Will Putting People First Harm My Profits?

In March of 2021, my husband left his 15-year career and 6-figure salary as my coaching practice grew.

As the sole-income earner in our household, I understand the need to generate profits as a business owner.

As someone who also spends a lot of her time online, I also see the extremes that people live in when it comes to running a business.

“If you prioritize profits, your customers become mere numbers on a spreadsheet.”

“If you prioritize people, your profits will dwindle and your business won't survive.”

“If you focus on both simultaneously, you’ll drown in to-do’s and get nowhere.”

None of these statements are true! Also, there’s no right or wrong way of doing business - let’s face it, who even gets to decide that? It’s simply an opinion and will vary every time you ask someone new.

So will prioritizing people harm your profits? It can – absolutely! But so can prioritizing profits over people, especially in the long term.

Putting others' feelings and needs first has only ever made my profits skyrocket.

It’s been my experience in 15 years of doing this work for hundreds of businesses across the globe that when people have a good experience, they stick with you. Buy more. Tell friends. Enjoy your brand more.

None of the clients I work with or support forget about or neglect the money. It's important to them too! More money in the hands of good people does more good in the world.

There’s nothing wrong with a profit-first mindset. It’s just not for me, and if it’s not for you, either, this is a space you’ll enjoy. We make a lot of money by focusing on the people, and I want to make lots of money.

I do this and still enjoy the 80%+ profit margins in my business.

I also know myself. If I was just focused on the money, my brain would go more toward how to get more people or sales versus how to deepen my relationships with people I already have in my sphere. People I care about and do this work to help.

People, to me, are E V E R Y T H I N G.

Just like a singer’s fans are why they're famous, businesses have brand advocates that make them super successful. If you look at big brands today, you’ll see that people are a central focus. Amazon has four core principles as a business, and the first is customer obsession. Their loyalty model is one of the few that people PAY to be a part of, gladly, in droves.

And as I said in the last episode, you are also the people in this equation so taking care of yourself as a business owner and loving the work and making sure that you're not just showing up thinking about money and stressing all the time but you're actually enjoying the process of growing your business and having fun doing the work that you love to do is so important.

I could easily throw a lot of stats at you about customer referrals and lifetime value of a customer, like how more than 90% of people will buy something based on a recommendation from a trusted friend or family member. But I think one of the more important points I’d like to make on this topic is that what you focus on you attract.

You need to be smart about your profitability, and also...money isn't everything.

You also need to be thoughtful about the people you're attracting to your brand. In my experience, really listening to your customers and making them feel heard and acknowledged, ensuring that your price points are affordable so as many of them can get what you have to offer as possible, and delivering an exceptional customer experience – these are the defining characteristics of a strong brand and business.

My background is in start-up marketing for tech companies. Several of them were acquired, and in most of these instances it was about the relationships and audience that made the company desirable.

Anyone can mimic your prices, branding, offers, and even intellectual property to a point. It’s the personal connection and engagement that makes all the difference. The word of mouth shares. The success stories. These are what separate you from the herd. What make you a stand out business. What indicate longevity in your business.

All of this begins even before your first interaction with a person.

And don't just do it to do it. If you love money and money is a motivator for you and you show up at 100% whenever you think about delivering a service that puts profits first, do that - do what lights your soul on fire!

Putting people over profit is what does this for me.

The money has never motivated me or my business. For me, it’s a necessary part of running a successful company and I’m mindful of it, but if I have to dip into my profits to send a gift to a customer or grant a scholarship to someone in need, I'm going to do it.

I also trust that it will pay me back 10 times over because I believe in serving the people that my business was designed to create, I am making an impact on people and the value of that is priceless.

I believe that my profit margin is ~80% because I prioritize people.

I love putting them first and thinking about them and creating new offers to serve them and making sure that they get what they need and feel supported in ways that they aren’t anywhere else.

Another way to think about this is that people come first with the brands and profits come first with the books. So, you generate money by prioritizing people and maximize growth by prioritizing profits.

I love thinking about these as separate concepts like this too because it doesn't take away from the power of either one – and it absolutely is a both/and here! People AND profits. Why not, right?!

So, I’d like to throw a few questions out there for you to consider.

1. How do you measure customer satisfaction?
2. In what ways is your customer Journey remarkable?
3. How do you ensure every customer has a wonderful experience?
4. What percentage of your customers buy more than once?
5. What percentage of your customers come from referrals?
6. How happy are you with your customer interactions?
7. How often do you request feedback from customers?

There’s so much value in asking questions like this. I hope you’ll take some time to not just ask and answer them – and invite your team to do the same, if you have one – but also implement some new things in your business based on the insight you gain.

This is how prioritizing people is guaranteed to amplify your profits.