Claudia Aguilar,
Gímel Tecnologia
Our Ship Was Sinking
We struggled for years with no monthly recurring revenue because we were primarily selling hardware and software. Sure, we WANTED and NEEDED recurring revenue, but we had no clue HOW to get there. Plus, we had no technical people in our company to start doing service work. We were willing to start from scratch, but how? With every new month, another employee was leaving. As our name in the market kept declining, we found it more and more difficult to hire people.
Unfortunately, we made the mistakes that too many business owners make by believing that salespeople will fix all problems. For the company to survive, we assumed we had to hire expensive salespeople. They’re expensive because they sell a ton, right? NO! Hiring these salespeople was our worst decision ever! They didn’t even make enough to pay their salaries!
Mistake after mistake, we just kept paying more and more. As for our next mistake, we hired a consulting company that came recommended by Microsoft. They talked a good game and were supposed to put us on track. They didn’t. We spent SO much money on them, and I was SO disappointed in their lack of results. So, when my husband asked me to watch Robin Robins’ videos, I figured she was just like everyone else.
Finally, Someone Who Understands My Company, Someone Who Understands ME!
After years of our brand name declining in the market, my husband and business partner asked me to watch a video of this Robin Robins lady. I assumed she would be just like the marketing consultant we wasted our time and money on. But reluctantly, I watched. Five minutes turned into 10 minutes and then an hour, and I thought, “OH MY GOSH, this lady knows what is happening in my company and in my mind!” I started consuming ALL of her videos.
On our first anniversary, my husband and I arrived at Robin Central for her Rapid Implementation Workshop. I looked at all the pictures of “marketing geniuses” on her wall and knew that someday I wanted my photo next to all of those success stories.
I was so excited to be there, but also very nervous. Who would believe that after growing up in the slums of São Paulo, Brazil, I was now with all of these Americans learning about marketing? In that training room, I was trying to soak up every little bit of knowledge. It was like an addiction. When I first arrived, I thought, “There is the star!” Her voice, her motivation, her intelligent mind, her communication. Robin Robins!
I Had To Translate ALL Of Robin’s Lessons Into Portuguese But It Was So WORTH The Extra Time
Before we could learn and implement Robin’s marketing, advice and strategies, I first had to TRANSLATE everything for my team. The website, blog, newsletter, e-mails, webinars…EVERYTHING had to be first translated into Portuguese. It was so much extra work, I often slept only THREE HOURS a night!
But that work paid off. I would never have believed it until I saw it, but thanks to our efforts, and with the support of our Accountability Group, a big package arrived at our home. There it was…a big frame with MY picture in it that said, “Marketing Genius of the Month.” OMG! That had been my dream all along, and it came true! My picture is now on the wall in my office.
Shortly after, we had the honor of attending our first Boot Camp. We learned so much fantastic information! The energy in the room motivated us to work even harder when we got back home. It paid off quickly, because we closed our first monthly recurring revenue deal! That just gave me even more fuel!
I’ll never forget one moment from Boot Camp. Onstage, Robin had said that money alone doesn’t bring happiness. It made me flashback to my childhood. I remembered one day in São Paulo. I was seven years old and sick. My mom and I were walking to the bus stop in the freezing cold, and we came to a street stall that displayed a plate full of juicy apples. I was starving, so I asked my mother, “Can I have an apple? I’m so hungry.” But she said she didn’t have the money to buy apples…not even ONE apple! We got on the bus, and as the apples got farther and farther behind us, I cried more and more. I’ll never forget that moment, because it was then and there that I made a commitment to never have this happen to me again. I knew when I got older, I would make enough money to buy my apples so I wouldn’t ever feel hungry again.
Therefore, my Why is to avoid scarcity. And not just for me, but also for my brothers, sisters and my whole family. You see, Robin delivers much more than marketing strategies. She helps us find our ultimate passions, and helps us to overcome entrepreneurial challenges.
Slashing Expenses And Boosting Profits!
Beyond Robin’s proven sales and marketing strategies, she brings a truckload of quality resources designed to grow IT services businesses. After Boot Camp, I started my journey to read as many Producers Club materials as I could.
We began tracking our rocks (goals) and numbers to keep the entire company accountable to accomplish our goals for the year and took serious action to reduce company expenses. As part of this effort, in October we moved out of the office space we had been in for the past 13 years and into a better space that saved us 33%. By year’s end, we slashed operational expenses by 64%!
In addition, I read and implemented 25 business and marketing books in that same year. Through all of these valuable resources, as well as implementing Robin’s marketing, in just one year, we grew our net profit by 118%, our total clients by 130% and our monthly recurring revenue by 280%!
Righting Our Ship: Improving Our Processes And Culture
In Q3, we finished our sales playbook: How to Call, How to Sell. Now we have a process in place so everyone on the team knows how we need to work. We are no longer dependent on people – people depend on our process.
From Robin’s many resources, we let 40% of our employees go who were not a fit for our culture. Today, everybody at our company knows exactly what our core values are and what we have to do to achieve those values. Anyone who doesn’t agree or isn’t a good fit cannot work here. As a result of our improved culture, we hardly have any turnover now. We have also implemented a drama-free policy. We still have a long way to go, but we know we are 100% headed in the right direction as we never were before.
Having a company with the right processes in place has been my dream since I was 19 years old and working for an IT reseller.
On Our Way To $12 Million!
My father always said, “It doesn’t matter how much money you have. People can steal that from you. What really matters is your knowledge. So study as much as you can, because knowledge is something nobody can take from you. And you can use your knowledge to rebuild anything.”
That’s one reason I am learning so much and reading 25 books in one year. And implementing all these tools and processes and seeing all of the happy people in our company. This is why we are pretty sure we are going to make our $12 million in annual recurring revenue within 10 years or sooner – because we are doing it the RIGHT way.
Expectations, Dreams And Aspirations
The expectation is that in a few years, every seed of work planted today has bloomed. That prospects and clients have become 100% aware of the message we are trying to promote. That our processes are 100% automated. That our target numbers are achieved and surpassed.
I expect to have peace of mind knowing that my team always has as many apples to eat as they want. I expect to work less and enjoy more time with the love of my life, Dennis. I expect to have enough money in the bank that we never have to worry about having enough to buy apples for us, for our family and for our employees.
In just one year, we have added 24 new clients, almost TRIPLED the number of clients on recurring revenue contracts, added $15,266 in monthly recurring revenue and grown our profit by $189,698! How ’bout them apples!
