How to Get a $10,000 Idea
The other day one of my clients was celebrating with me, saying “We have a verbal ‘YES’ for a $125,000 contract.
After we stopped jumping around and throwing virtual confetti, I asked, “What made that happen? I know you’ve been working on closing that big client for a while.”
Their answer? “It was that one email suggestion you made, Pamela, on our last call. We followed your template and sent the email, then the next day they were a ‘YES’!”
For them, that one email suggestion was a $125K idea.
If that feels like it’s aiming a little high for you, how about we look at this first: How do you get a $10,000 idea? Then how do you get those clients on a regular basis?
There are three steps you can use to create an environment for regularly creating those high-value ideas.
Here are the three steps to get a $10,000 idea that you can make work for you regularly:
1) Bring Fresh Eyes
Recognize that the highest value ideas are probably hiding in plain sight. It’s something that you’ve heard about before, but haven’t seen how to implement. Or the answer is “send an email,” but you never thought an email could be that powerful. It’s not about sending one email, it’s about what’s in the email. How can you bring fresh eyes to the possibilities in front of you to move you forward?
One of my former clients was a Chinese herb company, which means that mostly they sold products. Since the other people in their coaching group were coaches, healers, and other expert service providers, it would have been easy for them to say, “The concepts you’re suggesting don’t apply to us. We’re different.”
Instead, to their credit, they looked at every idea that was brought forward and implemented many of them in innovative ways for their business. The result? Their business doubled in just over a year!
2) One Small Tweak
Unless you’re brand-new in business (or you’re just now learning marketing and sales), the idea usually isn’t learning an entirely new system. It’s one little tweak, or one small action.
The temptation is to create a huge project to accomplish a particular goal. For example, if you’ve been networking without a lot of success, you may want to throw out networking as a client-generation tactic and instead implement an online funnel.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of funnels. But usually “fixing” your networking problems involves a tweak. You change your elevator speech. You try a new group. You re-examine your avatar. You decide you’re going to network for referral partners, not for clients.
Don’t throw out a method, system, or endeavor if you haven’t tried the tweaks. One slight tweak could result in you getting a long-term client who brings you $10,000 or more.
3) The Fear Factor
Sometimes the highest-value idea is already in your awareness, but it’s fear holding you back.
You have an idea that might just be your next $10,000 idea, but it would involve a risky action. An
Procrastination often revolves around fear – fear that you’ll try something new and STILL not get the result, then you’ll feel like you have no more options. It’s sometimes easier to say, “I’ll try that if nothing else works,” and keep your best idea in reserve.
Here’s a hint: Your best money is hiding behind the scariest action. It’s usually an action that is NOT hard from a physical sense (writing an email, making a phone call, saying yes to a mentor or coach), but it’s terrifying emotionally.
I’m always on the lookout for the next $10,000 idea, or the next $100,000 idea.
How about you?
Which one of these is holding you back? And what are you going to do about it?
Share with me on Facebook your biggest “aha!” from this article, and what level idea are YOU going to look for every week?