Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to the Marketing Zone. I'm Marilyn Jenkins and today we unlock the marketing that actually works. You're watching now Media Television. Welcome to the Marketing Zone. I'm Marilyn Jenkins. Today I want to start with a truth that every business owner needs to hear. Marketing can create attention, but it cannot fix everything happening behind the scenes. If the offer is unclear, if the numbers don't make sense, if operations are messy, or if the client experience is inconsistent, then even the best marketing campaign can struggle to produce profitable growth.
That's why today's conversation is so important. We're going beyond visibility and looking at the business foundation that allows marketing to actually work. My guest today is Doreen Milano, cpc, CEO of Visions to Excellence. Doreen is a nationally recognized business coach with more than 40 years of experience as a business controller. Along with certifications including Profit coach and nlp, she helps service based businesses grow profits, streamline operations and build lasting systems. With a hands on, no nonsense approach focused on confidence, clarity and measurable progress. This is a conversation about what happens when marketing strategy meets business reality and how owners can build companies that are not just visible, but profitable, organized and ready to grow. Doreen, welcome to the Marketing Zone.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: Thank you so much, Marilyn. It's such a pleasure to be here.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: I'm excited about the conversation. So as we begin, I want everyone watching to think about your own business.
Are you asking marketing to solve a problem that may actually be coming from your pricing, your systems, your operations or your business model? Because today we're getting honest about what needs to be in place before marketing can truly scale. Doreen, when a service based business is investing in marketing but not seeing profitable growth, what do you usually look at first?
[00:01:46] Speaker B: There are so many variables, but the first thing I look at is, is the marketing talking to the market, the target customer that the company really needs to attract.
So if we're not having the conversation that is attracting the target market, then we've got to change the message.
[00:02:09] Speaker A: That makes a lot of sense. Exactly. You want to make sure you're attracting your ideal client and looking at marketing problems or what's perceived as. Why do business owners sometimes think they have a marketing problem when the deeper issue is pricing operations or unclear systems?
[00:02:24] Speaker B: Well, I usually find that the second issue is incapacity.
Okay, you can, you can sell whatever it is that you're going to sell. If you don't have the capacity to execute or it's not wanted by the market, that is going to be a major failure.
So we've, we've got it before we Market, we've got to do some testing to make sure that. That what we're selling is actually needed by the market, and then we can go ahead and market it and sell it and hopefully with the ability to deliver, meet the capacity that we have available to us.
[00:03:07] Speaker A: I see. And now also.
So if you go into a business that's already working and they just want to add a service, is that where you're going to say, is it a service that need that? The, you know, what research have you done to do that, that service? Is that something like what we're talking about?
[00:03:24] Speaker B: You know, it's. Is this something that your client base is actually asking for, or is it just a good idea?
If you're. If your client base is not asking for that particular new product or service, then how are you going to now create a market because you don't have one that exists?
[00:03:50] Speaker A: Good point. So just because it's a good idea maybe may not be what the market wants.
[00:03:56] Speaker B: So we have to do some testing.
We have to ask questions. We have to. People
[00:04:05] Speaker A: don't build it and then try to sell it. You want to keep your profits, and we're going to get into that.
Let's talk about internal structure. How can we internal structure quietly hurt conversion client experience in your referrals?
[00:04:17] Speaker B: I look at this from a more holistic view, Marilyn. I really look at what are the core values of the business? How are they creating the internal structure that meets the needs of not only the employees, but the client base?
So what kind of culture are you building? Is that culture amenable to having happy clients? Is it amenable to having happy employees because your frontline employees are actually delivering what it is that you expect to be delivered to your client base?
And if they're not communicating, you got a problem.
[00:04:54] Speaker A: Good point. I mean, the intake people, the front desk people, they're going to be the first people that your potential customer sees, interacts with and their first impression. So I agree. And do you help people work on their culture as well, just to kind of examine things?
[00:05:10] Speaker B: Well, I mean, we've got to look at. Usually the first thing I start with is really talking to the employee base and finding out what's working, asking questions, what's not working. If you had a change to make, what would that change look like? How would it help everybody else? How would it help you?
So we can really look at how the organization.
And please understand me, I'm saying the organization, not the owner.
How is the organization willing to change for the betterment of All.
[00:05:44] Speaker A: Okay. And so you get in, you help them in getting into processes to help figure that out.
[00:05:50] Speaker B: If what we're doing is we're running into a cultural problem problem where the company culture is not liquid enough to be able to solve today's problems, and let me tell you, there's tons of problems today. If we're not liquid enough to solve today's problems for the betterment of all, we are creating more problems than we're solving.
And every problem is a leak for profitability.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: True.
Absolutely.
[00:06:26] Speaker B: So cost us money.
[00:06:29] Speaker A: I'm sorry?
[00:06:31] Speaker B: Every hurdle we create costs us money.
[00:06:35] Speaker A: That is well said. Absolutely.
What signs do you see in a business that tell you the business is generating activity, but they're not building real momentum?
[00:06:46] Speaker B: Well, if the activity you are generating is actually making a difference in your bottom line, putting money in your bank account, keep doing that activity.
If the activities that you're doing are only generating busy work so that your employees stay busy and it's not actually generating money in the bottom line, you got a problem.
[00:07:14] Speaker A: Good point. Very good point.
So, all right, so what should a service based business fix before trying to attract more clients?
[00:07:22] Speaker B: Internal structure
[00:07:26] Speaker A: and are we talking, are
[00:07:27] Speaker B: your employees, are you playing employees? Trained?
Is the process streamlined?
Can you create a more robust experience for not only the employees, but really building a robust experience for the client?
When you bring a client in, do the employees know what to do, how to do it to make that client experience as robust as possible?
If we haven't designed that, what it's left to have the employee experience is the experience of the employee that doesn't want to be there.
[00:08:12] Speaker A: Okay, that's a good one. You want, obviously you want your entire team bought into delivering world class experience. And if you're finding that they're not, then they have to make a change of people to get back to that point in training?
[00:08:28] Speaker B: I'm not saying make a change in people, I'm saying train better.
Okay. Make sure that everybody's aligned. Now if people are not aligned, if they're not going to be aligned, then they're in the wrong position.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: Okay, buts in the right seats.
[00:08:48] Speaker B: But in the right seats, you know, the bus has got a lot of seats.
Not every seat is the seat for you.
[00:08:57] Speaker A: Oh, it's a good way of looking at it. I love that.
And do you help business owners separate like the busy work from actually building a profitable and scalable company?
[00:09:10] Speaker B: Yeah. You know, one of the questions I ask is if this task never happens, what's the result?
And if the task doesn't have a result, why are we doing it?
Now? There are some tasks that we do because of compliance, because of legal issues. Those are not actually going to necessarily produce revenue, but they're going to keep us out of hot water.
[00:09:45] Speaker A: Right.
[00:09:47] Speaker B: They're going to. Exactly.
And tight.
[00:09:50] Speaker A: Right.
[00:09:52] Speaker B: But the other side of it, if we're doing busy work, what's that really costing the company?
Because you're paying somebody to do something that's not producing results.
[00:10:04] Speaker A: I get it. I get that. And do you find that busy work comes from, say, not being focused or and confidence in your business?
Is that anything to do with that?
[00:10:18] Speaker B: I think it's a mindset.
[00:10:21] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:10:22] Speaker B: I think that all of us grew up or have heard that we've got to work hard in order to get good and good success.
And if we're not working hard, we're not going to get the success that
[00:10:37] Speaker A: we're really looking for.
[00:10:39] Speaker B: And so we believe that working hard means that we've got to be doing things, not necessarily looking at the things that we're doing as being productive, being needed, or being something that is going to generate longevity for the business.
[00:11:02] Speaker A: Interesting. All right. I'm excited to continue this conversation. This reminds us that marketing is powerful, but it works best when the business behind it is ready. Visibility can open the door, but systems, clarity, delivery and profitability determine what's next. When business owners strengthen the foundation, marketing stops carrying the whole weight and starts doing what it's designed to do, attract the right people to the business and serve them well. We're going to take a short break and when we come back, we'll talk about profit, clarity and why revenue alone does not tell the full story. We'll be right back with more tools, tactics and truths to elevate your marketing. This is the marketing zone of nowme Media Television. And we're back. I'm Marilyn Jenkins and you're watching the Marketing Zone on NOW Media Television. Let's dive into our next breakthrough. Welcome back to the Marketing Zone. Stay connected to this show and every NOW Media TV favorite, live or on demand, anytime you like. Download the free Now Media TV app on Roku or iOS and unlock non stop bilingual programming in English and Spanish. If you're on the move, catch the podcast version at www.nowmedia.tv.
from business and news to lifestyle, culture and beyond, Now Media TV is streaming around the clock. Ready whenever you are.
I'm continuing my conversation with Doreen Milano, cpc, CEO of Visions to Excellence. And now I want to focus on the topic every Business owner needs to understand before scaling profit clarity. A business can look successful from the outside and still be financially fragile behind the scenes. More clients, more offers, and more marketing and more revenue do not always mean more profit.
Sometimes growth actually exposes the gaps. In this segment, we're going to explore how understanding numbers helps business owners make smarter marketing decisions, price with confidence and evaluate campaigns more clearly and stop chasing revenue that doesn't create real business strength.
Doreen, why? Why is revenue alone not enough to tell whether a business is truly growing?
[00:12:58] Speaker B: Well, let's start with revenue is essentially sales.
It's what you've sold, not what you've delivered, not the money you've collected and not the correct pricing that's going to give you the margin which is the profitability that you need to keep your business moving forward.
[00:13:19] Speaker A: Okay, great. So revenue is really just one big number. It's nothing that all we need, we need a lot more detail than that. So what financial blind spots do service based businesses often overlook when they're focused on getting more clients?
[00:13:33] Speaker B: Well, I think pricing is a major hurdle for most small businesses, especially service based businesses. They're looking at their time as delivering whatever it is that they're they're doing.
So if you're a housekeeper, for example, you look at how many hours in the day and you're going to fill those hours with as much work as you can. Cleaning somebody's house, for example, you're not looking at your time as the only generator of income for your business.
So you're not looking at all the expenses, all the marketing, all the other hidden fees and expenses that need to go into and be accounted for as part of your ask price, price for your product, which is weekly, monthly, daily cleaning.
[00:14:34] Speaker A: Right, Right.
[00:14:36] Speaker B: So if you the paper and figured out what it costs you to run your business, you are not going to necessarily be able to build that gap just because you're selling time and you're
[00:14:52] Speaker A: also limited with the amount of time you can sell.
[00:14:55] Speaker B: So then the next thing those business owners usually do is add more people to their team.
Now they're pricing other people the same way they're pricing themselves and they're still not accounting for what the mechanism actually needs to make it profitable.
[00:15:12] Speaker A: Okay, and how does knowing your profit structure change the way you market, sell or position your services?
[00:15:19] Speaker B: I've seen a lot of companies market the heck out of themselves selling a product that actually puts them in the hole.
So if your product costs more money to execute than what you're selling it for, you're Selling yourself into bankruptcy, I
[00:15:44] Speaker A: mean that seems incredibly obvious. Do you find that that is actually happening a lot in the marketplace?
[00:15:50] Speaker B: Happens quite a bit.
You know, they, people will look at pricing the same way that they look at, you know, if you, if you got store A, store B and store C and they're all selling the same product and store A is selling it for $10, store B is selling it for 997 and store C, C is selling that same product for 950.
Where are you going to buy that product?
[00:16:23] Speaker A: Probably store C.
[00:16:26] Speaker B: Now store A is going to give you a lot more value than store C is going to give you. They're going to hold your hand, they're going to show you how to use the product, they're going to show you how to make the best out of that product.
And so their $10 is going to give you a lot more value and store C is going to sell that product and it's up to you to figure out all the rest.
Are you still going to buy from store C or store A?
[00:16:54] Speaker A: Store A something that you,
[00:16:57] Speaker B: something you have to consider.
But if we're not talking about the value that we're bringing with our pricing, then the dollar figure is the only thing the consumer has to make the differential.
They're choosing based on dollars, they're not choosing on value.
[00:17:15] Speaker A: And that's race to the bottom.
[00:17:17] Speaker B: That's the race to the bottom. Absolutely.
[00:17:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:22] Speaker B: Most service based businesses, their value proposition is the same as the next guy and the next guy. They're not unique in the sales, in the space to actually bolster what their value is to the client base.
[00:17:39] Speaker A: I love that. So that comes back to, I think we were talking about culture as well. So when you're looking at margin and you're working with a service based business, are you to figure out do they just determine what margin they want? Are you looking and doing some research in the industry or the area and see what the market will bear? How do you work with that?
[00:17:59] Speaker B: I do research, I talk to people, I look at, you know, what people are doing. I also look at how they are determining their position, market dominance, what is unique about them, what makes them different?
Has their client base been educated on that differentiation and find it of great value? This is the part feminist. So service based businesses are not, they're not doing that work.
They're not figuring that out.
[00:18:37] Speaker A: Do you think they're leaning on their like online reviews more than, than really trying to, to give like world class service?
[00:18:45] Speaker B: I think that's part of it. I think there's. If you, if you call up, let's say 10 different H Vac companies.
Well, just pick three. And you look at their websites, they're essentially saying the same thing.
You know, family values, you know, we fix it, fix it right the first time, blah, blah. I can just list off everything that they're saying.
What makes that different?
How are they proclaiming something unique within the marketplace?
Every business has it.
Are they actually taking the time to
[00:19:26] Speaker A: figure out what it is?
It's interesting. If you're comparing websites, you're absolutely right. They all say the same thing. You know, fast service, family owned, honest, quick, you know. Yeah, I agree.
So doing a bit more research into what sets you apart and then how you're to work your messaging to get that over across to the new customers.
[00:19:50] Speaker B: I find it really fascinating because lawyers do the same thing, but every firm has that thing that is different about them that nobody else has.
[00:20:03] Speaker A: Yeah. I think finding that and bringing that into your marketing is incredibly important.
And. But yeah, a lot of websites just don't. They don't have a personality like the team.
[00:20:12] Speaker B: No.
And it's difficult to do. It's not easy to just take that leap and say I'm this or we're that.
Because we have got to mirror it to not only who we are, but what the client finds of value. Because we are that and that takes work.
[00:20:38] Speaker A: Yeah, agreed. How do you think business owners can better connect marketing performance to actual profitability instead of only looking at leads, clicks and sales volume?
[00:20:48] Speaker B: If we get really honest, I probably get literally 30 emails a day about I can get you more leads.
[00:20:59] Speaker A: Oh yeah, I get those.
[00:21:01] Speaker B: Right.
I could care less.
Leads are not my problem.
The right psychographic for the client is my problem.
[00:21:17] Speaker A: So that's your problem. Clarify what you need. Yeah.
[00:21:21] Speaker B: So I know that for me to work well with a client, they have to have a culture that revolves around change.
Because when you hire me, things are going to change.
If you're scared of change, I'm not the person to hire.
I'm not going to be your yes person. I'm not going to keep things the way they are. I'm going to focus my energy on really making that company more profitable than it was when we started.
Now if they don't want to change, then I'm not the person to hire.
[00:22:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:08] Speaker B: Because I won't stop until we get the result we're looking for.
[00:22:13] Speaker A: I love that. I love that. Having, having the plan.
So what becomes clear is that profitable marketing starts with knowing what the business can actually sustain. If the numbers are unclear, the strategy will eventually become unclear too. When owners understand profit margins, pricing and capacity, they stop making decisions from pressure and start making them from clarity. Doreen, where can our audience connect with you and learn more about you?
[00:22:39] Speaker B: My website is Visions to excellence dot com. That's V I S I O N s t o excellence e x c e l l e n c e dot com.
You can find me on LinkedIn, you can find me on YouTube. Visions to excellence has its own channel.
[00:23:01] Speaker A: Excellent. So we're going to take a short break and when we return, we're going to talk about the systems that allow service based businesses to grow without creating chaos. We'll be right back with more tools, tactics and truths to elevate your marketing. This is the marketing zone of NOW Media Television. And we're back.
[00:23:18] Speaker B: Marilyn.
[00:23:18] Speaker A: I'm Marilyn Jenkins and you're watching the marketing zone of NOW Media Television. Let's dive into our next breakthrough. If you're a service based business owner, consultant, coach, agency owner or professional who wants more clients without more chaos, this is the part of the conversation to lean into. Growth needs structure or it can quickly become overwhelming. I'm continuing the conversation with Doreen Milano cpc and now I want to talk about the systems that make marketing scalable.
Many businesses want more leads, more sales and more visibility. But if the intake process is unclear, follow up is inconsistent, delivery is undocumented or the owner is still carrying every decision. Growth can create stress instead of freedom. So Doreen, what business systems need to be in place before marketing can scale effectively?
[00:24:02] Speaker B: Oh goodness.
I think you have to have a team, whether it's employees or you are using virtual assistants, but you have to have a process that you've developed for execution.
If it's all relying on you, the business owner and you're a one person shop, you need to take a look at VAS and other folks that are going to help you because you have just capped your capacity.
And if you've got a capped capacity, what's going to happen eventually is that the market is going to go beyond you.
They're going to want more from you than you can deliver.
[00:24:50] Speaker A: That's working. You run out of hours to sell.
So why do some service based businesses grow?
Sorry, go ahead, go ahead and finish that.
[00:25:00] Speaker B: I was going to. Well, it's going to answer the question as well and that is you have to have a leadership mindset.
You have to lead your company even if you're a solopreneur. You have to Lead your company.
What does that mean?
Well, for me, because it's me, myself and I, I do have VAs that help me do execute certain things. But I have a business meeting with myself where I am taking the role of founder. I'm having the founder talk to the CEO and really dig into what the issues are within the business that need to be able to change to produce the results I'm looking to get.
We all have this capacity, whether we're a cleaning company, we're an attorney attorney, whether we have a brick and mortar business, it doesn't matter.
We have to be willing to challenge ourselves to get better and have the business get better at whatever it is that we're doing.
If we're not taking that position, that's essentially taking the attitude of we're doing it this way because we've always done it this way and that limits your possibility today and in the future.
[00:26:28] Speaker A: Yeah, you're absolutely right. It's like the owner or the founder that wants to be involved in everything because I started it, I can do it faster, I can do it better. Eventually you have to become a leader and step back and let your team deliver for you.
[00:26:43] Speaker B: Absolutely.
And in that process, and I went through this when I moved from doing corporate turnarounds to doing 100% coaching all the time, is that my knowledge base was so intrinsic.
I had a real problem of being able to communicate what that knowledge base was.
And it wasn't until I started having these deep business focused conversations with myself that I got to understand that I have to be able to teach what I know. And without that piece, then I'm not able to then grow my business.
Why business A and business B won't.
[00:27:32] Speaker A: Okay, so really getting into the basis of what's going on and what you need to do to grow, making those business decisions.
[00:27:44] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that's a, that's a huge part of how we as business owners can move our business forward.
Understanding who your client is, how the, how you're designing that client experience, how and who is going to deliver that experience for you or with you so that the client is fully taken care of.
[00:28:13] Speaker A: And that would come down to processes. Right. Do you help them do SOPs and you know, get these things in writing so it can be consistently duplicated?
[00:28:25] Speaker B: Use video now instead of writing, but comes down to the same thing.
[00:28:31] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly.
It makes it so much easier to record yourself what you're doing.
[00:28:38] Speaker B: Yeah,
[00:28:41] Speaker A: right, right. So what Systems help owners stop reacting to every problem and start leading with more control.
[00:28:52] Speaker B: Control is A fallacy.
We're never in control.
What we can do is really focus on what it is that we want to execute.
Now your client base is going to throw you a hearing every single time.
You're not in control of the hearings.
You're only in control of delivering the experience that you have agreed to deliver.
Does that make sense?
[00:29:28] Speaker A: Yeah, it does. I think that that makes sense, but I think we all have this thing that we are in control or we are. If we are, we feel like we aren't in control, then what's happening.
[00:29:40] Speaker B: Oh, from, from my perspective is something really simple.
My agreement is to do X
[00:29:50] Speaker A: and
[00:29:50] Speaker B: when you ask me to do Y and Z, I'm going to politely decline.
That's not our agreement.
Now if I see X and Z are needed, I can make the choice to add that as an addition to what I'm already agreeing to do or I can bring other people in to execute X and Z.
I'm in, I'm in control of what I agree to do or I agree not to do.
And that's.
[00:30:29] Speaker A: Well, that's. That sounds like you're.
Yeah. And I think a big problem with that with service based businesses is scope creep.
You know, you do agree to do a job and then all of a sudden the customer starts asking you to do the things and you just, you do them and you just don't charge appropriately for them.
[00:30:48] Speaker B: Well, and then all of a sudden you're recognizing that client that was going to take, you know, an hour and a half a week is now taking five hours a week.
And what has happened is at that moment.
[00:31:06] Speaker A: Yeah, that's pretty dramatic.
Yeah, I guess that's very important with service based clients because you, how much time are you taking and realistically how much time is your team taking to deliver to this client if you have brought in employees?
Yeah.
And that comes down to clear what
[00:31:30] Speaker B: the agreement is, is the first thing.
[00:31:33] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:31:35] Speaker B: Noticing when the client is asking for things outside that agreement is the second thing.
Yeah, we've got, we've got to.
I don't know about you, but it's my time that I'm spending with the client. Now. I give them a lot more than my original agreement says.
But that's because that is designed into the client experience that I've created.
I want to say that again.
I designed a client experience that is going to give the client more than what it says on my agreement.
However, when I'm asked to do things outside of my agreement that are not included in the client experience, that's When I have to say no, I love that.
[00:32:32] Speaker A: So you just, you've got your plan out. So whenever you sign a contract, you know exactly what you're putting into it. They know what they're paying for. But you have already designed this over delivery type part portion of it. But it's all worked within your profit margin. So you know what your profit is there.
[00:32:51] Speaker B: And this is where I think a lot of service based businesses fall short.
They're not taking in not only the client experience and what that looks like and what that means from their perspective of what time and energy they've got to put into delivering that client experience, but the other side of it is really being okay with saying that is outside of our agreed upon contract.
So how would you like to handle that?
[00:33:22] Speaker A: I love that. And sometimes it's a hard discussion to have. But if they're a good client and you've delivered good work, then it shouldn't be that difficult to set. That's outside of the scope.
[00:33:31] Speaker B: So that's where I think we as business owners get to lead our business.
And a lot of service based providers are not leading their business.
[00:33:46] Speaker A: Very interesting. Yeah, makes a lot of good points. I mean what stands out here is that systems are not just back office tools. They are part of the customer experience.
They shape how quickly people are followed up with how clearly they're served, how consistently results are delivered and how confidently the business can grow. Marketing may bring people in, but systems determine whether the business can keep the promise. We'll take a short break and when we come back, we'll close with the mindset shift from busy business owner to confident CEO. We'll be right back with more tools, tactics and truths to elevate your marketing. This is the marketing zone of NOW Media Television. And we're back.
[00:34:23] Speaker B: Marilyn.
[00:34:24] Speaker A: I'm Marilyn Jenkins and you're watching the Marketing Zone on NOW Media Television. Let's dive into our next breakthrough. Stay connected to the Marketing Zone and every NOW Media tv. Favorite live or on demand anytime you like. Download the free Now Media TV app on Roku or iOS and unlock non stop bilingual programming in English and Spanish. If you're on the move, catch the podcast version at www.nowmedia.tv.
from business and news to lifestyle culture and beyond, Now Media TV is streaming around the clock. Ready whenever you are.
I'm closing the conversation with Doreen Milano CPC and I want to bring everything together. Profit, systems, strategy, operations and the leadership shift required to build a business that can grow with confidence. For many service based business owners, the Challenge is not the lack of talent or commitment. It's that they are working hard inside a business that's not been fully structured to support their next level.
Dorian, what is the difference between a busy business and a business that is truly built for growth?
[00:35:26] Speaker B: Well, the business built for growth has key performance indicators. It has regular weekly meetings with the staff.
It is holding people accountable.
And those business owners are being held accountable because a lot of them have coaches, advisors, or consultants that they're working with to actually notice what is going on in the business that they're too close to. To be able to see outside perspective is a very, very valuable tool.
[00:36:03] Speaker A: I absolutely agree. I used to have a coach that said you can't see the full picture if you're in the frame.
And that just is eye opening because you. There are so many things you can't see.
[00:36:16] Speaker B: Some of them are little, some of them are huge and glaring,
[00:36:21] Speaker A: but you just choose not to see them. Interesting. But yeah.
[00:36:25] Speaker B: Well, it is also familiar.
When it's familiar, we don't see it
[00:36:34] Speaker A: because it's always been this way. So this is how I always do things.
[00:36:38] Speaker B: We go blind to it. I can't tell you how many businesses I've walked into.
And there is a mess in the ashtray outside the front door that you have to walk by.
And I go back a week later and the same mess is there. And I go back two weeks later and the same mess is there.
And that's because the owner and the staff are blind to the mess.
[00:37:03] Speaker A: That's interesting. Now, I knew a business owner one time that would. If he saw a piece of trash on the.
The yard or the. The tray, got to the point where he would date the trash and put it back down there just to see how long it took for somebody to pick it up.
[00:37:22] Speaker B: And I called that action, something very simple. We're tripping over quarters to pick up pennies because every as long as that trash is there, what is that telling your client base?
[00:37:37] Speaker A: True.
Yeah. Need to be tidy, got to clean up the place and make it look like somebody would want to be there.
[00:37:47] Speaker B: Or setting an expectation of precision and deliverability and you, your client walks by a mess, what is that telling them about that precision and deliverability?
[00:38:06] Speaker A: Good point.
[00:38:07] Speaker B: Are you consistent with what you're saying and what you're doing?
[00:38:10] Speaker A: And are your reviews doing the same? I mean, are you getting the same wording description and your reviews that you are saying you deliver?
Those need to be looked at as well,
[00:38:22] Speaker B: but you just get to notice.
And sometimes we Become blind to what is in front of us.
[00:38:33] Speaker A: I absolutely agree with you. What is your, your no nonsense coaching approach to help business owners finally see or confront.
[00:38:44] Speaker B: We're going to look at what's the number one thing that they're doing this for and we're going to see if we're actually measuring who, what that is.
You know, if you're, if you're building that business because you want to retire at 55, then what is the number that we need to be at so that you can sell your business at 55 and get out of it what you expect to get out of it?
What it comes down to, it cannot be that you are the person that is the, the chief rainmaker. You're not the everything person. You're not the chief everything officer. You've got to have folks that are actually doing the things within the business that make that business work and make it profitable to the point that it appeals to somebody else to own your business because it will still make money even though that you're not there.
[00:39:49] Speaker A: Agreed. And I think in a lot of businesses the sales is the final step that a business owner steps away from. And that's the most important, you know, the most important. I mean, if you think about it, I mean is, is that your opinion that you need to have a free flowing sales system so that the new buyer has that confidence in the revenue?
[00:40:13] Speaker B: They have to have confidence in the revenue. And you have got to have three years of continued growth, you have to have a clean set of books, it's got to be audited.
You know, are we doing the things today that will make our business saleable tomorrow?
Are you just expecting to close the doors and walk away?
What is it that you're building and who's it for?
If we don't understand that at the beginning, then what are we building?
[00:40:55] Speaker A: Well, and that's, those are very deep questions. And I think that's. If you start a business that at some point early on you should have to answer those questions. You're either building a lifestyle business or you're building a succession plan and you want an M and A or something, it's. I agree. And so you, you help them open those opportunities and decide and then work into the numbers.
[00:41:16] Speaker B: What it comes down to is something really simple.
If I look at a business plan and it's, they pull it out and it's all dusty, then I know exactly what's going on.
Somebody told them they needed a business plan, but they're not using the business plan to grow Their business.
Number two, if an exit plan is not part of the business plan, we're going to have that discussion because you'll never know that the opportunity exit is in front of you unless you've thought through what that process looks like.
[00:41:56] Speaker A: That is. That's actually really good. That's very good. You need to know what it looks like so you can see if it's coming.
[00:42:02] Speaker B: Client that wanted to have the choice at age 55 as to whether they were going to continue with their business or they were going to sell it or exit they wanted to be at
[00:42:12] Speaker A: a choice point at age 55.
[00:42:14] Speaker B: Well, what did that mean? That mean met that we had to grow the business, make it sustainable, make it sustainable without him, allow him to do the other things in his life that were equally as important and build whatever that was so that when he gets to 55, he's got the choice.
So that is what we wrote into the business plan. So if somebody walks up to him at age 52 and says, I want to buy your business for X number of million dollars, he's that choice. He knows what it's going, what that means because he's already been through that process.
[00:42:59] Speaker A: And just being prepared and knowing those questions and what does it look like? Because that's a big, I mean that's a big process to figure that out, determine what you need and then how to get the business there. So I think that is a good point that you help and coach with that and then you can see the opportunities when they come in.
[00:43:21] Speaker B: There's partners in your business.
If you have not figured out how to dissolve that partnership, you, you're going to pay an attorney a lot of money in the end.
[00:43:37] Speaker A: Yeah, I think figuring out the exit, whether it's, you know, what do you, what do they say? You know, you need to have the exit plan early on so emotions don't get involved.
So that would be the other thing is getting your partnership dissolved agreement before we reach the point of needing to.
[00:43:55] Speaker B: Right.
And how's it going to get funded? Do we have insurance policies in place for that, for that thing to happen?
What happens with one of you gets really sick.
By the way, most business owners don't understand that if your partner gets sick, their family is now your partner.
[00:44:20] Speaker A: That's an interesting way of looking at it. Absolutely.
[00:44:28] Speaker B: It's a big deal.
[00:44:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
Agreed. A lot to think about. Absolutely. A lot to think about. So Doreen, if the audience would like to learn more information about you and visions to excellent. Where can they find you and connect with you.
[00:44:44] Speaker B: They can connect with me at V as in visions.
Number two, E is in excellence. Biz Biz.
[00:44:54] Speaker A: That's a simple one. I like that.
All right, so we want to thank Doreen Milano CPC for joining us and sharing your insight on profit, clarity, business systems, service based growth and the practical decisions that help owners create measurable progress. This is what we believe on the Marketing Zone. Marketing should never be built on guesswork. It should be connected to a business that is clear, profitable, structured and ready to deliver. And to everyone watching, we invite you to look beyond the next post campaign or lead source. Strengthen the business behind the marketing, build systems that support your growth and keep moving forward. Excellence with clarity and purpose. Stay connected. For more on NOW Media TV.
