155. WTF “creating value” actually means

Brooke Monaghan23min

Brooke Monaghan

00:00

You're listening to transcend your dichotomy, the podcast where we break the rules that say we have to leave ourselves behind in pursuit of success. I'm Brooke Monaghan and I created the show for purpose driven business owners. Together, we'll talk about how to go for your goals have an impact, all while honoring yourself, your desires and your values.

Brooke Monaghan

00:26

If you've been around here for a while, you know that this whole podcast started because I was so fucking sick of this standard surface level advice on how to make it as a business owner. I felt like it was not getting into the real stuff. I felt like a lot of it was honestly total bullshit. And if you are new, if you haven't been around here for a while, and you're new Hi, welcome. I'm so glad that you're listening. Today, we're kind of going back to our roots a little bit because, well, I will say maybe we're not going back to our roots, but we're coming full circle, because a lot of the things that drove me fucking like wild in the beginning, are things that now I have a much better understanding of a few years into business. And I've realized, oh, that's actually really good advice. It's just being communicated really poorly. I think this idea of creating value, quote, creating value, you hear it so much. If you are ever researching, you know how to create, you know, converting, like email sequences or funnels or whatever. This is a concept that really got to me in the beginning, because I was like, obviously, like, What are you even saying, like you, you may as well just be saying to me, like, the sky is blue? Like, that's the most obvious thing. I don't know how I'm supposed to use that to help me if it were like, What do you mean, you're just explaining to me how transactions work like you create something of value, and then people give you money for it, because that's not helpful. Anyways, I have been able to kind of reframe this for myself and for my clients. And I want to help you do that, because it can really help you to, first of all, implement some of this great advice that's out there that I think is just being communicated kind of poorly. But definitely create offers that get people results that keep people coming back that that feel really impactful, honestly, like offers that are going to feel more aligned for you that I think you're going to like more. And also it makes it a lot easier to sell them. Now throughout this, I'm going to be using the aligned business portal as an example of how I've kind of done this with that offer. So the aligned business portal is a brand new offer that I have been working on. And if you're listening to this in real time, I'm actually opening the doors to the aligned business portal to the waitlist tomorrow, which is December 7 2022. So you can go to bit.li/aligned Business Portal, if you want to get on the waitlist, what is going to happen is you will get first dibs on a limited number of spots that I have available for people who will not only just get the product, but will also get direct support for me. So that is a product that is intended to walk you through creating really aligned offer, clarifying your messaging for that offer, and showing up to sell that offer in a way that does not feel like shit. And in addition to the product itself, if you get one of those limited 25 spots, you'll also get access to a community space where you can ask me your questions as you go. And we will also be getting on a q&a call together where you can ask me your questions, get coaching for me, and get guidance and feedback. And actually, those limited 25 spots are $50 less expensive than the regular spots where you just get the product. And the reason that I did that is because this is actually a beta test. So the whole reason I'm doing this is I want a bunch of people to test this out for me and give me their feedback. I want to understand what you're struggling with as you go through this so that I can make it really effective, it's going to be a lot easier for me to do that if I'm in direct conversation with you. So I actually want people coming into these direct support spots so that I can be in contact with you throughout. Now, no matter if you get one of those direct support spots or not. Everybody who gets the aligned business portal during this beta period is still getting a really great price. I definitely expect the price on this to go up once I put it out there for real and you're also going to get access to the new and improved version once I get everybody's feedback and make improvements to it. So bit.li/aligned business portal if you are feeling like it is time to create some more aligned offers and get really clear on your messaging. I would love to hear what you think about it, and maybe offer you some direct support. Okay, so let's get into this idea of creating value. And first, I'm actually going to fill you in, in case, this isn't something that you've heard like a million and a half times, if you look up, like how to create a sales funnel, or you know, high converting email sequences, or even if you join, like a platform like Kajabi, or something, and you go to like set up email sequences, you're gonna see templates that have this in there, it's like, okay, first, you're going to offer them this free thing, and then you're going to create value, and you're going to deliver more value, and you're going to over deliver with value. And I laugh as I say it, because it's, it actually is, it's dead on, it just doesn't really make sense. I don't think to a lot of people like in terms of like, what that actually means and how you can actually do that. And I think that people get very confused and think that creating value or adding value is like giving more stuff away. But the reality is that like people don't just want random shit, right? Like we have all signed up for the often that was garbage. Like we've all signed up for the random thing that someone wanted your email for, and it didn't actually provide any use to you. We've all signed up for email lists that are taking up space in our inboxes and are not valuable. And then we've all signed up for things that were super fucking valuable, right? And so what I think about is like, what is making something more valuable for people? And how can we simplify this concept, so that hopefully this makes a little bit more sense to you. And you can kind of walk yourself back from the Okay, I have to get it right and create value and into the Okay, like, this is how I do this, like a little bit more engaged. If you've taken my workshop, the five stages from rule follower to game changer, then you know, like there's that agency phase in the middle, where you kind of shift into like really being actually engaged in the learning process, that's my hope for you today is that I can engage you a little bit more in like what it really means for you to create value. So let's start with the obvious part. This was like the really dead obvious thing that I felt like people were like leaving it at this and it was it was getting very frustrated in the beginning. People pay like people exchange value in business, right. So like, your customers are showing up. And they're giving you money in exchange for something else that they think is as valuable as the amount of money that they just gave you. That's how financial transactions work. And typically, in a service based business, the thing that folks are exchanging money with you for is the outcome of working with you, they're going to get some kind of result from working with you. That is the thing that is valuable, right? As much as I love people that I've worked with in the past, I'm not paying them to just like hang out with them, like I don't care about paying them for their time, if I don't think that spending my time with them is going to get me an outcome. Right? So when you think about creating value, what you want to be thinking about as what is actually going to make a difference for this person, and you want to keep it so fucking simple. There is this temptation to get fancy. But if you're adding like bells and whistles to something that don't actually create a result, I would argue that it's actually making it less valuable. So I want to give you an example. Okay, so the aligned business portal product that I was just telling you about. I've been working on this for quite a while a lot of the content that's in it is stuff I developed years ago that I've kind of iterated and I've just curated it. Now, what I know from working with business owners is that they don't need typically, typically you don't need more information. Typically, what you need is for somebody to hold space for you to actually implement or integrate or get a deeper understanding of or apply things that they already know. And I keep this in mind in all of my programs.

Brooke Monaghan

09:35

I know that people already have amazing offer ideas, and really impactful messaging. I've talked about this so much like there I have so many podcast episodes from going years back about how you just need to tell the truth, like stop watering down your message. Let people hear what you really have to say that's how people are going to find you right now. So going into this offer, the question that I asked myself was what's actually going to make the difference for people so that they can actually access these ideas so that they can actually clarify like access and clarify this message so that they can actually show up and tell the truth? And you know, put that message out there without watering it down? What's actually going to make that difference? And how can I create that because I know, people do not need more worksheets on creating ideal customer avatars, and they don't need more lectures on niching down. I know that because they first of all have told me Second of all, because so many people have done those things, right. So many people have done those things. And they still have not been able to get clear on what their thing is. I've had conversations with people who have told me, I've gone through these, you know, courses or these workshops, I've answered all the questions, right? I've gotten this really clear statement at the end about what I do. And then I've looked at it and been like, but is that even what I actually want to do? Like, I don't want to do that, though. So then I'm back to the drawing board, right? So what I was asking myself the whole time is how can I set this up to not just tell folks what to do, but to create a space where I'm guiding you through it, and I'm holding space for you to access these ideas in a different way. So that for me looks like having like a guided meditation as like the first lesson and offering journal prompts and offering audio lessons that you can take anywhere and different kinds of workshops that get you like away from your screen, and different ways of thinking about who your person is, that have nothing to do with creating an ideal customer avatar, not just telling you that right? But creating like a container that guides you through it. So that's where the value is, right, the value of the aligned business portal is this different outcome that I think I can guide you to, and everything that's included in it, that's just like the process that you have to go through. Now, here's why this is so important. If you're not clear on this, it will affect the way that you are pricing, what you're offering, it's really tempting to look at everything that's included, or the amount of time that something is going to take, or you know the amount of time that it took you to create a thing and price from there. But actually, effectively pricing something it when you when you price something effectively, you want to be looking at the outcome that folks are going to get from the thing. And to kind of illustrate this, let me give you an example. Okay, let's say that there's something wrong, there's something that needs to be repaired in my house, I don't know there's something wrong with the plumbing. And there's one plumber that can do it. And it's going to take him half a day to do it. And there's another plumber who can do it, and it's going to take them two days to do it, who am I going to pay more, I'm going to pay the plumber who can do it in half a day, it doesn't matter that the other person is going to work four times as long. For me, it is more valuable to get it done faster. The reason why this is so important is because you don't want to just add extra shit into an offer because you think that it's going to make it more valuable, right? People don't care about all of the things that they're getting. What they care about is the results, the outcome. And if you add a bunch of extra stuff, because you're trying to like make it more valuable for people. But those things are not very intentional to help people achieve that result, you might be actually making it less valuable, because now you're making it confusing. You're possibly making it take more of their time, right. And so all of those extra little like bells and whistles and like fancy things that you want to add in or additional time where you're not intentional about what is actually going to happen during that time. Probably is not adding value. Okay, so let's like bring this back. So what does this have to do with you and how you want to think about your offers, I want to encourage you to just think very simply about what is actually going to make a difference for people, it is probably way more simple than you are allowing it to be. And if you can either be bold enough to just let it be that simple. Or creative enough to come up with a container that's going to help people actually like do that thing or shift into that space or better understand like whatever that thing is, that's actually going to make a difference, right? Being creative about like guiding them in a different way. That is going to be the thing that is going to first of all get people results more effectively, probably, and thus make people happier to work with you and send you referrals and people are going to stick around and all that stuff. But the other thing that it does, is it makes it way fucking easier to sell. Because you can simply speak to why you operate the way that you operate and how this offer functions. It opens up this door to being able to just tell the truth about your stuff instead of trying to get your marketing, right. And this is why I don't like thinking about things in terms of who's your ideal customer avatar? And what's your niche? And how are you creating value because I think it kind of takes you out of your own ideas and your own kind of genius and puts you into this, like trying to get the right answer. And then all of your marketing becomes about like trying to like make a case for something. And the second that you click into trying to prove that something is enough, you are no longer thinking critically about what will actually make a difference for people. And chances are you are thus making whatever it is that you're offering less valuable and harder to sell. Because those decisions are not based on what is really going to make a difference for people. And thus what is going to make us more valuable for people. And then when it's time to sell it, it's like you've got to try to like get the marketing, right, which is really not fucking fun. Like I have not met a single person that actually enjoys marketing that way. So the best way to create value is to think about what will actually create it make a difference for people, right? So think about what do they need to understand? What are the things that they're trying that are not working? What would really make the difference for them? How can you set your offers up to intentionally support that, even just explaining things to people that they didn't understand before, is really valuable for people as long as you're intentional about like, Oh, if they understood this thing, then that could shift something for them that could move them forward, right? So when if you're ever looking at like these, you know, I don't know like sequences where it's like, and then you add value and you add value, like adding value might just be you being very intentional about okay, here's the thing that they're probably a little bit confused about. And if they got that then that would shift things for them and allow them to move forward differently. Just explaining that piece is more valuable than just like adding in extra stuff, like giving random free shit, random free shit is like not helping anybody, right?

Brooke Monaghan

17:43

Why are the things that they're trying not working, if you can help people understand that and shift that mind their mindset about something so that they can do go approach it differently, that is valuable to people, right? Like that is something that creates value. And if you can create an offer or a container that is going to support these things that will really make a difference for people instead of trying to get fancy about it. That's how you're going to create the most valuable, valuable offers. And then when it comes time to market, right, the best way to market these offers is to just be honest about all of those things. At the time that I'm recording this, we are coming off of Black Friday weekend, and I was just talking on Instagram about it. My story is about how a lot of folks, I've been having conversations with people who ran sales this weekend. And they're really discouraged because it didn't go the way that they wanted it to go. And one of the conversations that I've been having with people is like, listen, like you reducing your price on something is only going to make a difference for people who already know what that thing is already understand the value of that thing already know that they want to buy it and the thing that's holding them back is the cost. And if you haven't actually communicated what the value of the thing is, then you can't expect that just putting something on sale is really going to make a difference to people. So I'm really the way that it works. So the good news is you don't need to keep reducing your price. Right? Now you can shift your focus to being honest about what the value is. And it's a lot easier to do that if you're really intentional about why your offers are set up the way that they're set up. Right. So if you think about your offers in terms of what's really going to make the difference for people, how can I set this up to facilitate that in a really intentional way, then your marketing becomes about you showing up and saying, Hey, I work with people who are experiencing these things. And what I've noticed is that trying X, Y and Z has not worked for folks. So I created this offer to go about this differently. And here's exactly why it's set up the way that it is. We work through these different things together. And by doing that you're going to get this outcome. That is a way more effective strategy than just trying to compete on price. but it is challenging to do that if you weren't intentional about the way that you created the offer, right? This is why it all comes back down to creating value by being very intentional about what's actually going to make a difference for people being bold enough to keep it simple and not add in a bunch of extra shit. Getting creative about how you can create a container that's going to facilitate that for people. And then being honest about that, not trying to prove that it's enough or convince people that they need this thing, right? It's instead about, hey, I did this with intention, here's how it works. This is how it functions differently and who it might be for right, but a lot of people are skipping over this entire step. And I think a big part of the reason is because they're actually skipping over the entire step of creating an offer with that intention behind it, and creating an offer that's really aligned with the work that they really want to be doing. Right, because when you are not focused on getting the offer, right, and you're instead creating an offer that's really aligned and intentional. It's just so it's just so much easier to show up and talk about, if you want support and doing that the aligned business portal is the place to be, it's going to walk you through Discovering your aligned offer idea, getting really specific about that offer, including how it's going to work as the pricing, clarifying your messaging, putting that messaging out there in a way that fosters real connection with people instead of just being about trying to say the right thing or get a certain result, way simplifying your marketing strategy. And then there's a bunch of really great bonuses too, that came specifically from people's feedback of what they wanted to see in the portal. So you're gonna get like a daily meditation that's going to help you get clear on what you want to say in your marketing. There's daily marketing pages to keep you on track with what you're putting out where you're getting templates that I use in my own business. To keep you on track with your messaging, you are getting workshops on finding your unique genius, you're getting a workshop on creating effective sales copy based on everything that you come up with. In the portal, you are getting a workshop on how to stick with your ideas and not waffle you're getting behind the scenes look at my marketing systems. All of that is there to help you move forward differently. And the entire process of clarifying the offers. And the messaging is done very differently. There's a private podcast feed for it, you can do almost the entire thing just with audio and a journal. There is no discussion of, you know, niching down and ideal customer avatars. Instead we're focusing on who your people are and accessing your greatest ideas and just kind of bringing lose to the surface. So bit.li/aligned Business Portal, I hope to see you there. And thanks for joining me for another episode. Transcend your dichotomy is a production of passion and process collaborative LLC. The show was produced by me Brooke Monaghan with production and marketing support from Julia pink cruncher on Johnny creates blog posts from some of our episodes, which you can find on the episode page at Brooke dash monaghan.com/podcast along with a transcript of today's episode and any other resources I shared today, if you're ready to put this work into action, head to Brooke dash monahan.com To learn more about transcend your dichotomy training camp and coaching with me. Love you. I'll see you next week.

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