ToyCycle’s sales have blossomed from 1 monthly marketing task. Episode 211

by Susan Bradley | Apr 17, 2024 | Conversion, Podcast

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Get a Plan to Grow Your Sales Every Month

Stop wondering if you’re “doing it right” and learn how to grow your sales in a consistent, predictable way. Spend 40 minutes with me in this eye opening workshop, and you’ll leave with a few simple steps that will grow your sales next month. Find a time that works for you.

Get the details on this week’s episode:

The Monthly Marketing Task That Skyrocketed ToyCycle’s Results

I sat down recently to speak to Rhonda Collins, founder of ToyCycle, a resale marketplace that offers a sustainable shopping solution to parents of young children by selling new and gently used toys and baby gear. As a mom of twins, Rhonda knew firsthand how chaotic and overwhelming keeping small children is, and she founded ToyCycle to take some of the stress and overwhelm out of shopping for toys that were both entertaining and sustainable.

Rhonda has been in the Inner Circle for over a year, but she was mostly flying under the radar, quietly doing the work. Then one day she showed up in our Facebook group with some Year-Over-Year results that completely blew my mind. Sales up 138%. Traffic up 71%. Average Order Value up 36%. And the list goes on.

So I knew I needed to get her on the podcast to find out how she did it.

The One Thing That Changed Everything

If you’re like most of our members, you hear the term “Sales Funnel” and your eyes glaze over, or you envision a bro marketer in front of a whiteboard talking gibberish. Maybe you thought it didn’t apply to your ecommerce store, or maybe you suspected it did but had no idea what it meant. Rhonda felt the same way.

But when she first began the Inner Circle program, the “Big Picture” training (that’s our way of saying sales funnel) completely blew her mind.

“The sales funnel is perhaps the most important thing that I’ve taken from the program at this point. You look at the data, you put all of this together in a picture, you see the funnel, and you can understand what’s missing and where you need to work. ”

After watching the training and looking at her numbers, Rhonda was crystal clear on where her focus should be and what she needed to do next. She says that every single month without exception she takes the time to look at her sales funnel numbers, compare them to where she’s been and where she wants to be, and creates goals accordingly.

Since Rhonda discovered that she needed to build her top of funnel audience, her next step was the Facebook Ads training. Through a methodical process of testing creative and copy, she was able to start running an ad that was getting a lot of eyeballs on her products without spending much money. And now that ad is steadily humming along in the background, continually making potential customers aware of ToyCycle.

“When you understand that an action that you’re taking is not necessarily the thing that…generates the sale right then and there, but the thing that builds your audience, you understand how the whole flow works. Then it’s very fulfilling and exciting to have created that engagement ad.”

Funnel Mastery For The Win

Once her winning ad was in place, Rhonda knew from her big picture/funnel that she needed to get those people one step closer to purchase. Using several other types of social media ads, she brought those people down the funnel to visit her website and sign up for her mailing list.

And now she’s in the middle of our Reliable Revenue course in which she’s setting up email automations that are doing the work of capturing web visitors’ email addresses and turning them into buyers. Which frees Rhonda up to continue building her audience.

Compared to a year ago, Rhonda has so much clarity and a more positive mindset. Instead of running herself ragged pursuing every strategy and reinventing the wheel each month, she tracks her numbers and follows the program while her numbers continue to climb. She believes in what she’s doing, and she trusts that she’s on the right track.

Rhonda’s Success Strategy

When asked what advice she would give to another business owner struggling with traffic and sales, Rhonda doesn’t hesitate – don’t try to do all the things. Look at your numbers, figure out what your priorities are, and put your head down and do the work. She doesn’t get discouraged, she sees each new challenge as just another problem to be solved.

“I love to tackle problems. I mean, I don’t know what would happen if my business suddenly just, like, worked perfectly and there were no problems. I might get bored.”

And she especially loves having the Inner Circle community to validate her struggles. Seeing that other ecommerce store owners face the same challenges she does makes the journey much less isolating. Plus she can always call on one of our expert coaches for one-on-one help when she gets stuck or needs clarity.

What’s Next For ToyCycle

Rhonda is really excited about getting her email automations set up, because once that reliable marketing system is in place she is ready to step on the gas driving traffic to her site. She’s also committed to collaborating with other Inner Circle members to share her best customers with them, and vice versa. It’s one of our favorite ways of growing your audience without spending much time or money.

I expect great things from this tenacious business owner, who leaves us with these words of wisdom – “If you just do the work, that’s the missing piece.”

You can check out Rhonda’s website at ToyCycle.co and don’t forget to tell your friends and family about her super cool (and eco-friendly) business!

SEND ME THE FREE COURSE NOW!

ToyCycle’s sales have blossomed from 1 monthly marketing task. Episode 211

Apr 17, 2024

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCAST LISTEN ON SPOTIFY JOIN THE ROADMAP COMMUNITY Stop wondering if you’re “doing it right” and learn how to grow your sales in a consistent, predictable way. Spend 40 minutes with me in this eye opening workshop, and...

How to Do Less and Get Better Results. Episode 210

Apr 10, 2024

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCAST LISTEN ON SPOTIFY JOIN THE ROADMAP COMMUNITY Get a Plan to Grow Your Sales Every Month Stop wondering if you’re “doing it right” and learn how to grow your sales in a consistent, predictable way. Spend 40 minutes...

How to Create Profit Goals. Episode 209

Apr 2, 2024

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How to Do Less and Get Better Results. Episode 210

by Susan Bradley | Apr 10, 2024 | Growth Strategy, Podcast

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Get a Plan to Grow Your Sales Every Month

Get the details on this week’s episode:

What if I could show you how you can slash your giant list of things to do?

I’m going to give you my process, so you could slash that list today. When you do, I promise, you’ll be more effective, you’ll make measurable progress, and you’ll feel better about how you spend your time.

How do I slash my “To Do List” without creating more stress?

The goal is to reduce the tasks on your list and feel confident that everything won’t fall apart.

You start by realizing that you’ll have a bigger impact on your results if you focus on doing a great job on a few areas of your business, rather than spending your work time rushing through your list and checking off a bunch of tasks.

When you’re in “check off” mode, you’re often not clear on why you’re doing the work, and you’re not asking yourself this one important question:

What does my business need right now?

When we’re in a state of overwhelm, most of us can’t see the answer. We see every task on our list as “important. That creates a sense of urgency, and it’s why we always feel like we’re behind.

A big “To Do List” is the Kiss of Death for people like us.

When you’ve got a big list of important things to do, you’re likely to be in high gear, dipping in and out of projects all the time. You feel like you’re working hard, and you’re doing the things you’re supposed to focus on, but you probably don’t feel confident that you’re on the right track. It feels messy and hard, and you wonder if you’re wasting your time.

Or, you might be the opposite. You might have a huge list of things you know you should do, but you still feel stuck. You know that you don’t have the time and resources to do all the things on your list. You want to work smart, but you can’t get clarity on where to start, and what will have the most impact on your results. You’re experiencing decision overwhelm, and you feel like you’re wasting your time.

Wasting time is more expensive than wasting money.

Don’t risk doing a little of a lot of things, but not completing anything.

Imagine that you have a piece of lumber setup with 10 nails that you need to finish hammering into the lumber. You’re allowed to hit the nails 10 times.

If you hit each nail 1 time, you’ll start 10 nails, but you won’t finish nailing any of them into the lumber. And in fact, you might not even be able to see that you’ve done anything.

But if you choose to focus on just 2 nails, and hit them 5 times each, you’ll finish hammering in 2 nails. You’ll be able to see the impact of your 10 hits. You’ll be clear and confident about the progress you’ve made, and what’s left to do.

Give yourself permission to remove tasks from your plate, so you can focus, and see the impact of your efforts.

3 steps to deciding what your business needs right now

1)You have to start at the end to find where you should begin.

When we’re prioritizing, it’s too hard to sort through and make assessments about all the things we “could” do. So we don’t make a decision. We default to “doing all the things” or we spin in circles, analyzing our options from all angles, and ending up exhausted.

When I’m working with a client, I always ask them about outcomes, usually in the form of a question like this:

If you woke up X months from now, and ONE thing had changed in your business, what would that ONE thing be?

Try it. Ask yourself – start with 3 months.

In your perfect world, what would have changed in your business in 3 months?

When you focus on outcomes, it gives you clarity on the destination. Once you know where you’re headed, you can make a plan to get there.

Here are some examples of an outcome:

My sales have grown

I’m emailing my list and getting more sales

I’ve got more time to do marketing because some tasks are off my plate

2) Make your outcome specific and measurable.

If you’re headed to a vacation rental in a city 500 miles away, would you ask for directions to the city, or would you use the address to get directions that take you all the way to your rental?

You’ll make better decisions when you take the time to get specific about your outcome.
You’ll come closer to achieving your outcome when you find a way to measure your progress.

Here are some examples of how to make outcomes specific and measurable:

Add specifics to your outcome

From: My sales have grown
To: My sales have grown by 10% each month. I’m tracking my sales in a spreadsheet every week.

From: I’m emailing my list and getting more sales

To: My Welcome, Abandoned Cart, and Browse Abandonment flows are complete, and I have sent a campaign every week. I have a spreadsheet to track my campaign sales and I have identified my 4 best campaigns.

From: I’ve got more time to do marketing because some tasks are off my plate

To: I have freed up 2 hours a day. I have a customer service app and I have trained my new Customer Service VA to manage all customer service inquiries. I have created canned responses and training videos so that my VA has the information she needs to do the job, and we’ll be covered if we have to train someone else on this job.

3) Work in your zone of genius

Give yourself permission to stop doing all the things. Even though you think you can’t afford to get the help you need, I’m going to encourage you to change how you think about this.

I see too many store owners bogged down and frustrated by tasks that aren’t in their zone of genius.

If you’re hesitant to hire for tasks, I would encourage you to start with “one time” tasks.

These are often set-ups or installations that require a particular set of skills. A few good examples are things like upgrading the theme on your store, or custom coding, or migrating to a new email provider, or setting up the framework for email automations.

Before you hire someone to do a task, you must understand the outcome you want, and have a clear picture of what a good result looks like.

Remind yourself that you don’t have unlimited time or unlimited energy. Like money, time and energy are resources. When you spend them doing work that is not in your zone of genius, or that you’re not even good at, you’re spending your high value resources on work that you’re not qualified to do.

It’s like hiring the CEO of a Fortune 500 company to rewire your house.

Remember this when you’re facing overwhelm:

Give yourself permission to slash your to-do list. You’ll be more effective, you’ll make measurable progress, and you’ll feel better about how you spend your time.

When you’re deciding on your priorities, ask yourself, “What does my business need right now”.
Focus on specific, measurable outcomes, and use them to decide what your business needs.

Work in your zone of genius as much as you can. Wasting time is more expensive than wasting money.

SEND ME THE FREE COURSE NOW!

ToyCycle’s sales have blossomed from 1 monthly marketing task. Episode 211

Apr 17, 2024

How to Do Less and Get Better Results. Episode 210

Apr 10, 2024

How to Create Profit Goals. Episode 209

Apr 2, 2024

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How to Create Profit Goals. Episode 209

by Susan Bradley | Apr 2, 2024 | Growth Strategy, Podcast

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Get a Plan to Grow Your Sales Every Month

Get the details on this week’s episode:

The magic of transforming debt into profit with Ciara Stockeland

I’m excited to introduce you to Ciara, a brilliant mind who’s become a superstar for many in our Inner Circle community. She’s a pro at guiding e-commerce store owners out of the murky waters of debt and into the realm of profitability. Many of us struggle silently with financial challenges, but Ciara wants to flip that script. Her insights have transformed so many of our members’ businesses, and her advice might help you redefine your approach to your online store’s finances.

Click HERE to listen to the interview, or keep scrolling to learn how having a profit plan can change everything for your business.

The Debt Dilemma

Does this sound familiar? You’ve built a business and learned how to generate sales, things are humming along, but you still find yourself struggling financially, barely making a living wage, or worse, not paying yourself at all. You’re left feeling like an imposter – successful on the outside, but privately failing, especially when it feels like one misstep could take you out altogether.

But what you might not even know is that this is totally solvable. In fact, the most valuable thing you can do for yourself in this situation is to identify what is causing the breakdown. Recognizing and addressing your financial challenges is a little like finding a missing piece in a puzzle. Once you identify where your bucket is leaking, the complete picture of your business’s health becomes clearer, so you can get closer to stability.

Why Profit Beats Sales

The first and most important mindset shift Ciara advocates is to shift your focus from sales to profit goals. While setting and meeting high revenue goals may feel good and seem impressive, what truly matters is how much of that revenue you retain as profit. Having a million-dollar business is meaningless if the profit isn’t there. And no one talks about this. You only ever hear people bragging about their “multi six-figure businesses,” never about their 5% net profit increase. It’s time we celebrate actual financial success, not just the illusion of it!

Scaling Up Your Sales (And Your Problems)

Often, online store owners say they can’t think about profit until they get more sales. But without a profit plan, merely increasing sales won’t resolve underlying issues. Ciara recently encountered a business owner considering expansion to solve her cash flow problem, without recognizing that bigger sales would only make her existing problems bigger.

So many store owners end up feeling like the store owns THEM. And then they’re stuck. But having a profit plan can prevent a business from being trapped by its own growth.

When you focus on profitability instead of revenue, you find both financial freedom AND peace of mind.

When Should I Focus On Profit?

The best time to prioritize profitability was yesterday. The second best time is now. In the entrepreneurial world we hear so much “wisdom” that just isn’t true. That you won’t be profitable for 5 years, or that you should re-invest your profit instead of paying yourself. Why would you ever assume you’re going to take a loss for 5 years if you didn’t have to? Why not assume both you and the business will do well?

It’s never too early, and it’s never too late to focus on making your business financially successful, by analyzing and adjusting your financial strategies NOW.

Whether you’re just starting out and wondering where your next sale will come from or have been in business for a while and making hundreds of thousands, it’s critical to aim for profitability starting now.

Profit & Loss, Demystified

A Profit and Loss (P&L) statement can be simplified by viewing it as five main categories or “buckets.” These include:

Sales
Cost Of Goods Sold
Gross Margin (Sales minus COGS)
Expenses
Profit

It’s really just simple math. For example, Ciara recently met with an ecommerce boutique owner who just started, and she was frustrated because despite consistently having $5k months, she was $1k in the hole every month. When they looked at the buckets, it was the margin that was too low to make the math work. So the next step was to look at the pricing and product mix. Could she raise prices and set slightly higher sales goals? Once she identified the problem, the solution was fairly simple.

By focusing on these 5 buckets and their relationship, you can pinpoint where your store may be underperforming, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions to enhance your profit.

Money Mondays

Ciara recommends a “Money Monday” routine, taking just 15 minutes to review last week’s sales and costs of goods, inputting them into a spreadsheet to calculate the gross margin. This practice helps you understand your financial health weekly (instead of however infrequently you actually sit down to look at your numbers), and gives you back control over your finances. By looking straight at your cash flow, the steps you need to take become clear.

Benchmarking for Success: What’s Your Margin Goal?

When establishing profit goals for e-commerce or brick-and-mortar stores, particularly for those new to this, Ciara says to aim for a 60% gross margin and a 20% net profit. These targets are benchmarks to strive for, understanding that it might take months or years to achieve them, depending on individual business circumstances. If you’re dealing with debt, your net profit might need to exceed 20%. Adjust as necessary, depending on your financial situation, but these figures provide a solid starting point for setting your profit goals.

Finding Your Financial Guru

Ciara didn’t start out a money magician. Once upon a time she was a boutique owner with VERY messy books, and a loose grasp on profit. She found her Financial Guru in the form of Randy, a fractional CFO who helped her most by creating a completely judgment-free zone. And so she knows firsthand that the process of sorting out your finances can be painful. You’ll have to make hard choices.

Ciara says that every single store owner who comes to her is interested in eliminating debt, but they’re not necessarily committed. It’s that commitment to success that earns you the biggest reward of all – financial freedom. No matter what challenges or opportunities arise, you have the freedom to make the best choice for yourself.

This profit-first approach offers a clear, actionable path for e-commerce entrepreneurs looking to secure their financial freedom and peace of mind. Whether you’re struggling with debt or just hoping to earn a bigger paycheck, Ciara’s method can help you get there.

Take your next step toward financial clarity by checking out Ciara’s website HERE.

SEND ME THE FREE COURSE NOW!

ToyCycle’s sales have blossomed from 1 monthly marketing task. Episode 211

Apr 17, 2024

How to Do Less and Get Better Results. Episode 210

Apr 10, 2024

How to Create Profit Goals. Episode 209

Apr 2, 2024

« Older Entries

How to add recurring revenue to your business. Episode 208

by Susan Bradley | Mar 27, 2024 | Podcast

How to add recurring revenue to your business

Way back in late 2016 I thought it would be a great idea to start a membership. I called it the Inner Circle, and it was for people like me. Ecommerce store owners who were trying to grow their sales.

I opened the membership to about 70 people. I did it because I thought it would be the easiest way to offer support and teach them what I had learned the hard way.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. It just about killed me, and 5 months after I started, I was ready to close the doors.

What I know now is that a Membership is a great way to provide ongoing training and support.

The truth is that I was doing it wrong.

In early 2017 a friend recommended I follow Stu McLaren, because he knows how to set up a Membership program that really works for the students, and doesn’t almost kill you, lol.

I followed Stu, joined his program, and learned how to build an amazing Membership program.

That was almost 7 years ago. Since then, we’ve taught thousands of store owners how to grow a profitable eCommerce business, and the Inner Circle has generated millions of dollars in revenue. We have an amazing team of 20 women. I’m so proud of how they help our members make progress, and I am thrilled to be able to pay them very well, and provide a flexible workplace.

I’m sharing this with you because a few years ago I realized that what I have learned about memberships for services can also be applied to eCommerce stores.

In fact, eCommerce store owners can set up memberships that generate enough revenue to pay their bills every single month.

I’m sure you can imagine what’s possible when you have thousands of dollars of recurring revenue coming into your business every single month.

If you’d like to learn more – watch this conversation I had with Stu McLaren about how eCommerce store owners like you are implementing profitable Memberships right now.

If you prefer to listen, click here.

SEND ME THE FREE COURSE NOW!

ToyCycle’s sales have blossomed from 1 monthly marketing task. Episode 211

Apr 17, 2024

How to Do Less and Get Better Results. Episode 210

Apr 10, 2024

How to Create Profit Goals. Episode 209

Apr 2, 2024

« Older Entries

That Time I Did Something Desperate. Episode 207

by Susan Bradley | Mar 19, 2024 | Podcast

That Time I Did Something Desperate

The road to ecommerce success is lonely. I know there are probably days when you feel like you’re never going to reach your goals, and you don’t have anyone nearby who understands what you’re going through, or who can give you words of advice or encouragement.

That’s why today I wanted to share a story that might just change your day.

Listen to the podcast HERE or keep scrolling for the good, the bad, and the ugly that I know you’ll relate to.

The Desperate Act That Turned Everything Around

Back in 2014 I purchased a toddler shoe company called Wee Squeak. And at the time the business relied heavily on attending trade shows, taking wholesale pre-orders, and shipping huge containers full of product to the US. It was incredibly expensive, and after a while I decided I wanted to let go of the wholesale side of the business.

It was a hard decision to make, but I just didn’t see a way to move the business forward the way we were going. Only problem was, all that was left was our website and it was far from generating the revenue we needed to stay afloat.

To cut expenses we moved out of our 15,000 sq ft. warehouse and transitioned to working with a 3PL (third party fulfillment) which significantly reduced our overhead, but I still had a LOT of shoes to move and bills to pay.

At the time I hadn’t the faintest idea how to run Facebook Ads, but I did know that I needed to figure it out FAST if I was going to sell these shoes. I felt pretty confident that if I could just build an email list, I’d be ok. But how to get people to my website? Facebook seemed like the answer.

So I signed up for three different Facebook Ads courses. Not all at once; I did them one at a time, diligently following all the steps.

Not. A. Single. One. Worked.

Huge failure. I was so frustrated, I even named one of my test campaigns “Please Work” like a child, because I was desperate. (It didn’t work.)

I kept going only because I had no other options. And eventually, methodically testing and iterating and following what seemed to be working, I figured it out. Low and behold, our sad little list of 3k grew to 18,000 in a year. It was rough, but I finally gained the confidence that I could make this happen. And I could even teach others how to make it work, too.

And that’s how Reliable Revenue was born.

I’m sharing this because I want you to understand that you’re going to learn the most valuable lessons by actually doing things. When you start, it might not go well—even the 20th attempt might be tough. But persistence and paying attention will eventually lead to success. I’m telling you this from my experience transitioning from a brick-and-mortar wholesale business to an online-only store, despite not being tech-savvy. It’s about having grit and doing much more than you initially think is necessary. This journey is normal, and you can succeed just like I did.

Remember, you ARE intelligent and capable of solving problems.

My own learning curve took three years, but that’s exactly why I’m here. To help you fast-track your process and get there quicker than I did. Even if you haven’t joined our Reliable Revenue program, you can still make significant progress

This year’s Reliable Revenue course just kicked off and I know a lot of you just weren’t able to make it work. If that’s you, I’ve outlined four steps for you to follow over the next year, and I’m confident that if you commit to these actions, you’ll see a remarkable transformation in your business.

1. Commit to emailing your list at least once a week for a whole year.

Get over yourself. Just do it. It won’t be perfect. It might be ugly, but just email your list weekly and include a “Call To Action” (CTA) that brings people back to your site. It can be a button, or hyperlinked text, or both…just give them ONE thing to do, and that’s click through to your site. Whether it’s a product page, blog post, or collection. You don’t have to narrate the entire story in the email; give them a reason to click through. If people choose to unsubscribe, that’s okay. The key is consistency. By maintaining this routine for 52 weeks, you’ll gain valuable insights into what resonates with your audience.

2. Commit to partnering with an e-commerce peer for a monthly collaboration.

You don’t need a big agenda, just celebrate each other as small business owners. Send your subscribers to their site, and they’ll send their subscribers to yours. Invite your readers to sign up for their pop-up.

Listen to this episode of the podcast to get some inspiration:
https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/a-year-of-results-that-will-shock-you-episode-120/

Then track your results. Web visitors, emails collected. Repeat this monthly to build momentum and broaden your network.

3. Make Data Your Bestie

For Inner Circle members (non-members can find helpful information in our podcast episodes, which I’ll link at the bottom of this post), focus on building your sales funnel, tracking audience size, website visitors, conversion rates, and sales. This tracking is truly 50% of your way to success. You’ve got classroom resources and monthly calls to assist with this.

4. Gift yourself one call with the same coach every single month

Share your goals and your sales funnel every month, and ask that Coach for ONE strategy to grow – whether it’s grow your sales, grow audience, or grow traffic, each and every month. Working consistently with the same coach will allow you to make faster progress because they will get to know your business, and you’re not constantly having to bring them up to speed.

If a call is not in your budget, go into “Get Sales Now” in your classroom and choose a monthly sales event, aiming for 12 events by year-end.

And if you’re not in the Inner Circle, I want you to run some sort of promotion in your emails and on social media that actually asks people for a sale once a month. And what I know is if you do these four things for 52 weeks, I know that your business is going to be in a different place next year.

Do these 4 things for an entire year, and I PROMISE you will be ready for Reliable Revenue next year.

You’ll feel so much more confident, and you’re going to have a whole year of results under your belt.

I’m encouraging you to focus on what’s essential and commit to these steps, as they will significantly benefit you and bring peace of mind. Don’t go chasing after shiny objects – buckle down and do the work.

And that’s all for now. I hope you found this information useful. I’d appreciate any feedback on social media and would love to know if you’re planning to implement these steps!

SEND ME THE FREE COURSE NOW!

ToyCycle’s sales have blossomed from 1 monthly marketing task. Episode 211

Apr 17, 2024

How to Do Less and Get Better Results. Episode 210

Apr 10, 2024

How to Create Profit Goals. Episode 209

Apr 2, 2024

« Older Entries

Here’s how to find your Future Buyers. Episode 206

by Susan Bradley | Mar 12, 2024 | Podcast

Today I’m so excited to introduce you to our newest Foundations Coach in the Inner Circle, Chontelle Fossey. Like all of our ecommerce coaches, Chontelle was once an Inner Circle member. It really warms my heart that our coaches first came to the group to solve the same challenges that our members have, used our training to grow their businesses, and are now committed to helping others to succeed.

Tap HERE to listen to the interview, or keep reading to hear Chontelle’s top tips for building a strong foundation in your ecommerce business.

From Inner Circle Member to Business Growth Guru

Chontelle sells houseplants online from her home base in New Zealand. Since her market is fairly small, and she doesn’t have access to existing platforms like Etsy, she has always relied on selling directly from her own website. So it’s been extra important to her to drive traffic to her website with a paid social media strategy.

Chontelle had joined several ecommerce courses over the years, but found her home in the Inner Circle because of our focus on building a strong foundation. She learned that having a structured plan to follow, plus expert coaches that she could reach out to with questions or problems, really fast-tracked her success. And she loves being able to pay it forward now as a coach herself!

Finding Your Audience With Ads Made Easy

Chontelle kicked off 2024 by guiding our members through our social media ads workshop. Ads Made Easy is a very thorough and effective testing method to identify and target your ideal audience of buyers using social media ads. It’s all about identifying the fastest, cheapest way to find your ideal people, so that you can feel like social media is working for YOU, not the other way around.

“Once you’ve done the [Ads Made Easy] testing, it’s almost a set and forget exercise where you have this evergreen ad at a really ridiculously low cost per day.”

So for just a few dollars a day, you can quickly “fill your bucket” as we say, with a huge audience of people who are going to be really excited about your product. At the foundational level, our #1 priority is to keep that top of your sales funnel constantly filled with a large number of the right people. You don’t do it once and move on, you have to always have this “tap” running in the background to keep your bucket full.

One Month Of Testing Saves Several Months of Spend

Chontelle is a believer in sticking to the plan and committing to at least a full month of Ads Made Easy testing because it can save so much money later on.

“If you cut corners, then those people aren’t going to necessarily be your people. So it’s going to cost you more to bring them to your website because you haven’t done the testing to get the lowest cost possible.”

She teaches a holistic approach to tracking campaign performance, using Google Analytics (aka GA4) to measure results against the Meta Ads Manager. She really digs into the data to analyze audience quality, tracking metrics like time on site. A high bounce rate or low time on site can indicate that more testing is needed, and that even though your ads might be getting traffic to your site cheaply, it’s not the kind of traffic that will actually buy from you.

Marching (Slowly) Toward Conversion

Another reason Chontelle is such a believer in Ads Made Easy testing is that this top of funnel ad is not going to get sales. It’s going to provide a very large pool of potential customers that you will re-target later on. So if you aren’t attracting the right people up front, you’ll waste a lot of time and money later trying to persuade them to buy when they were never interested to begin with. Driving traffic isn’t cheap, so putting the work in early on to identify the right audience pays dividends further down the funnel.

The #1 Ads Mistake Store Owners Make

Chontelle has found that when first starting out, lots of people are impatient with their tests and include too many variables at once. And when they throw too many elements into the mix, it’s virtually impossible to identify what is working and what isn’t. The process is (and should be) slow and methodical – testing one variable at a time, completing one test before moving on to the next.

Roadmap For Success: Slow Down To Speed Up

Chontelle tells us that to successfully build a solid foundation for your ecommerce store, you have to take it slow, follow the lessons one at a time, and don’t cut corners. Give yourself time to implement the strategies and don’t allow yourself to get distracted.

“There are so many shiny objects in front of us all of the time that it is really easy for us to go off on this tangent and go over here and look at this.”

Attempting to learn too much at once keeps you right where you are. You start doubting yourself, wondering if there’s something wrong with your site, and falling down rabbit holes. Whereas making slow, steady progress compounds over time, and ultimately fast-tracks your success.

Chontelle attributes her store’s meteoric success to following the Inner Circle method in this slow, methodical way. In fact, she was able to leave her “day job” and dedicate 100% of her time to her own business.

By embodying patience, attention to detail, and a willingness to learn and apply, Chontelle has not only elevated her own business but now dedicates part of her time to helping others in the Inner Circle. If you’re a member in need of help with the basics, book a call with her! You can also learn more about our foundational programs in the links below.

SEND ME THE FREE COURSE NOW!

ToyCycle’s sales have blossomed from 1 monthly marketing task. Episode 211

Apr 17, 2024

How to Do Less and Get Better Results. Episode 210

Apr 10, 2024

How to Create Profit Goals. Episode 209

Apr 2, 2024

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The Monthly Marketing Task That Skyrocketed ToyCycle’s Results

The One Thing That Changed Everything

“The sales funnel is perhaps the most important thing that I’ve taken from the program at this point. You look at the data, you put all of this together in a picture, you see the funnel, and you can understand what’s missing and where you need to work. ”

“When you understand that an action that you’re taking is not necessarily the thing that…generates the sale right then and there, but the thing that builds your audience, you understand how the whole flow works. Then it’s very fulfilling and exciting to have created that engagement ad.”

Funnel Mastery For The Win

Rhonda’s Success Strategy

“I love to tackle problems. I mean, I don’t know what would happen if my business suddenly just, like, worked perfectly and there were no problems. I might get bored.”

What’s Next For ToyCycle

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Get a Plan to Grow Your Sales Every Month

Get the details on this week’s episode:

What if I could show you how you can slash your giant list of things to do?

How do I slash my “To Do List” without creating more stress?

What does my business need right now?

A big “To Do List” is the Kiss of Death for people like us.

Wasting time is more expensive than wasting money.

3 steps to deciding what your business needs right now

Remember this when you’re facing overwhelm:

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Get a Plan to Grow Your Sales Every Month

Get the details on this week’s episode:

The magic of transforming debt into profit with Ciara Stockeland

The Debt Dilemma

Why Profit Beats Sales

Scaling Up Your Sales (And Your Problems)

So many store owners end up feeling like the store owns THEM. And then they’re stuck. But having a profit plan can prevent a business from being trapped by its own growth.

When Should I Focus On Profit?

It’s never too early, and it’s never too late to focus on making your business financially successful, by analyzing and adjusting your financial strategies NOW.

Profit & Loss, Demystified

Money Mondays

Benchmarking for Success: What’s Your Margin Goal?

Finding Your Financial Guru

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How to add recurring revenue to your business

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Get a Plan to Grow Your Sales Every Month

That Time I Did Something Desperate

The Desperate Act That Turned Everything Around

So I signed up for three different Facebook Ads courses. Not all at once; I did them one at a time, diligently following all the steps.

Not. A. Single. One. Worked.

Remember, you ARE intelligent and capable of solving problems.

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Get a Plan to Grow Your Sales Every Month

From Inner Circle Member to Business Growth Guru

Finding Your Audience With Ads Made Easy

“Once you’ve done the [Ads Made Easy] testing, it’s almost a set and forget exercise where you have this evergreen ad at a really ridiculously low cost per day.”

One Month Of Testing Saves Several Months of Spend

“If you cut corners, then those people aren’t going to necessarily be your people. So it’s going to cost you more to bring them to your website because you haven’t done the testing to get the lowest cost possible.”

Marching (Slowly) Toward Conversion

The #1 Ads Mistake Store Owners Make

Roadmap For Success: Slow Down To Speed Up

“There are so many shiny objects in front of us all of the time that it is really easy for us to go off on this tangent and go over here and look at this.”

RELATED LINKS:

Get a Plan to Grow Your Sales Every Month

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