Exclusive Download: Customer Case Study Creator™ – Just Answer The Questions In The Worksheet And The Case Study Writes Itself - http://bit.ly/2zgE1xp

--

Ever read about those outrageous “rider” demands that touring musicians demand from the concert promoter?

… Iggy Pop demands a Bob Hope impersonator.
… Mariah Carey insists on gallons of vitamin water to bathe her dogs in.
… Van Halen would refuse to take the stage if a brown M&M found its way into the candy jar.

Borderline insane right?

Well in this week’s video, I’m insisting that you be (almost) as “demanding” in what you look for in your first ten SaaS customers.

At this initial stage, most founders feel like they have ZERO leverage, and should be grateful to work with anyone willing to pay them.

But as I explain, not only is this mindset un-necessary, it’s flat out damaging and can throw you down a product roadmap rabbit hole that you and your team never climb out of.

At a high level, here are the 5 critical things to look for in your first 10 customers:

1. Early adopters
2. Pay you
3. Teach you
4. Repeatable process
5. Case study

Where I get the most resistance from coaching clients is number two.

Founders are SO reluctant to ask for large financial commitments in the early days. Especially from “lighthouse” customers that could provide a valuable case study or social proof.

I totally get it. But here’s the thing:

Without a financial commitment, your customer is far less likely to implement your solution,  provide feedback, or experience the results and outcomes your service can deliver.

In short — unless they pay, you’re more likely to waste their time and your team’s time with nothing to show for it.

Instead, insist on the financial commitment, and then work with them to achieve amazing outcomes which will yield those coveted case studies that can attract your next round of customers once you’re ready to scale.

Watch the full episode here, and then leave a comment letting me know of any additional “filters” you look for in your first group of customers.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Customer Case Study Creator™ – Just Answer The Questions In The Worksheet And The Case Study Writes Itself - http://bit.ly/2zgE1xp

Exclusive Resource: The Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2RKqR2i

--

I have a little secret.

A few years ago when I started coaching growth-minded SaaS founders on how to scale their companies, I created someone named ‘Software Scaling Sam”.

Sam was obsessed with growth, had achieved product/market fit, and was ready to take full ownership and responsibility in scaling beyond 10k MRR.

If you think that Sam sounds quite a bit like you, that’s because Sam is you.

Sam (or Samantha) is the customer avatar I’ve used to create all the content you’re seeing in this video series… as well as my high-level coaching program, SaaS Academy.

It’s what’s allowed me to tightly define and target the founders that would be MOST ready to benefit from my content and coaching.

It’s also just one single aspect of what makes a powerful ideal customer profile.  

In this week’s video, I cover the 6 core aspects you need to take into consideration when building out your most profitable (and probable) customer profile for your SaaS business.

At a high level, the 6 core aspects of your ideal customer profile are:

1. Firmographics
2. Demographic traits
3. Technographic tools
4. Psychographic drivers
5. Roles
6. Name your avatar

While the customer avatar (Software Scaling Sam, Marketing Mary, etc.) tends to get the most attention in marketing circles, I’ve found that identifying and leveraging psychographic drivers is the quickest way to make sure you’re working with customers who are set up to succeed.

I’ve often redefined “SaaS” as “success as a service”.

And with all things being equal, your customer’s ability (and willingness) to succeed through your product will largely come down to their mindset, belief system, and overall psychographic profile.

Taking an hour to more clearly define these aspects will make your marketing and sales process SO much smoother while reducing strain on your customer success team.

Give the full episode a watch here, and then let me know in the comments ONE new insight you have about your ideal customer — and how you plan to take action around it.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: The Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2RKqR2i

Exclusive Resource: Idea to Exit Mini-Course™ - Learn How To Build Product Without Spending Money & True Customer Validation - http://bit.ly/2F3w2J8

--

Want to know the quickest way to kill your company and team morale?

It’s super easy.

Invest tens of thousands of dollars and man hours in building your software, only to find out after the fact that your market couldn’t care less.

Done.

Now you can happily go back to whatever world you just left behind.

On the flipside, if you want to launch your startup the smart way by pre-selling your product BEFORE you build it…

…  I shot this new episode outlining the 4 steps I’ve used to successfully validate and pre-sell my product before ever writing a single line of code.

Even if you’re already familiar with methodologies such as the Lean Startup, I highly recommend giving this one a watch as there are some key distinctions that make your product even faster (and more profitable) to validate.

At a high level, the 4 steps for pre-selling your SaaS product are:

1. Define early adopters
2. Ask for advice
3. Validate pain and solution
4. MEVO (instead of MVP)

Whatever you do, pay special attention to MEVO.

Pretty much everyone in the startup world is familiar with the concept of “minimum viable product”.  

Unfortunately, there are few concepts more DANGEROUS to startup founders. When it comes down to it, an MVP still includes building “something” before you’ve fully validated it with early adopters.

As many only discover after the fact, this ‘building’ phase can spiral out of control and still leave you with an expensive piece of software that nobody wants.

Instead, I’d love for you to adopt the MEVO strategy which will allow you to collect capital upfront (while validating your offer) before you invest cash into building it.

Learn more about the MEVO in this week’s video, and then let me know of any tricks from the trenches that you’ve used to validate your own product.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Idea to Exit Mini-Course™ - Learn How To Build Product Without Spending Money & True Customer Validation - http://bit.ly/2F3w2J8

WATCH: The Integrated Life - Can entrepreneurship and family really co-exist? I believe it can: https://youtu.be/QQmR9eXbtBM

--

Six years ago, Renée and I were living in San Francisco.

I had just closed a round of funding for Clarity.fm while Renée had just co-founded a new marketing agency of her own.

Things were crazy. But they were about to get crazier ;-)

Turns out Renée was pregnant with our first son, Max… and it took a whole 3-months after Max was born for Noah to sneak into the picture.

Add it all up and our two boys are just 11-months apart.

Talk about a massive life change.

But through all the massive shifts, the ONE thing that became most important to me was to make sure, that even from such young ages, our kids would be primed for a life of continued growth.

This obsession led to a deep dive into all the latest research and findings from mindset specialists, performance coaches, sports psychologists, and parenting experts.

After six years of implementing, testing, and iterating within our own family, here are the five biggest keys we’ve discovered to raising growth-minded children.

While not a definitive ‘be all and end all”… the following five practices have proven to be tremendously powerful (and rewarding) in helping my boys grow up with a growth mindset:

1. Meditate
2. Teach a growth mindset
3. Encourage the effort
4. Recognize the journey
5. Make the words matter

One of the simplest but most powerful secrets for cultivating and sustaining a growth mindset is the art of recognizing the journey.

Credit goes to my good friend, performance coach, (and father of three,) Todd Herman.

Intense challenges and frequent setbacks are essentially a prerequisite for growth, and one of the best ways to build resilience and motivation is to frequently remind your kids to look back and appreciate how much ground they’ve already covered.

This is true whether they’re learning how to ride a bike for the first time — or building their first startup in your basement ;-)

One of the coolest “side effects” of implementing these practices with your kids, is that they have a residual effect on your own growth mindset.

Few things are more rewarding in life than growing alongside your family.

Watch the full episode to learn the four other practices that have become a core part of our day-to-day family life … and then leave a comment letting me know which ones you plan to integrate with your own kids.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

WATCH: The Integrated Life - Can entrepreneurship and family really co-exist? I believe it can: https://youtu.be/QQmR9eXbtBM

Exclusive Download: The Weekly Sync™ Format - Run Your Weekly Team Meetings Following This Structure Easy, Fast & Productive  - http://bit.ly/2yV6PKV

--

I’ve nerded out to over 1,000 business books.

Of course, there’s the *obvious* classics like Traction, Scaling Up, and Good to Great.

But there’s also this little-known, underground classic that I REFUSE to let any of my private coaching clients do without.

It’s so *under the radar* that at last count, it had a whopping total of 9 Amazon reviews (all of them 5 stars by the way…)

It’s called Extreme Revenue Growth by Victor Chang, and it’s pretty much required reading for any SaaS founder truly serious about their company’s growth.

If there’s one book you want to obsess over this month, I recommend this one takes up the prime real estate on your night table.

But for now, I wanted to share the 5 key components that can make the quickest impact on your company.

At a high level, the 5 key components of extreme revenue growth are:

1. Target a customer who’s aware of their problem
2. Promise your company makes
3. Distribution channels
4. Product that fulfills a promise
5. Sustainable competitive advantage

If you want to save yourself from years of unnecessary struggle, I suggest paying particular attention to #4.

You can have the best marketing in the world,  make the most attractive promises, and have the widest distribution channels and affiliate partners in the industry…

But if your product isn’t delivering on the big promise… you’re essentially digging your own digital grave.

But when done right, you’ll leverage what I call “viral word of mouth” or VWOM… which not only delights your customer base but creates an army of evangelists that create an amplification effect for your product.

If you don’t yet have “VWOM” working for you, you’ll want to pay special attention to how to create it.

It’s one of the single biggest factors in extreme growth — and what has allowed startups like BioTrust out of Austin to grow to over 100M+ in revenue in under 4 years.

Give the full episode a watch here and let me know in the comments which component of extreme revenue growth you’ll be focusing on in the coming weeks.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: The Weekly Sync™ Format - Run Your Weekly Team Meetings Following This Structure Easy, Fast & Productive  - http://bit.ly/2yV6PKV

Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ – Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - http://bit.ly/2CK2azt
 
--

Tell them what to do.

Check that’s been done.

Tell them what to do next.

Leadership 101 right there. A fine recipe if you want to run a mediocre company with eight or  ten B level players that constantly tap into your managerial bandwidth and cripple your capacity to achieve accelerated growth.

An outdated paradigm for any SaaS founder with more ambitious plans to scale.

For that SaaS founder, I offer a major upgrade from the “transactional leadership” approach.

One built on the ethos of empowering your team members to claim ownership over a shared vision, and remain in a ruthless, autonomous pursuit of its achievement.

The latter is called “transformational leadership” and I go into what it means and how to adopt its core principles in this week’s episode.

Upgrading to a transformational leadership model is a process I encourage EVERY founder in SaaS Academy to commit to.

While the shift requires some extra initial resources on your end (time, energy), if you commit to it, you’ll be at the helm of a more committed, self-directed, empowered, and fiercely loyal team in 6-8 months from now.

Well worth it :)

Here are the high-level steps to get you started:

1. Don’t tell them them what to do — instead, talk about outcomes you want to achieve.
2. Constantly track, measure, and report progress
3. Coach them to success

The third point will require the most discipline from you.

There will be times when it’ll feel easier to just “tell them what to do”… but by coaching them towards finding their own solutions, you’re in turn, coaching a more empowered, creative and resourceful team member — which in the long run, is a MUCH more valuable asset than someone who can simply take directions.

Watch the full episode for the deep dive, and then comment below letting me know ONE thing you plan on doing to adopt a more transformational leadership model.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ – Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - http://bit.ly/2CK2azt

Exclusive Download: The Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2E7ddVb

--

Chances are you’ve already done some work in defining your “customer avatar”.

At the very least, I feel good assuming you don’t think I’m talking about a blue space creature ;-)

But when it comes to defining and dialing in your B2B SaaS avatar…

… the rules are a bit different.

There are specific nuances that you absolutely want to pay attention to before scaling up your marketing. And since most ignore these nuances, this is usually the VERY first things I zero in on with new clients inside SaaS Academy.

Oftentimes, my recommendations feel counterintuitive and flat out painful. But the record-breaking months that stem from a hyper-focused avatar quickly soothes those wounds.

In this week’s video, I cover the 6 aspects of your perfect SaaS avatar that you need to get laser-focused on in order to start targeting your most profitable (and probable) customers.

At a high level, you’ll be defining your avatar based on:

1. Firmographics
2. Demographics
3. Technographics
4. Psychographics
5. Roles
6. Give them a name

Of the six, technographics tend to get the biggest blank stare.

If it’s new to you, don’t worry. I break down exactly what it means and how to leverage it to get a leg up on your competition in this week’s episode.

I’ll also show you a really unique way to use psychographics to accurately predict how likely a prospect is to buy. This tip alone can save you and your sales team dozens of hours on calls that are essentially DOA.

Give it a full watch here, and then let me know in the comments how you plan on optimizing your avatar.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: The Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2E7ddVb

Exclusive Download: Weekly Sync™ – Run Your Weekly Team Meetings Following This Structure Easy, Fast & Productive – http://bit.ly/2RdA8At

--

We’ve all suffered through it.

The end-of-year Zoom call where the fearless founder, likely fueled by a few craft beers, starts riffing off bold projections for the upcoming year.

“We’re gonna crush it”  

“We’re gonna change the game”

“2x… 5x… 10x”

You get the idea ;-)

I’m all for setting ambitious goals, and have crazy amounts of respect for any founder audacious enough to pursue them.

But ONLY if they’re backed by a robust forecasting and tracking/reporting system that helps bridge those “BHAG’s” into reality.

Without that, you’re blowing hot air and essentially giving your team an unrealistic (and unwinnable) game.

In this week’s episode, I cover the 7 aspects of a powerful forecasting system that helps you ground ambitious goals into the day-to-day reality of your startup… while keeping your team excited and motivated to hit them.

At a high level, your forecasting system will be made up of the following:  

1. Historical Data
2. Resources
3. Work Backwards
4. Set Targets
5. Review Monthly
6. Iterate Quarterly
7. Don’t Teach Your Team to Lose

The final point is arguably the biggest difference between companies that win and those that fizzle out. Any founder can step in front of a team and declare plans to “take over the world”.

But massive goals WITHOUT the proper forecasting system are a recipe for disaster.

Reckless enthusiasm will only take you and your team so far.

At some point, those missed projections will breed a losing culture and a collective eye-roll with every new initiative you dare set.

By all means, go big. But stay real.

And implement the forecasting system in this episode to coach a winning culture that actually follows through on their plans for world domination ;-)

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Weekly Sync™ – Run Your Weekly Team Meetings Following This Structure Easy, Fast & Productive – http://bit.ly/2RdA8At

Exclusive Resource: Future Living™ Framework – Play a Bigger Game and Enhance the Way You Communicate Your Vision to Everyone You Interact With - http://bit.ly/2OGwDEp

--

I still remember the sudden flood of texts and emails.

It was November 2013 and Google had just announced “Helpouts”.

My friends, advisors, and investors all thought it was the death knell to my company, Clarity.fm…  and thought it to be their duty to let me know.

Fresh off TWO successful exits, I was no stranger to competition and had become resilient in focusing on “me” while tuning out the noise.

But when a 100 billion dollar giant comes thumping into your backyard, you tighten up and take notice.

I had a choice.

I could wave the white flag (no thanks).

I could fight back with all I had (not my style)

Or I could lean into the 5 mindset shifts that I cover in this week’s episode.

At a high level, here are the 5 mindset shifts you need to make to deal with competition:

1. Work backward
2. Learn, don’t distract
3. You do you
4. Life supports those who support life
5. Attract what you put into the world

It took all 5 shifts to successfully overcome the Google threat.

But 2.5 years later after the announcement was made — Google abandoned the project and Clarity.fm, the undisputed leader in the space, was sold to startups.co

I didn’t “win” by outcompeting Google.

I won by “being 100% me” and staying true to my customer and their biggest needs.

And I invite you to do the same.

If you’re feeling the sting of competition, give this episode a watch, and then let me know in the comments what you plan to do to stay focused on you and your customer.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Future Living™ Framework – Play a Bigger Game and Enhance the Way You Communicate Your Vision to Everyone You Interact With - http://bit.ly/2OGwDEp

Exclusive Download: Perfect Week™ Worksheet – Quickly design the most productive week ever, while working less using block time - http://bit.ly/2zV361A

--

You can have the best product in the world.

The best plan in the world.

And the best team in the world.

But if *this* entrepreneurial beast rears its head in your life and business — you’ll still risk having the entire thing burn to the ground with little to no warning.

We’re talking about entrepreneurial burnout and overwhelm.

Two things that NEVER get spoken about or factored into that epic Zoom call with your team where you list out all your massive Q4 goals. Yet nothing stalls progress more than a founder (or entire team) who’s constantly running on fumes and flirting with elevated cortisol levels.

And since sidestepping burnout is SO fundamental to hitting your goals and growing your software company…

… I shot a new episode outlining the 4-Step process I personally use to get my team quickly back on track when things start to flatline.

At a high level, here’s what you’ll want to do at the FIRST sign of burnout (pro tip: don’t wait for your team members to admit they’re having trouble. Do this proactively):

1. Dump it
2. The Four D’s
3. Chunk it
4. Sequence

By dumping EVERYTHING on your list, you’ll immediately gain much needed perspective and mental/emotional distance from the stack of items. In short — you’ll empower yourself to get proactive instead of reactive.

From there, the Four D’s (which I go over in full detail in the episode)… will give you a clear action plan on how to handle each task.

You’ll watch your “to do” list shrink, get additional support/resources where needed, and feel an immediate sense of renewed excitement and energy around your MOST critical projects.

It’s not always sexy — but this is one of those ‘difference” makers that truly separate the Fortune 500’s from the footnotes ;-)

Watch the full episode here, and then drop me a comment letting me know what you plan to delegate next in your business.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Perfect Week™ Worksheet – Quickly design the most productive week ever, while working less using block time - http://bit.ly/2zV361A

Exclusive Download: Weekly Sync™ – Run Your Weekly Team Meetings Following This Structure Easy, Fast & Productive - http://bit.ly/2zVnsHW

--

“How’s your company doing?”

It’s a simple question.

Yet one that freezes so many SaaS founders in their tracks.

Why? They have no freakin’ clue how to answer it.

Do you mean churn?

Do you mean new leads?

Do you mean expansion revenue?

Without a clear scorecard, you don’t know what game you’re playing — and if you don’t know the game you’re playing, not only is it impossible to “win”, but you’ll burn out trying to play every game all at once.

Before I had a clear scorecard at Spheric Technologies, we were up to 16 employees and a million plus in revenue — yet I was a total wreck.

I was accountable for EVERYONE — double checking the most basic things like invoicing at 2 am… on top of my core role as CEO.

And it was all because I failed to implement a scorecard system, and delegate ownership to the right team members.

Simply put, unless you implement a Precision Scorecard™ in your company (and assign ownership to the right team members)… your growth will be severely stunted and you’ll be flirting nonstop with burnout.

In this week’s video, I give you the simplest (yet most powerful) scorecard that you can print out and implement as soon as your next team meeting.

At a high level, here are the 5 key ingredients of a killer scorecard:

1. Funnel Metrics
2. Weekly Measurement
3. Net New Numbers
4. Targets and Actuals
5. Assign Ownership

If personal (or team) motivation has ever been an issue in your company, you’ll want to pay special attention to implementing #3 on the list.

By tracking net new numbers, you literally “engineer” motivation into your scorecard, and defend against complacency.

It’s a small step (literally a few clicks on a spreadsheet) that can make a massive impact over the weeks and months.

Check out the full episode here, and let me know in the comments what changes to your scorecard you plan to make in time for your next weekly meeting.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Weekly Sync™ – Run Your Weekly Team Meetings Following This Structure Easy, Fast & Productive - http://bit.ly/2zVnsHW

Exclusive Resource: Create Your Dream 100 List – Learn How to Identify The 100 People That Will Transform Your Life (Peers, Advisors & Mentors) - http://bit.ly/2y7oaR1

--

“Why would they ever give me the time of day?”

“How could I possibly add value to their life?”

“How could I reach out without feeling needy, desperate, or an intrusion on their day?”

These are just a few of the excuses founders make for not reaching out to the game-changing mentor or advisor that could dramatically accelerate the growth of their business.

Instead of the “who” — they play it safer by focusing on the “how”.

It’s far easier to order the top 10 books on company culture off of Amazon than it is to personally reach out to the CEO or founder REFERENCED as the main case study in all those books.

Learning the “how” is great.

It’s a necessary part of your growth and learning as a founder.

But it’s an incremental, highly linearized “long game”… and unless it’s supplemented with the sheer magic of having the right mentor at the right time… you’re essentially giving up the possibility of any kind of exponential, hyper-accelerated growth.

I experienced this first-hand at Flowtown, where my co-founder Ethan got invited to attend the Summit Series — a gathering of some of the world’s most elite entrepreneurs.

After some resistance, Ethan finally went — and the contacts he made from that event alone helped Flowtown hit cashflow break-even.

Later on, Mark Cuban, who also came out of that “network” ended up investing in my next company, Clarity.fm.

Needless to say, I’m a huge believer in growing your network of mentors and advisors (and it’s why I’m so adamant about getting my coaching clients inside SaaS Academy to dial in their Dream 100.

But as a quick primer, I recorded this episode to show you the 4 fundamental questions you should be asking before building your “reach out” strategy.

At a high level, it comes down to these 4 questions:

1. What are your goals?
2. Who’s done this before (ideally in your city)?
3. How can you add value to this person?
4. How can you spend more time with them?

As I mentioned, I get the most resistance with #3.

Founders, especially in their early stages, have so much doubt about how they can add value to people much further along in the entrepreneurial journey.

I promise you it’s possible.

And in today’s episode I share a few specific things that you can do immediately to kick-start that process.

Give it a watch, and then let me know in the comments WHO you plan to reach out to — and what value you plan to offer. I’ll reply back with my feedback.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Create Your Dream 100 List – Learn How to Identify The 100 People That Will Transform Your Life (Peers, Advisors & Mentors) - http://bit.ly/2y7oaR1

Exclusive Download: Trial Converter Campaign™ – Design You Messaging Protocols And Double Your Trial Conversions Within 3 Months - http://bit.ly/2OGzjlr

--

Back when I was growing Clarity.fm, we were getting a TON of organic traffic.

At its peak, we were clocking in at over 100K unique visitors/month.

Which on the surface sounds like a number worth fist-bumping over.

Problem was…

Barely any of those visitors were actually converting into free accounts or paid calls.

About 2% to be exact.

(I can’t believe I thought that was OK)

And it’s not like the leads were bad either.

Problem was, our conversion process was broken, and our homepage was acting as sign up repellant.

That’s when we dove deep and made a few tweaks that eventually brought up our visitor conversion rate to 20%.

In this week’s video, I share the 5 key strategies you need to start implementing to convert more visitors into trial users… and get better ROI on your inbound efforts.

At a glance, here are the six strategies your visitors are practically *begging* you to implement:

1. Know your customer
2. Trustworthy landing page
3. Offer live chat
4. Lead magnets
5. Mix up the content
6. Collect feedback

All five strategies are non-negotiable —  you must start implementing now!

And if you aren’t already doing so, collecting feedback gets an immediate bump up the priority list.

The way I see it is this — either you’re winning or you’re learning.

If you’re letting visitors bounce without getting at least some sort of hint as to the friction they’re experiencing…

… then not only are you NOT converting… but you’re robbing yourself of your BEST shot at climbing out of your conversion hole.

It’s one thing to leave money on the table.

It’s another to fail to cash it in for valuable insights.

Give the full episode a watch here, and then let me know what initiatives you’re currently working on to convert more visitors into trial signups (or demos).

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Trial Converter Campaign™ – Design You Messaging Protocols And Double Your Trial Conversions Within 3 Months - http://bit.ly/2OGzjlr

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Revenue Retention Cheatsheet™ - Stop The Bleeding & Scale Your Marketing With Confidence - http://bit.ly/2ThRH5V

Exclusive Download: The Weekly Sync™ – Run Your Weekly Team Meetings Following This Structure Easy, Fast & Productive

--

During Flowtown’s peak, I had TWELVE people reporting to me.

That was on top of my own workload that I was responsible for delivering on.

Talk about overwhelm.

I was literally inundating myself with reports/metrics/managers that didn’t necessarily serve the growth of the company.

Rule of thumb:

If you need your hands and toes to list all the people reporting to you, you’re doing it wrong.

When working with my clients inside SaaS Academy, I recommend that a founder has no more than 7 people reporting to them.

That’s it.

This helps prevent “metric shock’ while still giving you instant visibility on the metrics that are vital for your growth — and holding the right people accountable to generate those outcomes.

In this week’s video, I lay out the 6 Core Business functions you need to have someone reporting on — as well as the key metrics that they need to obsess over.

At a high level, the core functions you need to have someone reporting on are:

1. Product
2. Engineering
3. Marketing
4. Sales
5. Customer Service
6. Ops & Finance

Of course, these are broad categories with literally hundreds of metrics you can track for each.

But after 20 years of building, investing in, and advising SaaS companies, I believe there are only a handful of metrics that are absolutely critical for the growth of your company.

Watch this week’s video to make sure you have a pulse on them.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Trial Converter Campaign™ – Design You Messaging Protocols And Double Your Trial Conversions Within 3 Months

--

Nothing makes me facepalm harder than getting an email from a SaaS company with a subject line that says…

“Dan, your free trial is about to expire”

*grabs an ice pack for my aching forehead*

If you’re using email marketing as a notification tool (and not as a 24/7 salesperson who doesn’t take holidays or call in sick after a Black Mirror binge fest)…

… then you’re missing a huge opportunity to convert more trial users.

Worse… you’re asking your trial users to invest attention, while offering absolutely no value in return.

Not cool.

On the flipside, email automation can be the most effective and leveraged way to fix a lagging trial to paid rate.

If you’re not converting at least 10% of trial users, chances are you’re NOT sending the right emails — in the right order.

I shot this week’s episode to fix that.

Give it a watch to see the seven types of emails you absolutely NEED to be firing into your automation software to close more trial users.

In the episode, I go deep into the specific details of how to nail each one, but at a high level, the seven emails you’ll be sending are:

1. Welcome Email
2. Training
3. Case Study
4. Tips and Tricks
5. Offer to Help
6. Make an Offer
7. Celebrate or Learn

All of them are supercritical, and it’s hard to imagine a brag-worthy trial conversion rate unless you implement the whole stack…

But if I were to single one out, I urge you to make sure that you’re making an offer.

“Your trial is about to expire” is not a selling proposition that compels people to act…

… and if you’re using lazy “default-type” emails in your onboarding sequence, you’re gonna get “default-type” conversion numbers.

Give this video a watch to give your automated emails a massive upgrade, and then let me know in the comments if you’ve tested another type of email in your onboarding process that has proven successful.

Would love to learn ;)

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never Give a Boring Software Demo Again

--

A Mclaren F1 tops out at about 650 hp.

A “street legal” Camry screams its way to 200.

Both have engines. Both have 4 wheels. Both are technically “cars”.

So what accounts for the difference in velocity?

Simple:

The Mclaren F1 is engineered for speed. While the Camry is happy to just cruise along.

The same can be said about your B2B sales process.

Some software businesses are “engineered” to max out at 10 or 15k MRR…

… while others boast a speed velocity that allows them to scale 10x that – fast.

In this weeks’ video, I talk about the 5 steps that fuel your speed velocity — allowing you to close bigger deals, faster… and engineer record-breaking revenue numbers month after month.

At a high level, here’s how to engineer your way to a higher sales velocity:

1. Measure Sales Velocity
2. Increase Quality of Leads
3. Grow Your Deal Size
4. Decrease Your Sales Cycle
5. Know Your Numbers

Of course, it all starts with measuring your velocity. (Pearson’s law for the win) ;-)

If you don’t know it (no judging)…

…  I give you the quick and dirty formula in the video.

From there, you can start pulling the other 4 “levers” to predictably engineer a faster sales velocity, and blow past your previous MRR record.

Mclaren F1 or a Camry.

Your call ;-)

Watch the video and them drop me a comment letting me know what your sales velocity currently clocks in at, and what steps you plan to implement right away to close bigger deals faster.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: The Business Playbook Templates™ – A Collection of Procedures and Reference Documents to Run Your Business on Autopilot

--

If you’re feeling like you’re in a rut and spinning your wheels around your next “big move” inside your SaaS company…

I’m gonna make you a little promise, k?

If you watch this week’s video and follow through on the 3 questions… your company will look drastically different by this time next quarter.

Why am I so confident making that prediction?

Simple…

I believe in the power of the right question at the right time to bring instant clarity to your company’s next big move.

This has proven true in my own companies, as well as the companies of the founders I coach inside SaaS Academy.

If you haven’t joined me in SaaS Academy yet, consider this your best way to get some free Dan Coaching :-)

Combined, these questions will inspire powerful decisions in the areas of scaling and strategy…. and the team you rely on to execute it.  

I encourage you to watch the full episode, but at a high level, the 3 questions are built around:

1. The 10-Fold Test (Scale)
2. The New Owner Question (Strategy)
3. The Hireback Question (People)

The third question might come as a punch to the gut if you’ve been feeling like things just aren’t syncing up with some of your team members.

Hopefully, it will give you the clarity and confidence to make a big decision today that will move you and your company towards your goals faster…

… and with far less speed bumps along the way.

Watch the full episode here… and then share your answer to ANY of the three questions in the comments below.

Look forward to seeing what comes out of it :-)

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Revenue Expansion Maximizer™

Watch:
How To Evaluate The Right Pricing Model For Your Software Startup 
Value Based Pricing: How To Use a Pricing Axis To Grow Your SaaS Company's Revenue 

--

When I was 25 and building my first company, Spheric, I closed an enterprise level deal with Procter & Gamble.

Not only was it an “arrival point” for my company…

But in the negotiations, I actually got P&G to fund an entire slate of new integrations and features, while we retained the IP.

Pretty cool, right?

Thing is, none of that would’ve been possible had I made the mistake that most founders make…

Sharing pricing on their website.

In this week’s video, I dive into the 5 reasons why you’ll want to consider hiding your pricing … and how you can leverage that position to close bigger deals while having the flexibility to serve your customers in a more impactful way.

At a high level, here are the 5 reasons you’ll want to hide your pricing:

1. Complex Deals
2. Discounting Difficulties
3. Big Different Than Small
4. Enterprises Just Want to Buy
5. Could Make You Look Cheap

At the end of the day, If it’s your goal to serve Fortune 500 companies and high-level enterprises, you NEED to retain the ability to structure deals appropriately.

Showing your pricing not only destroys all leverage right off the bat…

… but it can actually kill your credibility by making you look like a cheap, consumer-level solution.

Even worse… a potential game-changing client may sign up for a free trial (or lower tier) without you even having a chance to craft a better package and close a bigger deal.

Give this episode a quick watch, and then let me in the comments if you’re coming up against resistance to hiding your pricing.

I’ll reply back with my thoughts :)

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Watch: 
ADHD as a Superpower
How To Get To Sleep When Your Mind Is Racing

Resources:
Miracle Mornings: https://www.miraclemorning.com
Concentration Music App: www.focusatwill.com
Be Focused Timer: https://xwavesoft.com/be-focused-pro-for-iphone-ipad-mac-os-x.html

--

At 8 years old, I got diagnosed with ADHD.

I felt broken.

Burdened by a “brain’ that would surely screw me out of any type of meaningful contribution in the world.

Every day was a crapshoot.

Without knowing how I’d “show up” on any given day, setting goals (and pursuing them) felt like a fool’s game — and when I’d inevitably fail, it only supported my belief that I was messed up beyond repair.

Over the next decade, I spiraled into a deep depression…

… culminating in a tipping point where if I didn’t learn how to turn my “curse” into a superpower, it would literally kill me.

This week’s video is all about my “homemade” prescription for how I naturally turned ADHD into my superpower… and ultimately a catalyst for my legacy as an investor and entrepreneur.

While I don’t endorse a medication-free approach to ADHD, I encourage you to test any combination of these “ingredients” to see what moves the needle for you.

And of course… make sure to consult with your physician ;)

At a high-level, the 9 ingredients of my “natural” ADHD meds are:

1. Nutrition
2. Sweat Every Day
3. 8 Hours of Sleep
4. Morning Routines
5. 30 Minute Pomodoro Window
6. Energy Management
7. Music
8. Block Time
9. Build a Team

The first 8 can literally be implemented this week — and stack upon each other to exponentially increase your ability to focus, be productive, and move your mission forward with confidence.

Number 9 will take a bit more time, but I believe is where ADHD truly becomes a superpower.

When you literally can’t will yourself to focus on certain tasks, it works as a forcing function to get support and leverage other people’s skills faster than you otherwise would’ve.

Whether you’re looking to get off ADHD meds… or simply have a mission that your brain feels incapable of keeping up with, it’s my hope that these 9 steps help serve you in an incredible, life-changing way.

Give it a watch here.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Weekly Sync™

Did you know that there’s a multibillion dollar industry dedicated to doomsday prepping?

Even crazier…

Reid Hoffman was quoted in the New Yorker, estimating that about 50% of Silicon Valley billionaires have acquired some level of “apocalypse insurance”.

Now whether you buy into that idea or not, there is a type of doomsday in the software world you absolutely NEED to be prepared for.

It’s this:

What would happen to your product (and company) if your developer disappeared overnight?

Or put more bleakly, would your company pass the “bus” test?

Meaning… if your entire dev team got hit by a bus tomorrow, would you have the systems, processes, documentation, and contingency plans to keep on ticking?

Or would the doomsday clock hit midnight on your entire SaaS company?

Putting too much power into the hands of a single developer (or even an entire dev team) is a dangerous place to be.

Especially for a non-technical founder.

And unless you’ve taken clear steps to “prep” for that possibility, you’re essentially letting a small handful of people hold your entire company hostage.

… if they jump ship to another company

… if they run into an illness or life crisis of any kind

… if they win the lotto max

You’re done.

This is me going on record to say that 100% of SaaS companies need some form of development apocalypse insurance.

And I recorded this week’s video to show you the 6 steps I take to safeguard the companies I advise.

At a high level, the 6 step “prepper’s guide” comes down to:

1. Cloudbase Repository
2. Centralized Access Control
3. Documentation Reviews
4. Pay for Code Reviews
5. Succession Planning
6. Continuous Integration

It’s not sexy — and will take some upfront time and cash investment…

But won’t you feel SO much more confident building your product knowing that nothing short of an actual apocalypse can shut you down?

I think so. I bet your team and investors will as well ;)

Give the video a watch, and then let me know in the comments what you plan on implementing to safeguard one of your company’s most important assets.

Here’s that episode link one more time.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Revenue Expansion Maximizer™

Nightmare scenario:

You just spent 30 mins delivering an amazing product demo.

The guy on the other end of the Zoom call is all hot and bothered.

Loves your solution. Sees the value. Wants it yesterday.

So you go in for the close…

Only to find out that the person you just cancelled lunch plans for doesn’t have the budget or the authority to make the decision… and will have to “get back to you.”

Shoot me now.

Reality is, that scenario plays out all the time, and highlights the single most important criteria you need to look for when evaluating an enterprise SaaS sales person.

In a complex web of end users and decision makers… can your salesperson pull a Liam Neeson and hunt down the actual buyer?

Sure, it sucks if that opening scenario happens to you every now and then…

But when it happens to that enterprise sales person you just hired on a six figure base salary…

Well, that’s just downright crippling.

In this week’s video I breakdown the 6 key steps for evaluating one of your company’s most important early hires.

At a high level, here’s what you’re looking for to make sure you get a massive ROI on your enterprise SaaS sales person:

1. Navigating decision hierarchies in large organizations
2. Finding the buyer ASAP
3. Articulating your value prop
4. Handling objections
5. Can they position you?
6. Knowing how to deal with IT

I also share a really cool technique inspired by Chet Holmes (Ultimate Sales Machine) for testing whether or not your potential new hire will crack under objections.

It’s a super effective filtering mechanism for weeding out potential hires before they bloat your overhead and blow the sale.

Give it a watch now and let me know in the comments if you a) currently have a sales person on payroll and b) what criteria/evaluation process has worked well for you.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Rocket Demo Builder™

If nobody’s pushing back on your pricing…

That’s a problem.

You might be thinking:

“But Dan.. isn’t it a good thing that everyone’s saying YES to my price without resistance? Why would I want to rock that boat?”

Simply put:  

Without pushback, you’re leaving profits on the table and making your team complacent.

Two things that you literally can’t afford to be doing in the early days of growing your SaaS company.

If hearing this adds even more anxiety to your pricing decisions, let’s take a deep breath.

I’ve got you covered.

In this week’s video, I break down the 3-Step formula for nailing down the PERFECT pricing level that maximizes your profits, keeps customers happy, and creates a forcing function for you and your team to focus on creating massive value.

1. 10x value
2. 5% more
3. 20% pushback

The 3 steps all build on top of each other to produce the coveted 10-5-20 rule.

But if there’s ONE thing you pull from this week’s video to start adding immediate profits, it’s this:

For the next 10 customers you talk to, raise the price of your software by 5%.

And then please… whatever you do… play it cool when they say “yes”.

Don’t kill the vibe by acting surprised ;)

The key here is to test the upper limit that your market’s willing to pay for your solution. And then keep testing until you find that line of resistance.

Might make you sweaty palmed at first. But do what you can to stick it out.

You owe it to your team, your product, and your bottom line.

Give the full video a watch and then let me know how your next prospect responds to that 5% increase.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Customer Experience Planner™

Imagine taking the stage for the opening keynote of your own customer conference.

Hundreds (or even thousands) of your users in front of you.

Enjoying that super cool inflection point where you can literally see the community you’ve built right in front of your eyes…

And at the same time, unlock a hidden series of growth levers that your competitors (who shied away from the whole conference thing) will never have a chance to pull.

Pretty cool, right?

Here’s a short list of what a successful conference can do for your growth:  

— Higher engagement, deeper commitments, and raving fandom.

— Build and solidify community amongst your users (driving retention/slashing churn)

— Bump up your trial-to-paid conversions (through amazing case studies that close the deal)

Despite the crazy upside, most founders will never pull the trigger.

The time… the cost… the energy… all seem way too much.

But did you know that it’s possible for your event to actually turn a profit?

In this week’s video, I draw from conversations I’ve had with companies like Leadpages and Bucket.io to give you the 5 steps for running an amazing (and profitable) customer conference.

At a high level, here are the steps:

1. Upsell Tickets (Leadpages nailed this)
2. Customers Present (and you get the case studies)
3. Record all videos (and add’em to your nurture sequence — or sell them)
4. Present Awards (and show your users what’s possible)
5. Sell Sponsorships (so you can turn a profit and create future partners)

Pay special attention to that fourth step.

It’s one of those things that may seem a bit frivolous on the surface…

… but it’s actually a super ninja and highly sophisticated marketing strategy when you dig a little deeper.

If you’ve seen things like Clickfunnels’ “2 Comma Club”… that’s step #4 in action.

Running a customer conference may not currently be at the top of your 2018 goals list (or it might)…

… but I’d love it if you could give this video a quick watch and then drop me a comment letting me know a) if you can see yourself planning a conference and b) if not, what’s still stopping you?

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: The Weekly Sync™

If you run a small team of just 5 employees/co-founders…

Your weekly meetings are likely costing you well north of 50k/year.

Simple math…

… average hourly rate x number of people x 52

That’s how much you’re spending to run your weekly meeting.

If the most productive thing that comes out of it is a self-portrait of your front-end designer sketched in an intense bout of boredom…

… then these meetings are crushing your company.

And it’s not that hypothetical front-end designer’s fault.

It’s on you as the leader to design your meetings so that they’re highly focused and optimized for growth.

In this week’s video, I show you the 5 steps for maximizing the ROI on the 50k/year investment you didn’t even know you were making.

At a high level, here’s what a highly productive meeting comes down to:

1. Time to celebrate
2. Measure to manage
3. Focus on the few
4. The obstacle is the way  
5. Give it a score

While all of them are critical to maximizing your ROI… number 4  is the hallmark of every successful B2B SaaS company I know.

(shoutout to Ryan Holliday)

Essentially, if you use your meetings to address and pre-empt the biggest and scariest obstacles in your path to growth, you set the stage to come together and blast through them as a team.

Nothing unites a team faster while building a winning culture than overcoming challenges that your competitors would likely back down from.

Do that 52x/year and you have a recipe for some serious, compounded growth.

Give this episode a quick watch and then drop me a comment letting me know 1) how many team members you manage and 2) what you do to keep everyone dialed in and excited to grow.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

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