May 2, 2023

Get ready to excel at course creation with this episode of The OMG! Show. Our guest, Jeff Lennon, knows a thing or two about productizing knowledge and turning it into a profitable online course. As a CPA, he was tired of doing the same old tasks and decided to shake things up by using Excel to automate his processes. Fast forward to today, and Jeff runs Excel University, an online training platform that helps accounting and finance professionals leverage Excel to save time and energy. Join us as we chat with Jeff about his journey and take a peak at how he structured his offer, drives traffic, his email funnel, and more!

“I Was Just Like Really Confident & Calm Because I Got to See Their Reactions & Thought This Could Really be Helpful.” – Jeff Lenning

In today’s episode, we’re going to look at a successful course creator who made the transition from selling one-off courses into a recurring revenue business that has impacted the lives of over 100,000 people and continues to be the number 1 resource in their market.

Productizing your knowledge is one of the best ways to scale your business. If you are constantly being asked the same questions over and over again, or have a process that can positively impact the lives of others, there is a good chance that others would be willing to pay you for that expertise in order to improve their own lives.

That is why today, we are joined by Jeff Lenning who as a CPA himself, was tired of doing the same tasks over and over and decided to use this little tool called Excel to pretty much duplicate his processes. One thing led to another and now runs Excel University which provides online Microsoft Excel training specifically designed for accounting and finance professionals through their Campus Pass.

Inside this episode, we’re going to look at:

  • How a slice of pizza changed Jeff’s career path
  • Jeff’s number 1 traffic generating strategy
  • How Jeff uses automation to pretty much run his business pretty lean.

Show Value Bombs:

  • If you have a method that can help others achieve a certain result faster or more efficiently, it may be worth writing to a few publications about and asking if you can do a training for them. 
  • Automation is crucial for success. Jeff has dialed in all of his systems to really fine-tune most of his back end to run a pretty lean business. 
  • Lead magnets and nurturing sequences are essential components of successful funnels. Jeff has a multi-step process, including warm nurture sequences, content videos, and webinars, to lead potential customers to join his Campus Pass program.

Here’s a brief overview of the episode:

  • [00:02:19] Why Jeff became so proficient in Excel through work as a CPA, wrote an article for the Journal of Accountancy, and started teaching Excel classes all over the country, eventually transitioning to pre-recorded video lessons.
  • [00:06:36] How Jeff transitioned from in-person events to live webinars and how that led to writing a book and creating on-demand video content.
  • [00:10:40] Jeff talks about how he had to create multiple courses so that the content was manageable parts due to dependencies. The course is one cohesive unit.
  • [00:12:07] Jeff offers a variety of lead magnets, which include free webinars, PDFs, and a skill survey in exchange for signing up for their email list. He utilizes ActiveCampaign for a three-week warm nurture sequence that includes pure content videos and alternating offer sequences that include newsletters and offers.
  • [00:24:43] Jeff shines a light on how to drive traffic to his lead managers and describes a method of reaching a target audience through paying companies with established audiences to send out invitations to webinars or newsletters. The key is active outreach with invitations sent through email or newsletters.
  • [00:29:12] The Campus Pass includes all courses and live sessions, including study halls and office hours. It also offers individual support for students’ coursework.
  • [00:32:38] Zapier is the key to tying together various tech systems like ActiveCampaign for email, open LMS for learning, and Course Merchant for shopping cart, with WordPress for blog posts and Airtable for storage in the cloud.

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About Jeff Lenning

Jeff Lenning is the Excel whisperer behind Click Consulting Inc. and Excel University. With a past life in auditing, financial analysis, and accounting management, Jeff has transformed himself into a Microsoft Office Certified Excel Expert and a nationally recognized speaker and trainer. His obsession with productivity and pizza led him to discover the hidden powers of Excel while working at Gateway Computers. Since then, he has made it his life’s mission to help accounting professionals ditch the DILLY method (Do It Like Last Year) and unlock the true potential of Excel. With Excel University, he provides online training to help accountants slay their spreadsheets and achieve ultimate efficiency. So, if you want to be an Excel superhero like Jeff, grab a slice of pizza and start your Excel-ent journey today!

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Resources Mentioned In This Episode

  • WordPress
  • *ActiveCampaign
  • Zapier
  • Zoom
  • OpenLMS
  • Course Merchant
  • Airtable
  • Vimeo

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*Affiliate Disclosure: I’m a proud affiliate for some of the resources I mentioned. Meaning, if you click a link for a tool and make a purchase, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. My recommendations are based on deep experience with and knowledge of these companies and their products, and I recommend them because they are genuinely helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we may receive. Please don’t spend money on these products/services unless you believe they will help you achieve your goals. Read the full disclosure here:

About the Author Oscar Garcia

Oscar Garcia is a sought-after consultant, coach, and speaker specializing in online marketing and host of the highly rated podcast, "The OMG! Show,"

After pulling out his 401K and diving head first into muddy waters, he quickly built a half-million dollar business in only eight months. Over the past few years, he's dedicated himself to growing businesses through proven systems and sound strategies that produce conversion rates of 70%+ and ROI's of 200% or more. When he's not focused profitable paid traffic funnels, you can find him traveling the country or sipping on a nice refreshing mojito.

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