The easiest way to generate more revenue is to spend the majority of your working hours in your Zone of Genius. Because your Zone of Genius is effortless for you, it is actually the thing you should charge the most for. I know that may seem counterintuitive as we have always been told that to earn more you must work hard. However, when you work in your Zone of Genius, you will not feel like you are working at all. You will feel energized versus energy drained. You will want to jump out of bed in the morning because you know you are going to have a day filled with what you naturally do best.
Conversely, anything that causes you to be in struggle mode costs you two of your most precious (and priceless) resources. Your energy and your time.
Last week I wrote asking “Do you know your Zone of Genius?” I received many responses. Some said the article was clarifying and others wanted to know more.
So I will share two real-life client examples with you. (I have not used their real names.)
Annette is a lawyer. She is the sole practitioner of a thriving practice and is one of the most heart-centered women I know. She devotes a significant amount of time to a non-profit organization with a noble mission. She is brilliant in her specialized area of law which is an aspect of her Zone of Genius.
However, where she generates the most revenue is being the rainmaker for her firm. Her genuine care and concern for people endear potential clients to her instantly. Her firm has a near 100% closing rate with clients she meets with personally. Her ability to put people at ease, educate them on the issues most relevant to their circumstances, and to build the kind of trust that compels people to place their livelihoods in her care is her true Zone of Genius which authentically reflects WHO she is at her core.
Conversely, the daily tasks that come with firm ownership and management are not her Zone of Genius. They are tedious, annoying, and energy draining. The hiring process to get the right person to handle this for her is frustrating. The more time she spends doing these activities she loses revenue.
My advice to her is to hire a senior level associate who can hire and manage competent admin staff. The associate would prepare all of the professional legal work and then Annette would be left with the tasks in her Zone of Genius. She should only be meeting with potential clients, nurturing existing clients, and providing her legal expertise, strategy, and finesse to the legal work a junior associate prepares for her.
Rainmaking is her Zone of Genius. The more time she is out ‘making rain,’ the more revenue the firm will generate.
Linda is a former Fortune 500 executive who now owns a training, coaching and consulting business for corporate leaders and executives. Linda was not charging what she is worth because essentially, she felt like her work wasn’t hard. For her, it was easy. She was charging what she thought was commensurate with easy.
Linda did not understand that teaching leaders how to bring out the best in themselves and the teams they lead is actually her Zone of Genius because she does it effortlessly. She told me that in basically one conversation, she can determine where most of the gaps, barriers, and obstacles exist on a team and has clarity on exactly how she will begin her course-corrective process.
After two coaching sessions with me, I challenged Linda to place a premium fee on the work she does in her Zone of Genius. I asked her to go from charging $2,500 for a particular service offering to $10,500. She wrote “I met with the ‘Corporate Executive for the BIG RETAIL Company’ person. I was not able to say $10,500, it just would not come out, but I did say $7,500 for 6 months (12 sessions) and decided it was non-negotiable. And she said yes, eyes closed. I was a bit annoyed I didn’t say 10, but hey, I’m getting there!! So that is over $500 a session now.”
Linda stepping into the value of her Zone of Genius TRIPLED HER INCOME!
What about you? Do you know your Zone of Genius? If so, are you leveraging your Zone of Genius to generate revenue commensurate with it? If not, I can help with that. Interested? InMail me on LinkedIn or e-mail me at [email protected].
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