Double Your Revenue by Doing Only 26% Better in 3 Specific Areas

Let’s say I offered to help you double your revenue. Take whatever you’re making now and multiply times two. Would you be interested in that?

Most of you would give me a squint-eyed skeptical, “Yesssss” and then demand to know exactly how I would propose to do that, without requiring you to sell your pinky fingers or work insane hours.

The secret isn’t 200% but 26% better in three areas.

I’ll introduce the concept by telling you a quick story about a rather stressful time in my business.

Back in 2016, with the bravado that only desperation can bring, I started offering two things I hadn’t sold before:

1. Project Roadmapping
2. Content Roadmapping

I’d taken my eye off the ball with my freelance work while trying to scale my tech startup. The startup was paying me zilch. I wasn’t making enough money for my family. Time felt scarce and precious, and the last thing I was interested in doing was doing marathon discovery sessions with clients who came to me without already having clarity.

Perhaps you know the type:

• They’ve got all the problems and needs.
• Their eyes are bigger than their budgets.
• They think you’re just swell and love the way you think. Xoxo.
• They really need your talents, but first, they need help figuring out what to do first.

Blah yada whatever. Even if I had the time, I didn’t want to spend hours helping them get clarity, set direction, and define next steps, only to come up empty-handed.

I’ve always had a decent win rate—usually 50% or above—but even if I closed one out of every two or perhaps six out of every ten projects, how could I justify the time spent on discovery and proposal creation for the 40-50% of projects I didn’t win?

From 2009 to 2016 I justified it as a cost of doing business, and it is. Most service providers will do an initial consultation for free as a good faith investment in a new relationship.

How wonderful! Let’s join hands and sing “Kumbaya.”

This practice isn’t wrong, and yet you can reach a point in your business where it’s also not best. That’s what happened to me.

Instead of automatically agreeing to help a new prospect figure out what they need to do and why, I started selling “project roadmapping” as a standalone service. In effect, I was asking these folks to pay me to create proposals.

It worked. Some of them did.

Now here’s the real magic: Some of the ones who would never have hired me for a big project did hire me to help them with some clarity getting and planning and prioritization. Either they wouldn’t have had the budget, or they were already planning on doing everything themselves.

Regardless, having those two initial offers helped me sell something, anything, to more prospects.

That brings us back around to 26% gains. Let’s say these were your numbers last year:

• You got 20 leads.
• You closed 50% of them.
• Your average project value was $10,000.

What would happen if you did 26% better in each area:

• Leads: 26% better would be ~25 leads, not 20.
• Close Rate: 26% better would be 63%, not 50%.
• Project Value: 26% better would be $12,600, not $10,000.

If you were to realize those 26% gains, you would double your revenue:

• 20 Leads x 50% Close Rate x $10,000 = $100,000
• 25 Leads x 63% Close Rate x $12,600 = $201,600

What I like about the 26% better approach is that it’s simply more realistic and feasible for most freelancers and consultants than doubling revenue by trying to double any one area. Going from 20 leads to 40 or from $10,000 to $20,000 average project value would take significant effort. Going from a 50% to 100% close rate will never happen.

Over the next 12 months could you get four or five more leads? Yes, you could.

Could you learn better sales technique and use an initial diagnostic, strategy, or planning/roadmapping offer to achieve a higher close rate? Yes, you could.

Could you use strong positioning, productization, and strategic packaging and messaging to increase the perceived value of the outcomes you deliver and charge 26% more? Yes, you could.

In Business Redesign, my group coaching program, I show members how lead generation, sales, and juicy offers fit together into a clear, solid business model. You can make incremental improvements to specific parts of your business model and double your revenue that way without having to become a lead-gen or sales maestro.

If you want to double your revenue, focus on 26% better.

When you’re ready, here are ways I can help you:

1. Free Money. A pricing and money mindset guide for freelance creatives. If you’re unsure about your freelance pricing, this is the book for you.
2. Morning Marketing Habit. This course will help you build an “always be marketing” practice, become less dependent on referrals, and proactively build the business you want with the clients you want. My own morning marketing habit has enabled me to consistently make  6 figures as a freelancer.
3. Custom Business Roadmap. Gain clarity, confidence, and momentum in your freelance or consulting business.
4. Clarity Session. It’s hard to read the label when you’re inside the bottle. I've done well over 100 of these 1:1 sessions with founders, solopreneurs, and freelancers who wanted guidance, a second opinion, or help creating a plan.