From Cold Leads to Constant Referrals | 043

Jean, welcome back. Profit connectors, I have a another exciting episode today, and it is my pleasure to welcome my guest today, Jesse Holmes, let me tell you a little bit about Jesse, and then we dive into some really cool stuff that he's been working on. He has some really incredible

discoveries for you today, and this is just going to be an excellent use of your time today. So Jesse helps entrepreneurs generate one warm lead or referral every day for 90 days. Hey, Jesse, welcome to the profit connections

podcast. Thanks for having me. Sharon. I'm excited to be here. Yay.

So tell us before we dive into like, the nitty gritty, tell us a little bit about Jesse. Like, how did you get to this point? How did you discover this piece that's so instrumental in growing our businesses? So 339

ish days ago, I got a text message from my media buyer. So my last business, I spent, I don't know the exact number, I should get an exact number, but a couple million dollars on paid advertising, on print advertising, to scale my health supplement business to $11.9 million in sales. 339 ish

days ago, I get a message from my media buyer saying, hey, so and so just got hit by the FTC for $4.9 million and at that point, I said, Okay, I think it's time for me to pivot to a new business direction, because I didn't want that kind of heat head in my way. So that started me on a journey of, okay, brand

new business that was an offline business. I've been entrepreneur since I was 16 years old, but that last business I ran for about nine years, completely offline, nothing digital marketing at all, whatsoever. I used to be involved in digital marketing space very heavily before this last business, but I

just kind of popped out for a bit. Did my own thing coming back. I wanted a digital business. I wanted something where I could help people, a personal brand give value, something that had a little bit more higher margins, recurring revenue and things like that. So I started my own coaching

business for entrepreneurs. I entrepreneurs. The biggest struggle that I had was having consistent warm leads or referrals without having to spend a whole bunch of money on ads or doing really spammy cold outreach. So that was my biggest struggle, which takes me to today, which are the four shifts

that took me from not knowing at all where my next lead was coming from to having more referrals and leads that I know what to do with

awesome well, before we jump into that, can you define for me, like for me, like a cold lead is somebody that you you haven't ever met you, maybe you pick up a business card, or you find them somewhere, but there's absolutely no connection to that person at all. As opposed to a

warm lead, which you either know somebody or somebody who knows somebody referred you to them, right?

Yep, absolutely so. A cold lead would be, you know, the stuff that you see on Facebook or DMS all the time, saying, Hey, I saw you. I like to think just people you know out of the blue message you and trying to pitch you their stuff. That's what I call a cold lead. It's just like knocking on a

door. Reach out to someone you know, just handing out a flyer to someone random on the street. That's the coldest, coldest lead imaginable.

And talk about cold leads their thought. How are they in terms of sales prospects, like they you when

you meet, or the lowest of the wrong they're the worst of the worst. Right, not the worst of the worst. It's just there's no like clarity or preciseness to it. There's no it's more of a scatter shot. It's more of a spray and pray hope marketing, where if I hit, if it's a numbers game, if I hit

enough people with my strongest effort and energy, it's the most inefficient way to sell someone.

So as as we know, warm leads would be much preferable. A warm lead is somebody like you know that they're they're somehow, they've heard of you. Like a cold lead you, they don't know you at all. They don't have any idea who you are or what you do. So everything is building, you

know, you have to build all of the education around it, and a warm lead comes to you from somebody that they've been in your circle, they've heard you speak, they've interacted with you in some way, or somebody that they trust said, Hey, you should do business with this person. So that's the power of

that's the warmest lead you can possibly get. Is someone who knows, likes and trusts you already saying, Hey, I got a guy that'd be perfect for what you do like. There's no better way to build a business. Most businesses are built around referrals, word of mouth marketing, because it's the

proof that, wow, if it worked for this guy, and he's willing to tell other people about this, he must be good. It's literally the warmest lead you could possibly get.

Absolutely. I was actually at a networking event yesterday, and I met someone. They have a marketing agency, actually, and she said, for four years, every single job that they have had has come to them. Them through referrals. They don't do she said it's ironic. They're a marketing

agency. She's never marketed her marketing agency because everyone comes to her through referrals. It's

because it's a proof that they're doing something right, that their product speaks louder than their marketing, right? If someone says, you got me the result so well that I'm excited to tell somebody else, there's nothing more powerful than that.

Yeah, awesome. So I promised that we would get into a little bit of discovery today, and Jesse and I were talking before the podcast about some of the discoveries that he's made. And I think that this is a it's a really powerful way to look at what you're doing in your business, because if you

have the right attitude and the right mindset, discovery is there's a discovery in everything that you do. Even if something doesn't work, you discovered something that didn't work, a process or a system or strategy or tactic that just didn't land to get you the results that you want. So I love

the idea of discovery, and I think he said there were four that he came up with in the last how many months?

443, 100. Oh, the discovery. Well, the process has been 339, days of this journey that I've been on. But the discovery hit about a week or so ago. Was was when I started implementing this system. And it went from like, what am I going to do to Oh, my goodness, I have so much coming my way now. What

do I do? So it's been a huge shift and a complete breakthrough and game changer for me. Awesome. It's going to be really helpful, especially even if you're an established business, or if you're a brand new business getting started. Like, wow, I don't have any testimonials. I don't have any

customers. Like, how can I build warm leads and referrals if no one's worked with me yet, and so if you're a brand new entrepreneur, you don't have a single client under your belt. I promise you, this system will work for you. Awesome.

So let's get into the discoveries.

Okay, the shift number one was giving people what they want. Yes, giving and leading with giving, but giving people what they want in a way that makes them want to refer you. I struggled so much with over giving my value, I would talk about this, that and the other thing, I just give, give,

give, give, give, but it never resulted in someone saying, Oh, this would be a perfect client for you. It was just me expending energy giving with a very poor return on my giving. So this shift that I found is, how do I give them what they want that makes them want to refer with me, refer me, or

makes me want them to work with me even further?

Yeah, that's, that's a really good distinction of what you're doing, because I think we hear, you know, give it away, give your best stuff away. All Be open, be generous. And it's if you don't have the right tactic, if you don't have the right the next part, because it's not just give, it's give.

And so if you don't have that next part, it just feels like you're pouring and pouring out, pouring out, pouring out, pouring out, and you're not getting anything in return. Because, honestly, customers are that they do what you tell them to do, if you just are giving them value and not telling them

the next step or how to turn that into something else, then they're just going to take that value and say, Thank you. You're amazing and move on. So it is that next little piece that is the magic part of it. So talk a little bit more about that.

Okay, perfect. So let me give you an example of this first shift. So I gave people a lot of things, but they weren't willing to reciprocate only because I wasn't giving them what they truly wanted. I was giving what I thought they wanted. I thought they wanted content for their podcast. I

thought they wanted to learn more. I thought they wanted this and everything. The end of the day, when you're working with businesses, what they want is more business, full stop. And so I started shifting from Hey, let me talk about your podcast, about this, this and the other thing to being, here's my new

here's my new pitch. You want to hear my pitch to someone now? Yes, yes, yes, yes. Let me send some business your way?

Yeah, that's brilliant, because who's gonna say no

to that? I have yet to find someone say no.

I love that. I love that.

So that's giving them what they want. It's getting a yes, like, Yes, that's what I want. So that's shift number one. So shift number two was making sure that you know exactly who they want. So I say, Hey, do you want more business? Yes, what more was, okay, who is your ideal? Like, who do you

want more business of like, what can I send your way that would be of best value to you? And so my one little pitch for that is say, hey, my audience is full of this, that and the other thing, these clients, these coaches, six and seven figure, entrepreneurs and earners. These are the people that I have in my

network. Are these the like type of people that you like to get in front of

Well, so what I love about this is that you are digging into clarity, which is, you know, everybody is is so focused on we were talking. Earlier, about, like, the gunshot, right, the shot, the shotgun system, right? Throwing everything out there. And, you know, a lot of people are like,

I just need everybody. Everybody's my client, everybody, you know, I can, I can work with anybody. Everyone needs a roof. Everyone needs, you know, a dry cleaning. Everyone needs whatever. So, and that's not necessarily true. So getting really clear about who it is that you need to reach,

and is this person in front of you the person to help you get to that place.

That's right, that's right. And so the next shift for me was help them get in front of the right people. So now I've you want more business. Yes, are these your ideal customers? Is this type of people you want to get in front of? Yes, okay, let me help you get in front of the right

people. And I'll actually give an can actually kind of give you an example right here and now. Okay, here's what, here's what I do. And walk people through. I say, what is your transformation story that you want your customer to experience? And what were the three biggest breakthroughs or shifts that got

you from where you were to where you want to take them? So that's enter into the prospect order. Talk a little

bit more about that transformational shift, because it's a little bit of lingo, and while I think I understand what you're saying, talk a little bit more about what do you mean by that, and break that down for us. So the

best way to make to get customers as you take an unhappy person, you make them happy. You turn the frown upside down. So you just say you need to enter into where they're at their unhappy state. Say, Hey, I was where you were. Now, here were the three biggest things that turned my frown upside

down, that took me from zero to hero, regs to riches, my transformation from where you are at to where you could be, and this is where I am at. And here are the three things, or three or four things that I learned that took me from here to here.

This is so brilliant, because it works for every business, it's not just you hear transformation. Oh, what transformation do I give as a dry cleaner, you transform dirty clothes into clean clothes, and you help them look more professional, and you help them they don't have to go

through the agony of steaming their own clothes. You have. What problems are you solving? I think, for my my critical piece for any business owner is you need to understand that you are solving someone else's problem. And if you will, like, think about your business, not by what you do and how you think about

it, but how are you solving someone else's problem? And using this transformation story that Jesse's talking about actually makes it so relatable, because we know what it's like to have to, you know, be at some meeting, and our our clothes that we're going to speak on stage are dirty, and we need to

get them cleaned. And we have, yeah, I mean that that's, you know, or whatever that might be, but, but what did that transformation that the need is, I need my suit to be cleaned because I'm speaking on stage in three days. That is a problem I need solved. So the transformation you're going to

give me, if you're a dry cleaner, is to make that suit perfect for me, and I don't have to worry about it. I come by, I pick it up, it's ready to go, and I can go on out to my speaking engagement, confident that that I'm going to look good on stage. That's the transformation that even you

know, like brick and mortar doesn't have. This doesn't just mean for coaches, because it sounds really coachy languaging, but that transformation is for everyone absolutely,

absolutely. Do you want? Do you want me to help you pull out a juicy transformation story to to identify with your ideal client that might be listening to this podcast. Yes, absolutely. Okay. Okay, so what I need from you is the where you were to where you are now, and your three biggest

breakthroughs. So enter into where your ideal client may be right now, whether it's adult. For instance, I talked to someone the other day. They said, You know what? I maxed out my credit card. I spent all my money that I had on advertising and a marketing agency with poor results. Then I started my own

podcast. And here's the three things that I took me to now, going from here to now, booking half million dollars in sales using my podcast. So that was an example of his transformation store, and he gave me his three biggest breakthroughs. So I don't know exactly what your biggest transformation story,

but what is the kind of the promise that you help them and what was your transition to where you are now?

So what I personally with when I work with my clients, what I help them do, is position their businesses so that they can be profitable, that they can be sustainable and leave a legacy. That's what they want to do with their business. Because whenever people start their businesses, they start

them with just whatever's in front of them, right? They're passionate about something, they have an idea or an invention. Someone says, Hey, you'd be really great at this. And off they go into their entrepreneurial journey. And they just do. Whatever is in front of them next, okay? I need

a name, I need a bank account, I need whatever, all those things. And they put all the pieces together, and they start their business. And what happens when you build your business that way, which is the way almost everyone builds their business. There's nothing wrong with it, but that creates gaps and

weaknesses in the actual foundational principles of the business itself. I have the Seven Pillars of profit where we figure out that seven areas in your business where you need to put systems and processes in place so that you actually can grow and scale. So that's what I help my clients with, is I help

them run their business like a business, figure out what's missing, because there's stuff that you do amazingly, and then there's stuff that you that, that you don't do at all, or you do very minimally. And there's, there's ways to do it so that it, it's, uh, it runs like a top, if you will.

You know? So walk me through your transformation. What was your business like before? Like, where were you at? Where your ideal client may be right now. Where was that place that you were at before having that business running like a top what was the struggle? And where were that desperate point that

you were, that low point that you were at? And what would you say were your three biggest, like light bulb breakthrough, aha, moments that took you from that to having a smooth running business focusing on the right things that leaves a legacy? Yeah, yeah. So the

first thing that the first hurdle that I came across was I had no idea how to run a business. When we started our my husband and I ran a multiple six figure, award winning business that we ran for over a decade, and then we sold for a profit. So when, why? But, and when, when we started, had

no idea. So the first thing was to find out what, what we didn't know. So that is a piece that I bring in, you know, what? What is it that you don't know, that you're not aware of, or that you know and you don't want to do? So that was the first piece. The second piece was getting good at what we did. One of the pillars

that I talk about is the thing you do, the thing you do can be more efficient, better run there's there's ways you can put things in place so that you're focusing on only the pieces that you want to focus on and the things that you don't want to focus on. We we delegate or hire somebody Well, you know, we can

take care of that in another way, because business owners just get so bogged down with all of that. So, you know, getting good at what you do, getting really good, getting good at customer service, learning what the customers want. What is it that they're buying? Because a lot of businesses are trying to

sell something, as you said earlier, that the clients aren't buying. So we need to find out what is that thing that they're actually buying, and focus on that. And then the the third thing would be, you know, was would be scaling. We went from being able to do one thing at a time to be able to six things or

eight things or 10 things at the same time, so that we're actually maximizing how we can bring in business and do more with the same amount of time

I love that, I love that that's amazing. I'm after this podcast. I'm going to, I'm going to interview you and have you retell that story for my audience, because I think they'll put a ton of value out of that.

So thank you. So okay, yeah, so those are my that's my transformation. And three points,

I love that. That's amazing. So here's what I do with this, this part of the system. So this is step four. I record a quick five minute interview of you telling your transformation story, your three biggest breakthroughs and that, I put it in front of my highest engaged audience, and then I

help you maximize that engagement. So I tag you in the post. I say, you know, if people like or comment on this, follow up with those people, there's a reason why they liked or engaged or resonated with that story, they might either be your ideal client, or they know someone who'd be a perfect client for

you, right?

I love that and so and so. What you're doing, Jesse, is you're putting you're taking that next step, which is, you know, we also, as business owners, sometimes think about that one way street, that, and you're making it a two way street, right? You're making it so that there's, there's now a

way that you've opened a door for people to come in and to interact and connect with business, the business owners that you're talking to and and there's that we talked about the win win. I don't remember if we talked about it before we got on, we got on the call, but the Win. Win. And I'm all about

that's, that's my philosophy, win. I love to have a win, win, win, win for me, win for you, win for our clients. I love the three way win. And anytime that we are giving, and if we are taking and giving like we're closing that loop, the more powerful our network becomes the more powerful and strategic

everything that we do is, and it actually you get better, and you become more and bigger by giving back and not just being the on the taking end, because they're, you know, you've been to those networking meetings, right, where people are, like, handing out their business cards, going, here's my Here's my card. Do?

Business with a Here's my card. Do business with me. Okay, I want your business. Here's my card. What? And they're not really looking listening to even what you do or anybody else in the room is doing. They just want to hand out all their cards,

right? That's right. And this so this shift from me trying to take everything I can get to how can I give them exactly what they want, make sure it's what they want, help them get in front of the right people for them, and then maximize the value of what I give them. Once I made that

shift, I have people even before I share my post and interview with my audience, already sending me referrals and wanting to say, How can I help you more? And it's a completion. I didn't even I didn't even sell them. I didn't even like give them my product yet. I just helped them, give them what they want, and

all of a sudden, in return, like, this would be perfect for this. I have, I have one lady that sent me six referrals in the last day or two. Because it's just like, wow, and, and it's like, I didn't even, like, all I did was the four things that I just told you, and it just completely changed

everything. Right? It's, it's so powerful that, that opening the door and making the connection and being really, really clear about what, what you're sought, what problem you're solving, and that being the problem they want solved. In in my book, I have a, I have, I did a whole series on my book,

so if you want to go back and look at that, I won't go into the whole details, but one of the one of the characters in my book, Maya rat, is so focused on what she wants to do, she doesn't look at what her clients are buying and where they want to get their value. So it's really, it really is a very

common mistake that business owners make, and it's, you know, we can't blame them, right? Because when you're doing what you do, you're focused on what you do. Like, if you ask somebody what you what they do, they're going to go, oh, I make widgets. And they're really good widgets for holding up your

umbrella when it's raining outside and there. And you know what? I use this kind of material, and it takes me this long to work on it. It's really easy to use. And then gifts get so in the weeds about, you know, what they do and how they do it, and how it's it. And it's very common for business owners to

keep that viewpoint and not look at it from the point viewpoint of the customer. And that's, that's the one that we need to get better at, and that's what you're talking about today? I think,

yeah, absolutely. It's so easy to get focused on, what do I do, my effort, my this and the other thing, when it really should have nothing to do with me, it should be everything to do with my customer, what they want, what's in it for them. That's the only way that they're going to reciprocate.

Yeah, talk a little bit about that. How do you find the what's in it for them. How can we, how can business owners shift that perspective to start talking about thinking about marketing, to that that what's in it for them? Yeah, it's a

great Do you mind giving me an example of a business and let me try and walk it? Walk you through it.

Or let's pick a I did dry cleaner already. Let's pick a

restaurant, a restaurant so you gotta So, if I want So, you want to you want to help, help a restaurant. You want to sell. You want to help, to do the marketing for a restaurant. You want to help the

restaurant themselves. What I want you to do, what I'm talking about is the restaurant owner, the person who owns the business. How can they get out of the head their headspace of this is what I do. This is how I do it. I've heard it called Making the sausage, right? People don't care what

goes inside the sausage. They want to have an A good eating experience at the end. And business owners will tell you all of the things that they do and how they do it and why they do it, and what they do, and don't really think about it from the perspective of the client.

Yeah. So the biggest thing is, you got to figure out, what does my ideal client want? What are they is that they truly want for me when I'm working with other business owners? Business owners, they want more business. If you're a restaurant owner, they want food. So you need to say, give

them what they want, even if it's like a sample or something that way, for free, and then get their feedback. Say, Hey, is this what you want? Is this what you really is this what like? And then tell me about it is, you know, tell me what, what it was like when you when you tried it, and what you would suggest

to improve it, and then, like, build in a system of can you, would you, if I did this for you, would you be willing to invite your friends and family to help come and enjoy a meal together? Kind of thing? Lead with figuring out what they want, making sure you're giving them what they really want, and

then help them get, help them get what they want and maximize what you're giving them.

Yeah, so one way you could do that as a restaurant owner is, have you know, if you have four dishes, like, try all four dishes, which one did you prefer? Or you could do like, which one is more popular? I'm offering four dishes and I'm going to track for two. Weeks, which one sells

the most? Then that's your your customers are going to tell you, Hey, this is the one we like. Item number one the best. That's the one you sold far and above more more of than the other three. Or if it's a tie, you know, look at the numbers and measurements. And numbers are amazing power tools as a

business owner. Please measure and and keep track and use numbers wherever you can, because it makes it really clear what the distinctions are, and it makes it really a clear path to making decisions. So if we know that number one of 250 people that came in, there were 200 that bought item number one

and liked it. Didn't come back and complain, stopped and said, Hey, this is, this is terrific. Then you can focus on number one. Make more of what number one is, maybe make derivatives of that. You know that that way you you're listening to what they're saying, as opposed to, you know, this is my grandmama's

recipe, and it's item number three. And why didn't anyone buy like, grandmama's recipe and, and they should really be buying that. That's the thing that I love. What's the thing that they love? So be focused. Listen to your clients. Be on them that end of them,

taking ourselves completely out of the equation and putting the other person the equation instead. Absolutely,

yeah, absolutely, yeah. And here's another little Rando tip. As a business owner, if you have, even if you, if you're online, walk in your front door like a customer, walk to your space and look around and observe everything smell. What is the smell if you're in a restaurant?

Does it smell delicious? Does it smell like dirty mop water? Does it you know what? What is, what is everyone see what you really need to at least once a quarter, or minimum once a year, walk into the front door of your business and observe what what someone else would see. Or you could have somebody that you

know come in and look around and tell you everything that they see, because it's business owners. When we're in it, when we see it every day, we don't see things anymore. And so that's a really important thing, is, again, it's all from the perspective of the client. What do they want? What do they see?

What's their experience?

I love that. I love that. I love that.

Yeah, so Jesse, what did we go we went through all four discoveries, right? Do you have anything, any other little nugget you want to share before I hear that you have a gift for us as well. So you have a nugget and a gift for us?

Yeah. So just to, just to think, just to paint the picture for people might be listening. You know, if you were able to generate just one warm leader referral every single day for the next nine days, what would that mean and look like for your business? And the cool thing about this system is, like

I said, it doesn't take a lot of time. It doesn't take a lot of a lot of thing. You just gotta follow the system. And if I was able to plug that into your business, walk you and hold you by your hand and do it for you and with you to make sure you stay consistent at it in just a few minutes every single day.

How would that transfer you transform your business over the next 90 days, over the next six months, over the next year, if you had a system that just consistently generated referrals and clients for your business, even if you're brand new in business, what would that look like? Because it's the lifeblood

of a business. If I have a generation machine that does not stop I constantly, you have to be an absolutely the worst businessman in the world. If you had 90 referrals coming to you in the next 90 days, and you couldn't close a single one of them. And if it just kept just the process of having one new

one come in every single day, you would get better at closing them, just as a process of it like there's no way you could just keep hitting your head against the wall for 90 days without getting someone to buy especially if it's the warmest lead, it's the lead of someone that says, Wow, what this person

does is amazing. If you can't close that deal, slam dunk, maybe you shouldn't be in business. I don't

know. Yeah, yeah. And then that's it. That's critical. Even if you're bad at business, even if you're bad at closing, you should get 10% which would be nine. So if nine new clients would be helpful to you, then this is, this is a no brainer, and you're probably going to get more than that. So

that's, that's a great, great nugget. Jesse, so tell them a little bit about or was that the gift?

The gift is everything I talked about on this podcast, if you want, pretty much my Cliff Notes of it just a super simple PDF that walks you through those four transformations, those shifts, and help you be able to plug this into your business. You can go to effortless growth.co and

get yourself a copy of that PDF.

Awesome, awesome, awesome. So what I love about this, Jesse, you said one of my favorite words in the world when it comes to business, and that is systems. So everyone, this is a system. It is an easy system. It is. Thing that you can put in place and do every single day. And once you

start doing things, once you start doing something every single day, it actually becomes, initially, might be a little bit of work, and the more you do it, the easier it becomes, the more automatic it becomes, and the process gets better and easier every single time you do it. So if you will do it for 90 days,

you probably are going to be in a habit that you can extend it beyond that 90 days without much more effort. So thank you, Jesse. That's an amazing gift. Yeah, of course. Thanks, awesome. And so you all know that if you want to get Jesse's gift, or any other gift from any of our speakers, you need to go

to profit connect doors. Dot club, that's profit connect tours, because you're the ones making the connection. Profit connectors. Dot, C, l, u, B is our page where you can go and get all of the gifts. I do encourage you to get Jesse's gift. Start doing it today, and if you miss a day, that's okay,

go back and do it again. Imperfect Action is better than no action. So get his gift, implement it, start doing it, and start welcoming in one new referral every single day for the next 90 days. And congratulations on 90 new prospects in your in your funnel. That's amazing. Thank

you. What a great gift, Jesse. Thank you so much, Jesse, for being here. Really enjoyed our conversation, and thank you for joining us. Keep showing up. Your future self will thank you, and remember it's your business and your impact. Go make it matter. Where and we're.