Episode #25: Should I Sell or Should I Serve during COVID-19 with Terra Bohlmann

Intro (00:00): Welcome to The Fast-Track Entrepreneur Podcast with your host Terra Bohlmann. You are about to get filled with business strategies, advice, and motivation to get you prepared to fast track your five year plan in less than one year. So buckle up and let's create your first class business with clarity and confidence.

Terra (00:28): Hello, Terra here and super excited to give you this quick episode today on The Fast-Track Entrepreneur. So one question and one thing that I've been getting recently from entrepreneurs is because of the pandemic that's happened is should I be selling or not right now? And honestly, I always come back with you have to do what feels good to you, right? Like there's going to be people who would judge you for selling and there's going to be some people who judge you for not selling. So you have to do what feels good, right? And I understand everybody's situation is completely different. I personally, I did an affiliate launch, but after that I made the conscious decision to not sell and just serve right. And do that in a way that feels heartfelt to me. And you know, during this pandemic I've realized I don't necessarily, I don't work for the money.

Terra (01:28): I am a business woman, but I also, that has became so evident for me like, and that's been the coolest thing. As I continue to talk to women entrepreneurs about asking simple question, I simply ask, what have you learned about yourself during the COVID19 pandemic? Because a lot of stuff's going to come up. A lot of getting quiet with yourself and getting really clear on what you're doing and how you're feeling. It's really important work right now. So when it comes to selling or serving, it's totally up to you. You can do a mix of both. You just have to do with, you have to go with your own gut instinct, right? I mean, I'm the queen of overthinking everything. I even have a tee shirt says, hold on, let me overthink this. And it's what I've always done. I don't know why, but my business brain is built like a computer of what if scenarios.

Terra (02:31): So when some sort of business opportunity, I won't say a business problem, but when an opportunity is presented to me, I can run it through my brain program and come up with something that's a solution. Whenever people come to me and ask me what they should be doing now, what the most important thing is right now, you know, I have to ask some questions because I can, if I know their business model and whatnot, and a of cases, if they're private clients, I've worked with them on their business map and I'm really clear on what their business model is, you know? But we have to come up with a solution that works for them. Because if I just provide it and say, yeah, you should be doing X, and they, it's not in alignment with their heart and their own gut, they're not going to do it and it's not going to feel good or they're going to do it and it's gonna feel exhausting and they're gonna feel lucky about it.

Terra (03:24): So it really becomes one of these things that says, what does your gut tell you you need to be doing now? And a lot of cases and I, a lot of my friends too, it's really quite cool. It's like, you know, they are selling right now because people need what they have. Like I have friends who are life coaches and specializes in mindset and health and all that kind of stuff and the world needs that right now because there's a ton of people feeling stressed. And you know, the last thing I want for anyone to do is project their own fears and money mindset on everyone else because in reality there are still businesses thriving. There's going to be tons of new opportunities that come from all of this. I mean, you know, entrepreneurs, I'm sure all over the world are coming up with solutions on if and when this happens.

Terra (04:15): Again, like what are some business solutions that can mitigate all of this stuff? So entrepreneurs are the most creative people in the world and I really look forward to seeing how all that plays out. That being said. So if you do feel that you have something that people need right now, right, then all you need to do is put together some sort of offer. And it could be what you always sell or it could be a chunked down version. And that's a business term, chunked down a chunk down version of what you currently have to make it in a smaller bite. So that just would mean if you typically have some sort of package that sells for $2,000 maybe you take, you know, a third of what you deliver in that and make it a $500 offering for now. And then you're allowing people to stair step into working with you.

Terra (05:12): And so, you know, that's one way to look at it is how can you take something great that you have and chunk it down in a way that makes it in smaller deliverables. So for instance, say you do websites, right? It's like instead of charging $2,000 for the website, you would take it and go, okay, well how about if we work on the design part and we're gonna, you know, we'll work on getting the copy and getting the layout and getting that approved and then when that's done, then we can move into actually developing it and launching it. So then people feel like they're moving forward. But maybe that $2,000 investment, it feels a little scary right now you can say, Hey, for $750 we'll do this first step. And that gives people time. And right now I feel from an economic standpoint is we will get back to normal, we will recover.

Terra (06:06): We're already starting to see a little bit of that right now, but people are still a little fearful. And so if you can do something now that gives them, since they, a lot of people have time right now, right, that they can work on with you or whatnot, then you can do the rest later and innocent, a more manageable format. So that's one way. Another way you can still sell but not feel, quote unquote icky about it is you can do a delayed payment plan. Right? So you can continue to work on, one thing, I'm even playing around with when I launched my, I have a new thing I'm launching later on is maybe doing a delayed payment starts so you can still come in, but the first payment wouldn't be due until, you know, whether it's 30 or 45 days down the road, you're taking a risk and people still being able to pay.

Terra (07:03): Right? But I'm willing to take that risk if someone's willing to invest time and energy and trusting me to be able to deliver as well. So that's one thing you can do. And it's no different than, honestly I just had this aha. It's like, it's really no different than some banks. And you know, some credit card companies are waiving interest. Some banks are saying, Hey, you don't have to make your mortgage payment this month. Or you know, I mean there's people I haven't to get really creative, I mean granted read all the fine print and that kind of stuff. So, you know, and I'm not endorsing one thing or another, but you know, there's people are trying to be creative to still be able to serve people and you know, be able to serve but also still deliver and keep the momentum of people moving forward.

Terra (07:50): In my case, I help women entrepreneurs get clarity on their business model, right through the business map method. And if I can do something that says, Hey, you know, your first payment won't be due until 45 days from now, but let's get started and get that momentum going so that they can get that result faster. I'm willing to invest in women who do that. That's not a problem. And you know, so think about that. Like is there something you can do or provide with a delayed start or a broken down payment plan that makes people more comfortable maybe like it's front-loaded. So a little bit like less payment now and then more later. Right? So that's the second thing that comes to mind of what you can do. So the first one is chunking down your deliverables or your offers in a way that gets people going.

Terra (08:36): But it's not the full package and instead you're doing, you're phasing it out. So maybe it's a phase one at a certain price point and then a phase two at a price point and you can almost still get the same amount that you would charge. Normally you're just putting it into different chunks, right? And deliverables. So that's one. The second one, can you do a delayed payment start or give a like a longer payment plan or do more of a smaller deposit upfront and something and you know, gradually larger later because once the economy comes back, people's trust and you know, their fears going to be reduced and whatnot. So that's the second thing. And then the third thing I want to share with you as far as feeling like you can serve and sell at the same time would be do exactly what you normally do.

Terra (09:28): And I say that because in some cases you don't need to be overly creative. So ask yourself, does it matter? Like, is this something my audience needs? If I go all in with a delayed payment plan or if I go in with a, you know, a phased approach or you know, chunking something I sell into a smaller package for now or whatever. So do they need that? Would they want that? Does that move the needle for you? Does that give you some low hanging fruit? And if so, cool, do it. But if not, if it really doesn't matter, and I want you to know your perfect customer profile so much that you would know if he or she, if that moves the needle for them to say yes to you, if that doesn't matter, then just do what you normally would do as far as selling your product or your service for the same price that you always do and just keep business flowing.

Terra (10:23): So, yeah, I mean, you know, to me there's three things that you can do to still keep moving forward and you don't have to feel icky about still selling your product or service, especially if you know that's what people need right now. Right? So there should be no guilt about that. If in some cases you feel like now's not the right time and you can't get fully behind it, then just use this as a time to serve. What I've been telling clients who aren't ready to sell anything is this is a great time to work on your marketing. This is a great time to do your business map, right? Like I, I say that but like it's a great time to do planning and adjustment. So you know, the clients I work with in December, we do a big planning session for the next year.

Terra (11:12): So in December of this year, this past year we did our 2020 plan. Well it definitely made sense to take that 2020 plan now and adjust it. Some people, and it's crazy cause when I had my last group call, it was like most of them weren't affected and some of them even had the best month ever in March. And I was like, that's really cool because my ultimate goal is if I can help women entrepreneurs, recession proof their business model, that's the ultimate. But I still know there's women out there that are feeling a certain way about what's going on right now. So it's a great time to look at your business model and say, okay, what can I do to have some recurring revenue? Right? There's always something coming in, or what can I do to essentially recession proof my own business model and be able to, to overdeliver and whatnot.

Terra (12:03): So it's a great time to look at your business plan. It's a great time to queue up your marketing and the things that you want to do to get visible. So once this does, and I don't think it's ever going to quote unquote get back to normal, once we get back to a more normalized reality, then I think you'll be ready to go. Like if you have, whether it's writing articles, blogging, you know all these things that you've wanted to do. I have some clients that are working on their book. The first thing I recommended is always serve your current clients first. And for me like, and maybe this is just the overachiever over deliver or whatever that comes up for me, but it's like, now's a great time to wow your current customers. I mean, little things like I just literally got off the phone with, I have a mailbox with a a service and you know, I'd gotten an email that my payment is came due and I called and, and they just wowed me with, Hey Tara, it's so great to hear from you and you know, I said, yeah, I want to renew my mailbox.

Terra (13:06): And I said, okay. I said, is there an incentive to do it for a certain period of time? And he was like, well, if you do it for six months, you get a, you get a free month. And I was like, okay, let's do that then. And he's like, you know what, as a matter of fact, I'm going to give you two months for free. And I was like, thank you. That's so cool. So, you know, it's those little things that you can do to that maybe don't cost you a ton, but it's, it really just solidifies that people feel really good about working with you or buying your products or services. So this is the time to kind of really over-deliver, not kind of, but just over deliver. And so, you know, people are doing it in different ways and it just may be simple reach outs.

Terra (13:46): It could be just, you know, like putting together a little something extra to send out as a bonus. It could be as simple as giving your client a free month's mailbox, you know? So it's that kind of stuff that is going to make me forever loyal to my service, my mailbox service. So you know, it's, now's a time that we can really be lost in. And I'm not saying I'm like Pollyanna optimistic every day. Like, and that's what I've realized even about myself around all of this is I am a pretty optimistic person and you know, some days are great and then the next day isn't so great or the next two days. Sometimes it's just kind of like a, you know, and then I have a great day and you know, so it's like, it's really managing your emotions and doing what you can.

Terra (14:35): And when I find myself doing that, the first thing I do is I want to get into service. So I want to, if I can help others, then it makes, it just makes me forget about worrying about the fact that I can't leave my house or what have you. So, yeah, so I mean, you have a lot of options right now and you know, just know that this too will pass. While that's probably, you know, bizarre business advice probably coming from me. But you know, it's one of these things that we just have to, we have to just push through and, and that's what my husband always tells me when I'm like, give me some words of inspiration. And he's like, we will get through this and everybody will get through this. I have no doubt. And everything will be exactly the way it's supposed to be.

Terra (15:21): So this could be a great time for you to put together your next big thing. It could be a time for planning, it could be a time for queuing up marketing, it could be a time, even in my case, and I know tons of other podcast hosts, we are batching so many podcast episodes. It's awesome how much content will be able to be out there over the next year and to help serve others and whatnot. So yeah, so this is your time and I would just invite you to get quiet with yourself and gift yourself some time. Be your own best clients. I always say, and even if it's just putting a timer on for an hour and getting really clear on what you feel like your next steps need to be, that is highly what I would recommend doing. So it could be, you know what, I'm going to take this week and just come up with my marketing plan.

Terra (16:11): I'm going to create, you know, a month's worth of content. I'm going to pre-write emails. I'm going to reach out to all my customers who, you know, just to say hi and see how they're doing. I'm going to use this time to plan for the rest of the year. I'm going to use this time to, you know, come up with a new launch strategy and be able to, you know, not sell the big thing but chunk it down a little bit. Right? And you know, there's, there's all kinds of things that you can be doing. So I say when you want to go for the low hanging fruit and you're ready to get back into action and you know what you have will really help people, then you can simply make a list of 20 people that you can reach out to and just simply check in on them, see how they're doing and you know, offer to get on the phone with them and just find out what's going on in their life.

Terra (17:06): Let them know what's going on in yours. Find out what they are interested in in doing what their top priority is. And you're the niche that you work in. And they'll kind of ask you the same thing and you never know, you'll make a new customer out of it. So it's just a matter of, you know, having conversations without any expectations. And when you remove the expectations right now, especially in what's going on, it doesn't feel icky at all. Instead, you're just coming from a place to service. Uh, I've seen this past weekend I really tried to stay off Facebook and Instagram and you know, I had a little bit of a social media detox and you know, I kinda needed it. And it was one of these things that I found I needed because sometimes when people are coming from a place of scarcity, especially in their business, because there's a lot of fear, right?

Terra (17:56): Like, you know, I've got to hit my sales, I have people to pay, I've got, and it's, and it's all true. Like it's all coming from, you know, legitimate. I'm not diminishing how people are feeling right now. It just comes across that way. And I'm one that when I see it and it, it, it comes across very thirsty and hungry and, and whatnot. It doesn't make me feel good. So then you know, I just kind of internalize and figure out what I can do to like help others not feel that way too. So, you know, I mean if you need to take a social media detox as well, you know, I invite you to do that and just get really in a good head space so that you can figure out your next move and it will come to you. And how you know you're onto something is you just get this like feeling in your gut is the best way to explain it.

Terra (18:45): That just is like, yes, that's exactly what I need to be doing. So to wrap up with this episode, you know there are things you can do if you feel you are ready to keep moving your business forward, right? Just don't stop at all. Like, I mean in some cases I know rather than working a normal eight hour day, you may just work a four hour day. We all have kids at home and we're trying to balance everything and that's completely okay. Like you have to do what you can do with the energy you have. I'm not telling anyone they need to hustle harder and you know, there's opportunity here that you need to take advantage of. You know, that's just not how I roll. I mean that's totally fine if that's how people get motivated with themselves. But for me and learning, I always knew I worked for the outcome, the transformation and what I see with women happening after they are super confident with their business model.

Terra (19:39): That validation has totally risen to the top for me. And you know, if there's anything I can do to be in service to you, I mean simply just go to my website, terrabohlmann.com/consult and you can fill out the intake form and I'll send you a email with a link to get on my calendar. Pick a time that works for you and we can definitely have a conversation and I'm not gonna sell anything. If you want to work with me, you can ask me. Like, that's kind of how I roll when it comes to things is, you know, I don't go into any consultations or phone calls with people that you know, need advice on their next best business step. I don't go into that with a super like a strong intention that I'm going to get a new client instead. I really have built my entire business model built with the philosophy of let me just do my thing, let me serve.

Terra (20:27): And if people resonate with that, you know, they'll reach out. And then in that case they'll also ask me, Hey, what's it like to work with you? Or what program am I a good fit for? And then I'll give them information on that. And you know, and that's just, it's that to me feels, and maybe it's, it's so anti like sales, what anyone would teach in any type of training and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, I want to work with people who are invested in not just themselves, but also in the results. And that's who I like working with too. And so I'm committed to working with clients who not just bring me peace, love and joy, but where I can do the same for them without feeling like any weirdness or anything. Anyway. So feel free if you want to reach out, if you have a question, if you're struggling with what should be your next move, reach out to me on my website and we'll have a conversation.

Terra (21:22): Not a sales pitch, but just a straight up conversation. I am unlike a lot of business coaches, I am not allergic to having one on one conversations with people like I'm just not like, I felt like there's so much magic that's made and those one on one calls. So anyway, so I know that you're going to get exactly what you need in what's going on in the world. I feel like rather than feeling like, Oh, this is happening to me or my business's suffering or this and that, we need to just flip the script and say, wow, what has this taught me? How can I adjust going forward? All that kind of stuff. So it's just really a matter of changing your mindset on what's going on and how to move forward. So I have no doubt that that's going to happen very soon for you as well. So take care.

Speaker 2 (22:14): There you have it. Another episode packed full of strategies and motivation that you can use every day to put your business on the fast track. For a podcast recap and more resources, visit TerraBohlmann.com. Don't forget, subscribe to the podcast and get what you need to help fast track your five year business plan.