The #1 reason most programs fail isn’t sales or marketing - it’s overcomplexity in business.

In this episode, Tara breaks down the five hidden ways overcomplexity sneaks into your business model and reveals one simple, scalable solution that changes everything. You’ll learn why and how to create a signature framework that simplifies your offers, improves client results, and frees you to finally scale without chaos.

If you’ve ever felt like your business is “too much” - too many steps, too many offers, too much content - this one’s for you.

🧭 What You’ll Learn

• The 5 false beliefs that make your business more complex than it needs to be
• Why simplicity is the highest form of mastery
• How to design a scalable business model that delivers consistent results
• The difference between personalization and over-customization
• Why automation actually creates more connection — not less
• How to use your signature framework to simplify and scale

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 — Why Overcomplexity Is the Real Growth Killer

01:10 — False Belief #1: More = More Value

02:40 — False Belief #2: Simple Looks “Too Easy”

04:00 — Why Simplicity Equals Mastery

06:00 — False Belief #3: Every Client Is Unique

08:00 — False Belief #4: Automation Kills the Personal Touch

10:10 — False Belief #5: You Must Always Add New Content

13:00 — What Overcomplexity Really Costs Your Business

15:00 — The One Solution: Build Your Signature Framework

17:00 — How Simplicity Becomes Your Superpower

18:00 — Closing Thoughts and Next Steps

Connect with Tara

🌐 taralbryan.com 📩 Subscribe for free resources on simplifying and scaling your business

💬 LinkedIn

🎧 Listen to more episodes of The Scalable Expert Podcast

Mentioned in this episode:

https://taralbryan.com/step/15-learn-to-scale-call

The number one reason most programs fail isn't what you think.

2

It's not sales, it's not even marketing.

3

It's over complexity and the scary

part, most business owners don't

4

even realize they're doing it.

5

In this episode, I'll show you

how complexity kills results

6

and what to do to fix it.

7

Hey everybody.

8

Welcome to season three of the

Scalable Expert Podcast, the show for

9

established expert business owners

who are maxed out in time and ready to

10

find the scalable impact of their work.

11

I'm your host, Tara Bryan, founder

of the scalable expert and creator

12

of the Infinite Scale Method.

13

If you built a business around

your expertise, but feel stuck

14

in the time for money trap, this

podcast is your path forward.

15

Each week I'll share stories and

strategies and shifts to help you

16

step into a new scalable business

model by declaring your authority,

17

packaging your expert framework, and

streamlining your offers and systems

18

to ultimately become a scalable expert.

19

'cause it's not about working

harder, it's about building smarter.

20

All you need is one signature

expert framework, and you can

21

deliver an infinite amount of ways

to be able to scale your business.

22

Alright, let's get started.

23

All right, so let's get into the episode.

24

One of the things that, causes over

complexity is some common false beliefs

25

that a lot of business owners and,

creators come to the table with as they're

26

building their products and programs.

27

The first one is the belief

that more equals better, right?

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More equals more value.

29

And the more that you can give

somebody, the better off it is, right?

30

Feels like it's a lot of stuff, right?

31

It's like going to McDonald's and

getting the, whatever it's called, right?

32

Like the mega, mega, soda and,

and all the things, right?

33

You feel like you're getting a better

deal because you're giving them more.

34

That's a perception that we have at when

we are building our programs, as you just

35

keep layering new and new on top of it so

people feel like they're getting a deal.

36

But here's the reality is

that people don't need more.

37

They need the fastest

path to results, right?

38

Your job as the expert is to

provide people with a simplified

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and fast path to results, right?

40

That's what people want, is they want

something different to happen, right?

41

They want a result.

42

They want to, increase something or

decrease something, or make things happen.

43

That's what they're paying you for.

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They're not paying for you to

give them more and more and more.

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They're paying for that result.

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So always keep that in mind is

like, what's the fastest and

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easiest path you can put someone on?

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In order for them to get results.

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So more is not necessarily better.

50

A different way to think about

it is what do they need to be

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able to get to the finish line?

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Right?

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What are, what's like the absolute

minimum that they need to get there?

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But you're providing them with

all of the different steps.

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So that's the first false belief is more

equals, more value, more wonderfulness,

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which is not necessarily the case.

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So with that, the kind of the secondary

false belief that people have is

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like, well, if I simplify it, it'll

make it seem like it's too easy.

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And so the, the false belief

is my expertise is really

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valuable because it's complex.

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If I make it simple, people

won't think they need me, right?

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So if it looks too easy, if it

appears too easy, then you know,

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there's no smoke and mirrors around

my expertise and what I provide.

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This is a really, really common

one, and this is one that people

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trip up against all the time.

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The truth is, is that your expertise

provides you with the experience to be

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able to really simplify everything because

you've already gone through all of the

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hoops and hurdles and obstacles that they

may encounter on their path to success or

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to the results that they're looking for.

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And so that's what they're

paying you for, right?

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They're paying for you to simplify it.

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So honestly, when you launch

something, it should seem so simple

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to you that you're like, why?

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Why would people pay me for this?

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Because it's so simple.

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That's the level of, simplicity

that you need to lead with, because

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here's the thing is because it's

simple to you, because you are the

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expert, you already know the answers.

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You already know how the step-by-step

path for how to get there, you

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need to distill it down for people

who don't have that path, right?

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So for them, it's not simple.

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For them what they're like, oh wow.

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Like they really know how to do this

because they're able to lay out a path

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that seems like it's realistic for me

to be able to get the same results.

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So reframe that in your mind, because

the truth is really that simplicity

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is the highest form of mastery.

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Think about it.

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You don't really know what you're

doing if you're not an expert, right?

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You're kind of, you know, doing trial and

error, you're trying to figure things out.

90

You're going through, all of the, the

starts and stops and trying to figure

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out how things, how things work.

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When you are able to be, guided

by an expert who has done it,

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who has the fast track, then,

everything becomes more simple.

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So the way that we always

recommend doing this is to create

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your signature framework, right?

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Create your authority framework where

you're, you are just taking them on

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a journey from point A to point B

and providing them the fastest path

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to results, which is that where that

framework fits in because it's the

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step-by-step path that you've developed.

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You've been there, you know how to go

from point A to point B in the fastest

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way possible so that you can get

results, your clients can get results,

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and other people can see that you have

the authority, you have the expertise

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to be able to guide them down the path.

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So that is a really,

really strong false belief.

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But if you can switch that around to be

like, the more simple that I could create

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this, the higher level of confidence

and the highest level of success your

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people are gonna get because they're

able to follow it, because you've done

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the work to make it more simplified.

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A lot of times this shows up when I'm

working with people and they just wanna

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dump in all of the content, right?

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Like all the information,

all of the things.

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They start with you know, in my youth I

did this and then I went on this and, you

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know, all of the, the different, paths

and all the things that went through

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or all the information and, and that it

is just giving them information so that

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they can do something with it, right?

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It's not helping them actually get to

that result in the fastest way possible.

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So reframe that.

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You do the work to simplify your expertise

and then that, is what leads you to be

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able to deliver at the highest level.

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So the next one is every client is

unique, so the program has to be unique.

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Everything has to be, you know,

you've gotta have something for

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everyone because everyone is unique.

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And the way to flip that again, is to

go back to our signature framework.

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Lead from your expertise,

lead from your framework.

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Take them on the path to point

A to point B, because you

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know how to get them results.

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When everyone is unique, what's

happening is they're all coming in

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with their own ideas of how they wanna

do something because you haven't.

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Set that path in front of them

so they don't even know, right?

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So they're sort of just making up like,

I wanna do it this way, I wanna do it

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this way, I want this, I want that, I

want you to go down this rabbit hole.

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And that's not leading

then from your expertise.

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So you gotta flip that around, because the

truth is that 80 and 90% of your client's

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challenges follow the same pattern.

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Find the pattern.

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Figure out how to deliver on that pattern.

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And then yeah, you may just have some

nuances here and there, but a 10% nuance

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is way different than 90% nuance, right?

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So lead from your framework.

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It will change the game for you, even if

right now you're not actually packaging

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your expertise, you are just delivering

services, this will change it for you.

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Figure out what the pattern is.

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All of your clients, how are you

taking them from point A to point B?

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Put them all on the same path.

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And then see how when you lead, when

you are in the driver's seat versus

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your client being in the driver's seat,

see how that changes their level of

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confidence, your ability to be able

to lead that project or the program

148

or whatever it is that you're doing.

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And it starts to change the ability

for your people to get results, number

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one, but your ability to deliver

without having to customize everything.

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That will be a game changer.

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So flip that false belief and see how

that starts to change your business.

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And then the other one I think that

is really strong in over complexity

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is automation's gonna ruin the

personalized experience for the

155

customer, so all my customers have

to have a personalized experience.

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They all have to have something

different based on their unique needs.

157

Again, if you can flip that and figure

out what the experience is, what is

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the customer journey, the consistent

customer journey that you want to

159

create and you want to deliver, then

again, the level of confidence that your

160

customers are gonna have will increase

because their needs are taken care of.

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Right?

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They are not asking for things

that are ad hoc or random.

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And they're not asking you for all of your

time because you have already designed

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and orchestrated that customer journey.

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Then the amount of time that you can

spend with somebody is so much more

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personal because then you can really

dive into their particular obstacles

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and hurdles that they have, because

everything else is taken care of.

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So it is not about a

less personal experience.

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In fact, I would argue that you could

actually create a better, more consistent

170

personalized experience through

automation, but it actually will free

171

you up to be able to really work on

those higher level problems that you want

172

to work on with your clients or your,

customers that you have in your programs.

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So consider, if you are bogged down with

all the day to day, right, the onboarding,

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the questions and the answers, and just

the general, like helping people all

175

the time, and you think that the best

personalized experience that you can

176

give is that one-on-one experience,

but if you could actually dive into

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somebody's business or somebody's problem

that they're having as they're working

178

through your framework, that elevates

that personalized experience so much

179

more because you're able to really get

in and help them through their specific

180

problem versus just sort of like the

mechanics of all of the details that

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they're going to get into, so you

don't get into sort of the 50 First

182

Dates conundrum, which is that every

single time you have a new customer,

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you're reinventing the wheel, right?

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You're repeating the same thing you're

doing all of the experience over and over

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and over again for every single customer,

it's very hard to scale that way, right?

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Like, imagine if you went from ten

customers to a thousand, you can't provide

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the same level of personalized experience

if you don't have anything already set up.

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So that's part of designing

that customer journey.

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What's the experience that

you wanna create for them?

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Consider like the best shopping

experience that you've been to.

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Maybe it's Nordstrom's or somewhere

else, and you walk in and you feel that

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you are seen and taken care of, right?

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That's a personalized experience that's

actually already designed, right?

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So you're not just making it

up for every single customer.

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There's a method to the madness, right?

196

So flip that one.

197

Those are the big false beliefs that,

that a lot of times our clients are

198

tripping up against that, if we can

just shift those, it shifts the game.

199

So simplify, create your signature

framework, lead from that, and then it

200

frees you up to be able to really connect

and solve problems for your customers.

201

Okay, so why, why is over

complexity the hardest thing, right?

202

Like why is that the thing?

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More than sales, more than marketing,

more than anything else that makes the

204

biggest difference in your business.

205

There's a number of

different reasons for that.

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I'm gonna cover a couple of them just

to kind of frame out what, like, why,

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why is it over complexity, right?

208

Like, who cares if we just throw a

bunch of videos in a membership site

209

and call it a video vault and 400

videos for people that provide them

210

with all of your knowledge, right?

211

The biggest thing that it

does is it confuses people.

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So, a customer comes in because

you've promised a result, right?

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Your sales page is wonderful and they

are coming to you to do something

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different than what they're doing today.

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That's why they're coming to you.

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So if you just throw them into an

experience that has lots of layers, lots

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of steps, lots of videos, lots of this,

lots of like all over the place then they

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get confused and a confused customer can't

get through and get to a result, right?

219

Remember, your job is to give them the

fastest path to success so that they

220

can get the result that they want.

221

That is the whole goal,

and that is the only goal.

222

And so when you put somebody into an

experience that's not, doesn't have

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a clear customer journey, doesn't

have the fastest path to success,

224

clearly identified then they come

in and they're like, oh, this is

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great, there's so many things.

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This is wonderful.

227

Then they dive in and very shortly

after, going through hundreds of

228

videos, they were like, well, I don't,

this isn't giving me what I need.

229

And then they leave so that you know,

you're, you're not engaging them, you

230

are not retaining them, and you're

certainly not ascending them into

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additional offers because you haven't

created the experience and a simplified

232

experience for them to go through.

233

So confused participants, the

same concept as like confused

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prospects don't buy, right?

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If they don't know what your offer is,

if they don't know, how this is gonna

236

work for them then they're gonna bounce.

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They're not gonna stay.

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Same thing with confused participants,

especially now in this world

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where everyone is inundated with.

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Notifications and content and information

and AI and all of the things, it's even

241

more important to provide a simplified,

simple solution for people to be able

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to go from point A to point B as fast

as possible to get their results.

243

You think about yourself as a mentor

and a guide that's guiding them down

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the path, based on your experience.

245

That's really the way to think about

it versus like, how can I put all

246

this content into a membership site

or into some sort of delivery system.

247

Okay.

248

Low completion and retention

rates, that's sort of similar to

249

the confused participants, right?

250

So they're confused and

then they leave, right?

251

So you don't have people finishing.

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You don't have people getting results,

which means you're not getting

253

testimonials and they're certainly

not buying from you again, which is

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very hard to build a business if you

do not have your customers that you

255

have acquired staying and referring

and ascending to your next offers.

256

So it makes a huge difference.

257

People are confused.

258

It requires too much work for

them to actually go through and

259

do what you want them to do.

260

They're going to leave and they're not

going to recommend you to other people.

261

On the side of the business

owner, it's really hard to deliver

262

consistently over time, right?

263

So if you have a membership site and

you've promised to deliver new content

264

on a regular basis that doesn't fit

within your expert framework, it is

265

really hard to continue that process.

266

Either you're trying to figure out

new content ideas or you feel like

267

you need to put something else in

there and then people aren't watching.

268

They're not participating,

they're not showing up for

269

live sessions or whatever else.

270

It's just really complex to keep that

momentum going every single week,

271

every single month, every single year,

whatever that looks like for you.

272

It's really hard to manage, which

means it's really hard to scale, right?

273

It's not a scalable model when you

are just trying to continuously

274

put information in and come up

with new topic ideas that are not

275

necessarily related to the path that

gets them from point A to point B.

276

So often when I'm talking to people,

they're like, yeah, but I need

277

to constantly be giving them new

content or they're not gonna stay.

278

And here's the way to flip that, that

you may have thought about before,

279

but you may not, is that instead of

just giving them new content, like new

280

information or topics or random things

that you can think of, what you're doing

281

is you're just keeping them on their

path to transformation and results.

282

So if you are trying to get somebody

from point A to point B, right, like

283

that's why they're paying you, then

everything on that signature framework

284

becomes the content that you're giving.

285

Then when somebody gets to that

result, then there's gonna be a whole

286

nother point A to point B, right?

287

They're moving to another level where

then they can keep going, they get to that

288

next result, and then they keep going.

289

And so instead of just putting

in new topics and new, you know,

290

videos, for lack of a better term,

consider where they are on the path

291

and what they need to move forward.

292

Again, remember we're going with the

concept of simple is better, right?

293

We're not gonna put in a ton of content,

so how do you put content in based on

294

where they are from a levels perspective,

and then simplify everything else?

295

Even a membership site, people don't

want new topics and content all

296

the time 'cause they can't keep up.

297

They can't keep moving forward.

298

They still want to get a result.

299

So whatever your reoccurring

membership site is, keep that in

300

mind as you're adding new content.

301

It should be strategic content that

continues them on the path from where

302

they are to where they wanna go.

303

So that's how you end up with less

complexity in your business and

304

you move into being able to scale

your expertise is by keeping your

305

customer on their customer journey.

306

All right.

307

There you go.

308

That was a couple of ideas for

you to start thinking about when

309

you are looking at scaling your

expertise as a Scalable Expert.

310

Really think about how you

can simplify your framework so

311

much that it seems so simple.

312

The more simple it looks to other people,

the more they're like, oh, I can do

313

that and I have a guide to help me.

314

That my friends is when you know that

you have reached that point of being

315

able to start to scale your expertise.

316

So that is my message for you today.

317

If you love this episode, I would

love for you to give it a rating and

318

share it with a colleague or a friend

that you think may benefit from this.

319

Alright, until next time.

320

Hey everybody.

321

Welcome to season three of the

Scalable Expert Podcast, the show for

322

established expert business owners

who are maxed out on time and ready to

323

find the scalable impact of their work.

324

I'm your host, Tara Bryan, founder

of the scalable expert and creator

325

of the Infinite Scale Method.

326

If you built a business around

your expertise, but feel stuck

327

in the time for Money Trap, this

podcast is your path forward.

328

Each week, I'll share stories and

strategies and shifts to help you

329

step into a new scalable business

model by declaring your authority,

330

packaging your expert framework, and

streamlining your offers and systems

331

to ultimately become a scalable expert.

332

Because it's not about working

harder, it's about building smarter.

333

All you need is one

signature expert framework.

334

And you can deliver an infinite amount of

ways to be able to scale your business.

335

Alright, let's get started.