celebrating successes publicly while handling challenges privately, creating an environment where team members feel supported even when facing difficulties.

•  Investment in People: Mercer and Jeff believe investing in team members through education, bonuses, recognition, and growth opportunities is crucial for long-term retention, especially in smaller businesses where institutional knowledge is vital.

Welcome back to the ProfitSchool podcast Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Information vs. Transformation.

• Beyond Just Information: Mercer and Jeff explore how information alone has little inherent value - like a battery without a device to power it. True value comes from the transformation that information enables when properly activated and applied.

• The Sales Perspective: Rather than selling pure information (which is widely available and often free), successful businesses should focus on selling transformation - the practical application and results that come from implementing that information effectively.

• Small Steps, Big Changes: Using fitness analogies, they discuss how transformation isn't about dramatic overnight changes but rather small, manageable steps that build momentum. It's about making the journey less daunting and more achievable.

• Business Applications: Jeff and Mercer share real examples from their experience with ProfitSchool. They demonstrate how helping clients transform their businesses through systems and processes is more valuable than providing information about business growth.

• The Pendulum Effect: They introduce an interesting concept about helping clients find balance rather than swinging between extremes in business practices or personal development.

• Key Takeaway: The episode emphasizes that while information is abundant and often free, the real value lies in the frameworks, systems, and guidance that help people transform that information into practical results.

Welcome back to the ProfitSchool podcast Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Selling MOR Offers.

•  The essential difference between products and offers: even the most basic product (like ketchup!) can be transformed into a compelling offer with the right positioning and belief in its value. 

•  A game-changing insight emerges: Products rarely sell themselves - it's always about the offer. Even Apple's legendary success isn't just about their products; it's about how they present them (remember "1000 songs in your pocket" vs. competitors' "256 megabytes of storage"?).

• The MOR framework breaks down into three essential components:

• Make the offer (strategic level)

• Optimize the execution (tactical level)

• Review the results (management level)

• A crucial revelation: You don't need a perfect product to make an offer. In fact, sometimes the offer should come first! The key is having unwavering belief in your product's value and being able to communicate that enthusiasm authentically to your audience.

• The conversation culminates with an interesting observation:  "optimize" appears in all three of their frameworks (MOR, Measurement Marketing, and BOT), highlighting how continuous improvement and optimization are central to business success.

Welcome back to the ProfitSchool podcast Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Simple Ways to Effectively Delegate.

• The 5W Framework: Revolutionize your delegation approach with the Who, What, When, Why, and What to do After framework, ensuring crystal-clear communication and expectations.

• Mindset Shift: Adopt a high-value mindset by valuing your time at $5,000 an hour, empowering you to delegate tasks more effectively and focus on high-impact activities.

• Automation is Key: Embrace the power of automation in delegation, using tools like Zapier to handle repetitive tasks and free up your team's time for more strategic work.

• The C&C Rule: Implement the Capability, &, Capacity (C&C) rule to identify the perfect person or system for each task, ensuring optimal resource allocation.

• Growth Through Empowerment: Witness exponential business growth as effective delegation empowers your team, increases productivity, and allows you to focus on big-picture strategies. 

• Partnership Power: Leverage the wisdom of a partner or mentor to refine your delegation skills, gain fresh perspectives, and overcome challenges in your delegation journey.

Welcome back to the ProfitSchool podcast Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is AI Update - Where are we now?

• AI's Rapid Evolution: From chatbots to integrated business tools, AI has transformed from a novelty into an essential part of modern business operations, mirroring the early days of the app store revolution.

•  Seamless Integration: AI is now embedded in everyday tools like Microsoft Copilot and Google Suite, making it more accessible and practical for businesses of all sizes.

•  Supercharging Creativity: AI excels in brainstorming and content creation, allowing for multiple iterations and increased efficiency in marketing and product development.

• The Profit School Framework: AI fits perfectly into the tactical layer of business operations, automating grunt work while leaving strategic decisions to human expertise.

• Collapsing Time: AI's ability to rapidly create and test marketing assets has dramatically reduced campaign timelines, offering real-time insights and faster results.

• Future Outlook: While AI will continue to handle more tasks, human oversight remains crucial. The key to success lies in strategic planning and effective AI integration.

Welcome back to the ProfitSchool podcast Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is: How to Build a Better Brand.

• Branding is more than Just a Logo: Jeff initially viewed branding as "fluffy" and hard to measure, but he soon realized its vital role in marketing and culture. He and Chris Mercer emphasize that branding is often overlooked in direct-response marketing but is critical for building long-term trust and credibility.

• Psychological Shortcuts to Credibility: Branding isn't just about awareness; it's about creating psychological shortcuts that associate your brand with trust and credibility. The hosts introduce the positioning concept, highlighting how brands like Crest and Colgate evoke specific emotional responses that ease the customer’s journey toward a sale.

• Consistency as the Backbone of Branding: Consistency is the cornerstone of a successful brand, fostering awareness and trust. Mercer and Jeff stress the importance of presenting a unified identity across your products and messaging, sharing an example of consolidating multiple brands into "Measure U" to improve brand clarity and impact.

• The Power of Brand-Specific Language: Establishing brand-specific jargon or language strengthens a brand's identity. Jeff shares how their frameworks include memorable terms like "OPS" and “DOPE Systems”—demonstrating how unique language makes a brand more scalable and memorable.

• Market Perception Shapes Your Brand: The market ultimately controls how your brand is perceived, which is why continuous interaction and feedback are crucial. The hosts emphasize that branding isn't just a slogan or tagline—it's reflected in how your audience sees, trusts, and interacts with you.

• Living Your Unique Value Proposition: The episode concludes by challenging the standard use of “unique value propositions.” Jeff argues that instead of focusing on slogans, brands should embody their value in practice, using stories and real experiences to demonstrate genuine uniqueness and resonate with the audience.