Melanie Rhora – Skyrocket Your Success

Intro / Outro: Are you a work at home rockstar or do you dream of becoming one? Then you found the right podcast, your hosts, Tim Melanson talks with successful work at home rock stars to learn their secrets and help you in your journey. Are you ready to rock here’s tim?

Tim Melanson: Hello and welcome to today’s episode of the work-at-home rockstar.

Excited for today’s guest. She is the queen of online business growth and she helps heart-centered entrepreneurs to build profitable businesses online, excited to be rocking out today with Melanie Rora. Hey Melanie, are you ready to rock?

Melanie Rhora: Hey Tim. Yes, I am

Tim Melanson: perfect. We always start off on a good note. So tell me a story of success in your business. that we can be inspired by.

Melanie Rhora: So I’ve been in business for 12 years, uh, which is something to celebrate right away. Um, and I think my greatest success though, is the light bulbs that I see go off in my clients when we’re doing training. It just makes me so happy. So, um, we run, uh, a whole bunch of different training programs.

When I started out, I was actually a digital marketing agency, just like you. And now we do mostly.

Tim Melanson: Amazing. Yeah. It’s, uh, it really is cool to, to just see the experiences that people are getting and you see them and succeed and you’re like, yeah, that’s why I do this. Right.

Melanie Rhora: That’s it exactly. I mean, I’ve built over 25,000 webpages in the. Uh, since 2002, and we won’t even count those years. Um, and I, in the last five years, we’ve earned our clients over $120 million in revenue, just from the digital marketing tactics and tech that we’ve, we’ve taught them.

Tim Melanson: So, so you counted them all.

Melanie Rhora: That’s just, the people who’ve told me. So, I mean, it could be a lot higher than that, but that’s just what. We’ve

been

Tim Melanson: told. Wow, that’s amazing. Yeah. I, uh, I’ve been doing websites as well for the last 10 years and I don’t count. I wish I did.

Melanie Rhora: I didn’t count until last year. Um, I had a mentor asked me how many websites do you think you’ve made?

I’m like, I have no idea. So I went out and I, I, you know, count it. So it’s a rough estimate. And then I started counting from that point on. Yeah, but it’s over 25,000 webpages.

Tim Melanson: Well, I think that’s some good advice for people getting started right now and start counting right away. Cause it’s way easier to keep track of it from the beginning.

And then of course, now you have a registrar of clients that you’ve done business with that you can go back to later on, you know, they’re going to need a refresh after. You know, a few years. Right. So, yeah, I wish I wish I attract better, I think,

Melanie Rhora: but me too, you know, just track at some of the really great clients, just because you’re so busy with other clients.

And I think that was one of the hard lessons I learned. Well, and

Tim Melanson: I think that kind of like, it leads into the exact re like the whole point of this podcast. I’ve been, self-employed work from home now for about 15 years. And back then, it just. Really serious, I guess like, you know, people don’t, they just didn’t well, I know they didn’t take me seriously, but I don’t even think I took myself seriously that it was a real business.

It was just, oh, I was just building some websites or I was just, you know, helping some it clients, but, but working from home and having a home business is a serious business that could be handled seriously.

Melanie Rhora: Oh,

absolutely. And when you decide that it’s a serious business and you put in the, the time and the hours, it grows exponentially

Tim Melanson: so much faster.

Yeah. It is. And over time, as you get more confident in your business, it, it just takes these like exponential leaps because all of a sudden now, oh, that part is serious. My business. So now, and then it just keeps going from there. Right?

Melanie Rhora: Exactly. Exactly.

Tim Melanson: So now you’ve been doing this for a while and. What the good note, there’s some bad notes.

Every once in a while to write things, don’t go as planned. And, you know, I want to make sure that people understand that it’s not all sunshine and roses. Sometimes things don’t go as well as you’d like them to. And that’s okay. And so I’m wondering, can you. Share with us, something that really did not go as planned and how you recovered from it or how we can avoid it.

Melanie Rhora: Oh, so I’ve got a, I’ve got a really great story for it actually. So when we first started, like I said, we were marketing agency, but I only worked with really big organizations at that time. So, um, I did 55 websites for Western university. Um, like we were building big, ugly. I did the big ugly stuff, and then I realized it just, wasn’t making me happy.

Anymore. And so I decided I was going to switch gears and work with entrepreneurs and small businesses and make small business websites. So I started doing that and I realized it takes a whole lot more of. To fill the coffers. Then the big guys that we were working with. And so I was taking on every single client who was coming to my door.

It didn’t matter if they were a good fit or not. It was like, oh, I need to keep my staff busy. Cause at that point I had, um, seven staff members and we had moved. We had moved actually from out of my house. Cause I had three staff members in my house coming in and this was not working. And uh, it got to the point where no one wanted to answer that.

Because we had so many of those, we call them the heck no client, you know? So if someone’s a heck no client, the advice I can give you is don’t take it. It’s not worth it. Better. Clients will come through the door and good clients will come and you’ll turn them away because you’ve taken on all these heck no clients.

So you’re better off to say no to the ones that aren’t

a good.

Tim Melanson: No. I mean, I hate to say it, but I think everybody out there is going to have to experience that one on their own. I didn’t believe it either, but man, the heck no clients.

Melanie Rhora: That’s it. I had so many heck no clients in 2015 that every time the phone rang, um, I would black out and fall over like one of those fainting goats, because I had adrenal fatigue.

So, but you don’t want to get to that point. It’s like the worst thing that can happen in your business because now you have to actually, I decided I was going to close. I’m like, I hate my business. So that’s when I figured that. That I needed to be working with my ideal clients. So when we announced that we were closing the good clients, I’ll stuck around, they were like, you know what?

You are too good. We don’t want you to leave. You know, maybe you could work with just us and then all the other, the heck, no clients, they like scattered like rats off a sinking ship. So it was really awesome because now in my marketing, I figured out what all those clients had in common. And I used that to bring in new clients.

Tim Melanson: That’s great. That’s great. It is never going to be worth the money, no matter how much they offer you, I would beat this one. Like we could have a whole entire episode about this particular topic. Cause I, you know, I think, well probably everybody goes through it. I don’t know. I don’t know any entrepreneur that hasn’t had a bad client that they regret taking on.

You know, I think it’s just one of those things, right?

Melanie Rhora: Yeah. We all do it. We all do it.

Tim Melanson: I think it’s the, it’s the, probably the overconfidence that we have. We’re just like, you know, oh, it’ll be fine. It’ll be fine. It’ll be worth it. I, you know, I’ll be able to handle this no problem. And it doesn’t work that way.

Usually.

Melanie Rhora: Well, that’s it. If it’s, if they’re not a good fit personality wise for you, it’s never going to work. I took on one website client who couldn’t actually look at a computer screen. So I was printing the web pages and taking them to his office so he could look at them. And then he’s like, I don’t like this.

It’s not in color.

It’s in color on the website. It was like the worst project ever. And then he didn’t even pay. So you, you want to pick your clients? Well, yep.

Tim Melanson: So then now this, uh, is this something that you’re going to be talking about later on you get solo about this, this guide on how to pick your better clients?

Melanie Rhora: Absolutely.

Tim Melanson: Perfect. Okay. Well then we’ll save that one for later. That’s very important. In the meantime though, let’s, let’s talk about fans. Let’s talk about getting, getting eyeballs on it. Cause I mean, you know, the, the, the one thing that I’m getting out of your story is that you were actually able to bring a lot of clients to the table, even though they weren’t the right ones.

Um, but now what did you do to, you know, grow so many clients and how would you suggest other people do it now that you know, you know,

Melanie Rhora: um,

first of all, you need to meet. You need to niche because then you are seen as the expert in your field and people, you know, when they see you as an expert, they’re more willing to open their wallets to.

You don’t have that general pricing or startup pricing going on, but they don’t care because it’s not the first step in the transaction. They’re not going. I need, I have $500. I’m going to buy a website. That’s not what’s happening. They’re like, I want to work with someone who’s going to help me build my business.

Okay. I can do that. So when you come out with, you know, a high ticket price, they’re like, okay, I did it, it doesn’t scare them off because they know you can do what you promised.

Tim Melanson: And you’re talking about all the heart stuff. Niching is another one that’s difficult

Melanie Rhora: because you’re just like, yeah, but, but I’m just getting started.

I need to make some money. So I’m just going to take any client

Tim Melanson: that comes my way. If I just only focus on these people that aren’t these people going to go.

Melanie Rhora: That’s it exactly. But you want them to go away cause they’re not the right fit for you. Um, so there’s, there’s, I call it the five powers of niching, you know, so you’ve got the power of focus and the reason that we have the power of focus is because you.

I want you to think of it like a light bulb versus a laser. So a hundred watt light bulb, a hundred watt laser, same amount of power, but a light bulb will light up a room. Whereas a laser will cut steel and we want to cut steel with, you know, with our marketing budget. If we just light up the room with it, it’s just filtering everywhere.

You’re not actually bringing anybody in the door. Whereas if you’re focused on one particular segment, you can bring them in. We call it building your ideal client cloning machine.

Tim Melanson: Wow. That’s a really, really good analogy. And then on top of that, you can create better systems because you know what to expect because the clients are all the.

Right.

Melanie Rhora: Exactly. Exactly. Um, and then you can actually, uh, we call it the power of dominion is one of the other ones is being the big fish in the small pond. You’re not trying to compete with everybody. Um, cause you’re niching. So, you know, you’re solving a problem that lots and lots of people have, but you’re doing it, um, in a way that we call it an inch deep and a mile wide, you know?

So you’ve got tons of people who have the problem, but it’s a very specific person. Yeah.

Tim Melanson: So, so how is it that you figure out what your niche is going to be?

Melanie Rhora: Well, you

need to start out with, you know, what you like to do and who

you want to work with. So,

um, I like to figure out the client that I want to work with first and then decide what my niche is.

Cause you know what your business is. So, for example, if you were a business lawyer, you know, well, who do I like to work with? Well, I don’t like working with, um, I don’t like working with startups because they’re too much of an issue. Um, I much rather deal with, uh, people who are getting ready to do succession planning.

Well then of course your, your target market is going to be business owners who are ready to return. So there you’re, you’re going to push yourself into that and you’re going to niche in succession planning. So it’s, it’s a combination of the two things. If she had said, instead, I hate working with those old dudes.

I want to work with startups because everything’s fresh and new. Well, then you want to start, you know, you want to work on things like incorporations. So those things go together.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And I mean, the big, another huge benefit of niching is that when you have a narrow, a narrow field that you’re looking for, it’s so much easier to target, you know, those people in your marketing, because now it’s, you know, instead of just saying, Hey, anybody need a website?

You’re saying, Hey, who do you know that does this and is looking for this, you know, it’s so much easier, right?

So what about tools for success now? Uh, I mean, over the years, you’ve probably built some tools and you probably have bought some tools. So I’m wondering what are these tools that you’re using to get success for yourself and for your clients as well. And, uh, and how did you find them?

Melanie Rhora: Okay. So the, we call them the, the three pillars.

So every single business owner should have a CRM for their business where they’re tracking their leads in their clients. They need to have a lead generating website. So you don’t want something. That’s just a brochure. It needs to actually. Gather leads for you and you need to have, you know, a lead magnet.

And quite honestly, my favorite lead magnets these days are quizzes because quizzes have a higher opt-in rate than just a PDF or another piece of information.

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Melanie Rhora: So there are lots of different quiz software out there. Um, two of my favorite are, uh, interact and the second one’s lead quizzes and really the differences for.

Tim Melanson: I wrote that down. You’re a hundred percent, right. Quizzes are so much better these days. And, uh, you can see them all over Facebook. People do these quizzes for free all the time, and they’re not getting really anything out of it other than, you know, which star wars character are you.

Um, but, but they like to do them. And so it’s kind of a win-win you’re, you’re giving them something that they like to do. That’s fun for them. And then out of that quiz, you can figure out if they’re your client or not.

Melanie Rhora: That’s it. Exactly. So based on their answers, you know what to offer them or what not to offer them.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Or yeah. Who to send them to your client.

Melanie Rhora: Right, exactly. Exactly. The other piece of software, I think every business owner should have is a booking software, like a calendar booking software, because it just makes your life easier. You’re not going back and forth trying to figure out what time of meeting is for.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Now I have a question about, so, uh, booking software, absolutely. A hundred percent agree quizzes. Absolutely. Great about the mailing list though. Now, um, is this something that a person like when they get into this field, are they going to need to keep on sending out emails every week or every month?

Or how frequently do they need to be keeping in touch with this, with this.

Melanie Rhora: So that depends again on your ideal client, how often do they want to hear from you? You want to make sure that you are, um, sending it enough that they remember who you are, but not sending it too much where they’re like, oh God, I’m hearing from her again.

She’s filling up my inbox. So there is a happy medium. Um, I say when you’re beginning to market, uh, especially when you’re a new business twice a week, Is great, you know, uh, and batch write your emails cause you don’t want, that’s the thing that falls off, you know, you’re busy, you’re doing other things and then you’re, you’re not nurturing those leads and you want to nurture your leads so that when something comes up in your business and you need to bring some new clients in, that’s actually how you’re going to go.

That’s how you’re going to harvest them. It’s like you’re, you’re growing your client lists.

Tim Melanson: Love it. Yeah. I, I know exactly what you mean. Cause I know that I’ve signed up for things and I get way too many emails and I just, I just unsubscribed, even though it’s something that I love because it’s, I don’t, I don’t remember the time and it ends up like next thing, you know, all these unread emails and that stresses me out.

So I think.

Melanie Rhora: It’s bad on the other side, too, where you sign up for something and they deliver the lead magnet, and six months later, you haven’t heard from them. They send you an email saying I’m running this program. You’re like, I don’t know who you are. Unsubscribe. How’d you get my email? So

there is a happy medium.

Yup, yup.

Tim Melanson: Somewhere in between. And I think, I think you’re probably right either, you know, twice a month or once a month, something, something that they can like remember to see your name. And even if they don’t read the email. Your name comes through. And even if it stays on red, it’s just one message instead of 13 and do weeks.

Right.

That’s it exactly right on. Okay, cool. So now, uh, what about learning from the best now this, I love this topic because there’s so many parts to it. Um, how did you learn? What, you know, did you do courses, do you do masterminds? Like what do you do? Like what is it that you have done to get to where you are?

Melanie Rhora: So remember back in 2015 where, you know, I was falling over like that, that fainting goat. Um, I decided right then and there that my business needed to change. And so I started investing in, um, business coaches and mentors and, uh, I mean, so I am truly believe in lifelong learning now. Um, I’ve spent over a hundred thousand dollars in the last five years.

In learning and growing with, with amazing mentors, I’ve studied with some of the best digital marketers across the globe. And I think that’s, that’s why I can do what I do.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. I agree. Now what about people who think that it’s too expensive?

Melanie Rhora: You know what? I was there I’ve been there. The first program I signed up for was $2,000 and I’m like, I don’t know if I can spend this, um, But I did it. And the thing is when you do it, commit to the program and actually do the work and you’ll see leaps and bounds in your business. So the next time I invested, I went to, I went to a, um, it was actually in person back when we could do a lot of in-person things.

And, uh, I was sitting at the table and I had bought the $75 ticket. And that was all I was going to spend. And the person there made a $25,000.

And I was like, I want this, but I don’t want it, but I want this. So I hummed and hawed over three days, whether or not I was going to do it. Um, and I took them up on it and it was honestly the best thing I’ve ever done for my business was invest in myself at that level because you get to meet other business owners who have also invested at that level.

And there’s, you know, the saying about the five people you spend the most time with is, you know, I forgot how it goes, but the five people you spend the most time with is, you know, how you’re going to show up in the world and what’s going to come to you. And it’s very, very true. So when you start investing yourself at those higher levels, you just up your game.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, I think there’s, I think there’s just so much to it that it’s, it’s, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes it work. Uh, but like, you know, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that you’ve got skin in the game, so you’re more likely to take it seriously. Cause I do know that, I mean, you can go out there and sign up for free course after free course, and you can get some benefit from that, but there is going to be a plateau pretty quickly.

And there’s also a really high chance that you’re not going to do the course of. Like you might read the first module will be done. Right?

Melanie Rhora: Absolutely. I think that’s why it’s really important, even when you’re doing your, your lead generation. Um, I think of it now as client acquisition instead of just lead generation.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And now, so when you are looking at a new course, do you, what mindset do you get yourself into? Are you looking for something specific out of it or are you looking at the specific person or.

Melanie Rhora: It’s both, you know, I don’t want to learn from someone who just doesn’t have the same value system as I do, because I’m not going to pay attention the same way.

So if, if they’re working their business, In a way that that is congruent with what I want to do and they’re at the next level. So I want to learn from someone now at this point, I want to learn from someone who is doing million dollar launches, instead of someone who’s like, you can do a five figure launch.

I’m like, I know how to do five figure launches. I noticed six figure launches. I want to know how to do a seven figure launch. You show me that.

Tim Melanson: Got it. Got it. So you, yeah. So you’re always looking at the next level. And how do you find out if that person’s actually legit?

Melanie Rhora: Uh, so you start looking at their client lists, you start seeing, you know, I follow people for a little while before I, I decide to invest with them.

Um, and you’ll know right away, you know, where you’ll feel.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. I think that same thing as the bad clients feel the one before that happens. Right.

Melanie Rhora: Exactly. Yeah.

Tim Melanson: So, okay. So you, you start to follow them a little bit first. You, you, you kind of bet a few of their clients to make sure that this is the kind of the tribe you want to become a part of, and then you attend one of their events or you do something like.

Melanie Rhora: Yeah, I like it. I like attending an event because then you really get to know their teaching style. Um, I love three-day events. So now when we do a launch, we do a three-day event because I want people to get to know my teaching style for the same reason. Um, so I like to attend that, that event and then see where, where they’re leading you.

And if they, oh, go ahead.

Go ahead. I was gonna say if the offer doesn’t feel right. Don’t jump in. Yep,

Tim Melanson: exactly. And then, uh, you know, to make yourself feel better about the money that you’re spending. I mean, you, if you’ve done your homework, I guess, properly where you know exactly this person is in the next level and they are where you want to go, then the money won’t be a problem once you get there.

It’s just a matter of making that walk from, from where you are right now, to where they are.

Melanie Rhora: Exactly. It’s that first, it’s the first commitment piece where you jump in and then you’re going to have that feeling that, you know, maybe even that queasiness and the stuff. Oh my gosh. I just spent $600 on a deposit.

Is this going to be okay? You have to decide that it is okay. Um, otherwise your is just going to start eating away at you. You know, I should have spent that money. There are other things I need to do with that. Um, but you need to just kind of push past that and know that you’ve, you’ve invested in yourself for, for a reason.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. And you know, our brains are gonna do that regardless if you don’t spend the money and you don’t go for the course, your mind’s going to. Telling you that, oh, maybe I should’ve done that. You know, am I making a mistake? Your brain is going to try and protect you either way.

Melanie Rhora: So, well, no, brings her they’re focused on the negative and that’s because, you know, our ancestors needed to be aware of all the danger around them.

So I say to my students, Um, you can actually change how you think by just changing one word. So instead of asking yourself, can this work for me? You ask, how can this work for me? It’s a really small change, but all of a sudden your brains coming up with reasons and how it’s going to work for you instead of, you know, telling you that it can’t

love it.

Tim Melanson: Okay. So now it’s time for your guests solo. So tell me about what’s going on in your business.

Melanie Rhora: So I’m really excited about what’s happening in our business. Um, at the end of may, we are launching my fuel, your funnel book. So this is, uh, specifically designed to help you unlock who your ideal client is, the language that you need to use to, to attract them and where to find them online.

So it is, uh, an ebook format. It it’s going to start. $5 to get started. And then we’ve got some amazing bonuses that go along with that, um, including the fuel, your funnel course. So, uh, videos and handouts and all kinds of stuff that, that you’re going to absolutely love.

Tim Melanson: Wow. So $5. That’s a really small investment to get to know you and get to know your style and to figure out if you’re someone that someone wouldn’t want would want to work with.

Melanie Rhora: Exactly.

Exactly. But the reason that it’s $5 is because then the right people will say, oh, yes, I want to read this book. And I’ve got skin in the game to actually do it because otherwise we can download all these eBooks and never ever read them.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. And that’s just it, I mean, I think that, that might be a question when people were like, well, why, why $5?

Why not just free? Like, what’s, what’s the difference. But I think. Is the difference is that even just a little bit of skin in the game will change the way you react to that book.

Melanie Rhora: That’s it exactly.

Tim Melanson: I’ve got a whole directory full of free books that I’ve never read. And then even just the ones on audible where I like spend a credit for it.

I, I’m more likely to read to listen to those. Right.

Melanie Rhora: That’s it exactly. You know, so we want to make sure that, uh, if you, if you want that book and you want that information, there’s a reason that you want it. So this is just to help you to actually. Sit down and read the information. And it’s not a really long book either.

It, but it doesn’t need to be, there’s so much information packed in there. Um, and lots of exercises so that you can actually, um, create your ideal client and know how to find them online.

Tim Melanson: Cool. So now, speaking of which, what would be the type of person or the place in a person’s journey where they would get the most out of your program or out of your.

Melanie Rhora: So I always say it’s, you know, if you’re feeling unhappy in your business, um, is, is when we’re, you know, kind of going for you. When it comes to our pieces, you’re a heart-centered entrepreneurs. So you have a mission, um, that you want to, to do. So you’re a, Lightworker, you’re a coach, you’re a consultant, and you’re trying to make a difference in someone else’s life.

Um, and you want to be attracting the right people into your business so that you are not feeling exhausted at the end of every day.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Yeah. Which is all of us, but especially I would, I would think, uh, you know, Lightworkers or people that are working with other people’s energy, because, you know, you can get drained pretty quickly if you’re attracting the wrong people.

Right. Right on, and you can work at a higher level if you attract the right people, because then they can energize you rather than taking away and having to kind of recharge yourself every time you go to your next appointment. Right?

Melanie Rhora: Exactly. And what’s really great about attracting the right clients into your business is birds of a feather flock together.

And so when they give you a referral, they are referring another person who’s right for your business. To you as well. So, um, your referrals become much, much better.

Tim Melanson: That’s a really good point, too. Awesome. Thank you. So, oh, I, where do we find out more about this?

Melanie Rhora: Oh, thank you so much for asking it’s fuel your funnel.biz B Isaid.

Um, and that’s where you’ll be able to get the book.

Tim Melanson: Awesome. Thank you so much for rocking out with me today, Melanie, this has been like. Thanks so much, Tim. Cool. And to the listeners, make sure you subscribe, rate and comment. We’ll see you next time on the work at home rockstar podcast.

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