How to Start a Profitable Video Marketing Agency

This article looks at the experience of our client, Darius Kadivar, whose company goes under the working name of Keymoss Production.  

His  expertise is creating video book trailers for self-published authors.  These are videos of 15 to 30 seconds that highlight the genre and basic plot of a novel and are a major part of book marketing.

Darius needed coaching to help overcome some limiting beliefs and discover his premium service.  He was already making videos for clients yet feared he would not be able to deliver what they wanted - consistently.

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In France, Darius experienced traditional, business development training for consultants. Many of the concepts taught were conservative, conventional ideas with little focus on speed or leverage.  Darius was dismayed with the amount of time their method involved.  For example, the traditional training cautioned their students to wait three years before seeing any results from their Linkedin presence. 

Lucky for Darius, he learned how to cut that timeline down to a matter of weeks. This article shares his insight.

You Have to Identify Your Client's Video Production Pain

Darius had concerns about whether he could serve his clients well, when in fact he needed to reverse his thinking to focus only on clients he knew he could serve well.

He came to this conclusion in a few steps:

  1.  In order to design his premium service, it needs to be simple, not complex; premium, not standard.  The program exists to guide clients through the process, because “simple” and “premium” are easier said than done.
    1. Define an expertise: know one specific thing and do it well.  
    2. Do not try to justify your expertise to a prospect.  Instead, have a conversation with a prospect to judge if your expertise can help them.

  2. The goal then is to connect with clients and listen to their problem, their alternatives, if they have a plan, and the urgency of their pain.  Then, the conversation goes one of two ways:
    1. You can help this client, addressing the urgency, scope of work, time frame and price.  You have an offer for the client. Then it is the client’s prerogative to hire you or not. OR
    2. You cannot help them; either a different specialty is required or, sometimes, you cannot save a patient who doesn’t want to be saved. If you cannot solve the problem, you can tell them politely and part ways, or refer them to another colleague.

  3. If you can get your head around this idea, the conversations are much simpler and far more productive.  Darius realized that through this method, he was designing his own preferred outcomes.  

A client comes to a consultant with a problem.  Problems are pain.  Darius learned that finding the source and urgency of his prospect’s pain was key in deciding whether he could offer services to them.  And, if he did make an offer, it would be his best.

"Each Module Felt Like a Stepping Stone Toward My Goal"

Darius’s favorite aspects of the program were:

  • The coaching process.  He really appreciated the responsiveness of his coach whenever Darius found himself stuck, and he could rely on immediate feedback. 
  • Interacting with other members.   Darius could also turn to the clients-only  forum for support. The tools facilitate communication amongst the group, where Darius made friends and contacts.
  • A series of systems.  Darius appreciated the simplification of the material into a series of three systems: Client Acquisition, Client Service and Client Retention.  

Friendly Jousts Focus on the Most Important Task of the Day

What was Darius’s least favorite part of the program?  

“Being in the hot seat,” Darius jokes. But, he adds, everyone feels awkward at first when speaking in the live group.  In retrospect, however, Darius believes this is where the team improves together. Through teamwork, the group has exchanges (“friendly jousts” is Darius’s term for these moments).  The members test one another, and everybody gets better at communication. 

Trust the Process, Be Patient, You Will Get There

Darius’s advice is, whether you already have a clear idea of what you want to do or not, once you enter the program, just trust the process because it's rewarding. Be patient! “Rome was not built in one day.”  You'll realize that each module is designed to answer those specific questions that you're asking yourself.

We Are All Making the Same Mistake When We Start

Instead of waiting for opportunities to come to you, the program teaches readiness for opportunities, and then putting yourself in their path. 

Darius realized, “We’re all making the same mistake when we start.” Regardless of age, race, culture, or background, everybody (in the program) was making the same error: failing to understand that it’s all about the client we are trying to serve.  The more we understand the client, the more we’ll be able to deploy the skills we have.  

Excited to Continue His Work

Darius’s business, still relatively new, has a lot going on, and he can’t wait to fine-tune it all to his premium service.

  • He plans to refine his onboarding process.  
  • He wants to create a video book teaser that demonstrates his premium.
  • He wants to practice creating boundaries for his projects through templates and video tools that allow him to deliver to book trailers in a more simple way but with the highest quality possible.  
  • He must test his machinery to ensure that it delivers exactly in the same way for every client that corresponds to his perfect client avatar.  

Darius compares working out a premium service to carving a statue - removing all unnecessary rock until the statue, the core of your service, is revealed.  As Michelangelo said,  “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”

 

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