RPAs (Revenue Producing Activities) December 3, 2018

Revenue Producing Activities (RPAs): strategic efforts that create cumulative results for generating client purchases.

In my last article I mentioned two key points:

• I stopped focusing on the product, which is speaking and started focusing on the system which is marketing.
• too busy with revenue producing activities, in other words maintaining my cash cow system

So in this article I am going to go more in-depth on RPAs (revenue producing activities).

As an entrepreneur, speaker and consultant, you are biased. And what I mean is we love our product. We love it so much, we spend countless hours perfecting our business cards, flyers, websites, content books etc… We are biased because we think if we just make our product better clients will come banging down our door to buy it. What we don’t realize is that are three key elements that make clients buy our products. It has to be the right time, right place and right product.

Let me make it plain. I just got back from 2 weeks in Australia, vacationing on the Gold coast for my birthday. I went deep sea fishing and it was absolutely awesome! At one point, when we stopped the boat and begin to fish, I saw schools of fish clearly in the water that if my hands were long enough I could just reach down and grab them. One of the fisherman simply lowered his bait into the school and they totally ignored it. Finally one of the old wise fishing guides told him, they are not going to bite that because its not the right time of the day for that type of fish and also its not at the right depth that they feed at.

Wow… let that marinate for a moment. This really got me thinking about one young up and coming female speaker who I coached recently. She is relentless on Linkedin. She constantly connects, writes articles etc… and when I asked her how many clients have landed from Linkedin, she responded hesitantly, “none for now.” I told her Linkedin is great for some things like identifying leads, researching them, but don’t expect too many executives and HR directors to buy your services off Linkedin, instead you have to catch those buyers in their desired “buying environment” (right place) at the right time and with the right product.

So lets talk about the “right time” the right time for many fish to bite is dawn or at dusk. The right time for many corporate decision makers to buy consultant products and services or be in the buying mood is Tuesdays through Thursdays between 10 am and 3pm. Don’t you dare try selling them on Mondays and Fridays.

The “right place” to pull the trigger on a buying decision is typically their office not a networking event or industry conference. Again, not that you can’t nurture them at these type of events, I am referring to the actual decision to buy, that’s different.

The “right product” has to be a topic or program that feels like its special and just for them. When I was fishing I can’t just use a “universal bait,” I have to use a bait that a specific fish prefers. For example, one speaker asked me to mentor her, I honestly told her I don’t have time to mentor, but I can share a few ideas with you. All of her topics on her website were general Diversity and Leadership topics, but her target audience was hospital administrators. I shared with her that you should consider using trigger words that get an administrator hooked, words and phrases they are used to hearing but with compelling twist, like Driving Culture to Create Positive Patient Outcomes.

Okay, so how does all of this connect with my initial topic of RPAs? Lets look at my top 5:

RPA #1: Procure the pipelines
You must be able to generate quality leads (people who are likely to buy) daily. You can get leads for free or (but you are gonna have to work to search and input them), or you can pay for leads using companies like infousa.com or governmentbids.com  When I first started I had to manually copy and past 10,000 names and email addresses for every lead I found on government agency websites (then I hired interns to do this).

RPA #2 Build your money pool
Once you know where to find your clients contact info, you MUST manage their contact info, especially emails since that is easier and the majority of interactions. Using constant contact or infusionsoft or any other customer database tool, organize your potential and existing clients based on industry or special interest, remember “right product.”  Some consultants send out one general newsletter monthly and to me that is like a shotgun approach. I prefer to be like a sniper and I will create one general newsletter then tailor it for a school district, a hospital, the military, a government agency etc… Remember people like receiving content that feels like its just for them, they are also biased.

monitor who engages with your content

RPA #3: Create compelling content
First of all, if you have not written a book, and you’re a consultant, what the hell are you waiting for? Write content that is compelling. Don’t just regurgitate what John Maxwell or Ken Blanchard or Lisa Nichols says, find your own voice and ideas on your targeted topic areas. Write regularly, books and articles that gives a new perspective on a old concept. For example, I created a new topic called Followership, the other side of leadership, and my clients love it because we always train people to be leaders, but not how to be good followers, its simple, new and they get it, so they buy it! Remember, right product.

RPA #4: Always be Top of Mind
Send out your compelling content with action triggers on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays only! (right time, right product right place) between 10 am and 3 pm while they are in their office working and ready to consume a service that can stop their pain or fulfill their boss’ needs.

RPA #5 Make them offers they cant refuse
I don’t cold call or send out bulk direct mail like other consultants, but I do identify my top 20 ideal clients (these are clients I have monitored how they interact with my articles and newsletters) and then engage them even more by sending them signed complimentary copies of my books or special interest articles along with 10 to 20% off discounts, free coaching calls after they purchase training etc… all of my offers have expiration dates to get them to act quickly.

ok, man this article was long, that’s it for now, I have to get back to my own RPAs. Back to Grinding for Greatness! Get ready for my spring cash cow conference, again I’m only selecting 20 people max, so if you have already been accepted please recommend another potential cash cow.

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