740: What Business Leaders Are Really Talking About Behind Closed Doors

0:01Okay, I have been on this ruthless pursuit to purge any clothes that I'm not actually wearing. Like if I haven't reached for it in months, it's got to go. I am trying to be really intentional about what I bring into my closet right now, which means I am only buying pieces that I know I will actually wear and use. Revolve just gets it though. I'm literally wearing my brown Autry sneakers from there right now and my new suede purse. It fits my laptop in it. So it's basically a fancy shoulder bag that works for everything. I love finding pieces like that. Things that look good, but also work hard for my actual life.

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1:15So happy shopping. We were super vulnerable with numbers. Like what was your book deal? And how much do you pay this person on your team? And what is your conversion rate? What's your email list size? And how much are you charging for this? And what does this look like? There is something so powerful when we lose the taboo around numbers and sharing them. Hey, my name is Jenna Kutcher and I am obsessed with all things business, marketing numbers, and helping you to navigate both the messy and the magical seasons of this thing called life. I'm a small town mama who took a$300 camera, grew a successful photo biz, and now I work from home and run a seven figure online business.

1:52I teach you the tried and true secrets to building a career you adore. Shy away from the real talk? No way. Money, hardship, growth, loss, and marketing are all topics we discuss here. Think of this as your one-stop shop for happy hour with a gal pal mixed with business school. Pull up a seat, make sure you're cozy and get ready to be challenged and encouraged while you learn. This is the Gold Digger podcast. There's this famous quote by Madonna that says, you don't want to be the smartest person in the room. You want to be surrounded by other people who are going to say something that makes you think, oh my God, what an amazing idea.

2:26Why didn't I think of that? Now, recently I was thinking about this quote while I was on a plane to Charleston to attend a mastermind hosted by my friend, Stu McLaren. Now, Stu has invited me to this mastermind year after year. And with little ones, it's always been just a really sad no, because I want to be in a space with the people that he gathers. But this year I finally said yes. And I'm so thankful for his persistence because when he invited me, I was like, circle back in a month, circle back in a month. Let me see how I'm feeling. And when I finally decided, yes, I'm all in, I'm going, I just knew that I was going to be in a room surrounded by some of the most successful and innovative entrepreneurs.

3:08And I love being in spaces like this because it's just so inspiring. It makes you feel less alone. It leaves you feeling invigorated and excited about what you're doing. And I also love being around new people because it just brings in like this new energy. Like I feel like I come back from these trips, just feeling really excited about my business again. So one thing that was really interesting is that there were a few familiar faces in the room, but honestly, most of the people were brand new to me and that can be intimidating, but it can also be really inspiring. and I loved being in this space.

3:48And I know that for so many of you, you probably see pictures of behind the scenes and you see all these people gathered and some of your favorite leaders in a room and you're like, what are they talking about? And so today I am inviting you behind the scenes of what we learned, what we talked about, what we discussed, what we were inspired by in Charleston. Over the course of 48 hours, we chatted about basically everything from webinar strategies to how we're using our finances to give back to some of our favorite causes and a million things in between. I cannot wait to share with you some of the highlights of my time at this mastermind and how the strategies and trends that we discussed there can help your business grow in 2024.

4:30So without further ado, let's dive on into what business leaders are really talking about behind closed doors. Your sales software shouldn't be a bummer. When you step inside your CRM, you should feel equipped to do your best work. Like you're sitting in the pilot seat with easy to use, powerful controls. And that's the magic of HubSpot Sales Hub. The new sales hub is designed to help you win quarter over quarter and year over year. With an intuitive prospecting workspace and AI powered tools that reduce your workload, managing leads is a lot less like manual labor. And closing deals, it's no big deal at all.

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5:47And I was like, what are these? And what are people doing in them? And how do you get in them? What does this look like? And so I kind of wanted to set the stage for this specific mastermind. Masterminding basically means that you're just gathering with others to discuss, share ideas, collaborate, ask big questions, and really help one another grow. And so it's like this collective energy of like everyone is there serving what they can serve and then also being vulnerable in asking for what they need. And I've been a part of many different masterminds over the years. Some are formal, some are super informal, some are paid, some are unpaid.

6:23And so there can be a whole wide range of what it looks like. But one of the biggest things I've learned about masterminds over the years is that whoever is hosting it, you want to trust that the host is going to gather the right people in the room. I've been in some where it's not the right people in the room and you can just sense the energy is different. And so if you are considering joining a mastermind or forming a mastermind, think about how you are going to make sure that you get the right people in the room. And that is one of the most powerful things that you can focus on with the mastermind.

6:54And so Stu was the host of this mastermind. It was an unpaid mastermind. So it was invite only, but unpaid. So we all just paid our own way to get there. But once we were there, Stu took care of everything. And one thing that's super cool that I'll talk about in a little bit is that there's a bigger goal behind this mastermind and something that we achieved that was like incredible. And so Stu has a really cool way of hosting this and having an initiative behind it. And so what the mastermind was, is there was about 25 to 30 of us in a room. And we basically for two days straight, so basically from like 9am to 5pm, we were in this room, sharing ideas, teaching strategies, talking through issues, doing hot seats where someone would say, here's what I'm working on, or here's what I'm questioning, or here's what I need help with.

7:45And then we're collectively brainstorming and sharing ideas, resources, links, leads with one another. It's kind of that idea of a rising tide lifts all boats. And so how can we kind of raise up with one another? So one of the biggest themes that was spoken about behind closed doors was lead generation. So we were really talking about how are you getting people into your ecosystem so that you can get them results so that they have an awareness around what your offers are and so that you can serve them. And I love the topic of lead generation. One of the things that we really talked about and Bonnie Christine was someone in the room who I love, who I want to get on the podcast.

8:26But she always says like, if you want to double your profits, you need to double your list. And she's talking about your email list. And if you know me, you know, I am obsessed with email list building. My email list is the number one way that I drive profits in my business, which is the number one way that we drive results. And so we talked a lot about different lead generation strategies, meaning you're getting a new email list subscriber or a new lead onto your list. Now, if you do not have an email list yet, you need to go to growanemaillist.com. That's growanemaillist.com. Take my free training on this topic.

9:00You are going to understand why this is absolutely critical and something you have to do in this new year. And so, so much of the conversation was around lead generation. And it wasn't necessarily just about like, how do we get more leads? But it's, you know, going further of like, once you get a lead, what happens? And how are we tailoring our communication to their desires? How are we connecting them to resources that will help them get better results? What is that whole ecosystem and process looking like in your business? How can you optimize it? How can you streamline it? How can you simplify it?

9:32So So there was so much talk around lead generation. Now, one very interesting thing that was brought to the room as an idea was if there are a bunch of different people who have different offers, all growing their email lists, what would it look like if you could somehow share subscribers or refer to one another? What does that look like? So there were so many different people in the room who have different offers, but have very similar audiences. And so there was some interesting discussion around like, what would it look like if we made some sort of email list building pod where once we serve subscribers, we were then recommending other resources, resources that we were never going to create as creators.

10:15And so that was an interesting discussion, but there was this huge umbrella in the room of this discussion of how are we getting new leads? How are we nurturing these new leads? How are we getting these leads results? How are we building that awareness of what the next steps can be? And what does that look like? And how is that a focus as we move into this new year? And I just loved it because it really reinvigorated this like excitement around me of like, what does that experience look like? And how do we eliminate friction? How do we connect people faster to what they really want? And it really inspired me to go home and look at our current lead generation strategies and really look at how can we optimize and refine them.

10:56So a few different ways that we were talking about generating leads from different platforms without having to necessarily pay to play, meaning without having to invest a ton of money into paid ad strategies. We talked about using many chat for Instagram, which I'll talk about a little bit more in just a minute, using your podcast to include more call to actions that lead people to free resources that are valuable, requiring an email address for people to enter into your Facebook community. So if you're serving religiously a Facebook community, how can you collect that email address of a new person in that group?

11:32Optimizing your pop-up strategy on your website, looking at things like search engine optimization so that your resources are the top recommended resources when somebody types something into the Google search bar, and then also leveraging Pinterest to drive traffic and then capturing that traffic once it's landed onto a site. So lead generation was huge. Email list building was probably one of the number one focuses within that room. And again, if you have not grown an email list, go to grow an email list.com. Save your seat for my free training. It is going to open your eyes to what should be your number one priority in this year.

12:08The second topic that we talked about, and we were joking that it wasn't sexy, but we made it sexy was payment saving strategies. So one thing that was really interesting is that throughout the mastermind, we had a few people that would like get up and do more of a formal presentation. And then we had a lot of more organic shares going on. So it had this beautiful flow of like small breakout groups and then speaking with your neighbor and then asking a question to the group and then bigger brainstorm sessions and then formal presentations. And so Stu did a really good job facilitating just this different flow.

12:40And so one of the things that we talked about was payment saving strategies. So if you are in a business that has recurring payments, so maybe you have a membership site or you have an online course that has payment options, there is a good chance that there will be a percentage of people where their payments don't go through. And one of the things that we loved and that we talked about and Bonnie Christine led this little session here was she was talking about how a lot of times people default on their payments and it's not intentional. And so if businesses are not having a system in place for recovering those failed payments, they are not only doing a disservice to their top line revenue, but they're also doing a disservice to the people who didn't intentionally opt out.

13:24Now, of course, there are going to be failed payments by people who are intentionally removing themselves and saying, I don't want this service or this product any longer, but the majority of failed payments are unintentional. So maybe your credit card gets hacked or the expiration date hits and you miss it. And so one of the things that I loved is that we talked about how you can actually serve through saving your payments and what does that look like? And so one of the things that is really interesting is if you focus on this as a strategy to recover failed payments, but also look at it as a way to touch base with your clients, serve them, ask them questions, and then give them a really easy opportunity to follow through and change their payment plan, that can be a huge way that you serve people.

14:09One thing that was really interesting that Bonnie was talking about is she has a membership site. And so it's just this recurring payment for people. And one thing that she was noticing is that if people were defaulting or failing on their payments, she could actually offer a pause to them saying, Hey, if now is not the right time, or you're in a financial position where you're not able to follow through on this, would you like to pause for 30, 60, or 90 days and then resume payment? It was a way that she wasn't necessarily losing that client forever, but giving them this opportunity to pause and meet them where they are at.

14:44And I love this idea because I think a lot of times people approach payment saving as this all or nothing method, right? Like you either pay today or you lose access to everything. And so this was a really great way to serve her clients, to get more insight onto where they're actually at and to keep them as a customer and allow them to have that grace period, which they might need. And one thing I love that she led with is just, I always assume the best. And I think that when it comes to payment saving, a lot of times creators can get frustrated of like, Hey, you paid for this, like you opted in for this payment plan.

15:16You knew what you're signing up for. You need to follow through on this. And she just said, when you approach it and you always assume the best and you're gracious with it, it can be this beautiful connection point between you and a paying client. And so I love that we talked about this. We have been using payment saving strategies for years. We outsource them and it has been a beautiful way to collect and recover failed payments, but also to touch base with our clients. And so I love that this was just a focus and it was an interesting thing. And so if you are in a recurring business model or you have payment plans and you don't have a great payment recovery process, this could be an area where you could very easily increase your bottom line, serve your clients better, and create a very simple process around it that allows you to, again, change your numbers in a positive direction.

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17:15look i've become kind of a systems nerd and anything that gives me more space in my day i'm all in and a reliable connection is a huge part of that because when the internet lags or cuts out everything pauses and suddenly the simplest tasks take forever i learned really early on that dependable internet it's not a luxury it is a must whether you're a content creator like me a restaurant owner or running a busy dry cleaning business you need that steady connection to support your team and your clients. That's why I'm excited to share a solution for my fellow business owners. Spectrum Business keeps businesses of all types connected with internet, advanced Wi-Fi, phone, TV, and mobile services, all with connectivity solutions built for your budget.

17:57And they have a truly incredible offer. Business owners can get free business internet advantage forever when you add four or more mobile lines. It's simple with no contracts and no added fees. Visit spectrum.com forward slash free for life to learn how you can get business internet free forever. Restrictions apply. Services not available in all areas. Another thing that we talked about was webinars. I love webinars. I've been doing webinars for probably seven years. Webinars are not dead. They are alive and well. This year we had some of our highest converting webinars of all time. And so one of the trainings that we did that was really awesome, a guy named Ryan Levesque did a training on webinar strategies, and he was talking about the difference between having a paid webinar and a free webinar.

18:42And one thing that was really interesting in his data and research is that most webinars are free, but then they likely lead to a paid offer. And that's the general structure. That's what it's been for a very long time in this industry. But he actually tried a different model where he did a paid webinar. So he was charging a lower price point and giving away this content. But what he notices is that when people paid, they paid attention, right? We've all heard that quote. And one thing that I think is so, so interesting about his model is that he was doing a low ticket paid webinar and he was donating a hundred percent of the proceeds of that paid webinar.

19:20And what was happening is not only was his charitable contributions increasing, but the show up rate was so much higher for people who were paying to join this training. And so I loved this because he was able to give back. People felt good about paying, you know,$29 for this training and knowing that all that money was going to a cause that was in alignment with the offer. And it was having people pay closer attention to what he was teaching and be more engaged with the training itself. And so I thought this was really cool. He was also talking about the difference between having a live training where you're live on camera or an automated one.

19:59And one thing that he noticed is that when they were using an automated or recorded webinar and his team was on serving people live, it took his team's focus off of serving him, the creator, the leader of the webinar, and it shifted their focus to serving the attendees on the webinar training. And it actually increased the rate of people paying attention and the rate of people purchasing, because the team's focus was not on Ryan making sure he had everything he needed to do the presentation, the team's focus was then on the attendees. And I thought that was super, super interesting. And then the last thing was, is that he talked about different ways that you can keep a webinar super engaging.

20:39So switching how it is that you're teaching and presenting. So instead of just having all slides going from video to a slide, to a place where you're drawing and illustrating a point back to a video, to a slide and keeping it super engaging and moving along. And I just learned a lot from that. And so we talked a lot about different webinar strategies. And I thought that it was super fascinating as someone who creates webinars. I got some really cool ideas that I want to test out for the new year. Another topic that we talked about a ton was content creation. Now I'm in a room with some of the top content creators out there.

21:12And one of the things that I realized, and it was so interesting because I was just coming at it from such a different angle is that content creation was a massive pain point for so many people in the room. And if you are someone who you're like, I am so sick of content creation, I hate creating content. I'm not inspired to create content. Creating content is something that is on my to-do list that haunts me. You're not alone in that. And so one of the things that we recognized in the room and that I have talked about on the show is that I really feel like so many content creators who have been at this game for like a decade, we're tired, right?

21:46Like we're straight up tired of creating content. And one thing that has happened is that over the years, we've created these different systems and processes. We built out these different content teams. But one of the negative impacts of doing all that is that it's gotten us too far away from the actual content and the process of it. And when I think about how so many of these leaders have grown their platforms in the first place, it was back in the days where they were the ones creating and posting the content. And they've almost gotten too removed from the content process. And so one of the things I ended up teaching on a lot is like how to get back to the heart of enjoying content and how to create content that is exciting and fun for you to create.

22:25And so one of the things was, is like, what systems can you maybe simplify or eliminate so that you can post stuff that is exciting and engaging to you? And so maybe you still have a team and a system that's helping you create content, but leaving space in that content calendar for you to be spontaneous, for you to share the things that you're doing or working on or loving, for you to create that random reel or that carousel of your personal photos that really connect you back to your audience. And so creating that space for spontaneity in your processes, if you are someone that has a system and then also creating content that you are connecting to real results, which I'm going to talk about in a minute, but this is huge.

23:07Content creation totally shifted for me this year when instead of just focusing on what is performing well and getting likes and comments, I was actually able to really measure which content is moving the needle in a real way, like email subscribers, new webinar registrants, sales. It totally shifted the way I looked at content because now I'm excited to create content because I can literally watch it move the needle in my business. And so if you are someone who is only creating content for the sake of likes and comments, no wonder you're exhausted. Those don't pay the bills. And there are so many other things you could be doing in your business.

23:42And so when you can start to tie your content creation and the process around it to real results, and you can start to see those results, man, creating content just got a whole lot more fun. And so if you are someone who you're like, I have just been struggling with content creation, know that you are amongst the top creators out there. There is true fatigue setting in. And one of my predictions for this new year is that people are going to want to get back to more of their authenticity and their roots and the way that they grew their platforms in the first place. And so that is that one-to-one connection point where people know you are behind the content and you care about it.

24:19And I'm going to tell you how to make content creation so much more fun. So the next theme that we talked about, and this is something that I got so excited about. I got fired up about, I got asked about, I literally sent around a notebook for every single person to write their email address in so that I could be in touch with them more about this strategy because everyone was so excited about this. This is not a new topic to the Gold Digger podcast, we talked about many chat automation or chat funnels so much. This was something that I led and it was more of an informal presentation, but it was something that literally became this massive theme for the weekend.

24:55This is a topic that was most talked about on the podcast in 2023 because it changed my business significantly. So this is the strategy where we're using chat funnels and chat funnels are, if you've noticed me on Instagram saying, DM me the word chat and I will send you information about many chat and chat automations. Then you send a message and you start getting this automated response where you can opt in for more information. It's connecting you. You don't ever have to leave Instagram. There's dialogue happening in your DMs. It is an amazing strategy. For real, if you go onto Instagram right now, go onto my account, Jenna Kutcher, and send me a DM with the word chat, C-H-A-T, chat.