Today, we're talking with Brad Martineau, Founder of Sixth Division. His company's mission is to help clients that utilize InfusionSoft implement more practical client journeys. Brad was the 6th employee at InfusionSoft when it was a half-a-million dollar company and was instrumental in helping them become a $15M/year company. InfusionSoft is automation software for lead generation and client management. Where Brad and Sixth Division come in is in helping clients successfully and effectively use InfusionSoft to capture those leads with the goal of turning them into permanent clients. Not only did his company personally break the 7-figure mark in just 9 months, but he's seen many of his clients do the same. Links "Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100Million in No Time Flat" by Michael Masterson http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Fire-Aim-Zero-Million/dp/0470182024 Infusion Soft-sales and marketing automation software www.infusionsoft.com GKIC and GKIC Info Summit-the place for small business owners and entrepreneurs https://gkic.com/infosummit/ Steps to Take Concentrate on ONE product or service. There is a tendency for entrepreneurs to want to spread themselves out over a wealth of client offerings because more options seems like an easier way to make sales. Don't. Pick ONE thing and do it really well-do it better than anyone else. Remember, too that if you want to reach that million or higher mark, you need to identify how to sell that one product profitably. 'Niche' Down At Least 3 Levels. Along with offering only one initial product, you need to target your audience and concentrate solely on serving them. You need to be really specific. Anything else is scattered and aimless. Brad's strategy was to target 1) InfusionSoft users 2) who had been using it for at least 6 months 3) that were in the financial bracket to purchase something in the $6K and above range. "Niches are where the riches are". Get In Front of People. The internet is great but you need to get in front of people. Brad and his business partner Dave identified their target market and then focused in on where to find those potential clients. You want to go where there are pools of people that fit your niche. Ideally, these would be actual events and conferences. Grab any stage time that you can. While you may find some buyers through traditional networking or by being a vendor, you need to put yourself forward as THE authority on your subject-you do that by taking any opportunity to get on stage in front of your audience. Hire For Where You Want To Be, Not Where You Are. If you hire based only on skill set for the tasks you need done today, you are not likely to find the right people. You need to find people who share the same mindset about where you want to go in the future. If your market is serving entrepreneurs, you need to make sure you have people on board who are dedicated to and understand the quick changes and active mindset of the entrepreneur. Now, to assess whether candidates fit into Sixth Division's vision, Brad and his team do a series of 'activity-based' hiring, not traditional interviews. Anyone can say anything-it's how they approach what needs done in your business that will indicate to you if they're the right long-term fit. 'Productize' Your Service Delivery. In many industries, when a business is offering a custom-type solution service, it creates a lot of problems with back-and-forth, delays on response times, running over project time and budget, etc. Instead, 'productize' your service into a 'package'. In other words, take all of the components of the service you're offering and bundle them into a specified time period with a specific name. For Sixth Division, this is their client's "Makeover" that is a consultation and strategy work-up. This forces you to recognize your costs 'in time' and manage your calendar. There is no option for projects to run over because you have now established a time period for the entire service to take place in. Brad's Parting Words of Wisdom He didn't spend a lot of time 'learning' by reading, webinars, etc., with the exception of one paragraph of one section of 'Ready, Fire, Aim'. While he loves learning, when you're trying to reach that first million, there needs to be a little less learning (you're going to the school of hard knocks anyway when opening a business!) and a lot more implementing. Dominate-don't dabble. Just get up and start doing it. One thing implemented is better than 1000 things read. .FOCUS- The best entrepreneurs make their business work. Where to Find Brad and Sixth Division Website: www.sixthdivision.com Twitter: @BradMartineau LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradmartineau Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iambardley?ref=br_rs