The Friday Habit

Allan Langer, the bestselling author of “The 7 Secrets to Selling More by Selling Less," joins Ben and Mark on this episode of The Friday Habit. Allan has committed his career to understand and teach about pricing psychology and consumer behavior, and his insights could be game-changers for entrepreneurs and business owners. Allan has found that most decision-makers come up with their pricing based on a computer-generated algorithm or a formula they have created to get them their desired profit margin. However, what if this method is severely undercutting the margins you could be making if you had a pricing strategy? You have probably noticed that most prices end in the number nine, but did you know that this practice is grounded on research that shows that consumers feel good about paying for products or services ending in nine? They haven’t been able to determine why, but repeated studies have shown this result. A second pricing strategy that Allan recommends is to always provide your clients with three-tiered options. You could use the movie theater popcorn example of a small for $5, a medium for $7.50, or a large for $8.00. By making the large only slightly more expensive than the medium, you are positioning it as the best option psychologically, which will make your customer feel good about their purchase from the beginning. You can sell with integrity and still get the client to choose the option that is best for both of you. In regards to determining your pricing strategy from the start, Allan says it is imperative to decide what you’re worth and stick with it. Do good work, and don’t devalue your services just to attract the “price shoppers." You don’t want to work with them anyway. Come back next week for the conclusion of our conversation with Allan!Connect with Allan:https://allanger.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Selling-More-Less-Reinventing/dp/1794315497 Connect with us:https://www.thefridayhabit.com/thefridayhabit@knapsackcreative.com https://www.instagram.com/benjaminmanleyhttp://www.benjaminmanley.com/https://www.brandvivamedia.com/https://www.facebook.com/Marklab2https://www.linkedin.com/in/marklab2/ 

In this episode of The Friday Habit, Mark and Ben share why and how to effectively conduct quarterly check-in meetings with each of your team members, including the benefits this can bring to your business. Essentially, check-ins are pre-arranged, lasting approximately an hour. Check-in meetings offer opportunities to discuss how things are going, provide feedback, and meet with each employee individually.So why do you need to implement this practice into your business?These meetings provide a space for intentionally staying connected with your team by building this communication time into your structures and culture.When employees know you are setting aside this time and ask them how things are going, they are more likely to provide honest feedback than they would have without this structured time.It is a great opportunity to review job descriptions with each team member. This will ensure their actual job functions align with what is written in their job description, and you can discuss any adjustments that need to be made.Most businesses conduct annual performance reviews (if they conduct them at all), but quarterly meetings are much more effective for true performance evaluations in a less intense environment.How should you implement this structure for the first time?Give your employees a heads-up that this will be coming before scheduling a meeting on their calendar.Set expectations for honest and clear communication.Establish a performance review chart and communicate the criteria ahead of time. Perhaps send a blank chart to each employee a week prior to their quarterly check-in. This will allow them to do some self-evaluation and then compare notes during your meeting.Recognize each team member’s strong and weak areas verbally during the check-in.Prepare a list of general questions to lead the discussion.Discuss any necessary pay raises, responsibility shifts, and job title changes as well as their career plans and how those align (or don’t align) with those of the company long-term.Be humble and receptive to their feedback, and then do what you say you are going to do.Your action item after this episode is to implement these quarterly check-ins by communicating the purpose to your team and then schedule them.Connect with us:https://www.thefridayhabit.com/thefridayhabit@knapsackcreative.com https://www.instagram.com/benjaminmanleyhttp://www.benjaminmanley.com/https://www.brandvivamedia.com/https://www.facebook.com/Marklab2https://www.linkedin.com/in/marklab2/ 

We’ve all felt it, and on this episode of The Friday Habit we are talking about it: imposter syndrome. Perhaps right now you lack confidence in your skills and you feel inadequate no matter how successful you are. Here are 8 keys to building your personal brand and pressing into it with confidence:Specialization – Have a niche and be confident in describing it to others.Leadership – Think about where you want to be a leader and get involved in those communities.Personality – Be genuine and people will gravitate towards you.Distinctiveness – By being authentically you, you are expressing your brand identity in a unique way that will engage people.Visibility – Be seen repeatedly and consistently by networking and telling people what you do.Utility – Be the same publicly and privately and be committed to continuous growth.Persistence – Be willing to fail and look stupid while you are growing your brand. It will take time to get where you want to be.Goodwill – Create a positive impact and provide value to those you come in contact with. Be kind, pay it forward, and give good advice rather than primarily being concerned with your bottom line.Your action item after this episode is to reverse engineer yourself to become who you want to be and to confidently proclaim what you do when you are asked.Links:Blog post: https://medium.com/@brandviva/8-ways-to-get-over-your-imposter-syndrome-and-start-building-your-personal-brand-2529484e9022https://www.videoask.com/Connect with us:https://www.thefridayhabit.com/thefridayhabit@knapsackcreative.com https://www.instagram.com/benjaminmanleyhttp://www.benjaminmanley.com/https://www.brandvivamedia.com/https://www.facebook.com/Marklab2https://www.linkedin.com/in/marklab2/ 

We pick back up mid-conversation with Greg Hickman on this episode of The Friday Habit. He is talking about how agencies and businesses that function mostly in the full-service space spend too much time and energy thinking that the grass is greener on the DIY side of things, and vice versa. Ultimately, your best bet is to find a sweet spot right in the middle and then branch out in either direction to have multiple income streams and a variety of clients. He describes this as a ladder with one-to-one higher-cost product offerings at the top and several rungs down you get to one-to-many self-service product offerings. Greg encourages businesses to have 1-3 product offerings and to never have more product offerings than you have employees. Here are a few questions Greg recommends you ask yourself about your business:What does this market need?What do I need?What am I designing this for?What are my goals?Is it worth it?At the end of the episode, Greg describes his top 3 action items for listeners:Document your current process and focus on doing what you are good atWrite out your 3-5 year goals and reverse-engineer your life to get thereFind a mentor to shorten your learning curveConnect with Greg:greg@altagency.com https://altagency.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIMW0w-FD3yXlz3MR0aAEqAConnect with us:https://www.thefridayhabit.com/thefridayhabit@knapsackcreative.com https://www.instagram.com/benjaminmanleyhttp://www.benjaminmanley.com/https://www.brandvivamedia.com/https://www.facebook.com/Marklab2https://www.linkedin.com/in/marklab2/ 

Our guest on this episode of The Friday Habit is Greg Hickman, founder of Alt Agency. Greg graduated from a small liberal arts college and earned a business management degree, then joined one of his classmates at a big brand agency as a project manager. Working with all departments at the agency really helped give him a good understanding of the design process and working with clients. Before long, he decided to go out on his own to help personal brands sell their courses and develop sales funnels, eventually providing full-service automation. This experience helped him realize that monthly recurring revenues were not scalable or sustainable for his team and he found himself in a cycle of needing more help to take on new clients but not being able to afford to hire anyone new. As he began to process how he might be able to shift his model, he focused on the 80/20 rule and decided to start with productizing his services and then introduce retainers later in the sales process. They also flipped the script on client work, waiting until the client created the required content before having his team start their portion of the project to reduce unnecessary backups waiting on the client. This became the Foundations flagship program offered by Alt Agency, teaching people that they have to specialize before they can productize. Businesses that successfully productize market to a specific problem and articulate to consumers how they can solve that problem. They also systematize all parts of the funnel, from lead generation to onboarding to communication to billing. Come back next week for the second half of Mark and Ben’s conversation with Greg!Connect with Greg:https://altagency.com/ Connect with us:https://www.thefridayhabit.com/thefridayhabit@knapsackcreative.com https://www.instagram.com/benjaminmanleyhttp://www.benjaminmanley.com/https://www.brandvivamedia.com/https://www.facebook.com/Marklab2https://www.linkedin.com/in/marklab2/ 

This episode of The Friday Habit podcast is dedicated to everyone out there who is looking for a little extra help to maintain or improve their productivity, particularly those people who find themselves thinking “Isn’t there an app out there that can help me with this one thing I need to do AND is well-designed and beautiful to stare at?!” Rest assured that Ben and Mark have got you covered.Here is Mark’s list:Spark Mail – This app for Apple and iOS allows you to combine all of your email inboxes into one, snooze emails that you aren’t ready to address yet, schedule responses, pin urgent emails to the top of your inbox, and collaborate with your team members on specific emails without bogging down your inbox.Paste – This app is like an archived copy + paste function. It allows you to scroll through your clipboard and retrieve previously copied content so you can paste it now. There is also an iPhone app, so you can integrate your computer and phone seamlessly.Overcast – A podcast curation app that compiles all of your subscribed podcasts into one place, Overcast provides you with the ability to share specific clips of episodes with people and has a smart speed function that can make episodes shorter without distorting the audio.Pixelmator Pro – If you have ever needed an app like Photoshop but you haven’t wanted to shell out the serious cash required by an Adobe subscription, Pixelmator Pro is the answer to all of your problems. Just trust us on this one.Calcbot – Essentially, this is a simple calculator with an archive function that allows you to go back to previous calculations for reference.And here is Ben’s list:Things – Things is a to-do list and project management app that Ben describes as “simple, minimal, powerful, and intentional” which allows you to schedule tasks and reminders in an environment that promotes productivity.Bear – This is an app for writing and note-taking which features tags, markdown, search, and full-screen focus functions.Mindnode – Mindnode is an app for mind mapping, which is great for brainstorming and so much more.Tempo – An email app which is currently in beta, Tempo aims to solve your email problem by batch delivering new emails into your inbox at specified times and showing you one email at a time for you to categorize or respond to.Loom – Loom allows you to record your screen or your face or both and easily share these videos with others.Your action item after this episode is to take a look at your apps and evaluate which ones are really helping you, perhaps investing in a few new apps that will help you be more productive.Links:Product Hunt: https://www.producthunt.com/ Spark Mail: https://sparkmailapp.com/ Paste: https://pasteapp.io/ Overcast: https://overcast.fm/ Pixelmator Pro: https://www.pixelmator.com/ Calcbot: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/calcbot-2/id376694347 Things: https://culturedcode.com/ Bear: https://bear.app/ Mindnode: https://mindnode.com/ Tempo: https://www.yourtempo.co/ Loom: https://www.loom.com/ Connect with us:https://www.thefridayhabit.com/thefridayhabit@knapsackcreative.com https://www.instagram.com/benjaminmanleyhttp://www.benjaminmanley.com/https://www.brandvivamedia.com/https://www.facebook.com/Marklab2https://www.linkedin.com/in/marklab2/ 

On this episode of The Friday Habit podcast, we are finishing up the discussion started last week about the daily rituals that Mark and Ben practice to help them be more productive while still having plenty of time with their families. Ben gets up and intentionally gives his wife some time to herself before he leaves for work, fixing her coffee, and taking care of breakfast for the kids so she can prepare for the day. Next, he usually goes for a run with his son followed by taking a cold shower and riding his electric bike or one-wheel to work. Once he gets to work, he immediately jumps into the most important task that he has set aside for himself the night before, using the pomodoro technique and/or the Portal app to help him concentrate.Mark wakes up before the rest of his family so he can have his coffee and take time to clear his head before starting his day. Next, he goes to the gym (when it is open) and spends some time in the sauna followed by heading to work on his electric bike if the weather is good. Once he gets to work, he gets to a zero inbox using the Spark mail app. This app allows you to easily categorize emails, snooze them if you want to be reminded to reply later, schedule emails to be sent later, collaborate with team members, and create and use templates. Another mail app that Ben recommends is Tempo, which is set up to make you focus on only one message at a time.Your action item after this episode is to think through your current routine and consider tweaks that you can make to jumpstart your productivity and creativity in the morning.Links:Smaggle article: http://www.smaggle.com/4-slightly-weird-morning-rituals-that-will-change-your-life/Portal app: https://portal.app/ $50 off Rad Power Bikes:https://www.talkable.com/x/xqRj0aSpark app: https://sparkmailapp.com/ Tempo app: https://www.yourtempo.co/ Connect with us:https://www.thefridayhabit.com/thefridayhabit@knapsackcreative.com https://www.instagram.com/benjaminmanleyhttp://www.benjaminmanley.com/https://www.brandvivamedia.com/https://www.facebook.com/Marklab2https://www.linkedin.com/in/marklab2/ 

On this episode of The Friday Habit, our topic is evening rituals for entrepreneurs with families and the idea that a great day starts the day before. Once the workday ends every day, Mark and Ben are both committed to spending intentional and focused time with their families over dinner where everyone discusses their highlights and lowlights from the day. They also try to do an activity like a walk, a game, or play outside together after dinner and read together before the kids go to bed. They believe that it is important to be present with their kids when they are young and to build strong bonds that will keep their families close even after the kids have grown.Ben finds separation from work and home by riding his electric bike home and mentally transitioning to family time on the way. Mark and Ben both set their clothes out for the next day on the night before and try to do some reflective journaling as well as preparing a to-do list and/or a priority task for the morning. They have both found that this family-focused and forward-thinking routine allows them to be meaningfully productive, focused on the things that matter most.Links:Day One app: https://dayoneapp.com/ Portal app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/portal-focus-sleep-escape/id1436994560 Connect with us:https://www.thefridayhabit.com/thefridayhabit@knapsackcreative.com https://www.instagram.com/benjaminmanleyhttp://www.benjaminmanley.com/https://www.brandvivamedia.com/https://www.facebook.com/Marklab2https://www.linkedin.com/in/marklab2/ 

Maybe you are like Ben and Mark and you’ve found that positivity helps you have better personal and professional success in life. Or maybe you are one of those people who Mark and Ben smile at relentlessly in the elevator until you make eye contact and smile back. Either way, this episode of The Friday Habit podcast is intended to give you practical pointers for promoting positivity. When you find yourself struggling with negativity or pessimism, try these ways of improving your attitude:Identify the source – Ask yourself why you are feeling this way. If it’s helpful, you could write it down to help you trace the source better.Go for a walk – Even a 5-minute mental break that raises your heart rate has been proven to improve your mood and help you have a clearer mind.Take a short nap – Taking a 15-minute nap has a unique way of refreshing your mind and body to give you a fresh perspective on even the toughest problems.Do something creative – Do something with your hands like working with clay, painting, drawing, or making music that will give you the headspace to think.Meditate and breathe – Take a few deep breaths - with your eyes closed if you feel like it – to get centered and give your mind even a few seconds of calm.Eat healthy – Eating junk food (or not eating at all) can really bring down your attitude, so have a stash of healthy snacks nearby to give you a quick pick-me-up.Put things in perspective – Remind yourself what you have already overcome in life and in this situation and remember that things will not always be the way they are right now.Listen to upbeat music – Sometimes music can help you process things better than anything else. Check out some of the playlists linked below if you need a place to start.Hang out with positive friends – You are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Think about that. If you want to be a more positive person, surround yourself with positive people.Acknowledge the good things – Have an attitude of gratitude and keep the right perspective. A great way to do this is by working it into your morning routine.Remember that your attitude shapes your present and your future and you have the power to shape your attitude.Links:Morning Motivation playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DXc5e2bJhV6puChill Covers playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWXnscMH24yOcLobby Music playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DZ06evO1pfLKkThe Enneagram: https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-testConnect with us:https://www.thefridayhabit.com/thefridayhabit@knapsackcreative.com Ben:https://www.instagram.com/benjaminmanleyhttp://www.benjaminmanley.com/Mark:https://www.brandvivamedia.com/https://www.facebook.com/Marklab2https://www.linkedin.com/in/marklab2/ 

Within the first few clicks on the websites of most organizations, you can find their mission and vision statements that they communicate to the world. But what do they communicate internally? Access.mobile International’s Todd Evenson has focused his journey as an entrepreneur and leader on the establishment of the values of the organization first, before crafting the mission and vision that are expected by consumers. Essentially, your values, mission, and vision outline the who, what, and why you are in business.The values of your business are those things that you want to consciously do and the behaviors you expect of yourself and your employees. If you were to sit down and think about the values you want to establish, a good place to start is with the values that would combat the things that make your stomach hurt. If dishonesty is a deal-breaker for you (as it should be), then set up honesty in all things as a core value, for example. Your values should be specific, aspirational, and easily understood so that you can gauge whether potential hires are a good culture fit for your organization.It is also important that you train your employees to recognize and understand the significance of these values in the midst of everyday tasks. Prioritize the values for them and train them to make decisions based on those priorities, then empower them to make decisions within that framework whether you are involved or not.Once you have been in business long enough to understand your market position and how you are meeting the needs of your consumers, now it is time to determine your mission. A mission statement starts with a belief and is typically short, clear, and answers the “why” question. This will help you craft a vision, which is the 30,000 foot view of your purpose. You could think of your vision as the impact on the world if your organization had perfect execution on a broad scale.Connect with Todd:https://www.accessmobile.io/https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-evenson-4a66008Connect with us:https://www.thefridayhabit.com/thefridayhabit@knapsackcreative.com https://www.instagram.com/benjaminmanleyhttp://www.benjaminmanley.com/https://www.brandvivamedia.com/https://www.facebook.com/Marklab2https://www.linkedin.com/in/marklab2/