The 30-Day Close a Whale Sprint! EP #353

Are you feeling the pinch in your video production business? 📉

In this episode, Den Lennie explores why many video businesses are struggling and share strategic ways to overcome these challenges.

Tune in for practical advice on client engagement, sales strategies, and a special opportunity to scale your business with the "30-Day Close a Whale Sprint." 🐋

Don’t miss this chance to level up and secure your biggest deals yet! 💼

Download the Little Black Book of Video Business Secrets: The Success Formula of 6 and 7-figure Video Businesses - Stand out, win premium projects, and grow while working less.

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Transcript

G'day guys, it's Den here with episode 353 of the How to Scale a Video Business podcast. And today I want to call it out. The industry is going through a very odd and peculiar phase. And I think a lot of businesses are at real risk of disappearing. Let's talk about why in just one second.  

Welcome to the Video Business Accelerator podcast. Each week, we uncover the secrets to creating a wildly successful and scalable video production business with your host, Den Lennie. Discover how the Accelerator program is transforming the lives of our members at www.videobusinessaccelerator.com. Okay unless you've been living under a rock,  I think you will probably be experiencing some kind of slowdown, some kind of constraint in your video business at the moment.  It's not happening in every niche, but it's happening to a lot of generic video business owners. I was talking to a client this morning who'd been to a major ACS, Australian Cinematography Society awards ceremony in Victoria, in Australia. 

recently and everybody was talking about how slow the industry has been this year. And we've seen that start to creep into a lot of other video businesses in the kind of latter half of 2024. Now I believe there are some significant global pressures that are slowing down spending across lots of industries.

My accountant has reported it, other accountants have reported it, a lot of businesses are struggling just now.  And we have to understand the context. When Covid happened, everyone's business was shut down, but the government gave lots and lots of money away for free, and everyone felt like they were having a party. 

Once COVID eased, then all of those businesses had pent-up need and demand and they had to spend a lot of money making content, I guess celebrating freedom again. But then as the money was given away, was basically printed, so inflation went through the roof across the planet. And as a result of that slowly but surely interest rates climbed.

to the point that they're at today. And in most cases, everybody is feeling the pinch, which means larger businesses are easing back on spending. They're laying off employees in some cases. No one wants to be seen to be frivolously spending money on video projects that aren't essential.  Combine that with a massive increase in the number of people creating video content because it's become a lot more accessible and you suddenly have this melting pot of the current situation.

Now, not all businesses are going through a rough time in construction, in transport logistics, in healthcare, in anything to do with finances, still booming.  But what it does is it really goes to highlight that you cannot be running a generic video business in 2024 and expect it to grow and scale. You have to be specialized and you have to be picking your niches or your niches very carefully.

What I wanted to do on this session today was just reinforce that now is the time to start digging into your best clients seeing how you can support them and getting creative with the projects that you do. And I don't mean creative in a kind of use nice color gels and, making it super fancy.

Creative from a business point of How are you going to get in front of clients and give them an offer that's irresistible. And one of the things you can do is call your clients and say, Hey, we are just looking to fill the back end of the year's calendar. It's traditionally a slower time for us.

What can we do for you? That would be a no-brainer. How can we structure this deal? How can we make this work for you in a no-brainer capacity? Now, if you're in North America, it's coming towards the end of the financial year,  perhaps you can say to your clients, hey,  going towards the end of the year is there any budget you need to spend before next year?

Can we help you spend it now and give you, 90 days into 2025 to utilize that? That's one option. Second option is we're coming to Black Friday. So you've got an opportunity to go to all your clients and say, Hey, we've never done this before, but we're thinking of putting together a black Friday offer and we're not quite sure how to structure it.

We don't want to just necessarily give you money off because in some cases that's not the most valuable thing to you. But if we were to structure a black Friday deal and it was to be a no-brainer for you, what would it look like?  So really what I'm saying is The business owners who are willing to get on the phone with clients, have a conversation, be honest, and say, Hey, we're looking a bit slower towards the end of the year.

Is there anything we can do to help? And how can we price that or deliver that and package that in a way for you that is a no-brainer offer for you?  So what we have to start doing is asking our clients the question, how can we make this work for you? What is it that we can do to make your life easier and, make this a win for everyone?

Because here's the thing with business, right?  Both parties have to win.  And if both parties win, you'll continue to win together.  So that's what I wanted to share with you today. Also, we are coming up to our own Black Friday offer this week, which is we're putting together a brand new sprint. It's called the 30-day Close a Whale Sprint, working on one simple outcome. 

If you decide to join this, our goal for the next four weeks is to close your biggest deal yet or at least one of them by Christmas time without cold calling or following some cringy sales script. So really for Black Friday what we're doing is I'm putting together some good film folks and showing them exactly how to take their existing services and close a five-figure deal 10, 000 minimum right before Christmas so you can start the new year strong. 

We're starting this in the 2nd of December and we're going to install four key systems in my whale closing system in your business. So in the first phase, we're going to install my reverse selling system. So brand clients with whale budgets typically interview dozens of freelancers or have a roster of freelancers before hiring one of them.

And they usually hire on the basis of price, experience or speed.  This is why instead of hope and praise salesmanship, we're going to develop a reverse selling to make you a category of one and the clear and obvious choice. Even if you aren't the most qualified, you'll flip the sales process on its head and practically have them sell you on working with them, giving you clear budgets as they do.

Now with this one system alone, you're going to close more deals than ever before because you're looking at the right data and the right metrics. Most businesses, and I work with a lot,  tend to spray and pray. They like work with every client, they respond to every request and say yes to everything. But if you start identifying the real opportunities, and you identify the most profitable clients, you can then go to them with unique offers.

Now in week two,  We're going to implement what we call our Frankenstein lead activation system. Now, the world is yours when you can make every lead and every prospect count. And if you think about it, every inquiry that's come into your business had an intention. So what we're going to start looking at these opportunities as individual human beings, not as just leads or lists of potential customers.

Now, you don't need hundreds of leads. You just need our battle-tested lead activation system to turn your current lead database into a goldmine. That's why the second system we'll install is my Frankenstein lead activation system to resurrect your dead leads, activate your warm leads and multiply your hot leads with more projects and or referrals.

Now with this system, Your every lead will skyrocket in value and give you more projects and more referrals than ever. Now in week three,  we're going to be pushing our highest-grossing million-dollar proposal template. Now this is actually Caleb's template that he's kindly shared with us. And we're joint venturing to share this with more filmmakers.

Caleb's greatest value is helping other creatives succeed. So with hot leads rolling in,  a transparent client budget and sales process to make you the only logical choice. Now is the time to seal the deal with a proposal so powerful it's produced the bulk of my client's 52 million dollars in combined sales.

Now the flagship proposal system developed by Caleb will seal the deal and give you the legroom to close a five-figure or multiple five-figure deal without any objections even if the project goes over their budget. with some of our clients winning as much as 78 percent of their proposed deals thanks to this proposal template.

Now with this system, you'll now be able to close bigger deals faster and easier than ever before.  And finally, in week four, you're gonna get my 297, 000 a year Videographer Business Growth System.  Now, by this point, you'll have everything you need to turn your currently database and existing or past client roster into your biggest deal of the year.

I want to show you how to close, how our clients close one to three of these big deals a month. Now, only my private clients have seen this entire roadmap laid bare, and now you're going to discover the exact process that allows our average client to generate 297, 000 a year and work less than ever before.

Now, with this system, you're going to discover how to close one to three big deals like this every month, like clockwork. In just four weeks, you'll have everything you need to close, by far, your biggest deal ever. easier than before and our battle-tested client-only roadmap to closing deals the size or higher every month like clockwork, while working less and spending more of their time and money on family and passions. 

And that's only if you want big deals every month. So at this point, you've got a choice, okay? Keep pushing to new income levels and scale with one or three deals or take a step back. and enjoy the labor of a simple cash flow business with one to three deals a quarter. Now just so you know, for the timeline, we're starting phase one on the 2nd of December and the first work is going to cover that and client renowned go-to system for making filmmakers the only go-to.

You're gonna get crystal clear on how to position yourself as an on-demand creative how to make it clear. You're the only logical choice and what to ask for to practically guarantee the sale And how to easily get the brand's budget ahead of time so you'll know the scope of the project that you can propose without hoping they can afford it or putting a Number into the sphere of will they take it all of which is going to give you an unfair advantage in every sales call you ever take.

On top of that, there will be optional homework that you can post in the community for feedback, guaranteeing that you've got  Harvey Specter mode on. That's a Suits reference. Long before you get any actual sales calls. So by day seven, you'll have a sales process so powerful and easy you'll feel confident and in control of every sales meeting you'll ever take, even if you have no sales experience.

Then in phase two from the 9th of December, armed with this unfair advantage for making you the only real option in every sales call, now is the time to line up those initial sales. Inside the second workshop, we'll install our Frankenstein lead activation system to make sure every leading client is more valuable.

Together we'll create your new lead activation system, new prospect activation system, and your new client cloning system. So you can either get multiple projects or multiple referrals from each current or past client.  Once created we'll use my process to start booking calls from your existing database.

Everyone from your old dead leads to current leads to prospects to old and current clients.  So between days 14 and 21 depending on the size of your current pipeline we'll aim to book two to five in high intent.  Now from the 16th of December, while you book those meetings and use a reverse selling to get them to practically beg you to work with them, in the third workshop, you're going to create your very own million-dollar proposal.

that's easy and fun to customize and doesn't need any more than an hour or so to customize per project. We'll use it to easily convert those pre-sold clients into your first or next five-figure project without any hassle. So the milestone between days 21 and 28, you'll be aiming to close at least one client on a five-figure project. 

And then finally in phase four from the 23rd of December,  once the sales calls and deals are, starting to be executed.  You will be closing your biggest deal ever. And after workshop four, I'll share with you the exact process our clients use to close one to three well clients every month predictably whilst working less than they ever have before.

So the milestone next is you'll finish the sprint with the exact rose map to close 20 to 30k deals on demand that nets our average client 297,  000 a year. And here's the thing, right?  This is a very unique beta program. We are going to be selling this for 997 and running the sprint three or four times a year beyond Black Friday. 

But for Black Friday, we're doing a special deal. Now what you're going to get is a private one on one call with me to help create your 12-month growth plan.  for live workshops with myself and Caleb, the systemized filmmaker community access and calls with us. So you can help integrate the workshop material and ask whatever you're struggling with and get a solution inside the community or on the weekly support call,  all the templates, trackers and video reviews of your work guarantee to help you close a deal and accountability to make sure you stay on course.

No one's gonna be left behind. It's a very small group. We are beta-testing this. So you're going to be getting extremely hands-on from myself and Caleb and we're selling this at a kind of practically, we're almost making a loss on it, but we want to battle test it. So the investment for this is  100 now and three weekly payments of 100 or you can pay 297 up front.

It is a literal no-brainer. And if you hate the close of Whale Sprint, you can ask for a full refund within seven days of purchasing. Now results are going to be on you to implement and depend on the size of your total pipeline and how well you stick to the process. So next four weeks in a nutshell.

Phase one, create your sales process that makes selling easier than ever before. Phase two, create your lead activation system and book two to five hot leads. Phase three, create and install your million-dollar proposal that converts up to 78 percent of prospects and close your first or next five-figure client before Christmas.

And phase four, I'm going to reveal how to close one to three deals per month.  But there's more because Sprint includes that one-to-one call with me, which is normally 500. So if you think about it, it's normally 500 to get me on the phone for an hour. This is 297.  And as part of this program, you get a call with me or Caleb.

It's a private zoom call.  map your exact steps to help you close an extra one three-wheel client a quarter and then one three-wheel client a month. You'll have a custom plan to hit your goals in the simplest way know bespoke to you and your business. That call is worth 500. Then you've got the early access discount.

You're saving 700 because if you join before the 30th of November, you'll get it at the beta price of 297 or four payments of 100, four weekly payments of 100. Afterward, the price of this program will rise to 997 or four weekly payments of 250—bonus three, 12 months access to the systemized filmmaker group, which is 197 a month.

So it's 2,000 savings. So we are literally piling this up to make this an absolute no fucking brainer offer. If you want to join the sprint,  it is as simple as this. And listen carefully. You just email me. I'm into den@denlennie.com. All you have to do is email me. I'm in at denlennie.com. I'll get you enrolled. I'll get you set up in the community and we start next week. So I'll I wanted to share that with you because it's a no-brainer. It's a one-off and we're doing it as our Black Friday special. So if that's something you want to do, email me den@denlennie.com with the words I'm in and I'll see you on the inside. 

You've been listening to the video business accelerator podcast with your host Den Lennie. If you're a video business owner, Who is tired of going it alone and would benefit from mentorship, support, and weekly accountability. Then mouse over to www.videobusinessaccelerator.com to learn more about how the Accelerator program can help you today. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show over on iTunes. And we'd really appreciate you taking a few minutes to leave a review.