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Sales Cycle for Small Business

Lesson 29 from: Value Pricing & Business Models for Creative Entrepreneurs

Tara McMullin

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Lesson Info

29. Sales Cycle for Small Business

Lesson Info

Sales Cycle for Small Business

First, we're gonna start the conversation. I'm actually gonna have one of our studio audience members come up for a hot seat for each of these. And then, maybe we'll be able if we have time, we'll work through the whole thing together with someone. So, let's start with Sasha. You haven't been up today, right? Let's talk about starting a conversation. Okay. Okay? Come on up. I'm gonna use the board for fun. Alright, so what do I mean when I say start a conversation? We need to get people talking about the same thing, right? We need to give them something to talk about. Earlier I talked about insights, right? You, if you can identify something for someone that they haven't been able to identify for themselves I guarantee you they will start talking. So, tell us again, what is it that you do? And maybe what's a product that you are thinking about selling or launching soon? Well, I'm a writer and a coach. And a book that I'm most well-known for is 'Quirkyalone'. And I have a coaching...

program, where I help people become comfortable with themselves. Whether that is getting comfortable single or even dating, if they've been single for a long time. Okay. And what product or service would you like to launch next? Well, it's been really cool to have an online class where I get to meet people. And some of those people are now coming on a trip with me, so that's awesome, nn terms of building a relationship. But the class just takes way too much effort. Okay. For that. So, some group program that is easier, basically, for me. Okay. So tell us what you would teach in this group program even if you don't have a name for it yet. Or, what would be the value you're delivering in this program? Was there something from your business model that you would, have really nailed down? I mean, still this idea that people want to meet other quirky people, be more self-confident, express themselves more. Okay, so how about Quirky Community? Yeah, yeah. Quirky Community. What do you know about the reason why people don't meet other quirky people more often? Why aren't quirky people meeting quirky people more often? Well, I mean especially people who don't live in San Francisco, or a big city, they simply feel completely isolated. Isolation. What else? They themselves are not being quirky. Like, they're actually kind of hiding. Not livin' the quirky. (laughter) What else? I bet you could come up with lots. They are not putting themselves out there in general. Like they're not meeting new people, they're not dating, they're having conversations that are not satisfying to them so then they retreat. Retreating. Anything else? Not even having a word for it. Like, sometimes when people hear this definition are like, "oh, that's who I am. And that's who I want to meet." So they don't know what's wrong with them? No. (laughter) They... Feel different. They feel different. Yeah, feel different, can't identify. Okay. I don't know how you spell that word. Okay, (laughter) so what do we do with this? This is, this is the starting of a sales conversation. Any one of these things would be the start of a great conversation. I would choose one. I would choose one as the theme for this sales cycle. Alright? In this case, let's start with not living the quirky. They're not living the quirky. They don't, they're not in touch with what, what their unique interests are. They're not in touch with their ability to express them on a daily basis. Maybe their job keeps them from feeling quirky. Maybe their family keeps them from feeling quirky. So, if you wanted to start a conversation about not living the quirky, where would you do it? Where would Sasha Cagen do it You mean in what channel? Yeah, what kind of marketing channel? Well, I mean my typical, what I'm doing is blogging and sending things out to my email lists. And I have what you were first describing in terms of the wide funnel of people coming in. So, I have a... I kind of rewrote my GetQuirky class, which is my best attempt at this so far. With this expression, Are you living life like a donkey? Because it's a (laughter) it's a Portuguese expression I learned from a Swiss Portuguese woman when I was traveling. Which basically describes like, are you stuck in a routine? Are you living Okay. life like a donkey? It really resonated with me and I think it resonates with people. Alright so, As a problem. Does that sound like a good way to start a conversation? Are you living life like a donkey? Is that, do I have that question right? Yeah. Okay. I think that sounds like a phenomenal conversation starter. And, it allows you to move into a story that is also a conversation starter, alright? So, that's all there is to this section. That's all there is to this section. It's picking a theme, and sticking with it. And all of these things are insights. All of these things are things that people are going to pay attention. Maybe it challenges their status quo. Maybe it puts a name on a, on something that they've not been able to name before. They haven't been able to identify it for themselves before. By the way, naming things, huge. Naming things is huge. Probably a lot of you didn't know you were in the micro-business earning plateau before right? (laughter) Now you know. Now you have a name for it. Sasha has built a whole brand, a whole community around the word quirky. It's a word that already existed but it wasn't put together in a set of traits with an image that her you know, that the people who are attracted to that could really identify with. Now, instead of saying, oh, I'm weird, or I'm different, or I don't fit in, her people can say, well I'm quirky. Or, I'm quirky alone. Or we have a quirky together relationship. I love being able to say that, by the way. (laughter) Great, so this is the beginning of that conversation. And you know what, I'm just going to keep you up here and we're just going to keep going. We're going to develop a sales cycle for Sasha right on the spot. Does that sound good? Great. Okay, cool, and then we'll be able to do more. So, we're going, I'm going to move this up. Not living the quirky is going to be the theme. Alright. Quirky community. Theme is donkey, not living quirky. Alright. Kay. The next part of the sale cycle is sharing a vision. You have to give people something to aspire to. And, you have to be able to say to them, "Your desires are my desires for you too." If you can't empathize with what people actually want how are you going to ever get them to... How are you ever going to convince them that what you have to offer is what they want to buy. So, you must empathize with where they want to go. Michael Schrage in a book called Who are Your customers, whoa, Who do You Want Your Customers to Become, asks the questions, who do you want your customers to become? And you could just as easily ask, what do your customers want to become? Who do your customers want to become? So, they don't want to just become donkeys. Is that, is that a good thing, being a donkey. No. No, being a donkey's bad. Basically The meaning of it is that you're doing the minimum of what you need to do to get through life. Like, you go to the gym, you eat, you food shop, you work, and that's it. Oh God, This is so good. I know, it's really, really good. Good, alright I'm so excited about this. Okay (laughter). So, if you're not living life like a donkey, what's the vision? Basically, you're doing things that you love to do. And you, you're enjoying life consciously. Like, you've made the decision to enjoy life. And you're more adventurous, you're more bold, you know how to dance with fear, and like get through fear. And you're, you're fully alive, basically. Okay. So, this is a real opportunity I think for kind of a very narrative sales cycle. If I were you, what I would do is start off with an email or a blog post and/or both, that really describes the story of a donkey. And you would talk about your own, how you came across this analogy, because since your story is so, you know, beautifully analogous to this, it would just add extra trustworthiness. So you want to tell me the story of the donkey. And you start off by, you know, posing that funny question. But then also, you know, starting a conversation around you know, are you really only getting by? Are you really only doing the minimum? Have you just kind of resigned yourself to blah mediocrity? Being unhappy? And you can tell a whole story about that. And I would leave it there. I would let that conversation develop. Let people share their own experiences with you. Let them even just kind of mull that over in their head. Maybe this is an internal monologue thing that's going on. You've identified a problem, you've told your own story, you've posed this really interesting question, and then you let it go from there. You let it go for a little bit. The next time you communicate with them, and it could be in the same channel, it could be in a different channel. I mean if this is me, if this is my business, this is where I use email marketing. I'm also posting this stuff on my blog, but it's my email subscribers that I know are going to be paying the most attention. They're the ones that I'm designing this for, right? So, I would, that would... The first thing would be one email. This would be the second email. What would you tell them about doing the things you love to do? Being more adventurous, being okay with fear? I mean because I know you, I know you could tell them your story. You could tell them about packing up your stuff and moving to Argentina, or Brazil. Where did you start? All of the above. All of the above. She went everywhere. So, I would want to hear that. And even if you think you've told that story a hundred times before, you tell it in the context of this conversation, and now it's something new. It's something people needed to be reminded of. It's suddenly that much more powerful. Alright? Is there anything else that you would add here? Is there something that you, For the vision? Yeah. Or just, I mean how you would tell the story? I would say, I mean, eventually I would say there are real tools and skills you can learn in order to do this. Or, the things you need to learn, in order to be able to live this way. That it's possible. Okay. And that it's a learning process. Okay, great. Like anything else. So that, that definitely sounds like it's part of the vision. There's a learning process involved. Another opportunity to tell a story. Maybe this is two blog posts. Maybe this is three blog posts. This sales cycle is not like a contained finite thing. It's what you need it to be to get the message across that you need to get across. Right, okay? So, maybe in one, in one post, or one email, or one Facebook post whatever, you talk about all this stuff. You share your personal story. Then you talk about the individual skills that you learned. Because it's not just either you got it or you don't. Which could be another misconception. But that it's a learning process. There are actual skills that you can learn. That's a really hopeful message. Cause don't some many people think, you either have it or you don't. Not true, you say. So, it's a learning process. Any questions about this? No, that makes sense. Any questions from you guys? No, alright let's move on to the next piece. You know, this would be a really interesting time to, to get some community engagement involved. So when you're saying, doing the things that you love, that that's part of the vision. Or that you share your story and you say, this is what I did. This is what I did to express myself, to be my own quirky self, to get back in touch with who I want to be. What would you do? Like, that would be such a great Facebook follow-up to a blog post or to an email. Now it's not just digest this content, but it's engage with me. And so now they're not just listening to a conversation, or kind of participating passively in a conversation, they're part of the conversation. You've involved them in what's going on. Yeah, and in some way, they're making it happen just by saying it. Boom. Exactly. So, you're actually even starting to deliver on results. Beautiful. Alright, next up is connecting a problem to that vision. So, these are the problems that are acute needs. These are the problems that people actually perceive. Remember, don't overthink this as Tiffany and Susan pointed out yesterday, sometimes it's as much as, I need a piece of jewelry to wear tonight. That's fine. Or, I need new jewelry for the spring. Or, I need new shoes for spring. You know, these are not unimportant problems too. I needed new clothes for Creative Live. So, focus on perceived problems. You've actually already identified a big problem. You just did it in a really interesting way which is, are you living your life like a donkey. So now, I want, we want to get into acute problems. How do you see people, how do you see this kind of coming out in their daily life in a way that they don't like? One is like, I don't know what I want. Like, the feeling that people have, that they don't know what they want to do in life. And they're just kind of Okay. Doing something that is routine or mediocre. Cause they don't have a spark. Okay. What else? Money. Fears around money. The other thing that's very connected to QuirkyAlone, and I don't know how much to develop this, is the feeling that like, well I should just, you know, focus more on fitting in, in terms of what society, I need to have a partner, or sort of following very... Okay, following the conventional path. As opposed to doing what you really want to do. Which might include the conventional path but the conventional path could kind of cloud you. About following a conventional path and not loving it. Feeling unfulfilled. Yeah. What about just some really like day-to-day problems, simple? Just being stuck in that routine. Day-to-day problems? What about like, not ever getting a date? Or not ever having your date work out. Right, yeah. So there's dating problems, what else? Boredom. Boredom, oh that's a nice one. Yeah, lack of... Does boredom have an E in it? Yeah, lack of inspiration. (laughter) Lack of inspiration. What about career stuff? Lack of inspiration in that place too. Okay, could it be like, even maybe sticking with a career that you don't love? Yeah, sticking with a job that you don't like because it's secure and it's pretty scary to make a change. Absolutely, absolutely. So, any one of these problems, or all of these problems, could be how you start to connect the dots from this conversation and the vision that you had for people, toward the solution that you have for them. Alright, so you can talk about why these problems come up. You can talk about the fact that maybe your bored on a Friday night because you haven't found that hobby, or that adventure that brings you to life. You could talk about how you lack inspiration in your career and you're not getting ahead the way you'd like to because everything else in your life is pretty mediocre. Because you haven't gotten in touch with that kind of stuff. You haven't gotten in touch with your real stuff yet. And that if you could get in touch with your real stuff, maybe, you'd be all sorts of inspired. And you'd be all sorts of getting ahead, if that's what you want. Talk to me more about the money piece. Well, I mean, I think that people have a lot of fear around change as far as money goes. So, it's like, you know, if there is some kind of change that you want to do, whether it's going traveling, or making a career change, or going back to school, you know, there's a lot to leap over, in terms of fear of poverty. Gotcha, so I can't do the stuff that I want to do, because I don't have enough money to do it. I can't do the stuff I want to do, because I can't save that much money. So, just on the most simple level. Or it takes more money than I have, Right, this is Maybe it doesn't. Yeah, this is inaccessible to me. I mean, yeah, I can very much identify with that. Absolutely. So, great. These are all connecting what people want to why they're not getting it right now, right? Make sense? That's when an ah-ha moment happens, for your audience. Okay? Probably some ah-ha moments are coming before this as well. But this is when a big ah-ha moment is going to happen for your audience. When they realize, "Oh, it's that thing." Or, "This is why I feel that way." Or, "Here's the problem." Okay? Because people know, a lot of people know what they want. But a lot of people don't know why they can't get it. And you're coming in here, and again, you're providing the insight of these are the problems that your feeling right now, and they're connected to that vision that you have, and you remember that thing about the donkey? That's connected too. It's all connected. These are the things that are getting in your way. Okay? Alright. Next up, present a solution. Alright. Presenting a solution is not making an offer. That's next. When you present a solution, this goes back to what you mentioned about learning process. But when you present a solution you tell us there's help, there's hope, and there's help. Or holp, which is a portmanteau. (laughter) Okay, so you tell them there's help, you tell them there's hope, you tell them that there is something. In fact, you even tell them what that something is. Okay, you don't need to put a name, you don't need to put the name on it. You don't need to tell them it's a six-week program because at this point they don't care it's a six-week program. They don't care it's your spring collection, they don't care it's this or that. But you tell them, here's what's up. Here's what's up. Let me explain this for you, let me explain how you get out of this. You can give them the how. Lots of people used to say you give them the why and then you sell them the how. You can sell, you can give them the how too. Because they need you. They need you, right? You guys, Tiffany, Susan, you can tell them what's hot this season. But they still need to buy that from you, right? You can tell them how to get the hot new look, but they still need to go and buy it from you. You still make them an offer. So you can present the solution to them before you make the offer in a way that says, "Yup, that's exactly what I need." So now you've connected the dots from the initial insight where you're starting the conversation, through to what people really want. Connecting that to a problem, and now you allow your audience to say, "Oh my gosh, yes, that is what I need." Alright? So I need a learning process. I need skills for this stuff. What else do I need? Community, or just reinforcement of other people who are taking their own path, charting their own path. Yeah, friendship. What else? A guide. A guide. And I would be so bold as to suggest, Sasha, that you tell them, these are the one, two, three skills that you need. You could show them where community is happening, already. You could say, you might find your guide on Twitter. Or you might find your guide somewhere else. Alright, you could actually tell them where else it is that they can go. Oh, like other businesses that are trying this kind of thing? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, sorry. I wouldn't say you should buy this product, or you should, like, you don't need to go that far. But you can show them that this, not only is, not only do you have an answer but there are other answers available. It exists. Yeah. In the world. It exists. Because so many people don't know the solution to their problem exists. They're completely unaware of that. If you could show them all these different incarnations you're just arming them with more resources to achieve the vision that, that they have for themselves and that you're holding for them. Right? And that's only going to serve them better in the end. And you're never gonna get 100% of people to buy, so why not tell them ways that they can go about doing this themselves, if they're not ready to invest. Or if they're waiting for a little bit, or if they want to try something else first. And just because you tell them, for instance in this case, oh you need to learn this skill, this skill, and this skill, doesn't mean that they know how to go out and do that, right? Or, even if you give them six resources for each of the skills, they're not going to go out and do that. It's not about being sleazy, it's actually about putting everything out there and realizing that for everything that you put out there, there's more that they're going to want from you. Like that's an abundant look on your sales process and I promise you, it's, it works. It's amazing. And it feels so go while you're doing it. Alright? And I've had that fear, that like, oh, I need to keep what I teach cloaked away to make it valuable and, yeah, it's not true. No, because the real value here, I mean if this is, if Quirky Community is what you're selling in this case, real value, there is real value in just you bringing these people together. The people that have been following your conversation that you know share this particular vision. That's where real value is being created. And people can't get that through a blog post. They can't get that through an email. They can't get that through a Facebook post. Okay? Cool. So, whoop, yep there we go. Now we need to make an offer. Now we need to make an offer. Making an offer is going for the ask. This is where you say, "This is what I made for you." This is what I made for you. This is what I think is a great solution to this problem. This is, I've listened, I've guided you through this whole conversation. I've taken into account what you've been telling me. And this is the result. This is the result. So when you make an offer, you need a call to action. All the other parts of this sale cycle can go, can be part of for instance, your sales page. Or it can be part of your overall message on your website. Or it can be part of your overall pitch at a workshop, or, you know, another event. Or your sales conversation, when you're talking to a new prospect. But then when it comes down to it, the offer is essentially your call to action. It's what do you want people to do. And it's not just that I want you to buy now. It's not just that I want you to join the Quirky Community, it's I want you to get this value, this value, and this value. Does that makes sense? Okay. So, give me that, three bullet points. Of the values? Yeah, give me what I'm going to get when I click that buy now button. That's a good way to ask that. What am I going to get when I click that buy now button? Community. Okay, how about the support, Support. Of like-minded quirky people just like you. What else? Encouragement, which might be the same. Or courage. Something about like, like skills to develop your courage. Okay. Skills to develop your courage. I might even just say too, like a greater sense of courage and adventure. Yeah, courage and adventure. I'll write that down real quick, one more. Something about play, like not being, like not being so adult and serious all the time, but like a playground for experimentation and self-discovery. Alright. So, Sasha's call to action, her offer now is join the Quirky Community for the support of like-minded quirky people like you, the skills to develop your courage and adventure, and a playground for self-discovery. Ya in? Buy now. (laughter) Are you in? Click here. Okay? Boom. Value, value, value. And it all ties in with the story that she's been telling up till this point. That whole cycle is building to this point where she identifies, re-identifies essentially what she's gonna give people in this offer. Make sense? Alright, there's one more step. We're not done yet. People are gonna buy. And some people are not gonna buy. And that's okay, you still have a community to take care of. So, we're going to strengthen relationships. Did that work? Oh it did work, sweet. So you're going to strengthen relationships. What does that mean? Just because a sales cycle ends. Oh man, this is, okay so let me back up. This is a problem I used to have all the time, especially when I was living launch to launch. When a sales cycle would end, or when a launch would end I should say, I would be exhausted. Feel familiar? I would be exhausted and I would ignore my community for a good month. I couldn't write, I couldn't do, I couldn't do anything else because I'd left everything on the table with this launch. And I was ignoring this last step. This last step, sets you up to do that cycle over, and over, and over again. So how, so launches are exhausting. Sales cycles, I feel like, are a little less exhausting, but you're still gonna be tired at the end. And there's still almost that like, catharsis of like, okay people bought, now I can be done. Right? Yeah. So plan this stuff out in advance. What is this step. This step is the follow-up. It's the, you know, maybe you didn't buy but I still have a happy ending to this story. Alright? Maybe, you didn't buy this time, but here are the resources I'm really digging right now. Like, a book list is great for the end of this, right? Another way you can strengthen relationship is with the people who actually did buy. Remember that what's next question from yesterday? People want to know what's next. What's next? What questions are gonna, you know, what are the answers to my next question. Now this may not happen until much later on down the line, like it is a six-week program, maybe it happens in week seven. But still you want to be planning that. You want to be planning to strengthen the relationship so that you've got that jumping off point into the very next sales cycle. Alright? Because these things don't need to be long and drawn out, few and far between. Because they are less exhausting then living launch to launch. Okay? So it could be what's next. The other kind of people who want to know what's next, are the people that didn't buy. They also want to know what's next. Because sometimes they didn't buy because they actually need the next thing. And so, they're excited and they're primed by your conversation too. They decided that it's not the right buying decision for them, but they are definitely interested in what else you have to say. And if they're not, they would have jumped ship by now. Alright, that's why unsubscribes are good. Right? Unsubscribes are good. Right, so we want to make sure that we're giving them what's next, so that they know what's coming. Alright? So, how do you imagine, let's first let's think of this in terms of people who didn't buy. They didn't join the Quirky Community after you made the offer. And you made the offer a few times, cause that's important. Sasha. (laughter) Where would you like to take the conversation next? Yeah, I mean, I totally feel what you felt of exhaustion at the end of one of these launches. And I usually just send a random blog post when I get the energy. So, what's next, you mean like the next offering? Or what comes next in the movement? Or? Where would you like the conversation to go next? What do you want to talk about them next? What would be, or where would you just like them to go next? You know we mentioned earlier with the presenting a solution, there were all these other things they could have done. Is there a book list? Is there a, Ah, right. another resource? Sure, I mean, a book list. Some of them would like one-on-one attention too. I mean even for some people, they really would prefer private coaching because that is more comfortable for them. Boom. So maybe, as part of moving the conversation on and further strengthening that relationship, not dropping out of it like I used to do, in, maybe it's not the next email or the next blog post that goes out, but you make a coaching offer. This wasn't the right buying decision for you, but this is. I did that with the sales cycle around 10,000 Feet this fall. I did a sales cycle for 10,000 Feet, it was really successful. Lots of people were interested. There was lots of movement, but I got my 15 people. That's what was important. And then I said, "Okay, if this isn't the right thing for you, guess what I've got? Kickstart Labs. And that might be the right buying decision for you." It's kind of going the opposite way, it's more of an undersell then, then an upsell. Or a downsell more than an upsell. But, but yeah that's a great idea. And say, "You know how I mention that you need a guide, I'd love to be your guide." You know? Or here are three other guides that I would recommend. Here's a book where you can be your own guide. Right, great. Okay. So your strengthening that relationship by not dropping out of the sales cycle after you make an offer. Alright? And that puts you in the best position to make the cycle happen over and over again. Remember how I mentioned how you can, you know, start by tapping something and get it to go and go and go and go and go? That's exactly what we're talking about here. As you develop your sales cycles and you get a better and better understanding of how this works, all you have to do is start the conversation and suddenly you go through one sales cycle, and then another sales cycle feels more natural, and then another sales cycle feels more natural. This isn't going to be easy to start. But it gets easier, and it takes less energy, and it sets you up for more success as you go. Good? Yeah, and I mean the reason I've had success was someone being in my online class and then coming on this travel adventure with me and it does feel like people need to get to know you. And feel safe with you, and like you, and you know, all that. And this is a good system for that too. It will not happen the first time through for everyone. This is another little bit of an aside, but totally on point. You got to launch things three or four times before they really get traction. You'll go through a period where you have early adopters. These are the people who would buy, one would buy anything from you, or two, just love buying new stuff. Giving new things a whirl. And not everyone's an early adopter in every market. You may be an early adopter in tech but not an early adopter in personal growth. Or vice versa. You might be an early adopter in personal growth and not an early adopter in tech. So but, that first sales cycle through, the first time you lead people through this conversation all the way to making an offer, you're going to get the early adopters. From there, you're going to get the early majority. These are people who need a little bit more proof. Need to trust you a little bit more, need to understand your story a little bit more. But are pretty ready to jump on board. And you might actually have a couple launch cycles, or sales cycles where you go through getting the, through the early majority. Then you really kind of need to reposition your offer. And you need to think, "What is it about, what do I know about this product right now? What do I know about the conversations people are having about this and the problems that they have?" So that you can position the product for the late majority. These are the people who are the tough sell. (laughter) It's not so much that they need to be convinced as they just, they may be completely unaware. They may not know they have a problem. They may be attracted to your business, to your community for some reason, but they don't exactly know why. Really, this is a big part of your audience. This is a big part of your audience. Yeah, my experience is the first time I had double. And then every time after that it was half of the first time. And so it's like, why is that? Yeah. And so repositioning the offer just like you did with the donkey, that might be what it takes to jump from your kind of early adopter, early majority audience into that late majority audience. Where these are people who need to, you know, they just, they're not seeing it yet. And your job is to help them see it. It's not your job to help convince them it's your job to make them aware that there's a problem and a solution, and there's other people like this at all. Make sense? Yeah. Cool, do you feel good about this? Yeah, it's fantastic. And I'm excited it's recorded so I can (laughter) Cause that was a lot. That was awesome. Absolutely, awesome. Thanks Sasha. Thank you. (applause) Susan. Could you explain this last step in terms of makers? Yes, I would love to explain this last step Thank you. In terms of makers. This last step in terms of makers is probably a follow-up offer. So it's probably you bought the earrings, do you need a necklace? Or, it's asking people do you need to be reminded of a certain date? Put your partner's birthday in my system, and I'll send you a reminder email. Oh yeah, Mailchimp helps you do things like that. Other services do too, but the chimp will help. (laughter) So you can do that, you can set an autoresponder that's based on a certain date. People stick a, you know, a gift date in. They want to be reminded about Christmas, they want to be reminded about Valentine's Day, and boom you can send out an autoresponder that that's totally automated. If you were, if you were say, launching a spring collection, cause it's that time of year, I would say strengthening the relationship would look like, just continuing with more good content that helps them, that helps your customers take on that spring style. So you know, if you're saying the hot color for spring is beige, which would be really weird. But if the hot color for spring was beige, you could just kind of keep helping them put together beige outfits, or beige accessories, and showing them what your spring collection looks like on top of that. Again, this is kind of a place where you don't want to over think it. But you do want to, just because you launched that collection doesn't mean the emails stop. Doesn't mean the Facebook updates stop. So where do you go from there? I would say for you, it's probably more of the same. It's more of, I'm gonna help you bring on this look, take on this look. And whether you buy my product now or not, doesn't matter. But we're strengthening our relationship. And I know that eventually you're gonna pull the trigger on one of my pieces. Or in an email featuring a particular item and sharing the story behind the item? Yep, absolutely. Absolutely. What I would think about as much as possible is keeping it consistent with the story that you've been telling for a period of time. So that's what was kind of going on here as we're starting to develop a story that has a very focused message. Redundancy in this case, making people feel comfortable and familiar with what you're putting out is really important. So, yeah, so maybe if you're, especially if your theme, or if the conversation you wanted to start was a round story, was a round the cultures of each piece and why you did things the way that you did, then absolutely, I'd keep following up with okay, here's the story behind this piece. Here's the story behind that piece. That's going to be really helpful and absolutely start to strengthen that relationship. Yeah. Feature one every month. Julie, you know. So it's not just like, this is the piece of the month and this is the story behind it. Yeah, do we have questions from online? Sophia says, can you provide some examples of the last step for fine artists? For fine artists. Yeah, I think, you know, for fine artists the value proposition is very often your perspective. You are actually part of your value proposition. At that point, people want a piece of you. They want a piece of how you see the world, of where your mind is going right now. And so just like Susan was talking about, telling the story of kind of, each of the pieces of her collection, I think following up, strengthening that relationship with you is just continuing to tell your story. To share what you're thinking about. If you can kind of think about the themes of that in cycles. You know, maybe you're working on a particular collection right now. Or, you're working on a particular show right now. You can think about it piece, by piece, by piece, and keep that going, probably keep it going a little bit longer than you'd like to. It may start to, start to feel a little boring for you by the end. Or feel a little worn out with it. That's normal, but it helps people keep going. So, it's more just sharing your story, sharing your perspective, and keeping it on that, that kind of rotating focus. Where do you want to go next? Or, where are you? And where do you want to go next.

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