Salutations friend! In today's topic, we will discuss the difference between corporate and online entrepreneurship. If you want to niche down your services or focus on a specific field and wondering which one to lean onto—towards the corporate industry or online entrepreneurs—then today's conversation is for you. Grab your notes and push that play button!
Salutations, friend! Welcome back to another episode of The Profit Scale podcast. In today's discussion, we will talk about corporate and online entrepreneurship. This will be a 2-part series and today we are about to dive into part 1 of the series. If you are planning to make the switch between the two, it is very important to understand them first before jumping to the next step.
We will talk about the principles for success in serving corporate clients with major differences between the corporate and the online entrepreneurship world.Â
These are the 4 principles that we will cover today:
Links:Â
Salutations, friend! Welcome to an episode of The Profit Scale! It is the podcast for consultants, experts and service providers who are already serving corporate clients or transitioning towards it! Here is the place where you can find tailored solutions to help you close your first or next biggest client.
I’m your host and Income Strategist, RJ Connell. If you are looking for expert strategies to help you build on your existing success, then you, my friend, are in the right place! Turn up the volume and lean in because we are about to get started!
Salutations, friend! It’s RJ here. Today's episode is brought to you by insistent demand—from you! As I created podcast episodes for you, I also reached out to you, my amazing listeners. I invited you to have conversations about the topics you are interested to learn for growing your business further and faster.
In those conversations, you told me you wanted to learn more about serving, landing, and transitioning towards business-to-business (B2B) services, so this episode was born! I also want to give you a heads-up that I will share more high-level strategies for you—the B2B service providers, in the podcast. These are strategies that are specific, curated and relevant for you as you explore bigger and corporate opportunities for your business, and it starts with today’s topic about the difference between the corporate and the online entrepreneurship world.
Before we get started, I want to let you know that applications for Systems That Scale are now open, and the deadline to apply for the program is on May 27th! It is not an online course; it is an intensive consulting program tailored for consultants and experts who want to secure their first or next biggest corporate client.
This program will provide an enhanced 1:1 income strategy for your unique business with a focus on helping you develop and improve your skills in finding, pitching, negotiating and closing contracts to level up your business bank account.
I do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach, which is why its focus is on developing a customized strategy for your business based on a proven framework. I designed the program to help you exercise those skills right on the spot through group pitching sessions to provide real-time feedback and the ability to rehearse your pitch before you deliver it.
I take pride in being able to support you at such a top-level throughout the program. We only have 10 spots available, and we will close the application in 2 days. If you have been looking for tailor-made help for your unique corporate B2B needs then, I will be happy to support you.
Click the link in the show notes or head over to rjconnell.ca/call to start your application process for Systems That Scale.
Now let’s jump into today’s conversation!
The world of online entrepreneurship is growing so quickly. The proliferation of the internet has significantly reduced and almost eliminated the barriers, which made it easier to start, run, and grow your own business. However, there is still value in the understanding of being a part of the corporate world.Â
Running a business-to-business (B2B) model to serve corporate clients are two unique things. While having a proven skill that has worked within your business-to-consumer (B2C) model is helpful, there are still major differences between the corporate and the online entrepreneurship world. You need to understand it before you make the switch.Â
We are about to dive into part 1 of a 2-part series. Today I will start by covering the 4 principles for success in serving corporate clients areas with major differences between the corporate and the online entrepreneurship world.
So let’s start with the first principle.
#1 Professionalism
Professionalism is at the foundation of everything you do. In the corporate world, your professionalism contributes to the experience you offer your clients and can affect whether you can land clients.Â
An enormous difference between how this principle affects your success in the corporate against the online world is that in the online world, professionalism can come across as being arrogant or high and mighty.Â
It is common for consumers to want their service providers to feel like friends that they can relate to on a personal level. The more open, relatable and even accessible you are, the easier it is for your consumers to connect with you. Well, that same premise definitely does not translate into the corporate industry.
We can see an example of these differences in communication styles.
In the corporate world, communication takes place almost only via email and phone calls and in-person meetings, while in the online world, it is common for consumers to reach out to you via different social media channels.
They may inquire about your services in direct messages (DMs) on Instagram, in the comments section on your Facebook live, or purchase your products directly through the links in your emails without ever having a direct conversation with you.
Phone calls before purchasing are rare in B2C, and even less so, if you are following the digital course or product model for your business.Â
Another difference in professionalism between corporate and online is in punctuality and deadlines.Â
While your audience will probably forgive if you are running late to your webinar or discovery call because you were having a hard time putting your child to bed, that same leniency does not apply to corporate. It is important to understand that when you are dealing with corporate decision-makers, their time is extremely limited.Â
They are juggling thousands of things, between leading their departmental teams, meetings with executive teams, and finding time to do the work they need to do to meet their objectives. You cannot afford to be late for your meetings.
In the corporate world, 5 minutes late can cost you 5 million dollars, it is that serious. Especially considering that there is likely another company waiting to pitch for the same contract as you, so you cannot afford to make amateur mistakes like being tardy if you want to survive in the corporate world.
The same is true for deadlines. Corporate clients expect you to meet deadlines without exception. They pay top dollar for experts who can deliver, so they expect you to deliver when you said you would. It means that if you are used to “getting around to doing your work when you feel like it” in your B2C company, or thinking it is not a big deal if you send that email 2 days later than you said you would, you are probably not ready for the corporate world yet.
Let’s look at principle number 2.
#2 PricingÂ
Operating in the corporate world opens up a whole new era of opportunities for your business, both in income and impact. Aside from the number of additional zeros that you will see in a corporate payout, a significant difference between the corporate and online world is that corporations want to hire experts.
They are willing and ready to invest in services, people and products that will solve their problem, save them time, and provide the results they are looking for.
While your everyday consumer may evaluate how they can get their results at the lowest price or for the best deal, corporate negotiations can be straightforward when you can prove your ability to get results.
You give them your price, and they pay for it. It is as simple as that.
Remember that your paycheck is contingent on your results. There needs to be a way of communicating the results you can provide.
This is where quantifiable metrics play to your advantage. The better able you are to demonstrate your results, backed by numbers, the easier it will be for you to close a contract once you get the opportunity.
In the world of online entrepreneurship, testimonials are most often the metric of choice. While showcasing the revenue a student could create because of your online course, those types of results tend not to be the standard.
Corporate expects that the results you display for them and you could get for other companies are repeatable.Â
You need to have a solid, proven method that produces repeatable, reliable and measurable results, no matter what service you are offering.Â
Another key difference in the corporate world is that the bigger the results you offer, and the more experienced you are working with larger companies, the more you can command.Â
While it is possible to do the same in the world of online entrepreneurship, there is a limit to how much people will pay, despite your experience.Â
The people you are serving will highly affect the limits of your pricing. For example, millennial entrepreneurs who are just starting their businesses will probably not have been able to pay you $20,000 to build a website for them, even if you built Oprah’s.Â
See what I’m saying?
#3 Reputation
In the world of online entrepreneurship, credibility markers can vary significantly. Some people may consider the number of your Instagram followers as a sign of credibility, while others may think your interview on a very popular podcast is. Credibility differs based on what the individual considers being their metric.
However, in the corporate world, there is one universal metric of credibility—and that is a referral.Â
Referrals are powerful in the corporate world. One well-positioned referral can jump your business into a whole new tax bracket. While they do not guarantee that you will close the contract, they can definitely get you into the room. The opposite is true of a negative referral. One bad referral can close doors before you even know that they are there.
That is why your reputation matters. It is crucial. Corporations trust the experience that other corporations and industry peers have had with you and your business.Â
It is essentially a way for them to cross-reference the results you are promising and the experience working with you against your past track record, without you knowing it.
Decision-makers in the corporate world talk. If you have a poor reputation, trust me when I say the word will get around.
It is why the first principle was the first principle. The professionalism you display matters not only at the point when you have closed the contract. It also matters how you carry yourself on your social media platforms.Â
Have you ever seen an employee get fired from a company based on their conduct at a party, or even in a private conversation that got leaked?
There have been countless cases where a company will fire an employee because their behaviour reflects poorly on the company, even if said behaviour took place on personal time and not company time.Â
The reputation of the company matters to them, and that means your reputation matters to them too if they will associate themselves with you.Â
In the world of online entrepreneurship, the controversy surrounding your behaviour, beliefs and conduct can increase your popularity, and can sometimes even be a marketing tactic.
It is easy for entrepreneurs to believe that since they are voicing their opinion or displaying certain behaviours on their own social media platforms; it entitles them to share whatever they want.Â
It may be true within the guidelines of the social media platform, you cannot control the consequences of what you put out into the world, so if you are even considering serving corporate B2B clients at any point in your career, keep your reputation in check at all times. Lest it comes back to bite you in the bank account.
#4 Internal Support
As simple as this sounds, we often overlook this area in serving corporate clients. As you can tell by our discussion, the expectations of serving corporate clients are a lot higher and can have detrimental consequences compared to serving consumers who are more forgiving.
It means that it is crucial to have the internal support that you need on your team to deliver and serve at a top-level. Depending on the services you offer and the clients you serve, having it for your business could be as simple as having an assistant.Â
While in other cases where you are looking to serve Fortune 500 companies, you will probably need to be a team of more than just 1 person to deliver the level of support that client is looking for.Â
It does not mean that the people on your team will deliver the service directly, but it is likely that you will need to ensure all the minute tasks of responding to email inquiries, providing client support, handling the back end of your website, and delegating all the other tasks that you used to do, so you can focus on the tasks in your business that only you can do.Â
In the world of online entrepreneurship, it is easier to scale the volume of your clientele while remaining a one-person show, especially if you sell digital products, though the lack of support will only get you so far. It can often lead to burnout.Â
To serve at your highest level, you will need support, and when serving corporate clients, it is better to have the support proactively as opposed to hiring out of desperation or overwhelm.
When you approach each of these principles intentionally and strategically, they can set your business up to thrive in the corporate world.
These four principles are a great starting point to give you areas to consider when you are positioning your business to pursue corporate clients. If that is the direction you want to take for your business, friend, I want to support you in doing that.
I am now accepting applications to my signature program Systems That Scale, but friend, the deadline to apply ends in 2 days!Â
If you are a consultant or expert in the field and you need help to price your services or craft your pitch for your first or next biggest client, then schedule a call today at rjconnell.ca/call or using the link in the show notes.
The deadline to apply for Systems That Scale is on May 27. Friend, I would love to help you land your next 5-figure contract!
So let’s recap our conversation today.Â
First, we talked about the major differences in serving clients in the business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) world that will require you to reevaluate how you position your services.
Then, we divided it into 4 key principles that will have a significant impact on your ability to succeed in the corporate world. The 4 key principles we discussed are professionalism, pricing, reputation and internal support.
As we went through each of these principles, we also showed the difference in its application in online entrepreneurship and the corporate world.
Friend, I am so grateful that we got to spend this time together, and I am just as excited to meet you here next week. I will walk you through a conversation about unlearning some business lessons that do not apply when you want to or are serving corporate clients.Â
You will definitely want to make sure you tune in next week to find and learn which critical business mistakes are keeping you from serving high-end clients.Â
As usual, friend, I will talk to you at the same time and place next week. Until then, I wish you coins, confidence, and all the bags!