Hey, thanks for tuning in to another Partner Spotlight interview at OutsourceSchool.
My name is Connor Gillivan. I’m the CMO and an Owner of Outsource School.
We’re on a mission to help 10,000+ business owners master hiring virtual assistants and freelancers, and industry partnerships is a big way that we’re able to make it happen.
We’re all about creating win-win partnerships where we are able to grow with other companies in the eCommerce, agency, SAAS, and online space.
Connor: Hey Melanie, thanks for taking the time to chat with us here. We love getting to know our partners better so that our community can benefit from what our partners are offering and doing in the industry. To get started, can you give us a high-level overview of how you got started?
Melanie: Thanks for inviting me. In 2000, I left my corporate job at a Fortune 500 company to be a full time business coach but it definitely wasn’t an easy transition. Even though I was trained as a coach, I did not have a solid business growth strategy in place.
After many sleepless nights and a lot of stressful moments, my business got a lot more traction when I got on stages with a magnetic message. Back then I focused on helping entrepreneurs with how to stop feeling that paralyzing business growth overwhelm by building a lifestyle-first business.
Connor: Love that! Can you dive a bit more into the 7- Step Proven Framework to leverage other people’s audiences? I’m sure our audience would love to know exactly what problems you could solve for them.
Melanie: My 7 Step Framework emerged during those early years when I felt invisible to ideal clients. Once I got better at sharing “results” and stopped preaching the “coaching process” my business grew exponentially into the mid six figures rather quickly.
Three of the important factors in this framework are leveraging YOUR unique superpower, developing a magnetic message, then aligning with collaboration partners who open doors to new audiences. When all 7 factors are working together, it’s easier to build a profitable business.
Connor: Jumping off of that…if there was one problem you’d say that Melanie Benson solves best for your clients, what would it be? Why?
Melanie: I show experts who feel like a best-kept secret how to lean into their superpowers and transform it into their Unique Sales Advantage – and then IGNITE more impact, income and influence by being visible, consistently, where your best potential clients are searching for you.
I use proven growth strategies along with a variety of mindset tools and alignment techniques to help my clients attain a 3 – 5 times revenue increase in our first 6 months together.
Connor: As the company continues to grow over the next year, what are your plans for expansion? Any new products or offerings or enhancements to your current products?
Melanie: I’m in a simplify to multiply stage – my Guest Expert System and IGNITE Mastermind are powerful for the right expert-based entrepreneurs – and we are now focusing on growing Collaboration Currency to expand our reach.
One really amazing growth area is integrating even more unique tools like Human Design to help our clients uncover and amplify their unique message and offerings.
Connor: And how specifically would you say that you and your team is different from other similar coaches in the industry?
Melanie: One simple answer – I have a long, proven track record of helping my impact-driven and trailblazing clients shatter their perceived limits. From the internal recoding of limiting beliefs to elevating their business potential beyond what they believed they could achieve, my clients who do the work and implement get great results.
Connor: What’s your outsourcing story? We find that everyone has a different experience when outsourcing and hiring online. What is your first memory that comes to mind?
Melanie: In 2001, I got clear on my growth strategy, and also realized there was way more to do than I could ever accomplish on my own. One of my superpowers in my corporate days was inspiring other people to work together to accomplish crazy big goals in record time.
That was when I realized if I wanted to grow faster, I needed to outsource and delegate to virtual assistants and other experts so I could invest my time and talent in the tasks ONLY I could do. I did not know how to pay for this support at first, I just knew I “had” to get support if I wanted to grow.
Within 9 months of hiring my first virtual assistant, my revenue exploded into 6 figures and it just kept growing (and I kept hiring support) for several years in a row.
Connor: Love it! Talking more about outsourcing, what advice would you give to yourself if you were just about to start outsourcing and hiring online?
Melanie: First, outsource the activities that free you up to make more money. If you look at the ROI, you’ll quickly see that you can quickly double or even triple your investment in the right team.
Then, as you continue to grow your business, you may find yourself a bottleneck. Don’t be afraid to delegate ownership of a role and train your team to make decisions on your behalf.
Connor: How about this one…how do you communicate with the people you hire online? What’s your best practices there and how has it changed over time?
Melanie: As technology has improved, we’ve evolved our internal systems and communication procedures. I’ve always hosted a weekly team meeting to go over priorities, talk through marketing campaigns and get updates from each team member on their deliverables. We now use a project management tool to keep track of campaigns and routine tasks – and Slack has become our new online communication tool.
Connor: Finally, this is one that I think our community will love, who’s been your best online hire? What do they do for you? Why are they your best hire? Tell us all about them and that story!
Melanie: The first OBM (Online Business Manager) that I ever hired was amazing. She handled things proactively and knew what to do before I did. She taught me how to delegate in a way that I was no longer a bottleneck – and set a gold standard for what it is like to hire someone who takes ownership of their role.
Connor: As we close this out, I just have one more question. Where is the best place to find and follow you and the company online? Also, if you have one, is there any special offer that you’ll be offering to the community today?
Melanie: You can find me on all of the social media platforms and my website is MelanieBenson.com where you can find my podcast, Amplify Your Success, my on-demand courses and coaching programs like Guest Expert System. Since you mentioned the 7 Step Framework before, you’ll find that framework as a free downloadable resource on the main page of my website.
Facebook: Facebook.com/CoachMelanieBenson
Instagram: Instagram.com/CoachMelanieBenson
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/success/
Twitter: Twitter.com/Melcoach
