Once your business is up and running one question you should always have in mind is, “How can I maximize what I’ve already got going?”.

It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of looking for the next “best” thing… the newest hot opportunity… without ever seeing the full potential of our existing assets.

Here’s a couple of really quick ways you can dramatically increase your offline business consulting profits in the next 3 months by leveraging the assets you already have.

First let’s get some basics out of the way…

There are only 3 ways to grow a business:

1. Increase new customers.
2. Increase profit per sale.
3. Increase buying frequency.

Everything you do to grow a business falls under one of those categories.

Most people focus on how to get more new customers — in fact it’s the #1 question I get — but that’s the most expensive and time consuming way to grow.

It’s MUCH quicker, cheaper and easier to increase profit and increase buying frequency.

So how do you do that in your consulting business?

Actually it’s really easy…

1. Raise your prices.

Almost every new consultant I’ve talked to has seriously undervalued what they bring to the table. Even people who have been at this for 5+ years are often charging less than half what they should.

If you’re in the ballpark of “$500 for a website and $50 a month for SEO”, try multiplying your fee by 10 on the next job and see what happens.

If you’re at “$5000 + $1000″ multiply that by 10 for your next job. You might just get it.

If you’re already getting projects for $20,000+ then add a performance-based fee on top. 5 – 25% is a good place to start, depending on the project.

“But my clients won’t pay that much”.

OK… 1) You don’t know that until you ask them. 2) Get better clients.

As long as you continue to demonstrate your value is much more than your fee, the sky is the limit on what you can charge.

2. Get offline projects.

Everyone is focused on online stuff — websites, autoresponders, SEO etc. That’s ok, it’s where your skills are, it’s “sexy”. I get it.

But think about this:

The upside potential for most of your clients online projects is in the low to mid 6-figures. Maybe less. So they’re willing to spend a certain amount to see those profits.

Whereas the upside potential for their offline projects — like fixing their direct mail, scripting their sales processes, putting headlines on their space ads, adding upsells & cross sells to their marketing systems… that can easily be in worth millions to them.

And they’re willing to spend a lot more to see those profits

The best part is the offline stuff is usually less work for you and has a better chance of success than online projects.

So when you get a website or autoresponder project ask questions, find out what else they need help with. You should always be looking for the next project and actively moving them towards it.

3. Do ONE thing at a time!

I made this mistake myself for years. You get a client, ask a bunch of questions, find out everything they need help with, then launch one big MEGA project where you fix it all.

Hey, it looks impressive to them and you can get big fees doing it this way.

But you’ll soon find this type of working arrangement leads to the dreaded “feast or famine” routine where you’re REALLY busy for 2 months then haven’t got a client in sight or the next 2.

Plus you bog yourself down in multiple “mini projects” and it can be difficult to execute them all to the best of your ability.

Instead what I find works best, is you ask all your questions like normal… but then propose just ONE project to fix their most pressing problem. Focus all your energy and resources on that project, get a quick win and a happy client, then move them on to the next project.

Doing it this way you can charge almost the same amount for one project that you used to charge for the entire bunch, you’ll do better work and because you’re not multi-tasking as much you’ll get it done quicker.

Plus clients like it better because they get a quick win and start seeing results faster.

Do these three things and you will double your business faster and easier than you thought possible.

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Got some killer marketing lessons for you today.

If you market to the affluent… players with money… high-income earners… (or whatever you want to call them) — and you should — then pay special attention ’cause this article is filled with strategies that can make you and your clients a LOT of money.

Here’s the story:

A couple of weeks ago we had a ‘lil weekend away at The Observatory Hotel here in Sydney.

(Great to get away and “unplug” regularly — even if it’s just locally.)

Now, if you’re not familiar with The Observatory Hotel, just know it’s a little “Ritzy” — it’s not uncommon to see big-wig celebs such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman, or Sir Richard Branson strutting the halls.

(The managing director once said “this hotel operates very much like a large and sophisticated house party”. Ha!)

In fact…

Kings, sheikhs and presidents
call the hotel home while they
are in Sydney!

Anyway, the holiday was great and I managed to avoid doing any real work, however…

… my marketing “antenna” is always up…

… and I spotted dozens of little marketing strategies used by the hotel to rake in money from their cashed-up clientele.

Some of these strategies are simple and obvious — like jacking up the price of items in the mini bar. (Because people will pay for convenience and the “experience”.)

But others were much more sophisticated… and, I bet…

Much more profitable!

Take for instance the jewelery case in the lobby.

Now, the hotel doesn’t sell jewelery. But they do have a splendid jewelery case in the lobby (right next to the concierge desk) with tens of thousands of dollars worth of necklaces, earrings, bracelets and watches on display.

Next to the case is a sign:

“Private viewings available. Car service daily. Inquire at concierge desk.”

Do you see everything they’re doing here?

Let’s break it down:

1. Jewelery (Joint Venture)

First up, they’ve got a joint venture arrangement with a high-end jewelery store.

It’s likely they’re getting a commission on any pieces sold. Or perhaps the jewelery store, in turn, is sending their clients to the hotel.

Either way it’s like finding money in the street.

And with pieces heading into the tens of thousands of dollars, just one sale could double (or even triple) the profit on any given guest… with little to no work on behalf of the hotel.

This is one of the most powerful (and downright easiest) marketing strategies any business can use.

2. Display Case – (Staging)

Next is the display case the jewelery is in.

It’s set into the wall, against a black background, with special lights making each piece shimmer and sparkle.

Not only does it catch your eye and draw attention… but it makes the jewelery look damn fine!

In other words, the stage is set to show the jewelery off in it’s most advantageous state.

3. Car Service (Make It Easy)

The car service makes it easy for people to say “yes”.

See, many hotel guests don’t have a car.

And they’re not familiar with the area.

This way you don’t need directions. Or a cab. And there’s no chance of you going anywhere else instead.

It makes the experience simple and stress-free.

4. Private viewings (Exclusivity)

Finally, they use the power of exclusivity to entice prospective customers.

What wealthy man could resist an offer to take his lady to a private viewing of the best jewelery Australia has to offer?

(Especially if that offer is made right in front of her!)

But that’s not all that’s going on here…

The private viewing itself generates a level of reciprocity from the prospective customer.

They’ve taken the time to invite you into the store, without any other customers present, and even driven you there… the least you could do is buy something.

This makes the chances of them buying (and spending BIG money) increase exponentially.

Now, this is just one example of the dozens of powerful marketing strategies I saw in action. In fact, if you keep your marketing antenna up you’ll see examples like this all around you.

What’s best is these strategies can be applied to almost any business.

The only question is…

How will YOU apply them for you and your clients?

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