04/24/2025
Revenue in First Position
"I just need to finish my (course, book, funnel, website, logo, llc, office lease, etc.) first."
I hear this at every coaching event I host. It's always delivered with sincerity.
But it's always a lie.
It's a self-deception. A comfortable excuse that keeps coaches broke.
Waiting to ask people for money isn't about preparation. It's about fear.
My mentor challenged me early on to sell first and let my clients build my product.
It was uncomfortable. I didn't feel ready and I thought I didn’t even have anything to sell them. But I followed my mentors advice and started selling.
Within a few weeks, I had over 10k collected and it seemed like even more potential clients kept finding me (leads).
Revenue-producing activities feel horrible in the moment and feel great later.
Non-revenue producing activities feel great in the moment and feel horrible later.
Most coaches build their entire day around avoiding discomfort. They choose the activities that deliver immediate emotional rewards, instead of the activities that deliver actual financial rewards.
This is the primary reason why so many coaching businesses fail.
From this point forward, prioritize revenue. Start every workday with the difficult actions that directly produce money. This is your new morning routine when your work day begins: Revenue in First Position!
Nothing else gets done until you collect revenue.
After you collect revenue, put all your focus and energy into serving the people who paid you their hard-earned money. That's part two of your workday.
When you make this commitment, you transform from an amateur (focused on what you love) to a professional (focused on what the market loves).
This will feel difficult. It will feel scary. It will most definitely feel uncomfortable.
Do it anyway.
Comfort and convenience create weakness and vulnerability.
Every time you climb out of Distraction Valley and up Revenue Mountain, it gets easier. Eventually, you'll start looking forward to this journey each new morning. It will become exciting, and you'll be ready for it. Bam!
Distraction Valley
Search for a domain name
Buy a conference table
Pick out brand colors
Organize your office
Watch competitors
Consume content
Make a to-do list
Design a logo
Daydream
Build a website
Listen to a rumor
Start writing a book
Copy the competition
Customize CRM fields
Talk about opportunities
Play games on your phone
Get prepared to drive revenue
Revenue Mountain
Bring people value
Create polarizing content
Create loud content consistently
Create conversations with prospects
Avoid feedback from the wrong people
Collect the credit card payment immediately
Be creative and structure deals with money upfront
Spend time with people who are where you want to be
Stop creating make-believe follow-up dates and close now
Collect a partial payment on an overdue invoice now
Do the one activity that drives revenue right now
Make that sales call and collect the money now
Be honest that a business needs money
Take action on real opportunities
Collect payment during the call
Increase your price
Ask for money
***If you're scared to ask for a credit card 💳 or they ghost you after they say "yes," - Write "SALES" in the comments and I'll show you a simple trick you can use today to seamlessly collect the cc info without making it awkward.”
Tom Krol
