Sales Are STUCK: What Am I Doing Wrong? #FreedomFastLane

Okay, Brad, so I asked you what your next product would be. You said, I don't know, I kind of have some ideas. And then you very quickly listed off four ideas.

Yeah.

Okay, so here is where you're stuck and I can tell. Build a business, invest the profits. I'm Ryan Daniel Moran, and this is Freedom Fastlane.

Hey, Bradley. Welcome to Freedom Fast Lane. What's going on, dude?

Not much. Not much. Thank you for having me.

You bet. Why don't we kick off by you telling me a little bit about your business and what you're trying to do and how I can help.

So I currently, I started this about at the beginning of the year, roughly slightly before. I'm trying to develop a brand around serving fathers who want good quality products. I know that isn't exactly the hero's journey, but I'm trying to mold it and I'm really just kind of looking for general guidance on, like, I have one product selling, but when should I reconsider that product? Like, how do I tell it's a good product as opposed to, you know, a bad product? I'm just trying to sell it. Or is it something in the funnel or the copy to ad? So, like, how do I break that down? Because that's a big question.

So a couple things. One, you said you're trying to build a brand, so why don't you tell me a little bit more about the brand and the products you're selling and how is that going?

Okay, so I'm currently selling. Currently it's just like a leather wallet that I designed because I wanted it. I just started selling it, and then I stumbled upon your stuff.

So I was kind of like trying to fit square peg, round hole. I sell one product, roughly 10 pieces a day, mostly through a Shopify. I know you recommend Amazon, but Shopify is just easier for me to get their data right. Like, I can Facebook target ads. I can refocus and do all that stuff in Facebook and Google and all that other crap.

But it really helps me get, like a list of people who are willing to part with their money for stuff that I can make. And then I'm trying to fit a brand around. Okay, I have this one product everybody likes. What do they all have in common? And I just kind of narrowed it down to fathers.

Because I'm a dad. Fatherhood, Good quality stuff that ages well with time. I don't really know how to fit all that in.

Okay, so let me ask you a couple questions, Brad. So if you weren't married to the brand, You've got right now.

Yeah.

What would your next product be?

I don't know, like a knife.

Like a knife?

Yeah. Yeah.

So, Iverson, hang on a second. You just said something really weird. Interesting.

Yeah.

You said, I don't know, a knife.

Yeah.

It was like, you did know. You're like, oh, I don't know. I know exactly what it is. So where was the disconnect there? It was almost like you didn't give yourself permission for that to be the.

Next product because it didn't fit with my other products that I also have in mind.

So remember, if you were to forget about the brand you've got, what would your next product be? And you said, a knife right away. Great. Do you have any other cool ideas that you've just been sitting on for a while?

Well, so kind of I have, like. Like, a general idea for a unique bag that I'd like to make, and I've been sketching that out, and I'm kind of working on a supplier for that.

And, like, I have a belt in mind.

A new kind of belt in my head, and then maybe a few other things, but some of it revolves around, like, a knife, like bags and stuff like that.

Okay, Brad, so I asked you what your next product would be. You said, I don't know. I kind of have some ideas. And then you very quickly listed off four ideas.

Yeah.

Okay. So here is where you're stuck, and I can tell you are stuck in. You're trying to force the brand rather than letting the brand play out. So there's. There's a couple different ways that people approach this. Some people find it really easy to pick the person first and then identify the three to five products that they'll sell that person.

And I find that to be the most helpful to the most amount of people. Then there are people who already have, like, four to six product ideas, and they're struggling with saying, who is the person that relates to all of these products? And usually, and this is the case with you, it's you. You are the person that connects with all four of those products. And the exciting part is, from the outsider's perspective, they all fit together real easily. You already said what your brand story was. You already said that your brand stood for quality products that stood the test of time and will last.

Right.

Now, there's a very specific type of person behind that.

And they might be fathers, they might not, but you're closer to that audience and that brand messaging than you realize. So what's preventing you from developing the Next product right now.

I don't know, I think I just needed permission from somebody. I have such a limited focus time to focus on this stuff because I do a million things.

That kind of never give myself permission to just go for it. So I sit and just stare at it for hours.

So I'm just going to observe something.

I think and I'm gonna reach here a bit. Cause I barely know ya. But I think that the reason why you do a million things.

Is because or the reason why you don't do the product launches is because you're prioritizing the million things rather than prioritizing the thing you want, which is developing really amazing products.

I think that would be a fair assumption.

So what if you didn't have to do any of that stuff?

I would probably get more done. I'd probably focus more on the actual product launches.

Sweet. Cool. So what are some of the things that you're doing right now that really suck?

So part of the reason why I started because I've started a couple of businesses, none of them really any exit involved. Mostly like software related stuff. I normally start a business to learn things and make money while I do it. Part of what I figured part of this learning is product launches and then copywriting. So I've been like reading and trying to develop copywriting skills.

And I think that takes up a lot of my time is like I'm just so focused on that part instead of developing and launching.

How are you applying that skill set? I mean copywriting is super important for the sales process. But how are you using it right.

Now I try to do an email at least three times a week.

I try to basically rewrite the product descriptions and then any sort of ad copy at least twice a month. Just to see, just to do testing. I mean I split test it right. But just to see how it does. So I'm trying to utilize it. It just, I feel like I get stuck in that mindset that I'm not really focused on what I should focus on.

And is the copy that you're writing to promote the wallets in that business?

Yes, yes. Everything is focused on the business.

Okay. So it's been my experience that sales and copy is really easy for amazing products and that it's really hard for crappy products. And I'm hearing you prioritize the selling or the marketing over the product itself, which makes sense. But I would be willing to bet that if you cut out all the stuff you're doing that isn't moving the needle and you and you focused on what excites you, which in this case is developing products, highlighting and showcasing the products. I hallucinate that you will grow this thing much faster.

Right?

I would be willing to bet you are correct.

Okay, great. Well, how can I help you along that journey?

I don't need to be honest. I don't even know where to start on that because it just kind of popped up.

So, like, I am selling product. What do I cut? What do I cut away? So I'm selling 10 pieces a day. Do I focus just on selling the 20? I mean, 20 to 25 a day and just cut everything else out and just kind of ramp up what's working?

Well, I would approach this a little bit differently, Brad. I think that you are trying to.

Force the branding of it and how you're communicating because you have a lot of, like, tenseness when you describe the brand. You say, I'm trying to build a brand. I'm targeting fathers because I'm a dad. But where you really loosen up and get excited is when you talk about the product itself. And it's very rare that I give someone the advice to talk about their product more. It's very rare. But you're so jazzed about it because there's some craftsmanship to it. Your audience is really the person who is drawn to craftsmanship and quality. And so I think your job is more to represent and highlight that, and you do that. I mean, you've told me that you have, like, a Facebook group and you have a little bit of a social media following. I haven't looked. I haven't seen any of it. I would. I would project you're probably selling to that group rather than communicating to that group. If you're focused on copywriting and selling and writing emails on a regular basis, I would theorize that you are probably thinking in your head, how do I sell these people? How do I sell these people? Rather. Rather than just saying and showcasing how amazingly crafted the product line that you have is. Am I landing with you right now, or am I totally off? Yes.

No, I think you're. I think you're pretty on base there, and it takes an outsider to tell me that kind of stuff, you know? Like, I can ask a million people who know me. Yeah. They'll give me a million different answers. But it takes, like, somebody who doesn't know and just kind of. Of throw it out there, like, oh, well, he has no reason to lie to me kind of thing.

Well, I only know because I've done it myself. When I feel tense around something, the temptation is to try and force a sale because sales feel good.

But if you ask instead what feels good and then you sell that, you end up selling more.

Because you end up communicating and resonating with the people who connect with that message. And in your case, it is just, just proudly representing what you do better or different in the world.

And that is the approach that you take to product development. And that's where there is a person behind that. It is the person who just resonates with quality. And I think that you'll more clearly identify the person that you can target. Once you are effectively communicating that differentiating factor about your products, then that person is going to start to emerge. Right now you're trying to force it, and that's why you have this tenseness around it.

Okay.

I think that.

That'S really helpful because it kind of just helps me get focused on what, what I'm really doing as opposed to what I think I'm doing.

Yeah, I, I, I would be willing to bet that you were thinking too much.

Yeah, that wouldn't be the first time I've been told that.

Well, that is, that is a, you're, and you're not the first person to, to do that either.

Right?

Yeah. So I also want to address something you brought up about Amazon vs Shopify. Now.

I am not pro or anti Amazon. I am pro what the customer wants.

And.

Part of your struggle is you are thinking about optimizing for sales and control rather than.

Highlighting and focusing on what the customer wants. So when you say, I want to focus on Amazon because it gives me more customer data, what I really hear is you're trying to control the customer. And then you say, well, I'm really focused on copywriting, which means that you're really focused on conversion, which means you're trying to control the customer. So you are expressing this and then you're saying that you feel stuck. And the stuckness is because you're kind of a control freak. You try, like, to control other people.

Yes.

It's also what makes you a great product designer, like the attention to detail. But it is your control freakish about the customer experience that is preventing you from connecting with more customers.

Okay.

Yeah, that makes sense.

Do you believe me or do you want to control this right now?

Oh, I want to control it, but I believe you. Okay. There's no doubt in my mind. I'm like, I want to tell you you're wrong, but I'm not going to lie that that is exactly what's Happening.

So I'm an engineer by trade, so everything has to boil down to how do I control and solve this problem?

And I've approached it from that perspective, and I think you nailed it on the head is I need to focus on the customer and how they want to interact versus how I want them to interact.

That's right. And the reality is the problem you're solving for is not how do I get their data. The problem that you're solving is how do I build an audience and how do I make more sales? And the answer to how do I build an audience and get more sales is not necessarily control their data. That's one route. But. But what you're experiencing is the route that you're doing is not working. It's actually like it's constipating you. It's preventing the flow of sales.

Right.

So if you simply highlighted what you were proud of about your product line and put it in front of the people who wanted it and where they wanted it, you will feel more ease around the sale of these wallets. And then you will. That will create a sales channel for you to launch the knives, which will amplify the brand and attract more people when you launch the bags. Now we have a real business that has three products, four products, 100 sales a day, and is a million dollar business.

Right.

Yeah, that, that, that's the kind of shift I was looking for something great. Because I knew, I knew I was doing something wrong.

Yeah. I mean, I mean, what you're doing wrong is you're trying too hard.

Yeah.

How else can I help?

I think that pretty much solves.

Most of my main issues.

To be honest. I have all these long winded questions on focus and stuff like that. And that's all we dived into.

Yeah. I don't know any other.

Yeah. So what's funny is if your question's around focus, you probably would have taken the conversation into like, I'm doing so much and it's not working. How do I squeeze more juice out of this very dry lemon?

Yeah.

And that is so common with entrepreneurs of I am beating my head against the wall and the wall isn't moving. How do I beat my head even faster against this wall? And it's like, oh, we could just walk around it. And for you, that is like, we don't have to control this. We don't have to protect this. We just need to highlight what we've got going on and put it in front of the people who want it and effortlessly release the next Products, which is, for you, the fun and easy part of this business, which is not the case with everybody. But if you focus on that, you will bring more juice and more energy into the business, which is real freedom when you're in that state of flow and fun. And it's making you money, which is exactly what will happen if you allow yourself to play in that zone.

Yeah.

I 100% agree.

Cool.

Well, I feel like we just solved all the world's problems in 20 minutes or so. Is there anywhere else that I can help?

I think that's it. I think you've nailed most of my issues. I don't really have any more major questions other than those.

Where would dads and other craftsmen find your products?

Go to buyrational.com okay, cool.

So I have to ask. I just plugged it in as you were saying this, and there is an absolutely beautiful laptop bag on this site. Is this the bag that you said that you had designed and were sending to production?

Yeah, so I designed. I took a design and modified it. As much as I wanted to iterated on it a couple times, I actually just sold one. Not on the site or on anything. If just somebody saw it and wanted to buy one. So I had one and gave it to him. Kind of thing. Just said, you're a beta customer kind of thing. So, yeah, that's one of the bags. I have another duffel bag on there. And then I'm working on some other stuff.

All right. So I gotta ask, do you do any social media, Brad?

I try. I am an introvert, and it's hard for me to do social media stuff, so I try real hard.

Well, I don't mean, like, you doing a bunch of content. I just mean, like, do you have any branded pages where you're posting pictures of your product?

I have brand. I have a branded page on Instagram. Rational products, and I have a branded page on Facebook. It is also Rational products.

We don't necessarily post a lot of stuff for our products per se. It's mostly just kind of like funny stuff that I find humorous because I was kind of going, I remember you saying a while ago something about, I think it was black rifle coffee. They were just like, we post stuff what we like and you can buy our products or not. That's kind of the route I was going.

Yep, I do like that approach. But remember that they post their stuff, but it is still contextual to their audience, and it's so contextual to the products that they're selling. So another example that I want you to look at is Mizzen and Main's social media. They do a really nice job of both edifying their target customer and showing their. Highlighting their products well. And the customer who likes your stuff is also the customer that likes Mizzen and Main stuff. So you have a very elegant, simple.

Well designed approach, and your target audience is that person. So I think you should look at what they do because it's the same target audience. And I would encourage you to be bolder in how you showcase your stuff. I'm really compelled by some of your imagery, by some of your design.

And if I see something like this on social media, I'm gonna pay attention. But your social media page right now is a bunch of funny memes. Yeah, which. Which is cool. But I have no idea what the hell you do as a business.

Right.

If I know what you do as a business and who you're speaking to. And then once in a while you throw in a funny meme that is. It speaks to my sarcastic sense of humor. Now, I'm a super fan, but without it, I think you're just a page that posts, you know, snarky comments.

Yeah.

And I love snarky comments. They're just not contextualized to who I am. And I want the brand I follow to be snarky, not just to follow snarky brands.

Understood. Yeah. So.

I had heard of Mizzen and Maine before, and I've actually viewed some of their products, but I hadn't really looked at their social media before. It is something I'm working on. Like I said, when I said I'm an introvert and I try to do social media, I meant I don't know how to do the business. Social media, it's not something that inherently comes to me because I don't go to it for business purposes. I literally am on there just to make sure my wife is saying stuff that I need to be aware of.

Okay.

You didn't like this on my page. Okay, I'll go.

So, Brad, you mentioned Black Rifle Coffee. Is that a company that you like or that you follow?

No, no, I've heard of them before, before you even mentioned them. But it's not like I don't really particularly follow tons of brands.

Okay.

So it's hard for me to contextualize it into, like, how they look at it.

So there's something I'm trying to find here. And there's like a. Do you do any writing or communicating with the world besides the product creation? Is there any other way that you regular yourself or your beliefs.

I had thought about starting a blog. I've written a couple of things way back when, but it's not.

That isn't something I normally do. No.

Okay. So here's where I'm going with this. And again, I'm operating on a hunch, which I sometimes do. I get the sense that you're an introvert, but you're an opinionated introvert.

Very much so.

Okay. And I. And I get the sense about you.

That you.

That you. You have opinions and you like to share them, but you don't, and you keep them in. So you kind of silently judge the world, which is why you like sarcasm and snarky comments, which is what is reflected in your social media. And the reason I tell you that or say that is because there is something in you. There's something, like, in the way that you express and the way that you.

Want to show up in the world that if you aligned it behind your products, would have. Would have a really, really dramatically.

Impactful result in your sales. And it's like this. It's almost like there is this. There's. There's like a.

Tub of water that you're holding, and we need to pull the plug and let it flow. And when it flows, there's gonna be a lot of momentum in that. In that, like, river or in that current. There's like, there's a. There's a lot in you that you don't express.

And because you're not expressing it, you're not connecting with the other people that resonate with you and your brand. It does not mean that you have to be the face of the brand. It just means that your personality. There's no personality that someone else can connect to within the brand that could come across in.

Opinions that you share. It could come across in the photos that you take of the world. But there's like, there's something in you that is not fully expressed that if you allowed to flow a little bit through the communication of the brand, would. Would be very meaningful for the growth of this. And I'm looking at your products, noticing their quality. I can hear the pride that you have, and I also hear the stuckedness that is preventing them from growing. And if we just unplugged those pieces, I think you would be surprised at how fast things would grow. I'm reaching a little bit. So I covet your feedback right now.

No, I think. I mean, you nailed it. I don't really.

Share my opinion very often with people outside My group, as it were.

And.

I'm trying to do some of what you said.

In my emails and things like that, but it isn't something that comes natural. So it feels.

Wrong isn't the right word, but we're going to use it as a substitute. It doesn't feel normal, I guess is a good way of saying. So. It's, It's. It's a bit of a struggle and it is something I. Something I'm trying to get across is like, I don't. I definitely don't want to be the face of the brand.

Yeah.

That isn't something that attracts me at all. But I do want the brand to have a face, if that makes any sense.

What would happen? What you're really saying is you want the brand to have a personality or like a soul to it. What would happen? How would that happen if you didn't try?

I don't know.

That isn't something I've ever not done. I don't know how not to try at stuff. So that is something I'm going to have to definitely ponder on. I don't really know what that would even look like, to be honest.

Mm. Okay, let me ask it differently. What would it look like if it wasn't a struggle?

Well, I don't know.

Do you play any instruments, Brad?

No. No, I'm not musical at all.

Do you have any hobbies?

I was a gymnast and I coached gymnastics for a really long time, so that would be like, my hobby.

Cool. Cool.

So what I was trying to find is, like, what comes easy and fun for you. You're like me about six months ago, where you have a. I sense, like a lack of fun because things are. You believe things should be hard, which is what I used to believe, too, which is why I think I'm able to understand you a little bit more than maybe you were expecting.

And.

The way you solve that is by focusing on what's easy or is natural and allow that to carry you through. What I'm picking up from you is that you kind of express yourself and express some of your beliefs through the craftsmanship that you give to this product line that is fun and easy for you. It's a creative pursuit for you to make these products. If you prioritize only that and you showcase them in a way that is true to you, whether that being.

Social media and you sharing opinions or you making snarky comments that are contextual to the brand, I think that you will grow this brand faster than you can understand right now. And that's my recommendation for you moving forward.

All right, then I think.

I have to learn how to do that, but I definitely think you're right.

No, you do not need to learn how to do that. You already do it naturally.

Yeah.

I have to unlearn what I'm doing, I guess is a better.

No, you don't have to do anything.

You are already naturally creating through products. You just need to prioritize that. That's the only thing you have to do is to carve out the room for the things that are fun and easy to be the things that you do.

So you have this business that does 10 sales a day and you beat yourself up over the fact that it's not 50 sales a day. But the fact is if you showcase them, if all you did was cut out all the shit that you're doing that is stressing you out and making one sale a day, then you create all of this room for you to do the things that you want, which is creating more products. It's probably going to be showcasing them more. I'm going to suggest that you look into some easier ways to distribute them, like social media. Instagram ads are great for your product line. I think Amazon would be great for your product line. And you just have this mechanism for you to stay in the process of creating more good stuff. This is a different business in six months.

Yeah.

I think I understand.

Okay, good. So my assignment for you is to cut out all of the stuff that is stressing you out and not working.

I don't know how long you've been following my content. My first ever podcast, I outlined the five steps to freedom and they're decide cut out, expand, invest, and give back in that order. You decided that you wanted a different life. You skipped step two, which is cut, and you went right to expand. And that's what most people do, is they don't cut out things that give them room to expand into something else. The thing that is going to take this from 10 sales a day to 100 sales a day is step one, cut out the things that are pushing out the good stuff so that you can expand into more capacity. I predict that if you do just that, you have a different business six months from now.

That's a.

It's definitely a mind shift. I think. I think it's.

Definitely something I'm going to be doing and I'm going to go back and re listen to that episode because I had listened to it before, but it is. You know, you can consume so much content that it Kind of gets out of control. So I think going back, refocusing and cutting out is my next step.

Okay, my friend. Well, I am watching and so are tens of thousands of others.

No pressure there.

Yeah, well, also, I mean, I predict that you're gonna get a lot of feedback around birational because I'm really pumped about the design behind your business. So I'm watching and I'm rooting for you because I really like what you're up to and I don't want to see it squeezed out by the stress that's currently holding you back.

Well, that's greatly appreciated. I do this all by myself. No partners, no nothing. Wife supports, but she doesn't know what I'm doing.

Having somebody who has been through this struggle, definitely giving me that kind of feedback is definitely helpful.

Okay, my friend. Well, we're rooting for you and let us know how it goes.

Will do. Thank you.

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