WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.399 But please introduce yourself with your first, 00:00:02.480 --> 00:00:05.080 last name, where you're located and the name 00:00:05.080 --> 00:00:09.019 of your business. Hey, Jovanka. Hey, everyone. 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:12.199 I'm Simon Severino. I'm the founder and CEO of 00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:16.320 Strategy Sprints. We help founders and entrepreneurs 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:20.559 accelerate sales and happy to be here. Thank 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:24.739 you so much. So accelerating sales. Tell me more 00:00:24.739 --> 00:00:27.879 about that. You know, many people right now, 00:00:27.899 --> 00:00:29.620 they look at their pipeline and they go, ah, 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:34.500 it's not full. And then there is some people 00:00:34.500 --> 00:00:36.880 that look at their pipeline and go, well, it's 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:39.380 full, but not with the right people. They don't 00:00:39.380 --> 00:00:43.899 have the budget. They're not the right fit. And 00:00:43.899 --> 00:00:46.219 so these are serious problems because if you 00:00:46.219 --> 00:00:49.799 run a business and your pipeline runs dry, that's 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:53.380 the main risk. The main risk is a dry pipeline. 00:00:53.579 --> 00:00:57.340 The second biggest risk is you burning out. And 00:00:57.340 --> 00:01:03.159 so it's a hard problem. And my mission is to 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:05.459 be here. That's why I'm a coach and I have a 00:01:05.459 --> 00:01:09.680 team of coaches and we support 24 -7. We're like 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:12.310 Jarvis. to the Ironman, right? The entrepreneurs 00:01:12.310 --> 00:01:15.590 are Ironman and we are their Jarvis. And it's, 00:01:15.590 --> 00:01:17.549 oh my God, Simon, what should I do? Should I 00:01:17.549 --> 00:01:20.310 send this email or that email? How do I get that 00:01:20.310 --> 00:01:23.329 deal back on track? And then we're here to support. 00:01:24.370 --> 00:01:27.569 Absolutely. So as an entrepreneur myself and 00:01:27.569 --> 00:01:30.530 a real estate agent here in Texas, I am very 00:01:30.530 --> 00:01:34.790 aware about pipeline leads, referrals, and if 00:01:34.790 --> 00:01:39.959 they stop. business stops so what strategy are 00:01:39.959 --> 00:01:42.859 you using or do you use in order to keep your 00:01:42.859 --> 00:01:47.340 clients on track or have them to focus on so 00:01:47.340 --> 00:01:50.579 as strategy sprints it's 22 years that we coach 00:01:50.579 --> 00:01:54.000 so meanwhile we have 274 strategies that work 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:56.799 and depending on what they do if it's a low ticket 00:01:56.799 --> 00:02:00.170 item or a high ticket item if they're depending 00:02:00.170 --> 00:02:04.590 on which industry they are, we pull those blueprints 00:02:04.590 --> 00:02:09.569 for them and those swipe copies for them. One 00:02:09.569 --> 00:02:12.650 thing that every listener probably has in common 00:02:12.650 --> 00:02:17.370 is the pricing question. How much can I charge? 00:02:17.449 --> 00:02:19.750 How much should I charge? What's the right price 00:02:19.750 --> 00:02:23.539 to charge for my offer? And that's why I've put 00:02:23.539 --> 00:02:27.939 together a little guide of 28 things that people 00:02:27.939 --> 00:02:30.139 can do. And I'm happy to share it afterwards. 00:02:30.500 --> 00:02:34.539 28 things that people can do this week to increase 00:02:34.539 --> 00:02:38.139 their pricing power. Pricing power means you 00:02:38.139 --> 00:02:44.000 can charge 25 % more for your current offer and 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:49.319 your clients say happily yes. They say thank 00:02:49.319 --> 00:02:52.610 you. But they wouldn't if you don't have pricing 00:02:52.610 --> 00:02:54.669 power. If you just increase your price by 25 00:02:54.669 --> 00:02:58.090 % without increasing pricing power and value, 00:02:58.289 --> 00:03:02.229 well, then they just go away. But if you increase 00:03:02.229 --> 00:03:04.009 pricing power, that means that you're creating 00:03:04.009 --> 00:03:06.990 more value or helping them solve more problems. 00:03:07.370 --> 00:03:10.969 And there are 28 very specific things that people 00:03:10.969 --> 00:03:14.289 can do to do that. Are you finding that people 00:03:14.289 --> 00:03:19.199 are... elevating or increasing the price and 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:23.680 not increasing the value? Most people are not. 00:03:23.939 --> 00:03:28.060 So intuitively, most people think that they have 00:03:28.060 --> 00:03:31.340 to lower the price, which is not the right strategy 00:03:31.340 --> 00:03:34.860 because now you're competing in a downward spiral. 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:38.319 If you win that, you're toast. You don't have 00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:42.280 any profitability, no margins. So you definitely 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:47.030 don't want to lower your prices. Actually, most 00:03:47.030 --> 00:03:50.189 people should increase their prices. But before 00:03:50.189 --> 00:03:53.189 you increase them, you should refine those 28 00:03:53.189 --> 00:03:57.710 things so that you create more value, you decrease 00:03:57.710 --> 00:04:01.250 the risk for the buyer, and you think from the 00:04:01.250 --> 00:04:04.270 buyer's perspective, what is it exactly that 00:04:04.270 --> 00:04:06.949 they need right now? And when you just refine 00:04:06.949 --> 00:04:09.569 those things, you can actually charge more and 00:04:09.569 --> 00:04:12.729 they will say, thank you. Yeah, you know, and 00:04:12.729 --> 00:04:14.789 what's interesting is I've actually been having 00:04:14.789 --> 00:04:16.910 this topic with a lot of business friends and 00:04:16.910 --> 00:04:20.470 a lot of entrepreneurs is that they fear raising 00:04:20.470 --> 00:04:23.529 their price, that they're going to lose customers. 00:04:23.589 --> 00:04:26.990 So how can businesses charge more without losing 00:04:26.990 --> 00:04:42.949 their customers or clients? Friction in their 00:04:42.949 --> 00:04:46.290 workflow decrease the number of people that they 00:04:46.290 --> 00:04:49.889 need to do something. Decrease the number of 00:04:49.889 --> 00:04:53.790 tasks that they need to do something. Or you 00:04:53.790 --> 00:04:57.430 increase the value for them. You increase the 00:04:57.430 --> 00:04:59.730 stickiness. Like, oh my God, no, I would miss 00:04:59.730 --> 00:05:03.250 this so much. For example, Netflix. I have three 00:05:03.250 --> 00:05:06.009 kids. All three kids watch Netflix. If Netflix 00:05:06.009 --> 00:05:09.589 increases their price by 25%, I'm happy to pay 00:05:09.589 --> 00:05:13.430 more. They can increase by 75%. My kids are happy. 00:05:13.509 --> 00:05:16.550 I'm happy. You know, the value is tremendous, 00:05:16.970 --> 00:05:19.649 tremendous. And I can read a book when they watch 00:05:19.649 --> 00:05:23.709 Netflix. So I would pay five times more. That's 00:05:23.709 --> 00:05:26.269 the value that Netflix and they know it exactly. 00:05:26.470 --> 00:05:28.870 And so they are increasing their price and they're 00:05:28.870 --> 00:05:32.790 not losing customers. So the prerequisite is 00:05:32.790 --> 00:05:35.389 that you think about the buyer. What do they 00:05:35.389 --> 00:05:38.620 exactly need right now? And in the example of 00:05:38.620 --> 00:05:41.779 Netflix, they are doing those 28 things very 00:05:41.779 --> 00:05:43.939 specifically. This is one of the teams that we 00:05:43.939 --> 00:05:48.399 learned this from. They obsess about what are 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:51.639 people doing? What are they clicking? Which thumbnails 00:05:51.639 --> 00:05:53.740 do they like? Which colors of the thumbnails 00:05:53.740 --> 00:05:55.740 do they like more? Do they like three people 00:05:55.740 --> 00:05:58.959 on a thumbnail or one person on a thumbnail? 00:05:59.139 --> 00:06:02.279 Do they like five words or two words? And they 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:06.139 are continuously... observing these things, noticing 00:06:06.139 --> 00:06:08.939 these things and improving the product accordingly. 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:12.579 And, you know, that is a great point. And I'm 00:06:12.579 --> 00:06:15.060 not plugging Netflix in. They're not paying us 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:17.300 anything. But I tell you, they've raised the 00:06:17.300 --> 00:06:20.480 price at least five times since I bought it. 00:06:20.579 --> 00:06:23.160 And I have I still don't know how much I pay. 00:06:23.259 --> 00:06:28.579 That is the value. 10X, right? Yes. Yes. And 00:06:28.579 --> 00:06:31.660 so that's a good point to make for our audience 00:06:31.660 --> 00:06:34.740 that is watching. You know, it is about the value 00:06:34.740 --> 00:06:38.220 and maybe some individuals won't, will be more 00:06:38.220 --> 00:06:41.800 like myself, won't care because again, it has, 00:06:41.939 --> 00:06:46.120 it's servicing us in the right way. So passing 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:49.420 that on back to you, Simon, that is a great example 00:06:49.420 --> 00:06:52.860 for businesses. Definitely. Today, one of my 00:06:52.860 --> 00:06:56.360 kids said, I'm playing so much chess on my iPad. 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:01.160 Can I upgrade here and pay 10 bucks a month? 00:07:01.620 --> 00:07:05.079 And I said immediately, yes. I mean, 10 bucks 00:07:05.079 --> 00:07:07.819 a month for my kid to play more chess in their 00:07:07.819 --> 00:07:11.920 free time? Of course. My God, that's an amazing 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:15.100 thing to do in your free time. So yes, of course. 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:18.420 Would I pay more for Kindle? Oh, yes, of course. 00:07:20.029 --> 00:07:23.509 If we do those 28 things and I've put them together, 00:07:23.649 --> 00:07:27.389 people can watch them, can implement them. It's 00:07:27.389 --> 00:07:31.829 28 steps. I put them together as 28 slides so 00:07:31.829 --> 00:07:34.170 that they can really implement this afterwards. 00:07:34.550 --> 00:07:37.850 If we do our homework, improve a little bit the 00:07:37.850 --> 00:07:42.910 value and improve how we package the offer, you 00:07:42.910 --> 00:07:45.189 guys can actually charge more and people will 00:07:45.189 --> 00:07:49.800 happily say yes. Yeah, I really like that. I 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:53.459 think that as I can relate, you know, being the 00:07:53.459 --> 00:07:56.839 podcast co -host, I can only imagine how many 00:07:56.839 --> 00:07:59.740 of the audience or the individuals that are watching 00:07:59.740 --> 00:08:02.740 this is clicking to them. Because I believe, 00:08:02.839 --> 00:08:04.959 as I mentioned before, there's so much fear in 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:06.779 raising the price that you lose the customer. 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:10.560 But it reminds me of that very familiar saying, 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:15.230 quality over quantity, right? If you have great 00:08:15.230 --> 00:08:18.470 quality and great value in it, most people will 00:08:18.470 --> 00:08:21.930 pay for the increase in price or they may not 00:08:21.930 --> 00:08:26.470 ever notice. So as you have become the founder 00:08:26.470 --> 00:08:30.730 of Strategy Sprints and you're noticing all these 00:08:30.730 --> 00:08:34.529 different things and you actually given this 00:08:34.529 --> 00:08:38.289 information back to entrepreneurs, business owners, 00:08:38.509 --> 00:08:43.419 tell me about your vision and all of this. So 00:08:43.419 --> 00:08:46.659 I get energy from helping people. I'm a people's 00:08:46.659 --> 00:08:50.159 person. And so it's 22 years that I coach entrepreneurs 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:53.000 for this reason. This is where I get my energy 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:56.480 from. So my vision is to do this another 20 years 00:08:56.480 --> 00:09:01.620 and to enjoy the journey, helping more people, 00:09:01.740 --> 00:09:06.279 helping in more time zones. Because I'm teaching 00:09:06.279 --> 00:09:09.740 now, the Strategy Sprints method has become a 00:09:09.740 --> 00:09:12.240 certification. There is a book out there in English. 00:09:12.700 --> 00:09:15.279 came out in China. This year will come out in 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:18.159 Russia next year. So I'm adding time zones and 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:21.620 adding coaches. This is how I can help more people. 00:09:21.720 --> 00:09:24.080 And my vision is that in 20 years, even more 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:28.240 people have better sales processes because when 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:31.899 they come back home. And they have better sales 00:09:31.899 --> 00:09:34.179 processes. You know, they're better moms. They're 00:09:34.179 --> 00:09:36.779 better fathers. They're better husbands. They're 00:09:36.779 --> 00:09:39.360 better friends. They're better people to be around 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:41.539 because they are relaxed. They don't think about 00:09:41.539 --> 00:09:44.100 work anymore. And they're more fun to be around. 00:09:44.259 --> 00:09:47.559 So that's my little contribution. Absolutely. 00:09:47.639 --> 00:09:51.100 I tell you, I remember working in corporate and 00:09:51.100 --> 00:09:54.700 I would go home and give the world or the people 00:09:54.700 --> 00:09:57.259 that I worked for 100 percent and come back and 00:09:57.259 --> 00:10:01.399 give everybody else 25 percent. When now I feel 00:10:01.399 --> 00:10:03.919 like I've reversed that, which is it makes it 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:07.200 so much easier. But also, you know, I'm. As I 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:09.000 mentioned before, and I will continue to say, 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:11.320 being a podcast co -host doesn't mean that I'm 00:10:11.320 --> 00:10:14.679 the expert. I'm talking to the expert. And I 00:10:14.679 --> 00:10:17.240 too am learning much like the audience. And I 00:10:17.240 --> 00:10:21.919 love that. And so in 22 years, Simon, 22 years, 00:10:22.100 --> 00:10:25.700 what was your most significant learning experience? 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:31.639 Yeah, so sometimes I come, I work from home, 00:10:31.659 --> 00:10:33.919 so I don't come home. But I walk over to the 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:37.779 kitchen after. nine hours of work and I'm grumpy 00:10:37.779 --> 00:10:41.019 and I'm grumpy. I'm going, I'm still thinking 00:10:41.019 --> 00:10:43.500 about something that went wrong here in the office. 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:48.539 Right. And so one thing that I learned is to 00:10:48.539 --> 00:10:54.100 not bring that to the dinner table. So now at 00:10:54.100 --> 00:10:57.799 the dinner table before I say anything. we have 00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:00.299 a little ritual that we say it's a little prayer 00:11:00.299 --> 00:11:03.419 which calms us down because also my kids they 00:11:03.419 --> 00:11:05.779 come with something from school or somebody bullied 00:11:05.779 --> 00:11:08.919 them and they come charged with something and 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:12.720 so instead of sitting down and charging away 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:16.399 we have a little ritual that calms us and then 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:19.840 we start an interview what made you sad mad glad 00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:23.960 today and everybody interviews everyone And so 00:11:23.960 --> 00:11:26.600 we calm down and we are more grateful for the 00:11:26.600 --> 00:11:30.259 food that's on the table. Absolutely. And I tell 00:11:30.259 --> 00:11:35.139 you, 22 years in business is. I would call it 00:11:35.139 --> 00:11:38.460 success and then making it 22 years more would 00:11:38.460 --> 00:11:43.000 absolutely be a way of identifying success. So, 00:11:43.100 --> 00:11:47.100 of course, you know, in my mindset and understanding 00:11:47.100 --> 00:11:51.899 your mindset, what's success to you? Success 00:11:51.899 --> 00:12:00.279 to me is helping other people do what they want 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:02.960 to do. So in my case, it's entrepreneurs. And 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:06.960 so I help them solve the pipeline problem because 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:12.179 that's one vital element in their life. With 00:12:12.179 --> 00:12:15.519 a good pipeline, everything else is manageable 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:19.720 and they will manage. With a bad pipeline, it's 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:23.860 tough. So that's my little contribution. And 00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:26.220 as, and not to take up too much more of your 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:29.240 time, but I do want to ask if you wouldn't mind 00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:32.740 sharing some tips that you have for entrepreneurs 00:12:32.740 --> 00:12:36.620 and business owners. Yeah. So I've put together 00:12:36.620 --> 00:12:40.200 this little pricing power guide, 28 very specific 00:12:40.200 --> 00:12:43.940 things that they can implement this week. And 00:12:43.940 --> 00:12:47.279 I've put them on strategysprints .com slash pricing 00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:50.679 power. It's free. They can download it. They 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:54.820 can implement probably most of them and already 00:12:54.820 --> 00:12:57.620 have great results. If they want to go deeper, 00:12:57.779 --> 00:13:00.740 I will go to Amazon by the book Strategy Sprints, 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:04.340 which goes even deeper into that and has checklists, 00:13:04.379 --> 00:13:08.360 etc. But maybe those 28 steps are enough already. 00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:13.000 Do me one favor, Simon. Tell me one of those 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:18.309 checklist items. that could actually just bring 00:13:18.309 --> 00:13:22.730 others back? What's one? One of them is think 00:13:22.730 --> 00:13:27.049 about what's coming for your clients in 12 months, 00:13:27.309 --> 00:13:31.269 18 months, 24 months. And how can your service 00:13:31.269 --> 00:13:34.309 or product help them be ready for what's coming? 00:13:35.389 --> 00:13:39.309 That's good. So sort of not per se looking into 00:13:39.309 --> 00:13:43.909 the future, but future serving that client. What 00:13:43.909 --> 00:13:46.750 would that look like? Yes, I think of my boy 00:13:46.750 --> 00:13:50.710 asked me if he's allowed to pay for the chess 00:13:50.710 --> 00:13:52.809 game. And so I'm thinking, what's coming for 00:13:52.809 --> 00:13:56.090 him in the next 18 months, 24 months? Well, he 00:13:56.090 --> 00:13:59.190 needs to be smart. He needs to think strategically, 00:13:59.389 --> 00:14:03.429 to think two steps ahead and not just the next 00:14:03.429 --> 00:14:07.210 15 minutes. And so, hmm, is it good for him? 00:14:07.269 --> 00:14:09.850 Absolutely, yes. This chess game is actually 00:14:09.850 --> 00:14:12.820 preparing him for what's coming for him. Because 00:14:12.820 --> 00:14:17.179 whatever he does, right, if he has a math school 00:14:17.179 --> 00:14:22.299 problem to solve or if he's debating with friends 00:14:22.299 --> 00:14:25.419 or even if he's mountain biking, he has to think 00:14:25.419 --> 00:14:28.840 three steps ahead. OK, if I jump now, what's 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:32.919 behind that tree? So those are things that are 00:14:32.919 --> 00:14:37.820 coming for him. And will this chess game help 00:14:37.820 --> 00:14:40.419 him be ready for that? If it's just slightly 00:14:40.419 --> 00:14:43.710 a yes. I say, yes, have the budget, do it, pay 00:14:43.710 --> 00:14:46.389 for it. It's worth it. And so if we bring this 00:14:46.389 --> 00:14:50.129 to the business owners, they are not, let's say 00:14:50.129 --> 00:14:54.269 you sell a CRM or you build websites for them, 00:14:54.350 --> 00:14:57.190 right? They're not thinking so much, does this 00:14:57.190 --> 00:15:00.529 cost me $2 ,000 or $5 ,000? They're thinking, 00:15:00.730 --> 00:15:05.049 does it help me solve what I need to solve? And 00:15:05.049 --> 00:15:08.049 so if you are the expert and you have... You 00:15:08.049 --> 00:15:09.990 have a deep knowledge about what's coming for 00:15:09.990 --> 00:15:12.210 them. And this is where you show your expertise. 00:15:12.470 --> 00:15:17.889 And if they feel, oh, these guys, they get it. 00:15:17.929 --> 00:15:21.470 They know what's coming for me. And this thing 00:15:21.470 --> 00:15:25.000 is designed to make me ready for that. then price 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:27.120 is secondary. Thank you for being here today. 00:15:27.299 --> 00:15:29.059 I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision 00:15:29.059 --> 00:15:31.679 Pros Live. I'm looking forward to seeing your 00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:34.480 reactions as these episodes continue to move 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:36.440 forward. This is going to get more and more fun. 00:15:36.460 --> 00:15:38.320 We'll have more and more engagement as well. 00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:40.259 We'll invite people to participate in the show. 00:15:40.379 --> 00:15:42.440 And thank you for giving us your time and attention. 00:15:42.740 --> 00:15:45.360 Have an excellent time building out your vision 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:46.720 and becoming a vision pro yourself.