How This Video Production Company Closed A $44K Video Deal // Master Filmmaker Review

What's going on, guys? I'm here with one of our clients, Ben, who actually just closed a 44k three month deal. What? A month into us working with us?

Yeah, a month in pretty much exactly.

Dude, I love it. Well, Ben, do you mind just telling us a little bit about yourself, kind of your production company, how you got started?

Yeah. So the production company is Pearl Marketing firm. We call it Pearl MF for short. I always keep people guessing. And we started just a year ago and we were a marketing department for a company. We branched off, started our own deal, and then turned around and started a contract with the company that we used to work for and have sort of been grinding it out ever since, trying to find other clients and build the business up as we go.

For sure. And I guess like, because I know we've only started, you know, 30 days ago, but I guess, like what was kind of the biggest problem coming into Master Filmmaker and starting to work with us? Like, what was one of those biggest things you were one of the biggest things that you were looking to kind of get solved there?

Yeah, our, our biggest problem is everybody's biggest problem, which was we didn't have enough clients. And, and so our. I'm a marketer, I'm not a salesperson. You know, I'm passionate about what I do, but I didn't really know how to, to really get clients, to secure clients. And, and a lot of it was, was pricing. You know, we went from having a budget where you're supposed to spend it all to having services where we got to figure out how to come up with profits. And we went, we were just having a tough time figuring out the operational and the financial side of it and really building an actual business. And so we knew how to create good stuff, but we didn't know how to build a business and be profitable. And so that was really the biggest pain point for us was, okay, I watched one of the video retainer ideas. We liked the idea. We had tried it. We could never figure out how to make it work. And going into this, we were like, okay, let's give it a shot and see what we can figure out, what we can learn and how we can really build it into a scalable business from here.

Yeah, I think it's really interesting because I think a lot of people have that same kind of issue where I started that way as well, where it's like, you're really good at creating amazing content. Your stuff. Like, I've seen your website phenomenal. Like, it's absolutely insane. Yeah, I'm not the video guy.

I'm just, I'm the talking guy.

The company's, the company's work is absolutely insane. So it's like you can have a really good product, but if you don't know how to maintain profit margins, get more clients, have a scalable client acquisition system, have a pricing model that makes sense, then you're still going to struggle. And that's, that's the biggest thing for a lot of people, I think.

Yeah.

And like. Yeah, I mean, I've seen your stuff. It's, it's phenomenal, man. So good.

Thanks. Yeah, I appreciate it. And I think another thing too is, is, is really figuring out the profitability of each project. And that's, that's a big thing because we were bringing in money and we were, we were a million dollar company in our first year, but yet we still lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because we did not figure out what, what it actually was and what it meant to be profitable. And I think that's been a big thing for us in approaching our new plans is okay, now we know exactly how much profit we get, so we know exactly how many clients we need to bring in and we know how to get those clients now. And you know, and we've only just begun.

Yeah, you guys have literally just started. This was a reactivation obviously, so it's proving out the offer, knowing that it works. But to your point too, I think it's super important to know that where it's like, you could have projects that are big budget. Right. Big budget, but you're not making money on them. And as a business, we're here to make money and make profit and make our lives better and more fulfilling and do the same for our clients. But if we're not making any profit, it's really hard to do that. So I think that's a really interesting point. I guess, like, was there anything. Obviously we're so, we're literally just starting the program, but like has there been anything that's been particularly helpful for you up to this point, working with us?

Yeah, so. So the biggest thing that we've changed since we started because like you said, we're sort of in the beginning and the first part really is the offer. And so when we approached the offer, you know, that was, that was the biggest thing that changed from how we were pitching our services and a lot of it was very custom or you know, again we had sort of a la carte option and we've changed pricing over and over again in Every different way that you can imagine. And so honing in on the offer was. Was a very big deal for us. And so we worked with Ethan, who's. Who's our, you know, you know, kind of.

He's the offer king dude.

Yeah. And. And he helped us hone that offer, you know, make it something that was very simple. Easy, easy to understand. And easy to understand what you were getting long term. And see the deals, too, as you. As you branch out. That 100%. Yeah.

We call it offers by Ethan, is our inside. Inside joke. I love it. And I guess, like, kind of a weird question, but I guess, like, obviously going through the program, working through it, I guess. Where do you feel like you might have been if you hadn't maybe taken that jump? Because it's uncomfortable to invest in a program, invest in outside help, I guess. Like, where do you guys feel like you might have been if you hadn't done that or taken that leap?

Yeah. So, I mean, it was. It was a big leap for us because, I mean, it's. It's not a small amount of money, and you're sort of like, okay, this is, you know, where you're not sure when the investment's going to come. And we felt like we were kind of at a point where, like. And this is what I told, you know, our initial contact, Akeem, is. I was like, hey, I should know all this stuff. And I was like, I'm a marketer. I should know all these things. You know, let me. Let me have a month. So I actually took a month and I tried to do it myself, and I was putting together offers and stuff, and at the end of it, I didn't have any new sales, so I was kind of like, you know what? Okay, let's take the leap. And I came in very much with an open mind. You know, again, it's. Sometimes it's a little bit hard to.

It's hard. Yeah, it's.

There's a little bit of pride in there. You think, like, I should know how to do this and I should be able to get these results on my own. But having somebody come in with an outside perspective and really help us hone in that offer, I think was a big deal. This client is a perfect example of that. This is a client that we secured December. It was a large contract, and we overhauled everything. They had no marketing department, so we did their website, we did their branding, we did all of their messaging, and we did all of that for the first few months. And we got to a point where we are like, okay guys, now you have the foundation, you need some content. And we've really shifted our platform to be much more video based video content. That's where we shine. And so we were pushing for them to get content and they were hesitant. They had just made sort of these big purchases and they were just, just starting out. They weren't sure what the results were going to be. You know, we were kind of like, hey guys, this, this train is moving, we need to do it. And we were quoting them, you know, all different types of, of projects. And so we had four quotes out there with them cooling, you know, somewhere around $18,000. And there are just different types of videos. And we had just finished, you know, their sow and we were pushing for this and around that same time we built out this offer. And so they were the first people that we pitched this offer to. And we had a 3 month, 6 month, 12 month plan was more expensive than what they were, you know, what we were originally pitching them, but the perceived value was higher because we had put in a lot more deliverables. So before we were focusing on sort of big hero pieces. And in this we were like, okay, let's, let's do something that we know we can pump out quickly. We know we can, we can create something that's, you know, higher margin, doesn't.

Require a huge crew.

Yeah, exactly, yeah. And, and so we can have the production level and the value be high, but we can produce more smaller scale deliverables versus like a larger scale deliverable which takes a lot of editing time. Takes a lot. You know, it's, it automatically everything out. It's hard to, it's hard to figure out what that, you know, what that cost is going to be when you're working with editors. And so we just streamlined all of that and so we added video stills, we added, you know, reels, things that we knew that we could pump out really fast once we have like a main video. I mean that stuff is super easy to do. And so we added that so the perceived value increased significantly when they saw that. And you know, even though we had been pitching all of these same things, same ideas, same projects, all of that, when they saw the plan, they were like, okay, this makes sense. And these are guys that don't know marketing. You know, there's been a lot of education along the way. Like I said, they've been, been in business for, you know, just in this company for over a decade and had no marketing at all. And you know, they, they had, you Know, sheets of paper that they use for brochures. They had a website from the 90s.

I mean, it was like, these guys need help.

Exactly.

Yeah.

So for them to commit, you know, $44,000. And what we did, too, to try to grease the wheels a little bit, was we had a small video. Video editing piece that, you know, we gave them an incentive. You know, we gave them 50% off if they, you know, booked this larger piece. And we said, hey, if you do it by this time, we're going to, you know, knock off, you know, your web management. We tried to incentivize them in a few different ways to get them to pull the trigger, and ultimately that's what they did. So it took them a couple of weeks after the first pitch to. To, you know, actually say yes and get an invoice.

And I want to circle back to. I think you said something really important where you said, you think you should know this stuff. Right. And I think I've been. I've been in that place a lot in my life as well, where I'm like, I don't want to hire somebody. I want to try to figure it out myself. And, like, I think, you know, can you figure it out on your own? Absolutely. You're a very smart guy. You know what you're doing. But is it. Do I want to take the time to figure it out on my own? Because at the end of the day, like, it's either I spend time or I spend money. Either I spend money and I follow a proven system that I know is going to get me to where I want to go, or I spend the time. And I think that's super interesting because I think we've had. We talked to a lot of people. We've talked to thousands of people over the past couple years who are running video production companies. And it's interesting that you said you took that month and then you tried to figure it out. You didn't get the traction. And then literally a month in, you implement what we do and then Obviously get the 44.44k deal, which is huge. But, you know, I've been a lot. I've been in that place a lot in my life where I'm like, I think I can try to figure it out myself. But I think the best answer for a lot of people is like, whether you go with us or somebody else doesn't matter. Just put the ego to a side and come in open, you know, I think that's huge.

Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I think that, yeah, coming in open, with an open mind. Because I mean, also too, again, it's, it's sort of that pride thing. You're like, I would, I would do it differently, you know, or I'd use a different CRM if it were me, or I'd use a different type of offer. And. Yeah, and so I've really, you know, I think that with anything and the thing that I've enjoyed with the program because again, you don't really know what you're getting into when, when you sign up, you're, you're sort of, you know.

Watch case studies like these on the website, you see other kind of stuff. Yeah. You don't know for sure.

Yeah, you see, yeah. You see all the positive and then you join and you're like, okay, what's it really going to be like? Like new softwares or whatever else. You see the marketing side and then now you're in the nuts and bolts of it. And the thing that I've appreciated is you guys do a good job of having a step by step guide. And for me, I'm the guy that follows the directions. You know, I'm going to get the IKEA instructions and I'm going to go line by line. I'm not going to try to figure it out. And so just being able to go through it and just methodically hit stuff as you can, it is a time commitment. It is.

And so that's not a magic pill for everyone watching it takes work.

Right?

Yeah, I was the same way. I like stuff, which is why I give those to the clients. Because it's like, you know exactly what you need to be doing. With us, we have those key, key things that we're trying to hit and those key milestones throughout your journey to make sure that you're hitting what you want to hit. So I love it. And last question. Ben, I'll let you get back to closing deals here. I guess maybe if anybody's watching this, maybe they're on the fence about just booking a call and speaking with us, kind of knowing what you know now on the other side, what advice would you give them?

Yeah, I would say, you know, it's, it's, we're all going to be at different places again. When, you know, when I first started talking to master filmmaker, I was kind of like, you know, this, this is a, I like the idea, but I just wasn't ready. And that's understandable. But you know, that then after, after a month or so, like if, if you're hitting the wall still like you know, you, you may need these tools to get you over the edge. And so I think, you know, my encouragement would be. And I know that our deal, you know, we. We're working with larger clients. A lot of times, you know, that's not going to be a typical deal. So, you know, understanding, you know, the realistic pieces of, again, what do you need to do? What can you do on your own? How can you be profitable? And in. Having somebody that can walk you through this stuff, I think is. Is a huge, huge thing. So if. If you're sort of on the fence and you've tried to grind it out and you don't really have somebody that you can just lean on for some of this advice, I feel like this is a great avenue to go. And I encourage anyone to do it if. If they're feeling like they're sort of stuck in their business. And that could be just starting out or it could be like us, where, you know, we're a little. Both, man.

I have companies doing $2 million a year. Million dollars a year, like yourself. And then we have people who are doing, you know, just starting. And I mean, each, each side there's different problems and new levels.

Either way. Yeah, but I mean, either way you're doing the same steps. Yeah. So. And I think that that's, that's the key part is you can know what to do, but you don't always have one accountability, which is big. That's what the program provides. And you don't always have just that step by step guide to do it. And I think that's what's been helpful for me. And I think it's helpful for a lot of Yalls clients too.

Well, I appreciate it, Ben. Well, I'll let you get back to closing deals. Appreciate your time, man. And we'll do another one of these when you've closed them.

All right. The goal is one a month, so that's. If we can just keep doing that. I'll let you know when the next one hits.

I love it. We appreciate your time, Ben.

All right, thanks.