Reverse Engineer Your Thinking

By Pat Rigsby

One of the most popular approaches when it comes to motivation is to suggest that someone ‘Think Big.’

But while I think creating a ‘Big’ vision is s good idea…I think constantly ‘Thinking Big’ is a recipe for disaster.

I think that most days you need to focus on acting small by reverse engineering your thinking.  

Acting small is about not getting overwhelmed by the enormity of things.

Lets use income as an example…

If you are currently generating $10,000 in monthly revenue and you ‘Think Big’, you might say you want to eventually be running a business doing $50,000 per month.

While I’m confident that you can achieve your goals if you’re focused on them…

You have to get to $11,000 first, then $12,000.

If you want to go from 50 clients to 200…

You need to pass 51, 52 and 53 along the way.

If you only think about the Big target, you’ll almost always get overwhelmed.

Here’s a better approach:

Step One

Set your Big Goal or Target. Aim high and develop a vision that inspires you.

Step Two

Reverse engineer it.  Work backward from where you want to be to where you are today. If you need to get 150 new clients to get to your 200 client goal – decide how long it will take.

Let’s say you decide that it will take you 18 months.

That’s a net gain of less than 10 clients per month.

Let’s assume that you have a little attrition, so maybe to get a net gain of 8 clients per month you need to actually add 10.

If you use my basic 3:2:1 ratio of Leads : Front End Offers : New Clients then you need 30 leads per month.

If you’re working 5.5 days per week, that’s less than 1.5 leads per day.

Step Three

Go get your 1.5 leads per day. That will produce roughly 3 new clients.

Step Four

When you get your 3 new clients each week – celebrate your win along the path to 200 clients.

Step Five

Repeat it again and again.

Let’s use growing your business as another example…

What if you start at the wrong end of the process?

Imagine a line where, at one end, is marketing to get a prospects attention…

….and at the other end is a true advocate for your business who happily spreads the word about what you offer.

If that’s the outcome you want, then reverse engineer your thinking and start at the destination and work backwards

It might look like this…

Step One

Serve my clients at the highest level by providing an experience that both delights them and delivers the results they want…inspiring them to be advocates for my business.

Step Two

Facilitate my clients consistently being part of what they do so they feel part of the community and that they’re consistently making progress. Keeping them inspired and involved.

Step Three

Onboard my new clients in a way that makes them feel welcome and makes the process of getting started and acclimated comfortable and also allows them to start seeing some of the benefits – both tangible and intangible – of what our program and community offer.

Step Four

Have a sales process that converts at a high level and allows me to partner with the prospect and get to know them and their goals – providing me the opportunity to show them how we can best serve them and coaching them toward the right solution.

Step Five

Follow up with prospective clients in a way that builds trust, displays expertise, shares social proof and positions me as the best solution so that when I sit down with a prospect they are open to what I have to offer and even pre-disposed to doing business with me.

Step Six

Make a first connection with a prospective client that allows them to think I can potentially help them get from where they are to where they want to be and makes a first impression that is reflective of what I want me and my business to be known for.

Step Seven

Share my marketing message in a place where there are people who can both potentially be a good fit for what I offer and who are even likely to be interested.

Am I crazy…or is that, just maybe, a better way to look at growing a business?

Think about it this way…

Why put so many resources into generating leads if you don’t plan to follow up?

Why follow up with any effort if your sales process is bad?

Why sell if you don’t serve at a high level and retention is poor?

Look…we need to do all of it and do it all well, but maybe we’d be better off if we reverse engineered the whole thing instead of starting at the beginning…

…because if we get the stuff that happens inside our business with our current clients right, everything else becomes better.

• More referrals.
• Better retention.
• Improved results.
• Better conversion rates.
• Happier team.
• Better culture.
• The ability to charge higher fees.
• More social proof.

And let’s not forget…a happier business owner.

So before you spend all of your time concerned with what’s happening outside the walls of your facility with people who have yet to do business with you…

…be sure to dial in what’s happening on the inside with those who are already under your care.

It’s not just a retention strategy…it’s probably your best growth strategy too.

By reverse engineering your thinking to break your Big Goals or Big Tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces, it will not only make it easier to see how you’re going to get there – but it will also eliminate procrastination and cut down significantly on stress.