Transcript
Sigrun:
You're listening to The Sigrun Show, episode number 396. In this episode, I talk to Claudia Nichterl about how she did her first six figure launch with a brand new program.
Welcome to The Sigrun Show. I'm your host, Sigrun, creator of SOMBA, the MBA program for online entrepreneurs. With each episode, I'll sure with you inspiring case studies and interviews to help you achieve your dreams and turn your passion into profit. Thank you for spending time with me today. Building an online business takes time. I share with you proven strategies to help you get there faster. You'll also learn how to master your mindset, up level your marketing, and succeed with masterminds.
Today I speak with Claudia Nichterl, who is in my VIP Mastermind program. She has a PhD in nutrition, and she is revolutionizing the industry by helping health professionals add nutrition consultation to their toolkit. She's the author of 27 cook and health books, and is the founder and creator of the Academy of Integrative Nutrition. In this episode, she shares how she did her first six figure launch with a brand new program.
Before we dive in, I want to tell you that we are doing a five day online course, How to Succeed In the Next Normal in Online Business again. It's taking place from September 7th to 11th. If you want to learn to launch like Claudia, and if you want to set your business up for success in the changed world we now live in, then you must join us for this five day free course. If you're ready to talk bold action, then secure your spot right now. Got to the show notes at sigrun.com/396, where you can sign up for the five day course, How to Succeed in the Next Normal in Online Business. And, you'll find there all the links to Claudia Nichterl.
I am so excited, and that's really true, for Claudia Nichterl to be here on the show and talk about her launch success. Thank you for coming on the show, Claudia.
Claudia Nichterl:
Thanks for inviting me.
Sigrun:
We have been working together for a while. You are in the VIP Mastermind, for second year. In the first year, you had an amazing six figure launch, and that's what we want to talk about today.
But before we dive into that, tell the audience a little bit about what you do, and why you decided that you needed to join the VIP Mastermind, in the first place.
Claudia Nichterl:
Yes. I'm a nutritionist working in Vienna, Austria, since more than 18 years, doing one-to-one nutrition consultancy and coachings. I wrote more than 20 books, but I was almost burnt out from the workload, and from always the same, and everything. With your support, I learned that my work is worthy, and that I can charge a lot more than I did.
With turning 50, and had some wider changes in my life, I also decided to go online. I had a cooking studio, and this was a big workload for seven days a week. So, I wanted to have it lighter, and scalable. That was the decision to try it online.
And finally, we developed a course for teaching health professionals, and that's really my heart project. Now, I teach health professionals to use the potential of nutrition for their therapies, and I really like it.
Sigrun:
Yeah. Yeah, you went from serving private clients to actually serving professionals, and helping them integrate it. After 20 years of experience, you really know what you do and you have your methods. Now, finally people can buy it through your academy.
But, learning to sell it, that was a different thing. Can you share how you went about selling the Academy for the first time?
Claudia Nichterl:
Yes. I think to prepare the selling for the first time, I really needed your coaching to grow in my mindset, to be stable to know that I can offer a course which costs 4,500. This was a big work for me, but we did it together.
Then, I offered it to my list. I procrastinated a couple of weeks because I thought I had to have the perfect website, and landing page, and all this stuff. But with your help, we decided to use my email list, which was around 7000 addresses. The funny thing is, I procrastinated so much because I was a little bit afraid that nobody wants to buy it, that finally you pushed me to offer it and I still had not readied my PDF with the offer.
The way it was I sent out the email to 7000 addresses, and between five minutes somebody answered, she wants more information. Then, I sat on my butt for three hours, and I did the PDF finally.
Sigrun:
Yeah. This is what I say to a lot of clients who are selling higher end programs. You don't actually need a sales page, you can just create a PDF. But, you hadn't finished the PDF and the first interest was already there. How did you feel?
Claudia Nichterl:
It was good because I felt the demand. Yes. Then, after three hours I sent out the PDF, which was not perfect. I did it entirely myself. Five minutes later, the same person booked a call with me for the next day, in the morning. Five minutes in the call, she bought the course. She's one of my lovely clients now, and we already have friendships. She's a Swiss, yes. I did meet to her [foreign language 00:06:45] house.
Sigrun:
To her cottage? Yeah, to her summer house?
Claudia Nichterl:
Yes. This was all between 24 hours.
Sigrun:
In 24 hours, you went from not believing anyone would buy, to actually selling your first spot for 4,500 Euro. How did that feel, to get the money into your bank account, 24 hours after having all these doubts?
Claudia Nichterl:
Great. Great. I still have goosebumps in feeling this, yes. I'm really grateful, and I'm grateful for your kicks in my ass to do this, yes. But, I'm very grateful for my clients because with the first client, I grew. The funny thing is, after two weeks it was so normal for me that bookings came in. Finally, 29 persons booked in my first six weeks I launched. This is a year ago, yes.
Sigrun:
A year ago, you had your first six figure launch. You say it only took you two weeks until you got very used to having conversation with people. Sometimes people want to template from me, how to do a discovery call. I say, “No, you just talk.” What did you do on your discovery calls?
Claudia Nichterl:
The discovery calls I like a lot because it's big research for me. I always start to say thank you, thank you that you hopped on the call, thank you for your time. Then, my first question is, “What do you want from my course? For what kind of help do you seek?” There, they give me the answers, what they are looking for. As I was still in creating the course, when I sold it, I didn't have it ready. So with every discovery call, I made my notes, what people want in the course. After speaking 10, 15 minutes I said to them, “You will get this, yes? The knowledge is here, yes?”
But, I needed to know what is the concrete knowledge they need, and what is their pain. So, I start in the discovery calls with some research questions. Then, I say very frankly if I can deliver this or not. 95%, I can deliver what they want so I have a very high conversion rate in the strategy calls.
Sigrun:
So then you just say, “Well, that's exactly what's going to happen in my program? Do you want to join?” Or, how do you get them to commit?
Claudia Nichterl:
Yes, it is. But as it is a huge sum, most of them say they want to sleep over it, and that's okay for me. Yes.
Sometimes, someone want to sleep over it. And [inaudible 00:09:48] say, after five minutes, “I am sure I want to do the work with you, because I'm quite good known in my email list.” I have about 30% which are very quick deciders, and the others want to check their finances, or discuss it with their partners. But, that's okay for me, but I make a deadline and ask them, “Until then, can you tell me your decision?” It is between two or three days, and normally they get back to me and give me that decision. And if not, I write an email, or short personal email and ask, “What kind of information do you need to make your decision now?”
Sigrun:
Yeah. I remember we talked about that follow-up email. Yeah, I learned that years ago myself. What kind of information do you need to make a decision? It's a very nice way of following up without being too pushy.
Claudia Nichterl:
Yes.
Sigrun:
Yeah. What's your conversion rate, doing all these calls? Did you sell on every call?
Claudia Nichterl:
It's around 93, 95%, almost on every call. I think people are very prepared when they hop on the call. Sometimes, I have experienced that they book a call, and then they forget it. So I made better my process, so I send a reminder 24 hours before, and that helps. But, I still have, sometimes, that people book a call and they don't show up. Then, my assistant tries to find out what happens. Crazy things. They lay down with the baby and fell asleep, everything.
As I have an assistant for doing this work, I don't get angry. For me, it's okay, we are very friendly. We do a lot of service. Still, for me every client is a gift. Maybe we're too much service, but we are Austrians, we are Viennese people, we like service.
Sigrun:
Yeah. Oh, I think that really shows, and I think that's why you have high conversion rate, and people trust you. And they will only book a call when they are serious about joining.
But, it wasn't a launch in the essence that a lot of people think a launch is something, boom, boom, boom, boom. One week open cart, and you close cart. You had a lot of time, but you had been procrastinating as well. So how much time did you essentially have to sell those 29 spots?
Claudia Nichterl:
It was, in total, a month, more or less. Maybe six weeks. It was pushy for me to send out the email sequence, this was still new for me. I still have to experience, on the final day, to send out three emails that I have a little cramp in my stomach. But I say, “The sequence is to do it,” and so I do it.
Sigrun:
[inaudible 00:13:10]
But, you didn't do a webinar, or a three part video series, or a five day challenge. Or, maybe actually, you did some sort of a webinar.
Claudia Nichterl:
I did a webinar with the three mistakes, I did. That was, I think, quite some information to know me better. In the moment, I do also webinars, I call them information evening because booking courses like this offline, the normal way is to have information evenings where potential clients come to see the teachers, to learn more about the program. I do this at the moment, to have online information evenings.
Sigrun:
I love that, and I think it's the right approach for a program like yours.
You know, yours is an Academy, and you give people at a certificate at the end. What can they call themselves, when they've finished your program?
Claudia Nichterl:
They are Integrative Nutrition Experts. At the moment, I also add my name, Dr. Claudia Nichterl, because it's my method. The great thing is, I was asked from a very good publisher in the medical world to write a book about integrative nutrition therapy, so at the moment I work to make this as my method. I'm always thinking combining with the name, only Integrative Nutrition. But at the moment, I decided to combine it with my name.
Sigrun:
Yeah. You created the course first, and now its book is coming. I think this is interesting, for some people who have developed their method, or want to develop their method, that actually this might be the right approach. Create the course first, and then the book. What do you say to that?
Claudia Nichterl:
Yes. The great thing is, the publisher found me with my self-made website, and self-made PDF, which is still not perfect. For me, was really great when the publisher wrote me an email and I asked, “How did you find me?” They said they have seen in the net with social media and everything, so to show up is so important. Although it's not perfect, I do weekly live videos on Insta, and Facebook. They are not perfect, but I show up regularly so people see what I'm doing.
And also, integrative nutrition is a little bit a weird name, it's new. Also, it's a method which is known, and the scientific world speaks about it. But, I think 95% of the people ask me, “What is integrative nutrition?” But I think that's good, because it's interesting. So I decided to use it because your eyes hang on this new word, world, so this has potential.
Sigrun:
Absolutely. You are bringing, with integrative nutrition, the two worlds together, East and West, and all the new.
Claudia Nichterl:
Yes, that's my specialty since almost two decades, that I combine Western nutritional sciences with the holistic world of TCM, traditional Chinese medicine. It's so successful, to take the best of every world because the one has 3,000 years experience, and Western nutrition sciences is 150 years old. But, it's also important because we live in the Western world, and we have a different understanding, how we teach, how we learn, how we approach things. To combine it, I see how successful is it with the people, I did more than 8,000 nutrition consultancies.
My vision is to teach 1,000 persons in my method, and if this 1,000 persons also give the good things to 1,000 people so I can help one million people in the world. That's my vision.
Sigrun:
I love it. You are smiling and glowing, as you're saying this, Claudia. I want to come back to your first six figure launch. When did you realize that this was possible for you?
Claudia Nichterl:
After the first sold spot.
Sigrun:
Really?
Claudia Nichterl:
I felt it, that it's possible. But, really good was it was 10 spots. I remember when you said to me, “Make 20.” Then you said, “Now you can do six figures, yes?” With 10, I was really sure.
Sigrun:
Then, you were convinced. With one, you had some hope, yeah?
Claudia Nichterl:
Yeah, I had a big hope.
Sigrun:
Yeah, big hope. The course had started, I think you still had people joining after it started.
Claudia Nichterl:
Yes. I think I started with 22 or 23, and then another six or seven came in. When I am in the pre-launch since six weeks, and they were so demanding. “I want a spot, I want a spot.” For me, that's really a gift after one year, to have created a product, and a good demand. Still, its work and I still need to launch properly, yes. But, from the pre-launch I already have sold 32 spots, and I will start launching in the next days.
Sigrun:
As we are recording this, you have already sold 32 spots for a program that starts six weeks from now.
Claudia Nichterl:
Six weeks from now, yes.
Sigrun:
So you've already made six figures?
Claudia Nichterl:
Yeah. You're right, because the new price is 4,800.
Sigrun:
Yeah. What's your plan for this launch?
Claudia Nichterl:
My plan is to have 100 participants.
Sigrun:
That would be a $480,000 launch.
Claudia Nichterl:
Yes.
Sigrun:
How do you feel? Do you feel that's possible? Or, it's more it's a hope?
Claudia Nichterl:
Oh, it changes daily.
Sigrun:
By the day.
Claudia Nichterl:
Yes. I think it's possible, but it's a mindset thing. I have to be very careful with my thinking at the moment. For that, I'm so glad to have the mastermind support, and also some friends who know this. Because my vision really is that many people get this knowledge, and I don't want to be scared because I feel like the small Claudia from Austria. I know that it is important to go out of my comfort zone, if I want to leave this impact. But, it's not easy every hour. It's still struggling, but I think that's a good sign that I also take care, and be grateful, and that I have the right respect from the things.
Sigrun:
Yeah. You truly are, you are changing the world, and making good money at the same time.
Claudia Nichterl:
Yes, because with having money you can do good things. I like to work with you because we have the same values that women do other things with their money, we have other values. For that, I am very grateful of being in this surrounding. Power, and to have money that's also important for women, it's nothing to be ashamed for. It's necessary, to change the world.
Sigrun:
Absolutely. It's the only way we're going to accelerate, and through equality as well.
Claudia, it's been a joy, a pleasure, I'm so proud of you. I wish you best of luck with the launch. Let's aim for the 100 spots. Thank you for coming on the show.
Claudia Nichterl:
Thank you.
Sigrun:
Go to the show notes at sigrun.com/396, where you can sign up for the five day course, How to Succeed in the Next Normal in Online Business. There, you will also find all the links to Claudia Nichterl.
Thank you for listening to The Sigrun Show. Did you enjoy this episode? Let me know that you listened by tagging me in your Insta Story or Instagram post using my handle @SigrunComm and the hashtag #SigrunShow. See you in the next episode.