Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify Podcasts | Amazon Music
Learn how one company, Corporatefilming.com, reached its highest revenue ever by focusing on using vulnerability for business growth opportunities. By treating his customers as friends and harnessing the power of stories Trevor Rappleye shares with us his secrets on how his company had such a great year. He shares several strategies he uses to stay close to his clients, which has led him to the best year of his company’s history. He also shares how transparency has been the key to building a team that is 100% committed to the company and their clients. Much of this comes from his greatest tool to choose new business, asking his team what types of clients they enjoy working with, and which clients they have had the most fun with.
Be More Transparent
Trevor shared two ways in which he was more transparent this year that has led to business growth opportunities. One way is being transparent about financial information and the other way, is increasing transparency in standup meetings.
Share transparent financial information
If your business is hurting for money and you’re considering a new contract that’s not your ideal client, get your team’s input on it. Do they want to work with a not-so-perfect client? Or would they want to lose their hours? What’s the Trade off?
Be transparent when a client cuts part of a contract, with the cost of a new contract and most importantly the expenses that go with that contract and allow your team to budget their own projects.
Be Transparent in Stand Up Meetings
Share what you as the leader- or CEO- plan on doing that day, ask what others are planning on doing,
Share big wins
Require video on calls to increase connection to each other.
To Grow Your Business, Leverage The Power of Story
Your Team’s individual stories are important to building relationships with your clients. Also, your company’s stories are important to building relationships with your clients. You can leverage the connection between you and your clients by using stories.
Early in the pandemic, Trevor had his team film their own film crew showing how they were working safely. This sparked business growth and made a huge difference for his clients to choose to continue to work with them. The videos gave them visible information that created the trust the clients needed to continue to work together. Some people are still fearful of leaving their houses right now, whether they are living with someone who is high risk, or they are high risk themselves. It’s important for you as the leader and for your team, to share with your customers how you are operating in a way that limits the chance of exposure.
Create two videos to grow your business:
- COVID Safety Video
- How your company works safely now with precautions in place.The benefit of this video is that it expresses to your client the importance of safety. It shows that safety is your number one priority and visibly shows how you can still operate your service with proper measures in place.
- Employee Story Video
- A short story video for you and each of your team members to use on your email signature. Share two or three facts about yourself that you would like your customers to know about you.
- The benefits of this video are
- It helps your clients learn about you on a personal level. When they’re getting to know you on a personal level, they become more understanding when mistakes occur because they see you as a human rather than just your position. They see you beyond being a vendor or your position in the company.
- It sets you apart from your competition because now you stand out in a crowd of other companies that don’t share about the stories behind their employees. When considering you as a client, you will be the one they remember and choose.
To Develop Your Business, Make Your Client Your Friend
Your clients should be your friends. Friendship is a valuable element in keeping current clients, reconnecting with past clients, and getting new clients. Keep a monthly communication plan with your clients-and past clients. Use these phone calls for specifically getting to know them.
Critically Consider Your Client Base to Grow Your Business
Listen really well in the first phone call with your new potential client.
Ask Your Team what kind of clients they want to work with and if they have fun working with the clients. Knowing what your ideal client is truly is one of the keys to business growth. In Trevor’s story with his wedding clients, it felt like they were growing, when the impact was that his team wasn’t happy filming the wedding videos.
Links:
To hear the full story for business growth opportunities, listen to this episode today.
Online Courses for Leaders Leading a Team From Anywhere:
Check out these online courses for remote leaders from the Team Anywhere Team.
How to Be an Effective Remote Manager | How to Build Virtual Accountability
Quotes:
About Trevor Rappleye
- Has closed over 5 million in sales,
- Started his own company and been filming since 13,
- Has filmed for over 500 clients and events, totaling well over 100,000 minutes,
- Works with Fortune 100 companies,
- Is working to be a Certified Franchise Executive.
Rate, Review, and Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
If you loved this podcast episode, please consider rating and reviewing our show! This helps us support more leaders, just like you, move toward leading the teams they have and thrive from anywhere. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode.
Also if you haven’t done so already, you can subscribe to the podcast so you never miss out on one of our new releases! Subscribe now!
This episode is brought to you by Marymount University, School of Business and Technology: innovative solutions up-skilling for the what’s next economy. Oyster Organizational Development dedicated to higher performance, business success, and leveraging team. And Wejungo designing customized talent acquisition solutions.
