Welcome back to the ProfitSchool podcast Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is: More stupid things we do as Entrepreneurs. Introduction & Defining "Stupid Mistakes": Jeff Sauer and Chris Mercer humorously dive into the concept of “stupid things” entrepreneurs do—decisions that, in hindsight, could have been handled differently. They emphasize the importance of learning from these mistakes to avoid repeating them. Strategies for Avoiding Repeat Mistakes: Jeff shares the importance of seeking second opinions and recognizing emerging patterns. At the same time, Mercer highlights the role that awareness and planning play in stopping mistakes from happening again. Tactical Strategies for Smarter Actions: Mercer stresses the need for solid plans with clear milestones to avoid pointless activities. Jeff and Mercer emphasize that forecasting and learning from patterns are key strategies to prevent wasted time and effort. Common Business Mistakes:- Pricing & Client Targeting: Jeff shares a classic blunder—creating low-priced courses without calculating how many sales are needed to break even. The hosts agree on the dangers of catering to cheap clients rather than respecting the true value of your services. Hiring & Firing Decisions: Hiring too fast and firing too slow is identified as a common mistake. Jeff and Mercer advocate for testing new hires on a contract basis and being proactive in trimming underperforming team members to avoid long-term financial issues. Delegation & Small Task Management: Mercer discusses the importance of delegating small tasks to prevent them from piling up, while Jeff emphasizes planning and delegation to avoid burnout and inefficiency in managing day-to-day tasks. The Importance of Customer Feedback: Talking to customers and seeking feedback is flagged as a crucial business practice. Successful entrepreneurs spend more time understanding customer needs, which can lead to smarter product decisions.  

Welcome back to Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Getting the Most Out of Meetings. Introduction & Personal Experiences with Meetings: Jeff and Mercer kick off the episode by sharing their mixed experiences with meetings. Jeff emphasizes the context-dependent nature of meetings and how team dynamics play a crucial role in their effectiveness. The Purpose of Meetings & Common Pitfalls: Mercer and Jeff discuss the misuse of meetings, such as scheduling sessions without a clear purpose. Mercer introduces the concept of "headline calls," short 15-minute meetings focused on updates and specific support to increase productivity. Efficient & Effective Meeting Practices: The hosts break down how pre-planning, clear agendas, and limiting large meetings can improve efficiency. They emphasize the need to ruthlessly "kill sacred cows" by reevaluating the necessity of repetitive or ineffective meetings. Balancing Internal & External Meetings: Jeff shares the importance of managing time effectively between internal and external meetings. The hosts advocate for using meetings strategically, whether for management, teaching, or reporting, rather than allowing meetings to consume the workday. Empowering Teams by Releasing Control: Mercer highlights the value of removing business owners from certain meetings to foster team autonomy. By giving team members ownership over problem-solving, teams can grow more creative and independent, which benefits the whole company. Best Practices & Final Meeting Tips: Key meeting guidelines include limiting meeting lengths to 15 minutes, setting clear agendas, and reevaluating the need for meetings regularly. Jeff and Mercer suggest adding fun incentives like "bonus points" for ending meetings early to inspire efficiency.  

Discover the value of no buy surveys in understanding customer hesitations and gathering crucial feedback. Mercer and Jeff share how simple questions can unlock insights and drive business strategy. Learn about the structured approach that rekindles interest and can potentially boost revenue by 10%. They also discuss the importance of personalization in surveys, ensuring engagement and value for potential customers. This deep dive into customer behavior offers practical tactics for improving sales and enhancing marketing effectiveness.

Welcome back to Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Use the system to improve the system Systems Are Evolving Tools, Not Static: Jeff highlights the breakthrough realization that systems aren't rigid but should always be open to feedback, improvement, and new ideas. Systems should evolve alongside new technologies for maximum efficiency. Day Zero Culture for Constant Improvement: Taking inspiration from Amazon's "Day Zero" approach, Jeff and Mercer stress that systems should never reach a state of stasis. Embracing a Day Zero mindset ensures that systems can continuously improve and support business growth. The Power of Feedback Loops & Problem-Solving: Mercer emphasizes solving real problems with systems in production instead of hypothetical ones. Continuous feedback allows for iterative improvement, ensuring that systems remain relevant and agile. 90% Done is the Sweet Spot: Jeff believes that systems are never truly "finished"—they're always 90% done and evolving. Empowering users to take ownership of systems and utilize their expertise fosters a competitive edge. Systems as a Service (SaaS) Mentality: Jeff introduces the concept of "systems as a service," likening systems to software that can always be updated and improved. Businesses should embrace the iterative nature of systems to stay ahead of the curve. Constant Iteration Drives Business Growth: Both hosts stress the importance of starting with the systems you have and improving from there. Continuous iteration ensures that systems help businesses scale, organize processes, and boost efficiency. Everyone is a "systems person" once they realize the power of iteration.  

Welcome back to Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Developing Team Culture. Defining Team Culture: Jeff and Mercer define team culture as the company's character, emphasizing it's a living, breathing entity that evolves and can be influenced by individuals, especially leadership. Strategic Choices in Culture Development: Mercer discusses the importance of making strategic choices in shaping team culture, highlighting the "trust but verify" principle to encourage accountability and process improvement. Allowing Failure for Growth: Jeff shares his journey from perfectionism to allowing planned failures, emphasizing the importance of letting team members fail to build resilience and foster personal and organizational growth. Coaching vs. Teaching in Leadership: Jeff distinguishes between coaching and teaching, stressing the need for a coaching approach in business to help team members develop their solutions and leadership skills. Balancing Ambition and Contentment: Mercer emphasizes the importance of setting realistic goals and finding a balance between ambition and contentment, aiming for "more than enough" rather than unattainable levels of success. Nurturing a Prolific Culture: Mercer and Jeff contrast prolific culture with hustle culture, advocating for working smart, developing long-term strategies, and fostering a nurturing environment that allows for natural evolution of team culture over time.

Welcome back to Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Behind the Scenes: Writing Our First Book: Initial Thoughts and Experiences: Jeff introduces the topic of writing their first book and the initial challenges faced, including rapid industry changes. Mercer recalls Jeff's earlier work on service stacking and is curious about the process. Strategies for Writing a Timeless Book: Mercer and Jeff agree on focusing on strategies and management principles rather than tool-specific content. Jeff highlights his experience with a book accelerator program and acknowledges the effectiveness of a framework-based book. Developing the Book Concept and Structure: Jeff explains the evolution of his broad "Profit Pillars" concept to a specific and focused framework on sales and service stacking. He shares the process of validating the concept through workshops and using the recordings as an outline for the book. Writing and Editing the Book: Jeff details the process of hiring a ghostwriter and navigating the initial drafting stage. He shares the time-consuming nature of editing and the decision to personally handle the final edits to maintain consistency. Marketing and Promoting the Book: Jeff discusses book marketing challenges and the necessity of having an effective book funnel. He shares his experiences with a book funnel service and the importance of having a pre-existing audience. Lessons Learned and Future Plans: Jeff reflects on the overall experience, rating it low for immediate results but high for valuable learning. The episode concludes with a recap of the key points and a look at the next steps for their book project.  

Discover the innovative concept of RAD products, focusing on Results, Actions, and Delivery. Explore how defining user outcomes enhances product development and drives business success. Learn the importance of emphasizing benefits over features to stand out in the market. Gain insights into validating product benefits before investing resources and the necessity of timely delivery for customer loyalty. Real-world examples illuminate effective strategies for maximizing stakeholder satisfaction and improving service quality.

Welcome back to the ProfitSchool podcast with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Management Mistakes. Topics Covered In This Episode Introduction to Management Mistakes: Jeff Sauer and Mercer introduce the topic of management mistakes on "Business Unfiltered," emphasizing the value of learning from errors to aid others in avoiding similar pitfalls. Early Management Experiences: Jeff highlights his journey from a small team to managing 50 people with no formal training, reflecting on the initial challenges of wanting to be the “cool boss” and the importance of providing structured feedback and coaching. Importance of Clear Communication and Expectations: Discussing the "wagon wheel mentality," Jeff and Mercer emphasize the need for managers to empower their teams by providing clear direction, enabling problem-solving skills, and avoiding taking over tasks themselves. Hiring and Firing Decisions: Jeff and Mercer discuss the perils of quick hiring without due diligence, the necessity of daily check-ins during onboarding, and the difficulty of firing employees who initially seemed promising but failed to meet expectations. Empowering the Team and Setting Clear Goals: They highlight the need to nurture team growth through constant communication about career development, warn against early introduction of incentive plans, and stress the importance of setting clear, attainable goals. Investing Smartly and Managing Performance: Jeff advises against hiring for multiple roles unless necessary, sharing insights on making smart investments with clear returns. They also cover avoiding quick bonuses, the pitfalls of profit-sharing incentive plans, and the importance of setting realistic expectations to maintain team motivation.  

Dive into the art of sales discovery calls, where conversation trumps interrogation. Learn how to identify client needs and align solutions effectively. The podcast discusses the critical differences between discovery calls and pitches, emphasizing the importance of nurturing relationships. Discover key qualifying questions to discern serious clients from those who might compromise your business quality. Strategies for understanding clients' budgets, timelines, and mindsets are explored, ensuring only the right prospects make the cut!

Welcome back to Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Feeding Your Sales Pipeline.   Topics Covered In This Episode Introduction to Pipeline Feeding: Mercer and Jeff delve into the fundamentals of feeding a sales pipeline, emphasizing the importance of nurturing leads across all funnel stages—top, middle, and bottom. Defining Sales Funnel Stages: Jeff introduces the concept of "small data" for small businesses and stresses optimizing the middle funnel. The duo underscores defining marketing qualified leads and the steps in between funnel stages. Nurturing the Pipeline: The conversation highlights the need for planning and a logical approach to nurturing leads from awareness to commitment, leveraging educated guesses and understanding customer behavior. Off-Site and On-Site Marketing Strategies: Balancing off-site and on-site marketing, Mercer and Jeff discuss driving traffic through retargeting ads and off-site offers, and the importance of personalizing communication using modern technology. Role of Discipline and Planning: Emphasizing the importance of discipline, the hosts talk about slowing down to think through the pipeline stages, using data and primary research for effective management, and embracing failure as part of growth. Final Thoughts and Actionable Steps: Mercer and Jeff wrap up by urging listeners to take action, even starting with basic plans. They highlight the use of data for pipeline improvement and encourage joining the Profit School community to apply the podcast insights.