081: Avoid Scope Creep (for good)

**Renee Hribar:** If you're waiting on clients to do their part and it's creating stress and scope creep, then we need to talk. Okay, if you want to imagine this for a second I'm sure maybe you don't wanna imagine this, but this is the reality for so many people. You finally fill your calendar with clients. You're booked.

You're busy in a good way. You're doing your thing, and then one client ends, and another one pauses, and then suddenly you're sitting there thinking, "Wait, where did my income go?" If your entire business depends on one way of making money, especially service projects, consulting hours, VIP days, we need to fix that because this is how really smart women stay stuck in the same income level sometimes for years All right, welcome back to the Selling Your Expertise podcast. I'm Renee Hribar, and I help B2B consultants, service providers, and experts sell their expertise without complicated funnels or feeling pushy, and definitely without working 24/7.

Whether you found this podcast from reading my book, thank you, taking my free sales mini course, or maybe you heard me on one of the talks, one of the stages you listened to, maybe like the one I did for TEDx, welcome. I'm so glad you're here. We are connectors here. And whether you gained access to the librarian, which is my AI twin who's been trained on all my frameworks and is at your service 24/7, or taken my zero to sales in 10 minutes a day boot camp, or experienced my 12-week immersive sales program, Permission to Sell, or maybe even attended my Experts Connect events in Vegas, California, New York, Detroit, Texas, Florida, soon to be Barcelona, you are a connector.

And once you've listened to today's episode, I want you to go to askmecoach.com and check out the new initiative I have for you to share your business with the global podcast audience. Okay, ready? Today, we're talking about something that comes up all the time behind the scenes in my client conversations, and that is structure.

How do I structure my business so that I can sell more and not kill myself in the delivery? So I was talking to a new client recently, and she is smart. Like, I was gonna say wicked smart. She's, like, scary smart.

She was stuck, though. She was stuck not because she didn't have ideas, and she definitely has lots of ideas, she's a visionary, but because she was trying to make one thing do everything. She had taken a program on how to create your signature service, and so her signature service her- was her building out a launch with the funnels, the emails, all the tech, all the automation, even some web pages That was her signature program. And she was trying to do this as quickly and efficiently as possible, right?

She's smart, like I said. She knows she wants to get out of the weeds. She wants to move along, help more people. She knows lots of people, have lots of ideas, and she knows how to bring them all to life.

And she was literally charging $3,000 for this, which she thought was middle of the road, middle of the road. Now, I'll be honest, I- she could have charged 30K and just had a different avatar, but she wanted to stick with the audience that she'd built. And I see this all the time, right? Here's what happens.

You're like, "Okay, my goal is to fill my client roster with these 3K signature programs." Okay, makes sense, right? But then your entire business becomes, how do I get more people into these $3,000 slots? And now everything feels heavy.

And you start doing, like, mental gymnastics. Like, wait, how many clients can I even take on? Do I want 10, 20 this month? Am I burning myself out?

So shake that off. Here's what we did instead We stopped trying to force everything into her one offer, and instead we built an offer ecosystem. Now, I know you've heard lots of people talk about ecosystems because it isn't just about one thing. And you know, I relate this to farming a lot of times.

You know, uh, you wanna have ro- crop rotation, right? Didn't we learn that in seventh grade in science class? You can't have the... You can't, you can't grow soybeans on the same soil for 10 years straight and expect a good yield.

And so in this ecosystem that we bought, that we bought. We didn't buy it. She bought the program, but we applied it to what she learned so that people could buy different things at different stages of their awareness of her. And every piece of this ecosystem has a very specific job.

It does one thing as opposed to one thing having to do everything. So multiple offers doing one job each very well. But by doing it this way, we avoid scope creep. We raised her income, and we are also able to forecast time and other resources.

So she wants to take vacations. She wants to be able to delegate. She, whether, you know, she has AI agents or even just, you know, humans, she's able to forecast this. It's a very different business than what it was before.

So let's walk through what this actually can look like for you. And there's five pieces of this ecosystem, but there's gotta be an entry point. There's gotta be a front door. So the front door is the audience builder, right?

It's the thing that she can do easily all the time consistently. It could even be completely automated, but right now she loves doing it, so she had something already that was working. She had hosted a free workshop that she had created for a summit that she had participated in. So if you've ever been in summits, I bet you have some great content somewhere that you might even be ignoring.

So check on that, will ya? 'Cause this might work for you too, just from content that you already have So it was a proven way to bring people into her world through content. I love that. And here's what we noticed about it, right?

when she changed one thing about how she explained the workshop, right? 'Cause remember, she had originally created it for a summit, so her positioning had to shift a little. When we started putting that out publicly, the audience changed. She got a different, more ready audience, and better fit people.

And that is so much more important than most people think. So that was number one. That was her entry point, the front door, is a workshop that she's running every single month at the same... She has a, she has a set structure of when she knows she's gonna have to show up.

She has digital assets already that help bring people in. Sometimes she runs ads, sometimes she doesn't, she just works with the list that she's got. But that is her main audience driver. "I'm running this, this free workshop.

Come in, register, join." And then we move into a low ticket. So we looked at it, and we're like, "Well, if you're running the workshop, what is the call to action so that they can take the next step?" And for her, again, we went through a lot of different options.

This is not the choice that I think is the right choice for everyone. It's not a blanket, cookie cutter scenario. But for her, and the way that she wanted to run her business, the things that she valued, the people that she was talking to currently, our answer to that, what is the, what is the call to action for this free workshop you're running every month, was a named and framed, very specific to the workshop, with a defined outcome that she charged $111 for. A named and framed session.

So in other words, it- it's her choice, right? She wanted that number. She wanted to be able to attract the right people in her audience. So she chose the price, $111.

We, of course, did a lot of research around it. We had endless conversations about it. But ultimately, that was the price she settled on. And so they come into the free workshop, then they get invited to this $111 one-on-one session with her that's named and framed, very specific.

So it, we press on... It, it really follows the workshop. We press on the pain in the workshop. We also did a lot of work on how she presented it.

Like I said, we adjusted how she explains it. And also inside the workshop, little examples that she was working on, uh, explaining. And we tightened those up, did a lot of testing, it was great. So ultimately, when...

If she's got, let's say, you know, 100 people that come to her workshop or register for her workshop, we get about 10% of those people that are buying that $111 one-on-one session. Okay, great. Sounds like a good deal. And she knows she obviously ha- that's, that's a time-consuming period, so we also put boundaries around that.

They can't book it whenever. It's booked in the next week, delivered in the next 10 days, and that fills her funnel for the next month. So she's got a real flywheel happening here. And, you know, for something like that, like, it converts quickly, it qualifies people, it gets buyers, not just followers, right?

Like, think of all the things it's doing. but whoever didn't take her up on that got invited to a low-ticket membership. So this is something she had already... Again, she had been on many summits, so she took those other, let's say, workshops, content pieces, and she put them into a three-month cycle.

So for three months, they paid $44 total, one time. So I say membership. That's what she called it. I hate that word, honestly.

But ultimately, it was three months It was $44 for all three months total, and they got one monthly mini group launch tear-downs, which she also used in another way. What I... When I teach inside my Permission to Sell program, I call these pipeline drivers, so she was able to use those for guest passes. So people that were coming into her world but hadn't gone to the workshop, they were able to come into this.

There were already people there. She was already doing it, and so she was able to get them into her world in that way. And she would review the launch assets, the text, the images, the funnel pages, the automations, the hooks, the offer stacks in exactly the order that she had them listed in her portal. So it went along a very structured process.

So if 10% of the people were, that came to the workshop were opting into this $111 one-on-one session, the other 90% weren't, they were getting invited to this through a series of emails and SMS that went out afterward. And then as soon as she did those funnel tear-downs, whether it was to the members to the... of this three-month little access point, or if it was someone that she just invited in, they were getting the offer into the $111 private funnel tear-down, which was very compelling.

Again, one offer leads to the next. So those pieces all wove together, so she wasn't just looking for one piece and then wasting the other 90% of the attention. She had something else for them, and usually she saw, like, 30% of the people would opt into that at least for those three months for the $44. I mean, it's no-brainer, right?

And this is where they would officially enter her client roster, right? So she didn't even, you know, just coming to the workshop, just coming into the, you know, the initial $111 offer wasn't enough for her to really officially have them on her client roster, 'cause right here now is where she moves to the paid roadmap session. She had never done this before separately. She had always rolled it into her main offer, right?

She had been running a workshop to a free call and then offering the $3,000 launch package, where as a service provider, she would be doing a bulk of the work, right? So where she had been seeing scope creep is that the client wasn't giving her what she needed to finish the funnel, the automation or the webpages that she had promised. And so during the roadmap session, she expanded on that low-ticket $111 session and filled in the blanks together with the client. This eliminated all that back and forth, back and forth.

"That's not my brand. That's not my font. That's not my color. That's not my this.

I don't like that word. I don't like this phrase. I don't like that hook." All that back-and-forth rigmarole, she just cut it out.

And what she did was she said, "Listen, you paid $111 for a session to make a plan, in essence. Now let's fill in the blanks. Let's write the hook. Let's write the emails.

Let's write the words for the landing page, for the thank you page, for the confirmation email, for the, for the sales page, for the thank you," you know, for the, again, all the pages. So for you that are listening who know this process like I do, like the back of my hand, all those teeny-tiny pieces, the images that go with them, and all of the formatting that has to happen Did it together in two separate one-hour sessions over the course of a week. So in between those two one-hour sessions, there was some conversation back and forth, and honestly, it put time-bound, I wanna say, pressure on the client, so they had to get things done in a certain time.

There wasn't this, "Okay, the project's started. It's, uh, six weeks," and y- the client then starts to slide. And a lot of times, you know this, clients will say, "I have that." And then you're like, "Show me."

And then they show you, and it's actually, "Well, it's still not done. I don't know if I like these." So it forces them through the needle hole, which puts them in the position to have all their assets ready and done so that the build can actually happen, right? So this session, this roadmap session, she started to sell for $444.

Again, her pricing, her choice. We talked a lot about all the different ways. These are her numbers. s- it was something that she felt really good at.

And so each session, she and her client would write and finalize, key word there, the text, the images that the client needed for the launch, including all the things, the hooks, the s- offer stack, the branding, all the things that my client does really well, but before would wait for her client to give her because she thought they knew or understood what she knew and understood about those things. She was totally underestimating what she knew and how to put it into action. She was just rolling in all her strategy and background and genuinely certifications that she had on offers and hooks and branding, and you know, she's, she's a really amazing...

I said she's super scary smart person. So see, the cool part of this is once my client gets the final text and images for the launch, the funnel, the automations, the web pages, she can complete that in a few days with her team. And her words, not mine, "That's the easy part." It was all the back and forth and the, oh my gosh, competing with, "Well, my business coach said..."

Ugh, right? You're like, "I don't care what she said. She's not doing this. She's not building this, and she doesn't know."

But you can't say that, and my s- my client certainly wouldn't have. And so on the... Here's the cool part. On the agenda for part two of this roadmap session, she now sets up the invite for the build, and that part that the client...

That's the part. Like, that's the part the client needed from the start, right? That's the part the client is like, "I couldn't do that. I can't put all that together."

But again- They could if they knew how to. But all we've done so far is bring people in, give them easy way, an easy way to stay in, and then for the people that are ready to get this done together one-on-one, we gave them nearly a no-brainer price to be like, "Yeah, let's put all that together." And then now if you look at it, they're, they're like waist deep in the water. They're not gonna go somewhere else now, and I mean, they can.

They can. But the reality is, is that every single time you do this, if you adopt this process, when you're in that, when you're in that one-on-one session, when you're in that roadmap session, you are going to see things that the client did not bring up. And it's not that the client's hiding it from you, it's just that they didn't know to bring it up. They don't see things the way you see things.

All right, so now we go on to the build, right? So the workshop brings them in. The first initial low-ticket offer is one-on-one or a group, and then for the p- the right people, the one that go the one-on-one path, they get a roadmap session. They fill in all the blanks, and now it's time to actually build all the launch assets, right?

So my client says, again, "That's the easy part." And even though this is what my client feels is easy, it is the thing her clients can't do the way she can. And so again, we bumped the numbers up. This is her pricing, not mine.

we bumped it to 3,333 for the build. Right? Now she has tight timelines now. No waiting for customers.

She has less frustration. There's no more back and forth, back and forth over weeks or months or worse. And she's overall increased the customer value, right? $111 up front, easy yes.

444 for the filling in the blanks, easy yes. Now 3,333 for the full build. So before it was 3K for all of it, the one-on-one call, filling in the blanks, the build, and she was trying to do it in less than 30 days. And the challenge was not that she couldn't do it.

It was getting all the stuff the customer needed to give her And approve it. So the roadmap just took that stress out. It's perfect. It was amazing.

Now, again, I've done this before with lots of other people. This is a benefit that she's ex- experiencing with her business. And aga- what I love to do is customize these strategies for businesses, because what works for one person isn't necessarily gonna be, you know... It's not one size fits all, right?

So as you're hearing this, I want you to think, "How can I adapt this to my business, to my personality, to my audience, to the way I want to work?" Because now she's able to scale because she doesn't have the back and forth, no more competing with business coach opinions, and she can forecast her revenue, which is so good, right? And her time. So she's able to go on vacations and travel and do the things that she's always wanted to do.

And so many people have one of two, one of two things. They have money and no time, or they have time and no money. Now she's able to have both. But here's the fifth part, continued support.

I cannot tell you how many times I have spoken to people, they're like, "Well, I took this program and they taught me how to do VIP days," or, "I took this program and they taught me how to, you know, do this and it's efficient." I'm like, "Okay, well what's next?" "Well, I wait for the customer to tell me what's next." Oh my gosh.

Do not take your employee mindset of I'm waiting for them to tell me. I'm waiting for them to tell me what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. Do not take an employee mindset and bring it to your own business. So I cannot say that emphatically enough.

Inevitably, the client will want to make edits and additions to the launch assets that this particular scenario was establishing Once they launch, as they prepare to launch again, right? And so we come up with a quarterly offer. Again, my client's price, $111. She gives her clients and their team access to her to ask th- her anything and get small changes via email.

So one communication source, three months, so quarterly, and as a bonus, th- when they buy for the year, they get quarterly planning sessions. So 111 times four , right? Four quarters in the year. And what happens is, and this is what is...

This is the ecosystem part. What this is really doing is it keeps the client in your ecosystem. You don't have to reignite, recreate, or otherwise r- get in touch with again the client that you worked so hard to get in the first place. And more importantly, they won't go to someone else for something you could have done.

They call you first because they're already talking to you on a regular basis. And this gives you the chance to continue to offer other projects, whether it's a strategy session or a VIP day or another launch for their next big idea. But you're gonna know it because you're in their world. So many of my clients who have adopted this process are not only making more revenue, but are able to take those vacations because now they know what's coming down the pipeline.

They've been able to hire and train a team to do a lot of the work. The facts are your business does not need just that one perfect signature offer. It needs a path, right? It's, uh, somewhere that someone can move to from being curious like, "Oh, that sounds interesting," launching, to engaged like, "Oh, I can, I can do that.

Yeah, I can buy that one thing. That sounds like a good idea. I'll try it," to invested like, "Wow, I can't believe we just accomplished all that," to transformed where they're like, "Wow, this is like nothing I ever imagined." And you've imagined it.

You've done it. You've been to the mountain and back again. They haven't. But to try to tell them that when they're just in the curious phase is like trying to is trying to convince flat Earthers that the Earth is round.

So anyways, this reminds me, ask me later about that. This reminds me of so many people, but specifically one of my avatars who I affectionately call Referral Reliant Rachel. She's always waiting and hoping and relying on one stream of clients, and when that stream slows down, everything feels shaky. And the solution isn't more marketing, it's structure, and that is exactly what I just gave you through my genuinely real client experience.

And honestly, I've done this many, many, many times. So just to confirm what this fixes, right? When you build your business this way, you can stop asking, "How do I get more clients?" Which again, I know how to answer, but that's just part of the questions we should be asking.

So now you can start saying, "Where are they in the journey?" Right? You can stop forcing sales and, and guiding them through the next step. It's not this big blurry, vague, hazy, "I need more clients, I need more money."

You're like, "Where are they? Did they go to the workshop?" In the case of my client here, have they attended a workshop? No.

Have they been a guest pass, uh, in one of my launch teardowns? No. Okay. Well, let's get them into one of those, and then let's invite them.

Have they been invited directly, personally, specifically to the $111 session? No. Okay. Well, then let's invite them.

Or yes, okay, well, what was the reason for not taking it? Was it deadline? Was it, you know, timing? Was it it wasn't the right, it wasn't positioned right?

Can we rephrase that? And so we start to look at it like a real structured pipeline so you can stop feeling like, "Oh my gosh, where are my people?" And everything feels inconsistent and unpredictable, and business feels like a gamble. Ugh, that's the worst, worst feeling.

I like predictable, structured, forecastable, repeatable. That's what we're building here. And yes, you have beautiful and amazing expertise that's got breadth and depth, and you could do so many things for people. But let's bring them into the ecosystem.

Let's bring them through the front door. Let's let them grow along with us, and then let's keep the conversation and the support open to them through ways that are not boundless. They are, they are, have boundaries, and most importantly Structure. Okay, action.

Let's take some action. I cannot go and tell you all this without giving you specific action steps. So I'm gonna have you do something als- you know, s- I guess also old school. I love my Trapper Keepers.

Where are my Trapper Keeper people? Um, get a piece of paper, whether it's from your notebook or your printer if you have one, and map this out. I, I like like a, a big, you know, white sheet of paper that I can draw this out on. What brings people into your world?

Think about that. That's question number one. And then question number two, what's your first paid step? In the way I teach, it is always the first paid step that is the same.

It is the same for everyone no matter how they came in. That protects me against making a big offer to someone who I will not want to work with. It will also protect me from scope creep. It will protect me from undercharging because I will actually see what's going on, and I won't charge for something or scope something that was a miscommunication, not because the client is hiding anything.

They're not like, "Whoa, I'm gonna get her." No, they just don't know. They don't even see it. They don't even know what they're looking at.

That's why they need you. Okay, so number three, what builds momentum? Like what helps people keep moving along? Number four, what creates the transformation?

Like what do they need to do to finally see the light? Number five, what is the continued support offer? Because it's not like, "Well, I'm just done. I'm just done."

No, keep the relationship open. Keep their credit card on file. Haven't you ever gone to a bar, they're like, "Do you want me to keep your credit card?" Yeah, I do, because me and my friends are gonna order a bunch of stuff, and then we're all gonna...

They're gonna Venmo me. It's gonna be great, right? You know what I mean? Like, yeah.

You wanna keep the relationship open because restarting the relationship is harder work than just, than the r- than what you just did. You just started the relationship, or you just did the work. Why would you end it now? Keep the conversation open, and that could mean booking another call to touch base in six months if they're not able to buy a continued support offer.

It does not mean you have to do more work. It just means you wanna stay in touch. I gave you one example today. There's thousands of them.

Again, that's what I do for a living. But you wanna sketch the path, right? And I know that it will open your eyes, and if you want help mapping your path, your real revenue-jetting, generating, no-fluff path... That was a mouthful.

I... You know, it's, it's funny, 'cause when I write these out, I write them and I'm like, "That's good," and then I say it and I'm like, "That didn't sound right." Well, you'll tell me. So, the point is, is that you wanna organize them into a path that actually makes money, an ecosystem that brings in revenue.

You want impact and income. So go to askmecoach.com. That's A-S-K-M-E-C-O-A-C-H.

com. That's where I keep the best ways to connect, work together, and actually implement this in your business this week. And if you haven't yet, go back and listen to episode 61, "Stop Waiting for Referrals and Start Closing Clients Now!" or episode 47, "How Service Providers Can Close More High-Ticket Sales."

They'll stack perfectly with what we talked about today. All right, have a great week. I'll see you next time.