The June 2019 Growth Report: Relaunching Our Productized Funnel Service
(Watch, Read, or Download the Audio File Here)
This last year has been critical for AutoGrow and founder Matt Ackerson.
Since our last growth report 6 months ago, Matt has learned some crucial lessons that made him take the business in a new direction.
Recently, the company relaunched AutoGrow’s Done-For-You Sales Funnel Service. And so far, the company has even earned some cool testimonials in the first few weeks!
Checkout what a few clients have said in the 2-minute video below:
Pretty awesome, right? And so far, he has even earned some cool testimonials in the first 6 weeks! Checkout what some of Autogrows clients have to say:
"A key piece that people don’t realize is that every little decision you have to make along the way of setting up a funnel is a potential rabbit hole to get stuck in. Especially those of us cursed with perfectionist tendencies. And once you go down a rabbit hole chunks of time magically disappear. You guys are the rabbit hole prevention team." —Brian Maiolo, Hardnut Advertising
You’re hitting lots of the hot selling points…which is great.” —Tim Poure, SFC Solutions
But greater demand also means the need to grow the team, and set the pace for continued success.
As one of the team’s newest content contributors, I had the opportunity to sit down with Matt to pick his brain. We discussed things many entrepreneurs struggle with like setting realistic goals for the business, lessons learned, and how to deal with what can seem like an avalanche of work.
I even got his perspective on a classic comic book reboot.
So let’s dive into it and share some key insights from our conversation.
watch the complete interview click here, or listen on the go by downloading the audio of today’s video here..
Setting Achievable Goals And Realistic Expectations
Most entrepreneurs struggle to set realistic expectations when it comes to achieving goals and growth. Matt was one of them.
Fresh out the gate, it can be difficult to determine what's a realistic expectation. You have to see what your team is capable of at the top of your game. This is because there are too many factors that come into play.
My first two questions for Matt were:
- How do you feel about setting expectations when pivoting AutoGrow into a productized business for the second time?
- What factors do you consider when creating your growth plan?
For Matt, this meant taking his focus off of daily client tasks and relaunching his productized service and starting his Done-For-You funnel service. It meant looking into long term factors and goals, instead of just checking off the to-do list.
Compared to 2017 when he launched AutoGrow’s productized service for the first time, he really nailed it this time!
The Risk of Growing Too Fast Too Soon
Do you think all business owners would enjoy record-breaking revenue?
Not all of them!
Matt has a different point of view.
He let us know that there is such a thing as growing too fast, and it often leads to an unsustainable business model.
His first Done-For-You service launch back in 2017 left him with his hands more than full. Want a proof of it? He gained eleven new clients and over $20,000 in revenue in the first 60 days.
But Matt learned two important lessons after growing too fast
- The first one: it's more important to have a strong and sturdy foundation in place.
- The second one: hyper growth should come before shattering records.
This time, AutoGrow relaunched his revamped Done-For-You service with no marketing efforts.
Pretty cool, isn’t?
Instead, time and energy were focused on developing a team that can provide high-quality services.
“We set our first goal at bringing in three clients, then focusing on quality control before taking on more. This gave us time to do some quality check to make sure everyone in the team is giving their 100%. Also, to check that I'm doing everything I need to do with training and supporting them.”
Matt expressed that rapid growth is a quick way to allow the floor to fall out from under you. So, if you are growing your business too fast too soon, this may be a bad sign!
Well, not literally, but make sure you take seriously Matt’s lessons learned.
The Results
How is Matt keeping up with the growth of AutoGrow’s Done-For-You service? Well, the proof is in the pudding.
AutoGrow’s revenue has scaled from roughly $4,000 to just shy of $9,000 in one month.
A promising trend seems to be holding its water as July wraps up (keep an eye out for our next growth report)!
Matt also shared that he's enjoying his return to working with a team, compared to the previous 16 months where he was focused on building funnels for the company’s products. Leading the team comes with good brainstorming sessions and the ability to get more done, and faster, than Matt could accomplish on his own.
These factors come together to create new methods to enhance the quality of the work. Each step allows AutoGrow to deliver the best copy, landing page design, and results possible for clients.
Matt also discussed understanding the importance of practicing what he preaches, making sure he holds himself to the same standards he holds his team to.
Because for the company, quality always wins.
Matt ensures he's living up to the same expectations that he places on each member of the team.
To help keep up with work he described how he created his own productivity task system to optimize his schedule and get more done.
This DDOME task system (as he calls it) helps him visualize the status of all tasks he has pending, as well as the deadlines he needs to meet. It gives him a better idea of how to reach greater levels of productivity.
Here's what the template for the task system looks like.
The DDOME system gives you the ability to refer to your most productive times and analyze your expectations with each column. This can help you prioritize and better lead your own team.
Choosing The Right Team...And The Right Clients
Much of AutoGrow’s success can be credited to the ability the focus on the individual needs of clients.
Sometimes that even means dismissing clients if they are not a fit—before they sign-up. This is a move many startups are hesitant to make. Yet, for Autogrow, it's the beginning of the sales process.
For instance, if you are interested in AutoGrow’s Done-For-You service, you will order AutoGrow’s Funnel Strategy Blueprint. This includes two 1-on-1 consulting calls with a Funnel Strategist (at the moment, that’s Matt). The first intake call is to learn about the client’s business, answer their questions, and confirm if AutoGrow’s service is a fit for their needs.
"People need to look at the quality of the client, and the quality of the experience,” Matt said, “Because once you get those things right, it's a lot easier to scale. You can feel much more confident in the foundation knowing it's beneath their feet ".
This new chapter also means assembling the right team to handle all of Autogrow’s client needs.
Working with a team again gives a new opportunity for AutoGrow to better define the company’s culture. The teamwork is becoming better aligned with AutoGrow’s mission: to accelerate the creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit
Matt has been working with Belle (Project Manager) and Mariana (QA Expert) to upgrade AutoGrow’s hiring systems. The company has quickly become very thorough when looking for the right employees to hire. AutoGrow is constantly looking to hire more great people with the same core values as the company. And looking for the right people has helped create a space for creativity and enjoyment.
The result is not only creative energy that allows the team to thrive, but it’s also something that clients can feel as well.
Looking At the Business Through Fresh Eyes
The solutions discussed above come from the fact that Matt knew when to walk away. He knew when to step back from doing the service business for the first time in 2017, and when to come back to it.
This made him look at the product he was offering, and how to properly grow it, with a fresh pair of eyes. He then tailored it in a way that would better fit clients needs.
Matt has developed a powerful process to ensure AutoGrow, really gets its clients’ businesses. He knows exactly which sales funnel strategy will make each type of business grow.
All these he learned after spending years crafting his new masterpiece: “Productize & RELAX”. This is an ebook and audiobook he recently wrote about everything you need to know on how to productize your business.
It comes along with templates, phone scripts, checklists, and more and it well worth the investment for anyone serious about starting and scaling a productized service business!
Writing this book inspired him to start up AutoGrow’s service again, and to craft the perfect funnel system. The final result is a system that handles every detail of funnel building for their clients.
“The ebook and audiobook gave me the final inspiration. I decided to switch focus. Let me put my money where my mouth is and actually grow this business”.
The break allowed Matt to listen to the needs of each of his clients, and create the perfect full-service product.
Finding Balance, While Avoiding Burnout
Another area Matt talked about in the interview was growing while staying ahead of innovation.
He admitted that on some days he feels a bit overwhelmed by the mountain of work. But who wouldn’t?
There's an extensive amount of selling, coding, and systemizing throughout his daily process.
He is literally an expert on juggling different hats every day.
But once he reviews the stellar testimonials that the company is earning within the first month of relaunching AutoGrow’s Done-For-You service, he’s re-energized.
But his pursuit of success doesn’t end with satisfaction.
After years of crafting AutoGrow’s systems, Matt is focusing now on the future. His goal is to have a company with all his knowledge embedded into it. This will help him and the team to develop new products and better solutions for clients.
For now, he has been incorporating new tools, checklists, training platforms, techniques, and even an innovative piece of software that you will soon hear about (if you haven’t yet...).
AutoGrow’s Done-For-You service is attracting incredible clients that want to give their business everything they need but have their hands full with the mounting responsibilities that come with their role. This is the kind of spirit Matt loves to work with.
Finally, as a superhero fan, Matt revealed who would win in a fight between Spiderman and Batman. He shared with me a truth we all know yet very few want to admit… that Spider-Man would win in a fight against Batman.
That wraps up AutoGrow’s growth report for June 2019, so stay tuned by subscribing to our newsletter to see the bars grow even more the next month...
Now tell me something, have you ever shared your business’ growth report?
Is it motivating for you to see our company's growth?
Let me know in your comments below.
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