Transcript: Ep #077 Creating A Six-Figure Course in the Midst of a Global Crisis With Jonathan Lautermilch

[00:00:00] Oscar Garcia: Welcome to The OMG! Show, the podcast that helps course creators grow their business with profitable paid traffic funnels. My name is Oscar Garcia and it’s my mission to help you, the course creator, drive more traffic and convert more customers so you can have a thriving and sustainable business. In today’s episode, we’re gonna be taking a look at how you can use a course to pivot your business in stressful times, such as a pandemic and what you can do, so that that course helps launch your business to the next level.

[00:00:27] Now we don’t just want to sell courses, right? We actually want to build a sustainable business that fuels our freedom and legacy. In order to do that, we have none other than Jonathan Lautermilch, who has had years of experience in the fitness industry and over the years transition to helping businesses scale through his company Smart Shark.

[00:00:45] However, when the pandemic came about, a lot of businesses had to shut down, and a new opportunity came about in the form of a course. Now, this episode has tons of gold nuggets, but I think the ones that you’re gonna really walk away with are how to [00:01:00] structure your pricing, how to get a hundred percent of your customers to go through your actual course material, and how to build powerful connections without using paid traffic.

[00:01:09] Now, make sure to stay until the end of the podcast to discover how you can join a community, of course, creators that will give you attention, accountability, and access to the resources that will help you launch, run, and scale your course from anywhere. With that, let’s go ahead and get started!

[00:01:26] All right, Jonathan, thanks so much for being today on The OMG! Show. So I understand that you have tons of experience within the fitness world, fitness background, and it seems like, many during covid times, you had to pivot into a different direction, right?

[00:01:39] Or kind of create something new? So could you just tell me a little bit about that before we actually go into the

[00:01:43] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yeah, a absolutely. So what’s really funny about that Oscar is when the pandemic first hit, and it was really the oh shit moment for the fitness industry because all the gyms got shut down, people being laid off, and then obviously the fear of like coming back in that year and a half, two years transition.

[00:01:59] [00:02:00] I saw a lot of coaches, man have that, “oh-shit” moment when it came down to it. But what’s so funny about that moment is, dude, I’ll be completely transparent, that was the wave that took us to the next level – and it’s funny because a lot of people have come onto that wave since then, but I was already in business doing what I’m doing before that wave.

[00:02:22] Jonathan Lautermilch: So it was almost like we were doing the online before it got really cool. So,it was almost like the movie Forrest Gump, where like Forrest Gump and Lieutenant Dan are going out there in the ocean. Yeah. And they’re on their shrimp boat and they’re getting beat by the competition. The storm comes by and wipes out all the ships.

[00:02:40] Right. So that was kind of my experience with the pandemic, and we happen to be at the right place at the right time with the track record, and we’ve been able to help a lot of coaches from that point take that information and knowledge and what they do with the in-person and go, okay, here’s how we structure and lay this out for online so that we can still create that impact, but [00:03:00] get obviously all of the great benefits of being an online entrepreneur.

[00:03:04] Oscar Garcia: Wow, that’s amazing. So it’s, I love it because it’s like when Forest Gump or like you mentioned, the, the hurricane came in, wiped them all out. They’re the only boat that’s left. And it seems like you were there at the right time. You came in, and correct me if I’m wrong, but at the time it seems like you were doinglike kind of more like consulting as opposed to, “Hey, follow along, kind of follow my process,” type of type of training, right?

[00:03:23] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yeah, so we’re doing a lot of one-on-one consulting and helping them to like do online businesses at that point. And as that shift has really occurred and grown on wine, that’s where we really focus on the group approach. Cuz you know, all transparency, man. Like we hit a cap in our business and that’s where we had to create a whole other business called FitPro Collective, just to service them through that group model and then through us leading from the front.

[00:03:46] In doing these things ourselves, right? And as you go through any adventure, you’re gonna make mistakes and learn things and figure out what works and what doesn’t work. That’s given us a unique opportunity to come back and bring the winning plays to our people and go, “Hey, here’s how you run this.”

[00:03:59] [00:04:00] Because at the end of the day, people are people.

[00:04:02] So how was that transition going from, that one-to-one consulting to, the collective

[00:04:07] Jonathan Lautermilch: Oh man. Well, first of all is finding the right people. You know what I mean? Because when I first started out, it was literally just me and I was getting my wife to help me in the background, really be like my COO essentially. And as we’ve gone through that, I was able to make some great alignments with some people through a mastermind I was a part of.

[00:04:25] And that’s where I picked up a business partner by the name of Mark Zalmanoff who helped me come in. And then we’ve kind of crafted this mission and vision together, and what’s been so cool about that company is we have coaches in eight different countries in that program, and I had no aspiration to do that, nor would I think we would ever do that.

[00:04:45] I was like, well, let’s just create this so that we can help people at a lower price and more of them. But that thing has gotten its own legs and grown on its own, and we’re doing live events and all types of cool things with that company now. Yeah.

[00:04:58] Oscar Garcia: So it just a testament to show, like [00:05:00] when you surround yourself with the right people, it’s like skyrocketing your business.

[00:05:03] Jonathan Lautermilch: Alignment over assignment, man.

[00:05:05] Oscar Garcia: Oh, I love that.

[00:05:06] Jonathan Lautermilch: And that’s where we got really clear on our core values because the problem is there’s tons of people out there that’s part of the cool part of online, but that’s also the downside of online. So, getting clear on our core values, that helped us identify not only the right team members to help us grow, but also the right clients.

[00:05:24] To bring along that inner alignment of what we’re doing so that they can actually be successful for what we’re teaching.

[00:05:30] you mentioned the right clients, right? Because I know so many people, they, they have a fear of nicheing down because they, they have this idea where it’s like, I’m gonna lose out on all this potential. But it seems like more and more so the more you niche down and get painfully specific, that’s really kind of where the floodgates kind of open.

[00:05:45] Oscar Garcia: So can you walk me through that process a little bit

[00:05:46] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yeah. So, so the first thing to think about man is like the, the greatest benefit of going online is you have access to 2 billion people on Facebook alone. But the downside of that is you have access to 2 billion people. You know, so as you go [00:06:00] into a niche, quote unquote, you know, I, I remember back into Frank Kern days, it was like the riches are into niches and here’s your super sales letter and your VSL and the webinar, and the upsell and the downsell.

[00:06:11] And what I’ve realized over time, man, is when you get clear on who it is that you’re here to serve, AKA “your niche,” and you focus on going deep on helping and serving those people- get the results, solve a problem – that’s one thing is one, you’re gonna get all your fulfillment from that. Number two, you will attract other people that are outside of that, that see the success that you’re making.

[00:06:33] And then you get to decide, do you want to branch out and expand that? But most importantly, how are we supposed to break through the noise on social media if I’m trying to talk to 2 billion people at the same?

[00:06:44] time

[00:06:46] Oscar Garcia: Absolutely. The way I can explain it is like when you’re, when you take a road trip, right, and you put in the address on your GPS, like, you know, that’s where you want to go. But obviously along the way you’re gonna stop, you’re gonna stretch your legs. And it’s kind of the same thing where when you pick your market along the way, you’re gonna pick up other people, [00:07:00] that just see the success or that wanna be a part of it, because they’re like, oh, all these people seem to be having great results. I want to get in too.

[00:07:05] Jonathan Lautermilch: Right. Well, it’s also like dating too. It’s like what kind of woman do you like? Anyone?

[00:07:11] Oscar Garcia: No, man, it can’t be anyone.

[00:07:14] Jonathan Lautermilch: Well, you’re, you’re, you’re gonna be paying a lot of divorce fees and alimony and all those things versus getting clear on who is that woman or man that you’re looking for becasue the goal isn’t to do business with someone for a season is meant to be done for a reason.

[00:07:30] Oscar Garcia: You got all the, uh, were you, were you like, are you a freestyler on your free time? What’s going on?

[00:07:34] Jonathan Lautermilch: I, I, I wa I wasn’t, Hey, hey, hey, I’m a, I’m a by the way, I’m a white boy if y’all are just listening to this, but I used, I used to kick a few beats back in college, know what I

[00:07:43] Oscar Garcia: mean?

[00:07:43] I, I could see I coulds. Got it. I love it. So talk to me about your specific niche. Like who does the FitPro Collective, go after? Who’s your niche market,

[00:07:52] So with FitPro Collective, that company’s focused on helping Fitpros get what they’re worth in every single area of their life, right? So, so yes, [00:08:00] business is one component of that, but we also have to take into context of like, “what do you want your life to look like”, right? It’s not just building a business that you work for, the business.

[00:08:10] Jonathan Lautermilch: It’s what’s that business? What’s that lifestyle creating for you? Which, what I have come to find that I attract because these are important to me, is freedom and legacy. We want to have freedom to do what we want, when we want, with who we want. And for a lot of coaches that I’ve ran into from being in that industry for so long is you get stuck doing that “hour by hour” and you were at the whims of the people of when do they want to come in and see you versus building something that’s sustainable so that you can actually build a life.

[00:08:39] Alongside of that and get paid what you’re worth in the process. So it’s typically going to be the solopreneur fitness coach. We’ve got coaches from all the way brand new that are truly betting on themselves, like Oscar, I’m talking about. They just got certified, and they to be an entrepreneur. I’m like, well, hot damn.

[00:08:57] Like you’re, you’re really starting at the [00:09:00] beginning to all the way to coaches that have just gotten burned and frustrated with all the online gurus, with the “make six figures in six weeks” and do this bull crap that isn’t really giving them sustainable business habits, mindsets, and principles to have them last the test of time.

[00:09:18] Oscar Garcia: Hmm. How do you help them focus, right? Because I think like when you ask a lot of people, oh, like I want freedom of time, freedom of legacy, kind of a thing, right? How do you help them really kind of identify what it is that they’re looking for? Like what is their, their freedom?

[00:09:29] What is their version of legacy?

[00:09:31] Jonathan Lautermilch: One question, “What do you want?”

[00:09:34] Oscar Garcia: Hmm

[00:09:34] It

[00:09:34] Jonathan Lautermilch: always starts off with something super fluffy and vague, much less like a fitness client of, “Hey, what’s your fitness goal?” I want to feel better. Well, of course I wanna lose weight, of course, but what specifically do you want? And more importantly, Why do you want it?

[00:09:49] Because a lot of times we set up goals in life based on what society tells us, what our parents tell us, what the influencers tell us, versus actually taking a [00:10:00] deep look in the mirror and going, what is actually important to me if I disregard everyone else’s opinion of what they think I should want in my life.

[00:10:10] When you get clarity to that low, that foundational level, you can now build a plan that’ll actually get you to reach that thing versus, I’ve made this mistake, I’ve made business plans, and they were super intelligent and articulate and smart, and had all theplan A, plan B, plan C, but I wasn’t clear on the real thing that I wanted.

[00:10:30] So that as I went down that road when things got tough and roadblocks happened, , then it was easy to lean out of that. But when you build something based on what you truly want, that you are willing to live and die for, you’re willing to go through the fight to make it happen.

[00:10:45] Oscar Garcia: Man, I’m ready to run through a wall. Let’s go . so in terms of like a more practical approach, for the business owners, right? You’re kind of going through that, that breakdown to get to like those deeper roots. Are you mimicking that with, with your market in terms of like [00:11:00] bringing on these fitness professionals into your business?

[00:11:02] Is

[00:11:02] Jonathan Lautermilch: How you do one thing is how you do everything

[00:11:04] Oscar Garcia: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:11:05] Jonathan Lautermilch: are people at the end of the day. So once again, with like weight loss, when someone would come off vague with me, I’ll go, cool. So is it a look or a feeling that you’re going for?

[00:11:15] Right? And they’re like, well, I wanna look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club.

[00:11:19] I’m

[00:11:19] Oscar Garcia: They always say, Brad Pitt, right?

[00:11:20] Jonathan Lautermilch: Hell yeah, man. That that dude was lean and mean, like man, if you were a guy, if you’re a guy, you know you got man crush on him back fight club ever first hand up. Right? So once again, we have to walk people through cuz people don’t know what they want. They also have never given themselves permission to truly ask themselves those questions.

[00:11:39] Cause they don’t feel like they’re worth it. So a great coach and a great consultant is gonna be able to help lead them down that path to the aha moment. And as you get them to open up and they go, you know what I really want? I wanna lose 30 pounds because my wife just left me, took half my shit – and now I got to rebuild my whole self-worth [00:12:00] and start all over again, and I feel like I’m worthless and I have no value as a man.

[00:12:06] When you can get that type of response from who you’re talking to now I can build a plan. Now I can lead you there, versus if you just told me, I just want to get some muscles and stuff.

[00:12:17] Oscar Garcia: Mm. So, again we have a wide audience here on the show. For those that are just starting out, what advice would you give ’em in terms of how to find out that deep level information? Cause I know a lot of people are hesitant on talking to their ideal customers or surveying them or whatever, but how did you approach that to, to

[00:12:33] Jonathan Lautermilch: Well, so for example, like we started off in fitness and we have branched far outside of that through SmartShark over the last several years. Cause once again, like we’ve seen a lot of commonalities. But the reason I started with fitness is because I know that tribe, because I am that tribe. I spent over 10 years in the big box industry, from personal trainer to fitness manager to general manager to regional manager, so on and so forth.

[00:12:57] So I understand that [00:13:00] language. I understand what they want, I understand what they are truly struggling with, and I picked that niche not because of the riches in there, but because I know how to truly serve those people because they are my people.

[00:13:13] Oscar Garcia: So rather than not necessarily exploitation kind of angle, you came at it from a, let’s serve this market because I know this market.

[00:13:20] Jonathan Lautermilch: I speak the language. So if I go to a personal trainer and go, “Hey, how many floor pulls did you have to do when you first started?” They understand what that word means, but if I go to someone who’s like in a plumber, for example, they’re not gonna understand that because that’s a different world. So even if you’ve had another career and you’re wanting to transition into something, find a way to serve the people from the career you’re already been in because you are part of the tribe.

[00:13:45] And people “know, like, and trust” those from the tribe.

[00:13:47] Oscar Garcia: Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm.

[00:13:49] Jonathan Lautermilch: Where you see a lot of these people that weren’t from fitness going, “Oh, I pick fitness because it’s a, you know, $52 billion a year industry every single year,” versus, “No, I pick fitness because I am [00:14:00] fitness, and I understand those are my people. I’m just finding ways to help serve them in a higher level.” And you can do that in any industry, but you have to come from within the tribe.

[00:14:08] Oscar Garcia: Mm. So now talk to me a little bit about, more about the, the FitPro collection. Cause I’m assuming this is kind of more your course structure, right? Where fitness professionals can kind of come in and follow along to your methods. Right? Okay. Talk to me more about like the structure of the course.

[00:14:21] Like is it modules, is it videos? Like what, what’s the, what’s the, what’s the system you’re, or the transformation you’re providing them?

[00:14:26] Jonathan Lautermilch: Right. So we’ve, so we’ve got three levels to our program and it, it’s really a mastermind slash network, but we have different levels. We put people based on where they need to start. So we’ve got our first level that we call is Foundations, and that’s exactly what it is. It’s building the foundations for being a successful fitness professional business owner.

[00:14:44] Now we have a course curriculum that they go through. We’ve got four big blocks. Your first block’s gonna be mindset. The reason we start with mindset. Is, I can give you all the tools, tactic strategies in the world, but if you don’t have the right mentality and understanding behind this, [00:15:00] it’s like giving a baby a broad sword.

[00:15:02] You’re gonna go out there and you’re gonna hurt somebody with

[00:15:05] Oscar Garcia: You’re gonna hurt

[00:15:05] Jonathan Lautermilch: most. Yeah, most likely. You’re gonna cut your own arm off, come back and go, my arm fell off. I’m like, damn it. I told you not to do that. It’s not how you hold the sword. So, so we start with mindset to instill the most important principles of where all success is based on, and these are video based.

[00:15:21] And one of the coolest parts that I’m, I have such an honor to be able to say, my wife is the number two learning and development leader in the world, and she is the one that creates these trainings for large organizations. That is basically making sure that the employees that they are training are actually absorbing the information and then executing on that information on a large scale through video-based training.

[00:15:43] So she has been the mastermind behind this on how we format our trainings in a way that we are able to get our people, not just to watch videos and check boxes, but to watch videos and take action on there.

[00:15:55] Oscar Garcia: Mm.

[00:15:56] Jonathan Lautermilch: So as they start on the mindset, they’re not even allowed to [00:16:00] get access to anything else until they do that part.

[00:16:03] Oscar Garcia: Yeah.

[00:16:05] Jonathan Lautermilch: And there’s some

[00:16:05] Oscar Garcia: have, they have, they have to unlock it as they go through the

[00:16:08] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yes, and, and we also have calls strategically placed at the end of that section with myself from one of the other coaches to make sure that they have extracted the right lesson from this and not their version of the lesson. Right? So then we unlock them to our systems part, which is, here’s all your business systems that you need, right?

[00:16:28] Oscar Garcia: Mm,

[00:16:28] Jonathan Lautermilch: So on and so forth. Section three is gonna be growth. That’s our marketing region, sales, Facebook group funnels, all the client acquisition activities. Section four is going to be retention cuz they need to keep people at the end of the day. And number four, we start planting the seeds on showing them how to scale.

[00:16:45] To move to the next level. And that’s our first level, right? And this is really where we start coaches that are newer, right? That need to learn these foundational things, which is really a self-driven program. Because if you can’t lead yourself, you’re never [00:17:00] gonna be able to lead other people.

[00:17:01] Oscar Garcia: Gotcha, gotcha. So it seems like there, there’s definitely a method to the madness with this level one foundations program, right? And it seems like, and I, I like the fact that you’re like, you have to do the mindset before we can figure out the business operations. And before you do that, Like, before you can get to the marketing, you gotta put in the business operations, and then before you can do like the scaling, you gotta do the marketing first.

[00:17:20] Right. So how did that come about? Did you launch like a beta program and figure out that people were having trouble or was this just, you know, out, out of your experience as a, as a, essentially a business owner for, for so many years?

[00:17:31] Jonathan Lautermilch: yeah, we started off with me and, and combined experience and Mark Zalmanoff our experience. But as we’ve launched things, there’s definitely things we’ve had to tweak and change along the way, right? Because it’s like you don’t know until you put it into the hands of your market how it’s gonna do.

[00:17:47] So prime example, in the, growth part, I had a lot of stuff on funnels, right? Because that’s a big thing that I do over at SmartShark. Well, what I found out for the level one people is they were not ready to start [00:18:00] learning all the complexities of making your own funnel and doing these things.

[00:18:04] And I watched a bunch of them just like hit a brick wall. and that kept them from doing the things necessary to move forward and grow. So I ultimately ended up taking that out and putting that into the level two where they have already matured and they are ready for that. So a lot of this is just studying the behavior of your people and watching where they get stuck, where they’re excelling and tweaking along the way.

[00:18:31] Oscar Garcia: So that’s, that’s level one. Where do the other two kind of, uh, phases for,

[00:18:35] Jonathan Lautermilch: so the next, so the next level is like, okay, I’ve, I’ve got these things down, I’m building my business, but I need more access to people that are in the know. And most importantly, I really understand the principle of we become the sum of the five people we spend the most time with. So on our level two, we do group coaching calls where everyone is assigned to a coaching pod.

[00:18:56] I’m just one of the coaches there, where then you are paired not [00:19:00] only with the right coach, that’s the right fit for you, but also the right other coaches in that program that are going through it as well. So that if you’re wanting to grow online, you’re in an online pod. If you’re a brick and mortar gym owner, you have different problems and different challenges and different goals.

[00:19:15] You’re gonna be putting a brick and mortar. Right. So once again, as we surround you with the right people, it really becomes a hive mind where, sometimes the answer comes from the coach, sometimes the answer comes from, Jerry Hamley in West Virginia, who’s crushing in his strength and conditioning gym.

[00:19:33] You know what I mean? And the more that we can surround you with the right people, with the right information, that’s how we create business transformations.

[00:19:41] Oscar Garcia: Wow. I love it. And then what’s, what’s level three? What’s beyond that

[00:19:44] Jonathan Lautermilch: Level threes our elite. You get one-on-one. So this is where it’s like, Hey, I want you hands-on with me and this is where you get a board of advisors between me and our other two coaches where we actually work with you hands-on within your business, and then once again, we are [00:20:00] your board of advisors and you get direct access to not only us, but all of our tools and resources in our network at that level.

[00:20:07] And this is typically the coaches that are at the CEO level, but they’re not sure how to take it to that next step.

[00:20:13] Oscar Garcia: Is there any sort of like revenue share at that level, or is it, strictly kind of consulting?

[00:20:18] Jonathan Lautermilch: Uh, what do you mean revenue share? Oh, you

[00:20:20] mean,

[00:20:20] Oscar Garcia: since you’re, yes. Since you’re the board of directors, are you kind of

[00:20:23] Jonathan Lautermilch: Oh no. Nah, man. They just, they just pay for access to us and this, and I’m a firm believer of your money is your money, and my money is my money.

[00:20:32] Oscar Garcia: Got it. Okay. So if I’m understanding you correctly, right, level one, I’m, fresh, right? You know, fresh meat, essentially, I’m gonna go through these four phases to kind of really get my business going. level two, I got my business going, but maybe I need some help. I need a community just because, I’m wearing too many hats and I just want feedback from others.

[00:20:48] And then finally, once I get my business going and I really want to take it up to like the highest level, I get to that level three where I get the one-on-one.

[00:20:56] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yep. And here’s the part. I don’t restrict information.

[00:20:59] Oscar Garcia: [00:21:00] Mm.

[00:21:00] Jonathan Lautermilch: What you’re getting is access. So I don’t do the whole, like, well, you don’t get that training unless you pay this. Now, on the other hand though, if you’re brand new and you’re like, Hey, I wanna, I wanna write a book, it’s like, Hey, have you posted on social yet? no. I’m like, well, you shouldn’t be freaking writing a book yet. Right? I’ll, I’ll give it to you, but I’m just telling you, you’re not ready for that step yet.

[00:21:21] Oscar Garcia: Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . That’s interesting. So, um, what is there, is there like a different price point for each? Is it like, how, how, how does the pricing work for the

[00:21:29] Jonathan Lautermilch: Well, the, the higher you go, the more you gotta pay. Right? And, and really what that does is it justifies our time and the, and the level of access that you get to the right people and the right resources with that. But in terms of the information, I give that freely out there because we’re truly on a mission to help fit pros get what they’re worth in every area of their life.

[00:21:48] And it’s the same core value that I have with Smart Shark and what we do. Multiple industries with business owners, is we give the information away and for people that want or need to help moving forward, then yes, we have [00:22:00] different levels of that based on how much you would want or need is what you pay for that.

[00:22:04] Oscar Garcia: Mm. Got it. So for, for the individual levels that you offer for each one, are you offering like a, one time pay, is there payment options attached to that as well? How, how does, how does that

[00:22:16] Jonathan Lautermilch: They, they can pay it in full or they can do payments, but all of our programs are a 12 month commitment.

[00:22:21] Oscar Garcia: Mm. Okay. Gotcha. I like that. I like the fact that they have to buy into it for the, uh, for the 12 months and to get that commitment.

[00:22:29] Jonathan Lautermilch: well, we care about the result and once again, I don’t wanna do business with you for a season. I wanna do business with you for a reason, which for us is we want to do lifetime business with you. Right.

[00:22:39] Oscar Garcia: Yeah, yeah. I love it. I love . And that’s true cuz most people think like they wanna do the business for a season. Let me just get that quick

[00:22:46] Jonathan Lautermilch: dollar.

[00:22:47] Dude, I,

[00:22:47] Oscar Garcia: sometimes it’s better to say no to get the one that’s gonna last you

[00:22:51] Jonathan Lautermilch: Well, I’d rather not have those people. And this is where the opportunists come in, the shiny object chasers and the side hustlers. And [00:23:00] those people do not have the grit to see something through, to build something of actual value. So like, yeah, if you’re afraid of commitment and this isn’t something that’s your main focus, then we’re not the people for you.

[00:23:11] Oscar Garcia: Mm-hmm. So now let’s talk about the, the actual like acquisition of it. Like how, how do you position your course? do you guys have a lead magnet? Does that lead magnet flow into, you know, one of your entry level programs? How, how does that, how does that function?

[00:23:23] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yeah. Well, we have a Facebook group as, as, as an example of that, where once again, a lot of the information that’s our paid information, we just give it away. Right? And what we have found is, and there’s a crazy principle, you, you can put your tin foil hat on, call me nuts for doing this. But I believe if you actually help people by helping them, this weird thing happens where money gets exchanged in the process,

[00:23:48] Oscar Garcia: Nah. Jonathan, you’re crazy,

[00:23:49] Jonathan Lautermilch: It’s insane to that to do business that way, right? So we go get in service and we find different ways to do that. Maybe it’s a free training that I did and I’d [00:24:00] go, Hey, here you go, who’s interested? for example, we just got done doing a business bootcamp this week where we had about 30 coaches sign up for it, where we literally walk through, here are the steps.

[00:24:11] To building a real six figure business in 2023, despite the recession over the next 12 months. Right? And we, and then at the end of that, we did a hands-on workshop where we went around the room and we answered questions and were transparent with giving them the information. And through this strategy, the people that once again won or need the help moving forward, it’s a very easy conversation to have.

[00:24:35] Oscar Garcia: Mm . And these are coming from your Facebook group, correct? Right. Yeah. So how do we, how, how are you getting people into the Facebook group?

[00:24:42] Jonathan Lautermilch: organic Marketing and people sharing. And then, you know, once again, we under, like, that’s one of my specialities is growing and monetizing Facebook groups. and once again, running ads as an example of that. And then once you hit a certain level with your group volume and engagement, it really [00:25:00] starts to grab and take legs on.

[00:25:02] Okay. Now I know many people are gonna struggle, with a term of like, how much is too much in terms of giving stuff away? And it seems like for you all, you’re kind of, you’re giving a, a away some really amazing content that people are like, you know what? I wanna be part of this program.

[00:25:15] Oscar Garcia: So how do you make that justification between, you know what, maybe we should keep this in the program, maybe we should give it away. Give it all away. How, how do you determine that for yourselves?

[00:25:22] Jonathan Lautermilch: so, so for us, when I look at giving away information, and once again this is from mistakes I’ve made, I’ve given away all of it. And what I’ve found is, is when you give too much information, it overwhelms them and they don’t take action on anything like most people analysis paralysis.

[00:25:39] Oscar Garcia: Mm-hmm.

[00:25:40] Jonathan Lautermilch: But if I can give out, maybe one of the most impactful trainings or impactful information that can go solve one problem if you go do this one thing, right? I know that if I can create that aha moment for someone and they go, wow, I applied that thing that Jonathan shared, and now my engagement is doubled within a week or [00:26:00] two, once again, very easy conversation to talk about, well, why don’t you come join us because we’re gonna leave your marketplace thinking is if I got this for free. God bless it. What do I get if I pay for it?

[00:26:12] . So essentially it’s don’t be afraid to give away your big stuff, but just make sure it’s at a consumable kind of chunk for them to, to, to be able to eat it.

[00:26:19] Jonathan Lautermilch: Well the average reading level is like fifth or sixth grader.

[00:26:22] Oscar Garcia: even less and touching spans. Three seconds.

[00:26:25] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yeah. So it’s like I gotta keep it simple and to the point and Yeah. And there’s some things that you probably don’t want to, go ahead. Give it away. So for example, we know how to create bestselling author, right. So that’s not something that I’m gonna go, Hey, here’s how we do this.

[00:26:39] Now you come in and then we’re going to help you get there. But I’m not gonna necessarily give you that information after I paid 50, 60 grand in masterminds. Learning how that game works.

[00:26:51] so when you’re creating this content, is part of the strategy to send them to a lead magnet or, is it just one lead magnet? Do you have multiple lead magnets and is it, is the goal [00:27:00] Okay. And is the goal to send them to the level one first, or does, do you have some kind of process in place where you determine whether they’re gonna self-select either level one, level two, or level three?

[00:27:09] Jonathan Lautermilch: so we qualify everyone because once again, we’re looking for a specific type of person that aligns with our core values. So we have a screening process in place where we have an application they fill out. I’ve had thousands of conversations. I can read one of those. I can go. Good, good, good. Oh, there’s a red flag.

[00:27:29] And from there we’ll have a conversation with them. And this is part of our vetting process. And as we have that conversation, if they align, if it’s a good fit, then cool. We have a next step where we map out here’s what this would look like for you being a part of our community. If it’s not a good fit, hey, it’s not like we go, Hey, you’re a terrible fit.

[00:27:48] Go. Um, we’ll get them hooked up with the right resource for them. That’s typically another free resource. We just might not necessarily invite you to come join after that.

[00:27:57] Oscar Garcia: Gotcha. Gotcha. So [00:28:00] multiple lead manages, and then at some point in your process, you’re inviting them to fill out an application to then get on a call. is that invitation for the application, is that part of your email, system? Is it like as soon as they opt in, is it right then and there on

[00:28:12] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yeah, we,

[00:28:12] Oscar Garcia: upsell thank you page?

[00:28:13] How does that process

[00:28:14] Jonathan Lautermilch: yeah. We’ve got, uh, based on the, the lead magnet that we’re using, like we have applications that pop up in there through email, text, or a redirect page. Um, once again, it’s based on how they’re coming in, on how we choose to have that conversation. some people come to us for marketing, some people come to us for sales, some it’s mindset, some it’s scaling.

[00:28:33] So once again, it’s making sure that that’s in alignment with the conversation of how come in. And then once again, the follow up is based around that to set up that conversation with them.

[00:28:44] Oscar Garcia: Wow. And then when you’re actually on the conversation, I know, you know, many, many people are hesitant to do calls because they don’t want to come off as like high pressure, salesman or whatever. Right. So what kind of advice would you have for someone who, who wants to do calls in order to, sell something for their business?

[00:28:58] Like a course or some kind of like high [00:29:00] level mastermind

[00:29:00] Jonathan Lautermilch: Well, it really comes from having a bunch of conversations and starting to learn, right? Hey, when they say this, they actually mean that. or when they do this, it means this. Right? And as you have that conversation, the best way to overcome an objection is before it comes up. Right? So that’s part of my, our, once again, one of our core values is to help people by actually helping them first.

[00:29:24] So part of that process allows us to test several of our core values, and based on their behaviors, what they do and what they say gives us all the information that we need to know to move them either into the program or out of the.

[00:29:37] Oscar Garcia: Hmm. So it’s pretty much the application acts, like you said, it’s a selection tool, a filtering tool, and you already have all the information that you have, pretty much that you need on the call to make sure that they’re placed in the right offer, or you can, you can position the right offer for them.

[00:29:50] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yeah, because like for ex, for example, like part of this is finding the right level for them. we don’t just go and pitch like, Hey, I’m gonna pitch all three levels. Which one do you want to join? [00:30:00] Because if I’ve got a brand new trainer, for example, that just got certified and just becoming a business owner, I’m not gonna let ’em into my high level CEO level, cuz the other CEO’s gonna be like, what the hell is this jackass doing in here?

[00:30:13] So part of this is protecting the integrity of the group, cuz that’s a whole value piece on its own and we are the gatekeepers to that. And I take that shit seriously.

[00:30:23] Oscar Garcia: It’s very true because I know from personal experience, like when you’re in a room, let’s say individuals who make you know millions of dollars a year, the problems there are very different than someone who’s just starting out and the level of conversation, the quality of conversation, all that kind of

[00:30:37] Jonathan Lautermilch: And, and how much of a jerk would I feel if I’m telling people I have this elite mastermind and network and it’s a bunch of like low level ass people in there that don’t know their ass from their elbow.

[00:30:50] Oscar Garcia: So I like how you positioned it as far as like you’re protecting the integrity of your group. You know you’re serving them.

[00:30:56] Jonathan Lautermilch: right. And the more quality we get in the group, [00:31:00] the more that takes care of itself. And that’s where it’s like, Hey, we’ve got people joining just because they know the quality of people in our group. And those are the people where it’s like, Hey, I know your program’s this. I wanna join.

[00:31:12] Cool, let’s grab a quick call. And I’m just making sure that you truly understand what you’re getting into and everything. Sounds good. Cool. Here’s payment link. See you on the.

[00:31:19] Oscar Garcia: Yeah. Do you have someone on the top of your head that you can pull out as far as like the kind of results they’ve, they’ve had through your course

[00:31:27] I’ll give you an example. There’s a guy named Brad Willie. He literally, like, so we have this thing called Ring the Bell. It’s part of our culture, right? So we have them celebrate their wins because part of being a business owner is you got no one you can actually talk to, cuz your old friends, they, they’re not business owners, they don’t care or understand.

[00:31:43] Jonathan Lautermilch: It must be nice. I’m like, shut up, Billy. So to be able to give them an environment where they can share those wins is super important so that we can cement that and build momentum. But anyway, Brad Willie just shared a post, how you know, he signed up with us probably two, three years ago, and he had this [00:32:00] vision of how he wanted to build his business to such a level, but not only just build the revenue, but the automation of that so that he could take his family on a RV trip for 12 months.

[00:32:11] He officially hit the mark where he’s doing well over multiple six figures and he has his rv, took a picture of him, his wife, and Kim was like, guys, I’m so excited. I was like, dude, I’m so fucking proud of you, dude.

[00:32:21] Oscar Garcia: Oh man. That’s awesome. Clap it up.

[00:32:23] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yeah, right. Yeah, man. Like I, he, he told me when he signed up, that’s what he wanted. It’s taken a couple years to get there, but he’s got a multiple six figure online business that’s fully automated to where he’s traveling all this year in an RV life.

[00:32:38] Oscar Garcia: Wow. So how do you ensure, cause I know early in the conversation you mentioned that you’re hyperfocused on getting results. So how, is the offer structured or position where you’re making sure that they’re getting results? Is there?

[00:32:50] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yeah, so, so for example, full transparent, our level one is $3,000 a year, right? So you break that up, that’s 250 bucks a month. And once again, this is [00:33:00] designed for that brand new person, right? With what we teach them, we showed them how to at least charge $300 a month for one-on-one coaching online. You get a cut, what?

[00:33:11] Two sales? Three, one. If you can keep ’em and you just paid for your program. So it’s all about, Hey, you give me $1, I’ll make you three. And we have that structured at every level, so on and so forth. Moving up, because I know if I can get you to do that, you’re not going anywhere.

[00:33:29] Oscar Garcia: So it seems like you’re, you’re, and this is kind of what you, what we talked about earlier, where you’re kind of like, you can only get access. I guess phase two, after you’re done Phase one, right. You’re kind of creating a positive feedback loop for them to complete the training.

[00:33:42] Jonathan Lautermilch: Right to do the work versus, Hey, buy my course. And you know, and I

[00:33:47] Oscar Garcia: hang out.

[00:33:48] Jonathan Lautermilch: I hope you go through it. know, and then didn’t you have to, the whole bees nest to worry about when you reach out now you get a bunch of cancellations. Cuz you had people who haven’t been doing the work for six months and they see a bill coming [00:34:00] out just like a gym membership.

[00:34:01] Right. But if we can stay ahead of that and make sure that they’re taking those steps moving forward, that’s how we make sure people stick with us, is by watching them move forward and monitoring those behaviors and steps.

[00:34:13] Oscar Garcia: What percentage would you say of like the people that sign up for, for level one actually complete through

[00:34:19] Jonathan Lautermilch: Dude. A hundred. A hundred percent.

[00:34:21] Oscar Garcia: a hundred percent success. Wow. Wow.

[00:34:24] Jonathan Lautermilch: because the people that don’t go through it, I remove them.

[00:34:27] Oscar Garcia: Okay. There you go. And how often does that happen?

[00:34:30] Jonathan Lautermilch: well, we just went through a cleanse this year where I removed about 30, 40 people.

[00:34:35] Oscar Garcia: Mm,

[00:34:35] Jonathan Lautermilch: and I told him, I was like, we can’t build anything with you guys, so we’re gonna remove you from the program.

[00:34:40] God bless you. hope you find something that’s working for you moving forward. And that’s, once again, that’s part of the vetting process so that we don’t have to go through that. But I’d rather have the right people that are doing the work and moving forward because we’re gonna be able to truly grow something with that versus a bunch of people who are just sitting there not [00:35:00] doing anything.

[00:35:02] Oscar Garcia: So, let me backtrack real quick because I know you mentioned that on the call, that’s kind of where, where you’re deciding on which offer you’re gonna, you’re gonna present them with, but then there’s that other individual who just isn’t ready at that time. Do they get added to your list and do, do you continue to send them?

[00:35:17] Jonathan Lautermilch: Oh, of course. I follow up today until they tell to go away. Right, but, but, but, hey, but that, but that’s part of my mission, right? I’m on a mission to help ’em get what they’re worth. Part of that process is following up and solving problems. And sometimes no just means not right now. Like for example, we just had a member reach out to me last month going, Hey, I’m ready to sign up.

[00:35:39] She’s been following me for two years. I even joked with her when she signed up. I’m like, man, it took you long enough. Right? But, but the whole point is she wasn’t ready before, but she’s ready now. And because I show up, I’m consistent and we keep growing year over year, we reached that tipping point to where she’s like, okay, I [00:36:00] gotta jump in so that I, I don’t have to have two more years of not getting what I’m worth.

[00:36:04] I’m ready to do it now.

[00:36:05] Oscar Garcia: Yeah. The opportunity cost was too high for her to not, to not jump in.

[00:36:09] Jonathan Lautermilch: You wanna spend another year exactly where you’re at. That’s the thing you should be afraid of.

[00:36:15] Oscar Garcia: so talk to me about your, your follow up systems. Like is it only email? I know you mentioned paid traffic. Are you doing any retargeting ads? Like what, what is, what is your, your follow through

[00:36:23] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yeah, we got, we got some retargeting with some branding stuff. But you know, it’s mainly the email. We’ve got some text automation, but once again, we’ve got boots to the ground, like we’ve got actual, real people reaching out, building rapport, finding ways to add value, helping them by helping them first.

[00:36:40] And as we create that shift of the values higher than the threat of the, of like, oh, you guys aren’t who you say you. Right. Eventually we end up winning the hearts and minds of men and women throughout that process. Right now, it’s not a super slick like, Hey, in three days I’m gonna turn this into this.

[00:36:58] But that long-term process [00:37:00] builds this massive snowball effect to where we’ve got people coming in all the time because we’ve been doing this for years.

[00:37:06] Oscar Garcia: Mm. So it doesn’t seem like, uh, you can correct me if I’m wrong here, but it doesn’t seem like you have a large paid traffic strategy. Like you, like it’s, it’s mostly connecting with individuals and like just over-delivering on the value and then getting them to the point where they’re filling out an application to then go through the entire process.

[00:37:21] Jonathan Lautermilch: 90% of our strategies all organic and just literally going out there, being in service to people and, and getting our message out there and then attracting those that are in alignment with that.

[00:37:32] Oscar Garcia: Hmm. So when it comes to like the organic traffic, right? I know you mentioned like connecting with others. Does that include any kind of content creation? Like, are you guys heavy on creating content as far as like for Instagram, YouTube, or is it mostly reaching out through like a message and kind of just having a conversation that way?

[00:37:47] What does that look

[00:37:47] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yeah, so we we’re solely on Facebook. Now we’ve branched out and started building Instagram and things like that. But for example, we have a podcast, right, which does fairly well called Real Talk with Real Fit Pros. Um, me and my business [00:38:00] partner are both best selling authors. That doesn’t hurt. We both speak on stages.

[00:38:04] That doesn’t hurt, right? But mainly the main mechanism has been through doing those types of power move. We’ve been able to attract a lot of people organically on Facebook, whether it’s through personally, to one of us or through our Facebook group, and then we just start building that Know, Like, and Trust, which I call building the

[00:38:22] bond with that process.

[00:38:24] Oscar Garcia: Okay. I love that. So now let’s transition, uh, and talk a little bit about your team, cuz it sounds like you might have a couple people in place to, to help you kind of facilitate this. So are you the one taking all the calls? Do you have a team taking all the calls? Like do you have a front end and a back end?

[00:38:37] How, how’s it broken down?

[00:38:38] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yeah, so, so I’ve got certain roles and responsibilities that, you know, mark takes care of, which he’s really great at the, the marketing side of things. And he’s starting to pick up more on the sales side. And, you know, I started off filling this up things solely by myself, by like going out there and hustling and getting people in there.

[00:38:55] But as I’ve had to grow and scale, and that’s obviously not gonna work long term. [00:39:00] So then that’s where we started putting in, you know, for example, we have a sales representative. Um, we’ve got an executive assistant that helps us with all of our content and all of our backend things and making sure our systems and automations are working right.

[00:39:12] We’ve got VAs that go out there to help spread the good word for what we do that we call brand ambassadors. Um, we’ve got coaches within the program that have become leaders that we call a FitPro collective example. where they’re going out there and sharing the message by their success and attracting people that way.

[00:39:31] Oscar Garcia: Hmm. So it seems like you have like several people in different roles, all aligned with the same idea, the same goal of, just helping people live that life of freedom and legacy, with their business. Right.

[00:39:41] Jonathan Lautermilch: Exactly. And, and my current role right now is operations and backend stuff, which

[00:39:46] Oscar Garcia: is, is your wife still helping out, or,

[00:39:48] Jonathan Lautermilch: Not, not, not she. So she, so she’s taken fully over smart shark with CEO

[00:39:53] Oscar Garcia: Got it. Oh, perfect. Okay.

[00:39:55] Jonathan Lautermilch: But I took over that position because, my job as the, as the guy that’s [00:40:00] really putting all the pieces together with this, is I gotta play whatever position I need to play.

[00:40:03] So I’m playing that position right now on top of things. But once again, we’re in the process of scaling that out as well.

[00:40:10] Oscar Garcia: Got it. Got it. Okay. And as far as the, the tech that you use to have this entire thing run well, what’s your tech stack look like? Cause I know a lot of people get questions in terms of like, Kajabi, Thinkific, or whatever,

[00:40:22] Jonathan Lautermilch: so, so we we’re WordPress Whis, but once again, I have a company that literally like builds websites and phones and membership sites, so I have access to those types of people. So I, I totally understand if you’re like a solo person and like, man, I don’t know, WordPress, and you’re attracted to a Cajabi type platform, the reason I like WordPress is that you’re not having to pay 1500 bucks a year to rent the land.

[00:40:47] Not even own it, but. So my main thing is, is I want to own the land that I am on so that I do not have that ripped from me at some point in time. So once [00:41:00] again, you figure out what makes sense for you in terms of do I wanna pay more and have more ease of use. With this, or do I wanna find someone that can understand the integrator part with like, say WordPress and you be the, the quote unquote visionary with them on the content and have someone else lay that stuff out for you?

[00:41:20] I think WordPress for some reason gets a bad rap, but I’ve used plenty of other platforms and I believe, I believe you use LearnDash if I read correctly. and it seems like that’s super easy and user intuitive enough to use. but I like the approach and I believe it where, you know, you’re, you’re building on your own platform on your own terms as opposed to on rented land, which they can change up their terms of service at any given time.

[00:41:41] Oscar Garcia: And then, you know, you’re, you’re out there, you know, stranded.

[00:41:44] Jonathan Lautermilch: right. Or you cancel and it’s like gone.

[00:41:47] Oscar Garcia: So aside from WordPress at and Learn Dash, what’s your CRM look like? You know, are you using anything else that we should be knowing?

[00:41:53] Jonathan Lautermilch: Yeah, so with Smart Shark we have a CRM that we call the Smartest CRM, through our smart marketing program. it is [00:42:00] powered by Go High Level and you know what we utilize with go high level with that is it go high level, really does everything. Like there’s a reason everyone’s going go high level, go high level cuz it does your emails, your automations, your reputation management, your pipeline manage.

[00:42:17] Frigging everything. So that thing’s the skeleton to a lot of what we do. Um, we do have some other things that we use like Thrive Cart for example, which is great for that. Playing that middle man with, if you have affiliate type programs for how you want to sell this, where they’ll help you automate and organize like who’s getting paid out for what and what commission level.

[00:42:38] So that’s something else that we use to.

[00:42:40] Oscar Garcia: Yeah. And then not to mention,check out conversion rate optimization, cuz that’s a big, that’s a big process in the funnel too,

[00:42:46] Jonathan Lautermilch: Oh yeah, man. First I, I have smarter people than me that focus on that

[00:42:52] Oscar Garcia: yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it’s, uh, it’s one of my biggest things cuz like, uh, I used to, when I used to run an agency for building out funnels, it’s like, people always forget [00:43:00] about the checkout page, but it’s like, you know, you’re using, you’re, you’re sending people straight to PayPal. People has like a 5% conversion rate, whereas, We try to get up to like 50, 60, 70%, and you know that, that comes down to your checkout page.

[00:43:11] So,

[00:43:12] Jonathan Lautermilch: Right. Do, do you? Yeah, absolutely.

[00:43:16] Oscar Garcia: So, um, as far as your, your community aspect, the, the group coaching, is that part of like a Facebook group as well, or is there some kind of private area, like a Slack channel, or is that something else?

[00:43:25] Jonathan Lautermilch: yeah, we just have a Facebook group. Now it is important as you do this to be getting their data so that if something were to happen, cuz there’s a lot of people just getting their accounts taken over on Facebook and it’s like, well you’re up shits creek without a paddle. Um, but yes, we use a Facebook group.

[00:43:43] Since our audience is already on there, the ease of use is already on. But I just shared too, if you’re gonna use that, make sure you have a way to have that data. So if something were to happen, you could easily move them to a forum or to a Slack or you know, one of those other mediums that you can move them to.

[00:43:59] Oscar Garcia: [00:44:00] Gotcha. Gotcha. Okay. Perfect. if you were, if you were kind of like starting over, if you will, was there something you would’ve done differently

[00:44:08] Jonathan Lautermilch: Which,

[00:44:09] Oscar Garcia: the

[00:44:09] Jonathan Lautermilch: which part? Man, man, that’s a great question. I think I would’ve taken more time. to get clear on who we’re looking for, you know? But at the same time though, I didn’t know then, right? Because anytime you’re doing something new, it’s like when you first start dating, it’s like you don’t know who your wife’s gonna be until you go on a few dates and you start going, well that went well.

[00:44:31] Or man, that girl’s crazy. I’m gonna make sure I don’t focus on them anymore. but I think if I could go back and do anything again, I would’ve taken more time to think that through and then that would’ve saved us a lot of time and energy on some of the improvements, that we’ve had to make over the years, but once again, you don’t know what you don’t know.

[00:44:50] Oscar Garcia: Right? I mean, for me, I’m more of the opinion of like, it’s better for you to just go through the fire. If you’re already going through, hell, just keep going. where it’s like, don’t sit there in terms of perfection and try to figure out who your perfect customer [00:45:00] avatar is.

[00:45:00] It’s like start doing business, start getting conversions, learn as you go. And it seems like that’s what you did with your course

[00:45:05] Jonathan Lautermilch: Oh, yeah.

[00:45:06] Oscar Garcia: in and you’re like, hold on, I got a bunch of people on here that don’t have the right fit. Let, let’s, uh, let’s fine tune this a little bit

[00:45:12] Jonathan Lautermilch: dude, we built, we built that course in 45 days, filmed the content, put it together, and we put a target of, we gotta get at least 10 people in here, or it’s gonna be really awkward with like a group program with like three people, right? So I was like, I gotta get 10. I gotta get 10. So I just focused on getting those 10, and that gave us the kindling to start the fire.

[00:45:36] Oscar Garcia: Did you do like a, like a product launch when you, when you, when you kicked it off,

[00:45:39] Jonathan Lautermilch: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. We did a launch, we did a webinar for it. But man, all, all honesty, it was boots on the ground. I was reaching out to every, every single person that told me no, I came back to him with like, Hey, we have this, that I think would be more up your alley per our last conversation. Just wanted to see if it’s something that you’d be [00:46:00] interested in discussing.

[00:46:00] And I found by 10 people that way.

[00:46:03] Oscar Garcia: There you go. Look at that. And it just goes to show, cause I mean, I love paid traffic, but it never beats boots on the ground for someone who’s willing to put in the work and actually reach out to people, make those connections, build those relationships. Like it it, you can never dream of the conversion rates.

[00:46:16] You get through that going with paid ads. And so I think it’s awesome that you’re sharing that perspective, cuz I think it’s important for many people to know that they gotta put in the work,

[00:46:24] Jonathan Lautermilch: Dude, it’s everything. And it’s like once you get something that you know works organically, then it makes sense to like, let’s put some money behind this versus, I’m sure you see this all the time. They’ve got an untested offer. They’re not clearing who they’re looking for. They throw money behind it, and guess what?

[00:46:40] It’s that guy’s fault because he promised me this versus, no, let’s get the foundation clear and something that has a track record of producing some result. Then we can tweak and scale with.

[00:46:51] Yeah. It makes a lot of sense. It makes a lot of sense for me though. I, I will say this, I will share that I’ve never been able to build a business organically.

[00:46:59] Jonathan Lautermilch: Oh, well [00:47:00] dude, so like you and I are like the fi,

[00:47:02] Oscar Garcia: Yeah. So I, I’m, I’m . Yeah. So I’m, I’m learning a lot through you because like for me, like I used to do like content SEO and stuff like that, right.

[00:47:09] But content SEO is not boots on the ground. Reaching out to people, that’s very different as opposed to, You know, you can, you can do SEO for six to eight months, not see anything. Whereas you can put in like a hundred bucks and figure out if your lead magnet’s gonna convert. You

[00:47:22] Jonathan Lautermilch: Well, you, you,

[00:47:23] Oscar Garcia: you’re like, okay,

[00:47:24] Jonathan Lautermilch: Oscar, you and I need to have a conversation after this. Cuz dude, I like, here’s been my experience. And once again, I know, I know this isn’t true. There’s good people out there that can do what they say they’re gonna do, but for me it’s been like trying to find the least sketchy, least, least sketchiest drug dealer as I go through this. Because dude, I’ve,

[00:47:42] Oscar Garcia: Oh yeah.

[00:47:43] Jonathan Lautermilch: spent tens of thousands of dollars hiring the guy that would get the ads. And once again, I take ownership over my part by not having something that’s truly proven tested. Here we go, like we’ve done, and that’s why I leaned into organic because I’m like, Hey, I can understand this, I can do this.

[00:47:59] But at the same [00:48:00] time though, we are at a level where it’s like, Hey, we gotta start throwing ads and doing. Things. So Absolutely, to your point, like it’s incredibly important to have that skillset. I just know for me, I didn’t have that, so I leaned into the organic. I I can, I could just work my ass off. I have no problem doing that.

[00:48:15] Oscar Garcia: Yeah. No, but I agree that it’s, uh, that with you where it’s like, if you can, if you can put your boots on the ground and actually put in the work to, to make those connections and build those relationships that, that is a much better way of doing it in the long run, as opposed to like throwing in, a thousand bucks into something and just saying, Hey, I don’t know what’s going on.

[00:48:32] That’s why you gotta have like a plan. , some kind of structure in

[00:48:35] Jonathan Lautermilch: Well, I think what happens is it’s like, please God, please get me leads in sales. And they throw money and it’s like, ah, I’m, I’m losing money. I’m getting scared. I’m gonna pull out now. Right. Which obviously that’s not gonna work. So Yeah, absolutely, man. Having guys like you that can lay out that plan and know what they’re doing, like, dude, that’s exactly where it’s at.

[00:48:54] Oscar Garcia: That’s awesome, man. Well, Jonathan, look, uh, we’re getting up to the, to the end of the hour here, but I just wanted to say thank you [00:49:00] and I want to give you the opportunity now, if my listeners wanted to know more about you, I know I got some fitness people listening as well.

[00:49:05] If they wanted to come and work with you or check you out or you know, do business, where can they go? How can they get ahold of you? Where can they find you?

[00:49:10] Jonathan Lautermilch: Man. The best place to find me is actually in our new Facebook group that we launched for Smart Shark, and it’s called Real Talk With Real Business Pros, how to Win at Home and in Business. And the reason we created this group is, as I’ve had the pleasure of being in the rooms that I’ve been in and meeting a lot of people that, they’re doing 7, 8, 9 figures a year and, which is great.

[00:49:30] They, they’re, they’ve got that part down, but you know, they meet people where they, they’re successful on paper, but they’ve been married six times and. They cheat on their spouse and they have these issues internally, or you know, they’ve got kids that hate them and despise them, or they have health issues.

[00:49:44] So it’s like, man, you don’t even get to enjoy the kingdom that you built. You know, that’s why I started to really understand that, man, you can’t just win in one area. You have to learn how to win in all those areas. And that’s why we created this group so that we could get surround those people with the [00:50:00] right experts so that we can once again, Give the information so that we can create some transformations this year.

[00:50:06] So that would be the best place to connect with me. Um, I live on Facebook. If you can find me and God bless you to spell my last name, I’ll be the only guy that shows up. I’m the bald guy with the mustache and the goatee.

[00:50:20] Oscar Garcia: And I love, I gotta say, I just, I love your message cuz I definitely know a lot of business owners that, that put in their hearts, their souls to build their business and it’s their baby, but yet let so much on the side go away and we need that support. We need that community so that way someone can keep us in check and make sure that hey, we’re sending out those text messages to the people we care about, that we’re spending time with the people we

[00:50:38] Jonathan Lautermilch: yeah,

[00:50:39] Oscar Garcia: that we’re taking care of our bodies and all that stuff.

[00:50:40] Because what’s the point of building something amazing if you’re not? To, to enjoy it.

[00:50:44] Jonathan Lautermilch: that’s the whole point of why we, why we go out there with our machetes and cut down the metaphorical forest. You know what I mean? So we want to create a community and surround him with the right people and the right resource.

[00:50:57] Oscar Garcia: Got it. All right, so last question for you is, well, what’s next for the [00:51:00] FitPro Collective? What’s next for your business? Where are you gonna take it?

[00:51:02] Jonathan Lautermilch: So FitPro Collective, what we’re doing this year, one, we have a book collaboration that we’re doing with our coaches in there, which will be a bestselling book. I’m just gonna go ahead and call that out now. so that’s gonna be a really cool opportunity to create some new authors and bestselling authors at that.

[00:51:18] once again, Part of the power of being in our community is we know how to do those things. and we also did a, our first big event last year. Like, we had tons of speakers there. It was super awesome. We had coaches coming across all across the country. We will be doing two of those this year.

[00:51:35] so we’re gonna be doubling up on live events, which is gonna be super cool and exciting to do.

[00:51:39] Oscar Garcia: That is awesome, man. That is so cool. And I wish you nothing but success. I hope you guys kill it. I’m expecting to see the message that says I, Hey, Oscar, I made a best seller again, so

[00:51:49] Jonathan Lautermilch: I’m calling it, you can hold me accountable

[00:51:51] Oscar Garcia: I’ll hold

[00:51:52] Jonathan Lautermilch: I, because I will not eat my words. Damn it. I won’t let it happen.

[00:51:57] Oscar Garcia: I’ll hold, I’ll hold you accountable to it. I wanna make sure that that happens, [00:52:00] buddy. All right, man. Thank you so much for being on today’s show. Really appreciate you. Hope you have the best.

[00:52:04] Jonathan Lautermilch: Cool. My pleasure is an honor.

[00:52:06] Oscar Garcia: So there you have it. How to pivot during stressful times in your business with a course. Now, I’d like to invite you to join the marketing in mojitos beta, where you’re gonna get the access, accountability, and attention you need to start, run, and scale your course. If you’re interested in that, head on over to www.oscarmgarcia.com/beta.

[00:52:29] Click on the button, fill out the form, and come on in. We’d love to have you, and we’d love to help you move forward with your course. Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. We look forward to having you here again in the next one.