In this case study you will learn how I helped two brothers, both social entrepreneurs in business with each other, to increase the number of their clients and gigs by 1200% in just three months. It will show you that your background does not determine your level of success but who you ask for help does.
Who Were These Two Social Entrepreneurs?
Last year, I was working with a local social enterprise that provided decluttering and clearing work in cases of eviction, death, or hoarding as well as the everyday kind of decluttering that is happening a lot now during the COVID-19 crisis. Both were not highly educated (not even 10th grade of German high school) but had good hearts. Instead of staying unemployed, they decided to create their own business.
What Was The Problem?
What did they have trouble accomplishing you ask? Three years later, when I met them, they were still struggling. In the last 6 months before working with me, they only had 1 client hiring them. Their ideal clients did not know who they were nor did they know how to find them and when they should hire them. Their own marketing was very poor quality. Neither of the two brothers had any experience in business or marketing.
Before me, they had worked with another business coach that wanted them to buy expensive equipment so they can serve one more client with winter services. They did not even have the finances to buy a lawnmower, let alone a professional snowmobile. They did not feel understood but pressured by the other business coach. According to them, he just tried to get his vision implemented in their business. But in the end, they would have to be the ones to continue to run the business after he was gone. Then I came into the picture.
What Was The Solution?
How did my company resolve the issue and drive a benefit for these two brothers, you ask? First, I listened to their vision. I wrote down everything that had worked before for them to attract clients and close deals. We defined the slogan which they also had in their head but could not put it into marketing terms. The client always knows best how they deliver value. The business coach only helps to guide the client to clearly define the slogan so it can make maximum impact. To do so, we were looking into what makes them different from all the other companies that provided the same service.
There was one service that NONE of the other companies even dared to go for: clearing out the apartments and houses of hoarders which ironically yielded the highest revenue. So we focused their marketing and sales efforts on promoting that element of their service range. These two social entrepreneurs and I examined new clients and institutions that can become clients such as local governments. We created phone and email scripts for them to use when potential clients call their hotline for information. We updated the website so they not only are visible but also show up first in Google and stand out among the other companies.
What Were The Results?
Within only 3 months of working together, they landed 2 gigs per months whereas they only had 1 gig in 6 months before. They are now more resourceful and believe more in themselves than they ever have before. These two social entrepreneurs don’t let their limited education or their personal background (abusive childhood) impact the impact they can make and the level of success they can have anymore.
What challenges are you facing today? Leave a comment so I can create a blog post soon for your challenge.
We had some problems getting our business going and since we have been on the market for over 2 years and it just didn’t work, we went through Claudia’s business coaching and we hadn’t really expected anything from it due to our previous experience with another business coach, but with her coaching our business really got a boost. Today we are doing great and we would always come to her for help.