5 Reasons Our Competitors Crashed and Burned

If your news feed looks anything like mine, it’s a rotating rogue’s gallery of wannabes trying to teach high-ticket coaching.

They just pop up like weeds out of nowhere. We’ve been doing this for 9 years, and without any ego whatsoever I can say we’re the most copied company in the space.

Most of these people don’t last. They try and teach high-ticket for a couple of years, realize it’s tougher than they thought, and throw in the towel.

Others manage to scrape by for 5-6 years. Some even scale up to $500-600k/month before imploding.

What’s interesting is that a few of these better-known people have closed up shop in the past six months. I’m not going to say who, because anytime someone’s business fails, it’s tragic. That was someone’s dream.

But it’s worth it to take a hard look at why this happened, because it’s usually not for the reasons you’d expect. You might blame Facebook targeting. Rising ad costs. A market that’s getting more jaded every day.

And those things might be factors, sure. But usually the hidden causes of failure are much deeper. Let’s take a look.

Here are the top 5 reasons our competitors crash and burn:

REASON #5: BRO MARKETING

You know what I’m talking about. Rented Ferraris. Leased jets. Rented mansions. Snapping selfies in your driveway with 5-6 supercars you don’t even own.

If you have a killer lifestyle, there’s nothing wrong with sharing that. But if your entire marketing strategy is based on convincing 22 year olds that you’re a baller, you will alienate the best parts of the market. And when your clients don’t get Ferraris of their own, it’s YOUR head they’ll be calling for.

REASON #4: TREATING YOUR TEAM LIKE DIRT

Couple years ago, a friend of mine - who worked for an infamous high-ticket sales guru - wrote a very courageous Facebook post. In that post, he spilled the beans on the incessant cult-like psychological abuse he endured as this guy forced him to do things that were (at best) semi-legal:

“This one time, I was asked to smuggle designer watches across the border and bring them back into the country.

I felt so scared to do it in case we got caught, but they told me it’s ‘no big deal, just do it.’”

Wow.

Don’t be like this guy. Treat your team like gold. Share the spotlight. Let them shine. Make sure they’re spending most of their time doing work they love, that they are exceptional at.

And when you succeed, give them most of the credit.

Which brings me neatly to…

REASON #3: FOCUSING ON SIGNIFICANCE INSTEAD OF SERVICE

Your business either exists to serve your clients or your ego. You can’t serve both, because something is always going to take priority when you make decisions.

When you have an important decision to make, what’s the first question you ask? Is it…

a) ”What’s going to make us the most money?” or…

b) “What’s going to make me look like a big shot?” or…

c) “What’s going to get the best outcomes for my clients?”

If you’re trying to expand your following and your reach so that you can serve the market at a higher level, that’s a beautiful thing.

But if you’re chasing fame to feed your ego because you feel unloved and insignificant and there’s this massive hole in your heart you’re trying to fill with Likes and Comments, you are setting yourself up for long-term failure.

REASON #2: LOW-QUALITY, LOW-TICKET

In the high-ticket model, I believe in going straight for the high-ticket sale. After all, if you have something transformational, why offer anything else?

Many of our competitors started out that way. Then they departed from that model and started offering front-end products for $47-97.

This is fine, but those products better be mind-blowingly good. In this case, they were not. The sales pages would be loaded with over-the-top promises…but when people bought the product, it ended up being like ONE 30-minute video. That’s it.

Needless to say, buyers were disappointed, and this killed sales of the higher-ticket offers. If the $47 product was a let down, why the Hell would customers invest in a $10,000 workshop?

And no one likes leaving negative reviews more than a disappointed low-ticket buyer, lemme tell ya.

And finally, that brings us to…

REASON #1: TREATING CLIENT RESULTS LIKE AN AFTERTHOUGHT

I’ve seen companies with world-class marketing. Amazing sales. A rock-solid culture. 8-figure revenues.

And despite all that, I’ve seen these companies collapse completely under the weight of their own broken promises.

The reason your coaching company exists is to create results. That’s it. This should be something you obsess over, talking and thinking about it every day.

What most companies do is focus on the money. It’s all about getting cash in the door. What happens to the client after that? Who cares, as long as they don’t file a chargeback. This is the opposite of how it should be.

Imagine how insane that would be in any other industry. You open a restaurant. Great marketing. Great atmosphere. Tremendous hype.

Diners show up opening night, and the food just plain sucks. Then you wonder why you went out of business.

If you open a restaurant, the quality of the food should be the FIRST thing you think about, because that’s what a restaurant is FOR.

If you start a coaching company, client results should be the first thing you think about, because that’s what a coaching company is for.

Now look - I understand that coaching is a two-way street. Your clients have to show up and do the work, so part of the responsibility is definitely on them.

But your goal should be to hold up YOUR side of the street better than anyone else in the business. The best strategy. The best support. The best team. All of it.

That’s what it takes to help your clients win. It can’t be an afterthought. It has to be priority one. Not, and you’re building your house on sand.

What do you think? What other mistakes do you see coaching companies making? Have you worked with companies who made any of the mistakes above? Drop a comment and let me know.