OK…I HAVE to say something about this.
Its been bugging me for a VERY long time
and frankly I don’t want to see another company
end up like the one I’m going to describe.
==============================
For *********.com, it wasn’t an overnight success…or failure.
Both the rise, plateau, and fall have come over a few years.
To be honest, I really like the people in this company! I’ve
watched them grow from a few people, to MORE, back down
to just a few, and at every turn I root for them.
But, I know eventually they’ll fail…
It’s sad because they’re great people and they offer
high quality products and services.
But they’re going to fail and it’s all to blame on ONE thing.
They’re wearing too many hats.
Many moons ago (ok 5 years) starting, managing, and GROWING
an internet business was simple. You COULD ‘do it all’! BUT,
as time has gone, on those that try to ‘do it all’ often plateau
or fail completely.
I’ve been in this business for 8 years. IÂ HAVEÂ a front row seat
to some of the biggest and brightest companies to see exactly
how they do it…and do it WELL!
The companies that grow, stay relevant, and are successful
have one main thing in common…
The owners/founders realized that they need to LET GO!
Right here I’m tempted to put a link to the Frozen song ‘Let it Go’,
but if you have kids, know kids, or have ears…that song may
send you right over the edge..so I’ll spare you 🙂
But it’s a hard decision to make for ANY entrepreneur to make!
This is a business they started from nothing, it’s their baby, it’s
their everything…and now when they truly can’t fix their plateau
or failure, they’re faced with a serious cross roads.
They either LET GO (and focus on what they’re TRULY great at) or try to do it themselves…and fail.
…it’s that simple.
Now mind you, not EVERYONE can make this decision. Let alone MAKE IT WELL!
It’s one thing to say ‘I need help’ and then hire a bunch of
morons. It’s another thing to seek out experts, pay for the best, and
DEMAND the best…THAT’S the real difference.
So take some time to analyze your business…and your PEOPLE!
Tech:Â are you happy with the look of your site? User friendly?
Customer service: are they closing and KEEPING customers?
(really that’s their ONLY JOB!! :))
Marketing: are you getting plenty of traffic?
Marketing: are your funnels converting?
Marketing: are you capturing and retargeting leads to convert into sales?
Did I drive home the importance of marketing?? 🙂
Hope it helps!
Brad
We have to learn how to acquire and deploy HUMAN capital…
Good article Brad, but I feel compelled to tweak what you said a little bit… Yes, most of us have seen many friends in this industry see their subscriber base fade away over the last two years, many have moved on to what they are good at to try to earn a living as you stated above.
BUT, there are TWO things successful companies can have in common, and I say can because it varies on the company/strategy.
1. They have a truly great product/service in the financial industry that actually makes money for its users.
OR
2. They have a truly great marketing team that constantly evolves their product and marketing to keep selling a sub-par product or service. Brutal truth is there is a TON of this business models out there and we all suffer from this in the long term. These cheese-balls selling junk & hype get their money up front, make their money, but in the end i makes its harder to sell in this market because the BS level is so high and ppl are very scared to buy financial services and products because of it.
3. The true winners are those with a product that truly teaches the user how to fish, and or makes them real money trading.
Those making a killing in this market are Master Cheese-balls tarnishing this industry, or it a company with a truly great product that spreads word of mouth and legit marketing tactics/claims.
Cheers Everyone!
Chris…100% correct! Quality is always important and it does seem like those companies that are ‘beating’ others in marketing are doing better. But you don’t know their refund rates, customer service issues, etc etc. So even though they might be big marketers, they’re SEVERELY lacking in other departments!
Very True… Good Points
Thanks again for sharing thoughts, feelings and info!