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Speaker: Chase Frost & Sara Horsman
In today's fast-paced business environment, automation has become a key driver of efficiency and productivity. Automating various aspects of your business can help streamline operations, reduce manual work, and ultimately, lead to better customer experiences. This article delves into a transcript of a conversation between two experts, Chase Frost and Sara Horsman, who share their insights on automating your business for success.
Chase Frost and Sara Horsman: Pioneers in Business Automation
Chase Frost and Sara Horsman are seasoned entrepreneurs with a wealth of experience in multiple companies. With a combined experience of over 30,000 hours in business automation, they have valuable insights to share with business owners, whether you're just starting or looking to refine your automation strategies.
The Challenge: Bridging the Gap between Ideas and Execution
In the business world, many ideas are left unrealized due to the gap between ideation and execution. Chase and Sara highlight the importance of taking that leap, overcoming fear, and being willing to make things happen. They emphasize that as business owners, we need to embrace the possibility of failure and learn from our experiences. The space between ideas and execution is often where dreams go to die, but it's also where triumphs are born.
The Three Steps to Implementation
Chase and Sara outline a clear and effective three-step process for implementing automation in your business:
Define: This step involves setting clear objectives and outcomes. What do you want to achieve? Whether it's improving customer retention or optimizing your marketing efforts, defining your goals is the first critical step.
Design: Once you have a clear vision of your goals, designing the process or system comes next. This is akin to creating blueprints for your business. Think of it as the architect's job before a construction project begins.
Execute: After thorough planning, you execute your strategy. This is where the majority of the work takes place. However, it's important to remember that this step is just 20% of the process. The real work happens during the first two steps.
Common Reasons for Struggles in Automation
Chase and Sara identify three common reasons for struggles in automation:
Lack of Clarity: Failing to define clear goals and desired outcomes can lead to confusion and inefficient processes.
Lack of Knowledge: Without a deep understanding of the tools and processes you're using, you'll face obstacles in your automation journey.
Lack of Infrastructure: Having a structured, repeatable process is crucial. Without it, you won't be able to scale your business effectively.
Organize, Optimize, Customize
The duo also emphasizes the importance of organizing your processes. Think of it like building with Legos, where each piece contributes to the whole. Begin with a solid foundation, optimize your process, and then customize it to fit your unique business needs. This approach makes it easier to build a successful business model, just as you would construct a complex Lego set one piece at a time.
Advertising vs. Marketing
Chase and Sara make a crucial distinction between advertising and marketing. Advertising is where people see you, whereas marketing is where the conversation begins. They underscore the importance of both aspects in creating a strong brand and customer engagement strategy.
Critical Campaigns
Lastly, the experts discuss three essential marketing campaigns:
Indoctrination: This is where you introduce your business and build trust with your audience.
Cross-sell or Down-sell: After the initial interaction, you have the opportunity to offer more value to your customers with additional services or products.
Long-term Nurture: Maintaining engagement over time is key. Use automation to stay in touch with your customers and add value consistently.
Conclusion
Automation is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes. By following the three-step implementation process, addressing common challenges, and distinguishing between advertising and marketing, you can streamline your operations, enhance customer relationships, and ultimately grow your business. Remember, as Chase and Sara suggest, it's all about thinking clearly, designing thoughtfully, and executing effectively. Automation can be the catalyst for your business success.
Q&A
Q1: If one of the group here was to pick one of those boxes to start on today, what would you suggest? And how would you suggest they unpack going from advertising to marketing, and to the next step?
Starting from advertising to marketing requires clarity on your desired outcome. If your advertising aims to get people to opt into a webinar or download a free report, it's important to consider the next steps. You need to think about how to move people from the initial ad exposure to these actions. To do this, you need to define what your advertising will look like, where it will be placed, and what the message will be to encourage people to click and take action.
Q2: How do you get traffic to your webinar?
You can get traffic to your webinar through various methods, such as sharing posts on LinkedIn, posting in relevant Facebook groups, and leveraging your existing email lists, including past and potential clients.
Q3: How often do you host these webinars?
We've been doing webinars about every other week.
Q4: How many people have registered for this one?
For this webinar, including registrations from this morning, we have about five registrants.
Q5: Can you share the registration page for the webinar?
The registration link is in the chat at the top. It's public and accessible for anyone interested.
Q6: How do you differentiate between advertising and marketing?
The differentiation between advertising and marketing lies in the journey your audience goes through. Advertising involves the initial exposure to your message, while marketing takes over once someone has registered. Marketing includes the follow-up sequences, reminders, and guiding potential customers through the journey to engage with your business.
Q7: Is it essential to automate every part of your business process?
Not necessarily. Automation should be focused on processes that are well-defined and are repeatable. Don't automate a process that hasn't been tried and tested manually, as you may end up automating something that doesn't work efficiently.
Q8: Is it essential to think about steps and assets in your sales process, regardless of the sales volume?
Yes, thinking about the steps and assets in your sales process is essential, regardless of your sales volume. It helps you be intentional in guiding potential customers and ensures a consistent and effective journey for everyone.
Q9: Is the most intensive part of automating your business defining your offerings and processes with clarity?
Yes, defining your offerings and processes with clarity is a crucial step in automating your business. Without a clear understanding of your business processes, it's challenging to create effective automation systems.
Q10: Can you provide more information about the weekly webinars?
The weekly webinars are free and focus on educating and connecting with the business community. There's no sales pitch involved. They cover various topics related to business, automation, and marketing. You're welcome to attend and learn from these webinars.
Q11: Which email marketing tool do you use?
We primarily use Infusionsoft for our email marketing, but we've also worked with Active Campaign. However, the principles we discuss are agnostic and can be applied to various email marketing tools.
Q12: Do you have any tips on building confidence?
Confidence is essential in business. Remember, nobody knows how much confidence you have, so you might as well take as much as you want.
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