3 Ways to Make BIG Money by Listening

Have you been thinking about how to offer your next program, what your next product should be, and how to make big money?

I'm pretty excited about this topic. It came to me just a while ago, as I was thinking about my journey starting the Virtual Assistant Made Easy Program. It made me reflect on how I've come about some of the different offerings I've had. How I put together the Dynamic Women Community and what inspired me to do it. How I made the Dynamic Women program. 

I wondered, how I was able to come up with the ideas?  

…By listening. 

Why listening is important to me

As a coach, part of my profession is to listen. I'm supposed to listen for the answers from the clients. Listen to them to help them figure out what the true answer for them is and to empower them. 

Listening is a skill that I need to have and use in coaching, at least in life coaching. In business coaching, it's more so listening and then providing the answers, advice, wisdom, and support.

Listening never came necessarily naturally to me. I was the youngest in the family. With older people around, I always had to fight to be listened to, especially with two older brothers who were four and eight years older. They didn't care much about hanging out with their little sister, and I was a bit of a chatterbox because I learned to talk to get attention. 

3 ways to make big money by listening

There are three ways I've found where you can make big money by listening. I just want to preface this also by saying, it is not all about the money, but I'm guessing that that word being part of the title made you pay attention to this. If that's the case, then great because the benefits you're going to get from listening in are guaranteed. ​

I've done this myself and taught it to many clients, and it’s guaranteed to help you give your clients exactly what they want. I'm going to go through the three different ways and give some examples of how this has shown up in my life and how I moved this into a business opportunity. 

1. Listen to Compliments
   

Even if you don't have a business, and you're in a profession, or you're thinking about a business, listen to the compliments. Some people might say, “Wow, you're so organized!” I've heard, “You've achieved so much” and “Wow, you're everywhere!” (meaning, I guess, on social media and YouTube and podcasts, etc.). Or maybe before, when I was attending a lot of in-person events, “You were everywhere.” I've had some clients say to me, even though they're older than me, it's funny, they'll say, “I want to be just like you when I grow up”, which is extremely flattering. 

It's also the follow-up question and asking. Here are some examples:

• If you think I've achieved so much, I’ll say, “Thank you very much. What specifically is it that you're complimenting me on or you're inspired by?” 
• When someone says, “You're everywhere!” you can be like, “Thanks. What do you mean by that?” 
• When they say, “You were such a great facilitator,” you can say, “Thank you, what did you love about it?” 
• If someone says, “I want to be just like you when I grow up,” you can say, “Well, thank you, you're going to be an amazing version of yourself, but what is it that has inspired you?” ​

By you listening first to what it shared, asking the follow-up question, and then listening again, you're going to get a lot of insight as to what people value about you, and the things they potentially want to know and learn themselves. 

When I look at things like “You've achieved so much” and asking someone, “What do you want to achieve that I've achieved?” and they say, “Writing a book.” and then I can say, “Well, I can help you with that.” 

I did a 360 survey at the beginning of my career. One of the things that was said that has so much impact on me is, “You have a presence when you walk in a room.” I thought, “That's cool. What can I do with that? Is that confidence? Can I teach that? Can I teach how to have a presence? Can I also teach when it's not good to have presence or too much presence?”

Listening to the compliment helps you to figure out the offering. When I heard things like “You're everywhere,” it made me realize that it’s because I have a system with my VAs, which is for social media content creation. It’s where we take a piece of anchor content, (this is what my team does for me), like a video, and we repurpose it into your YouTube, your podcast, your newsletter, your blog, and all your social posts. All these different things come from one piece of anchor content, and then get put on all the social media platforms that you want to be on. 

When people say, “You're everywhere,” that's how I do it. That helped me to learn what people value about what I've achieved or done or who I am, and then how I can teach that. 

Now, you're not always going to take everything. If someone says, “That's an amazing apple pie,” and you don’t really want to have a baking business, then you can just thank them and move on. But if you're listening for the other compliments, that could be something that's helping you to move forward in your business or in your career, and you can use that for promotions to talk about what you’ve done well. 

On the flip side, in your business, it might be a new offering or even just something that you share about a little bit more to bring people into your community. Lots of stuff has happened because people have said these compliments to me, like, “Oh, you're just so busy, but you've achieved so much.” (And then it gets into number two. But let me give you one final example here.)

People have said to me, “You've achieved so much”, and “You have two kids, and yet you've achieved so much.” It also lets me know they value the fact that I'm also a busy mom, as well as a business owner. That's my opportunity there to think about that as a positive for marketing. I'm going to share it in some of the different pieces that I put out into the world and bring it into podcasts, YouTube videos, lives, when I meet people, my About section, and all these different pieces. 

That’s the first one: Listen to the compliments, and you know what, the things you should sell and offer in your business are the things that come most naturally to you. They're innate. They're easy for you to do. People keep wanting to choose things that are hard to do as the things they sell and the services and the products. Stop it. Don't do that. Leave them to the people who are passionate and have a natural gift for those pieces, and then you focus on the ones that are great for you. Being in alignment that way will make you happier. 

2. Listen to Questions

Oftentimes people will say:

• “You've achieved so much. What did you use to achieve that goal?” or
• You did a book, “That's amazing. How did you put that book out?” or 
• You have a successful coaching practice. They’ll say a compliment and the question they ask is, “How do you get all of your clients?”

Another question might be what mentioned before, “How do you do it all, Diane?” I get that one quite a bit, and “How do you stay on top of everything?” 

As I go to answer this question, this is now again a potential for an offering. 

For many years I had people say, “Diane, what is a Dynamic Woman? You talk about dynamic women. You have the Dynamic Women Community. Am I a Dynamic Woman?”

That is actually what sparked me to want to be able to answer that question better. Not just what it is, but how can you become one. 

By people asking me what's a Dynamic Woman, the Dynamic You Program was born and became a book. 

(Heads up! We're going to do the next cohort to Dynamic You. New and improved coming out, probably in the New Year. Be on the lookout for the launch of that or email [email protected] to get on the waitlist because space will be limited. )

Think of the questions that people ask you. Are they asking you things like, “What is the definition of this?” or “How did you do this?” These are the pieces they want to know. 

A lot of questions I've been getting recently are around 

• “How did you hire your virtual assistant?” 
• “How did you hire from the Philippines?”
• “What do you delegate to them?”
• “How do you train them?”
• “How do you share your passwords with them?” 
• “How do you have them make your systems and processes for you?”
• “How do you pay them?” 
• “What do you pay them?”

The questions just always come in, and it got me to the point of like, “Wow, people are hungry for this knowledge.” 

In these questions, you might have a small offering like a workshop, training, or a masterclass. You might have a four-part series mini-course. You could also have a full-blown program, a coaching mastermind, a book, and a speech that you give and get paid for. 

There are so many opportunities just by thinking, “What are the most common questions I get asked?” 

After going through two points you know to write down all those compliments and questions and keep a list of them. They might be from random people, your neighbor, or a mom at school pickup. It could also be someone in a networking group, once they hear what you do. It could be a client giving you a compliment. It could be from your lead who asks you a question. It might not even be related, again, to a service you already offer. It could be something different. 

3. Listen to the Complaints

Listen to the complaints, as well as concerns because sometimes people aren't complaining, they're just sharing with you a worry they have or some trouble they've had in the past. 

Here's some I recently have been getting: 

• “I just don't know what I delegate”
• “I don't think I have 10 hours a week of stuff to pass off.” 
• “I feel stuck.”
• “I'm not tech-savvy.” 
• “I'm just too busy.”

These complaints are things that people don't like. They could be obstacles for them for achieving their goals, or could be obstacles for them in their life or in their business. 

Listen to the complaints of the people around you, because a complaint needs a solution. A concern needs a solution.

Some concerns I've had with people coming in for the Virtual Assistant Made Easy Program where I hire a virtual assistant for you from the Philippines are: 

• “I don't know how to hire from the Philippines.” 
• “I don't know how to vet them.”
• “I'm scared to give over my information.” 
• “How will I know if they're actually working?” 
• “I’m worried they will leave me.”
• “I don't have time to make systems and processes.”

There are solutions to all of these concerns. If it's in relation to a course you already have, you can answer this in the frequently asked questions. You can talk about this in an intro event, a class, or a masterclass that you're doing. You can share it in your marketing, in a newsletter, a blog, a podcast, a YouTube video, or a story. These are all things that your ideal clients want to know. 

If I'm going to complain, “I'm tired!”, well, is there a reason for being tired? Probably. 

• “Am I tired because I stayed up late?” 
• “Am I tired because I got interrupted in my sleep?” 
• “Am I tired because I have too much stress and anxiety?”
• “Am I tired because I'm really busy, and I'm like burning the candle at both ends?
• “Am I tired because I'm on my feet all day?”

Finding out again about the complaints. What is it that's really concerning them? A complaint is something that somebody doesn't want to have anymore. It's not a good thing for them, and you can probably provide the solution. 

What are the complaints of your ideal clients? Maybe it's some obvious things, like not enough clients. Then, what about that is hard for them? You're kind of unpacking this. If they're sharing, “Oh, I just need to have more clients. I can't get enough clients!” then ask them, “Oh, what kind of clients are you looking for and how are you currently looking for them?” or “How are you currently marketing yourself?” If you find out that they've just been going to meetings, and they're not using social media at all, then that's where a solution could be. 

What you should do

What happens now? Well, go back to the three ways of making big money by listening, and I encourage you in your circles, listen for the compliments and write them down. I love to use the notes section on my phone as a very quick way to document these things. You can keep a note that just says, ‘Marketing’ or ‘Research’ and then put compliments, questions, and complaints. 

When you're working with clients, be listening. “So hey, how are you doing?” “Oh, I just have so much going on. I just got off a training. It was really intense.” “Ah, okay. Doesn't like intense training or needs a buffer time between events.” 

Or get curious, “Hey, what made it so intense?” “Oh, I felt like the speaker was yelling at me.” “Ah, okay. So my ideal clients don't want to be firmly talked at on a training. I need to be a certain way. Maybe if I use that talent that I have, there is going to be more opportunity.” 

I could sit here all day and take your profession, and match it to some compliments, questions, and complaints, but I'm curious about the ones that actually show up in your life. If you want to comment, and let me know, like your industry and some compliments, questions, concerns, or complaints that you've been hearing, let's see where the correlation is. It's like a 1-2-3. ​

1. What am I doing? 
2. What are they saying? then
3. What's the opportunity?

Or it could be, 

1. What are they saying? 
2. What's my follow-up curiosity question? What's their answer to that?
3. What's the opportunity? What could I offer? How could I use this information? 

This is really great because it’s not taking any extra time. It's just in your normal day-to-day, but when you get curious, and you ask follow-up questions, that's really where the gold is. Because your ideal clients are going to give you the exact verbiage they use so that when you write your marketing, you can say, “Are you sick of being on the hamster wheel?” Because that's the words that they actually said, or “It's easier to just fly under the radar than it is to put my neck out and be confident in business meetings.”

You're pulling their actual words like, “I just wish I could have people pay me on time because cash flow becomes an issue at the end of the month when they don't.” 

Then you'll know this is working because you'll start to hear things like, “Wow, I felt like you were speaking straight to me”. That could be through your social media, when you're on stage, when you're training something, or even when you're offering. If they just read your landing page for your offer, and they said, “Wow, I felt like you were speaking straight to me.” Isn't that amazing? You're you're going to have more people signing up with you. 

I've had this happen, where someone started crying during an offer, and this is the first time I had made this offer so I was very concerned that I had offended them, that I triggered something negative in them. It was a small group and I think at the time, there were only eight people and I just said, “Hey, so-and-so I noticed some emotions coming up what's up?” and they said, “This is exactly what I've been looking for.” That was about my Elite Coaching Program, (which I'm also going to be relaunching in the new year under a new name.) That's what they said, “This was exactly what I was looking for.”

Do you think they hired me and bought the program? 100%. They couldn't throw their credit card at me fast enough because I was listening to them earlier. I was listening to my ideal client, and I was speaking their words. I think that is the greatest way to really serve your clients in an authentic way, in a way that actually will get them the results they want, and will have them (the word that comes to mind is clamoring to work with you. But I just like to say) gladly working with you. Where I make an offer for some of my programs, I'll get messages afterward after people have signed up saying, “Thank you so much for offering this. This is exactly what I needed. I'm really excited. I'm looking forward to working with you, thank you.” To get that type of message after people pay you for something is incredible, even before you've even done the work. Then more accolades come later is a bonus. 

A few things I want to share

I have just a few final spots in the Virtual Assistant Made Easy Program in 2023. So if you want to do it, please email me directly at [email protected]. 

We also have Your Content Made Easy, which is our social media content creation that we do in-house for you, creating 12 pieces of content every single week for you in your voice and with your branding. 

Wrapping Up

The three ways to make big money by listening works. I've been doing this in my business for over 12 years. It has helped me to produce some of the greatest programs possible because sometimes as the teacher, I can't see it through the eyes of the student. Listening gives me that insight. 

Also, the Les Brown quote, I say this so many times, “You can't see the picture when you're in the frame.” Many times, you and I don't know our greatness. We don't know how amazing we are until we listen to how other people compliment us and the things people ask us because they trust us as an expert on that topic. Then the complaints they share with us because they feel comfortable to share, and maybe hoping we can support them or give them a solution. 

If you've had a win with any of this, let me know, send it to me. I'd love to hear what's your takeaway from this blog post. I'd love to see you over in the Dynamic Woman Facebook Community. I love going live there and hanging out and asking cool questions and sharing awesome tips for your business in life. I hope to see you in there. It is free to join. Share this with a friend and until next time, stay dynamic!

Read my other blogs:

1. How to Design Relationships and Partnerships
2. 3 Actions for Better Social Media Results
3. I Kill Myself Trying to Do Both