[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Big Ticket Pros, the podcast for agencies, coaches and high end service providers who know what it takes to thrive in competitive markets. I'm your host, Josh Thomas. You can find me on all social mediat literally. Our guests share insider tips, strategies and sometimes cautionary tales to help you close bigger deals, build stronger relationships and scale your business faster. Big Ticket Pros is sponsored by Conversational funnels. We booked 121 qualified sales calls in 10 days without any ad spend, outreach or endless social posting. We found a new way to close deals in 2025 that does not rely on any of those tired old methods we're used to. To learn more, download the free step by step blueprint@conversational funnels.com Once again, that's conversational funnels.com Today's guest is Bessie Graham. With nearly 25 years experience working with business owners, governments and large funding bodies to merge money and meaning. Bessie Graham's experience spans from the grassroots of sitting in the dirt, working with the business owners across Pacific islands through to the United nations in Geneva. This has given them unparalleled perspective. Bessie, welcome to Big Ticket Pros and I want to ask what is the best piece of advice you you would give to someone just starting out in your industry?
[00:01:25] Speaker B: Thank you. Great to be with you, Josh. I think for me the piece that I would get someone to start focusing on as early as possible is valuing the elements that come most naturally to them. So I always say to people, whatever it is that feels the easiest to you is what you should charge the most for. And for a lot of us it takes as many years to figure that out and have the confidence to do it. But, but if you could start early, I think you'd get ahead pretty quickly.
[00:01:53] Speaker A: So I love the concept and I love the way that it makes my brain just kind of twist and contort to really try to wrap my head around. But I'd like to hear an explanation of why should we charge the most for the things that are easiest to us.
[00:02:10] Speaker B: So it's that piece that you, over the years, you end up seeing this pattern and emerge where there'll be pieces that you either didn't even put in a proposal, didn't factor in cost wise because it was obvious to you. It was kind of, I'm not sure if you've read Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink, but it's kind of that idea of like it's the pieces you walk into a room or you go into a client's business and look through their Numbers, and you can just see something that's obvious, and so you don't value it. You kind of think everyone can see it. But over time, what I've found for myself and the leaders that I work with is that if you tune in, you start to hear people making comments and you realize, oh, they find that really difficult. Oh, they actually valued that. And I was thinking everyone could see it. I was almost embarrassed to draw attention to it because it seemed obvious. So it's kind of this element of, I think so often as the types of people who are seen as high achievers, you know, we're high performers, go getters, all of those types of words.
We have it sort of forced on us and confirmed that everything has to be difficult. Like, if it's worth doing, it's hard, it's going to be the do it scared. All of the phrases that are said make us unconsciously just believe that if it was easy, it's not valuable. And so that switching that on its head is to start to tune in and figure out those elements that actually differentiate you because the market's incredibly competitive. And if you can't start to be able to say why you are different and why you bring something that a client or a competitor kind of doesn't have in the mix, you just blend in with everyone else. And so I think switching it that way, like you said, it kind of does your head in a bit, but it also means you're going to start to come into conversations in a different way, and that's ultimately where innovation and new ideas are going to come from.
[00:04:13] Speaker A: You know, it's really, now that you mention it, it starts to make sense where it's those things that you take for granted that you just assume everybody else already knows, but they don't.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:24] Speaker A: And I can, I can give an example of that where recently I hired a social media person to help me with social media because I'm horrible at it. And we were going through an inventory, just like you said, of all of the different things that, that we do as a business.
And we got to the podcast and the. The podcast is run in a certain way. It's very efficient. It has been my number one lead generator, money maker for many years. And I just took it for granted that, like, well, if you're going to do something, if you need to break into a new industry, if you need a full calendar of your ideal clients, start a podcast.
And then I said that to this lady and she was like, well, is that your main product? I'm like, no, we don't sell this. And she said, why stop whatever the other thing is you're doing and do this instead. And so we tested it out, and we picked up like, eight clients immediately. And I had no idea. Like, I was just like, why would anybody pay money for this? But it turns out that when you've done this a thousand times, you. You pick up a thing or two.
[00:05:36] Speaker B: You do. Yeah. And I had a similar experience. I did a secondment for a month in the. In the uk And I was working with this organization, helping them strategize their international expansion. And I kept talking to different board members and executives, and there was this pattern. And one man in particular said it outright to me where he went, well, no one wants to make a decision. And I was quite shocked because I'm. I'm the opposite. I'm like, if I can't make a decision, I don't want to be in the situation. Like, I want to be able to go, here's what's happening, and we're doing this. And I was able to kind of realize in that moment, the reason that these people are struggling and have no strategy and can't figure out what to do is because it's a group of people who are very senior, very well paid, but what they've just admitted is they don't like making decisions. And that's exactly what I'm really good at. So it was kind of that piece of going, okay, I actually need to lay this out for them and say there are three options. I would advise this decision because they're not going to. They're not going to do it. And it's.
[00:06:37] Speaker A: Again, so what you're saying is you like to be bossy.
[00:06:41] Speaker B: I do. I like to be in charge.
Very proudly.
[00:06:47] Speaker A: Yeah. That's your. That's your new brand, Bossy Bessie again.
[00:06:50] Speaker B: Exactly. I may have been called that as a child.
[00:06:53] Speaker A: Oh, is that right? Okay, good to know. Yeah. And it's. Yeah, I. I remember there was this. There was this one client I had, I was with for a long time, and I was the only one with the guts to fire people. Like. Like somebody needed to be fired. I wasn't making the call, but it's like somebody needed fire.
[00:07:11] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:12] Speaker A: The Grim Reaper. Yeah, I just became the Grim Reaper.
[00:07:14] Speaker B: The Smiling Assassin. One of my nicknames. All of those things. Yeah.
[00:07:18] Speaker A: Right.
[00:07:19] Speaker B: We're.
[00:07:20] Speaker A: Yeah, we're. We're like kindred spirits from a planet apart. So.
[00:07:24] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:25] Speaker A: Awesome. And so I'm curious. Tell me a little bit more about getting Getting away from this, doing, charging the most for the easiest thing. And that makes so much sense. What would you say, aside from that are some of the keys to your success with your other clients? What are some other kind of words of wisdom that you've developed over the years?
[00:07:50] Speaker B: So one of the pieces which really, this year in particular, has emerged as something that's been really helpful for, for the different business leaders that I work with is I have a framework that I call the thrive cycle. And the sequence, if you like, that I get people to think through is to start by knowing the value they bring, which kind of leads from where we just. The conversation we just had. So know the value you bring, and that might be just you as an individual, if the business is quite small, or you as a company as it grows, then start to think about understanding the value stakeholders want. Because so often what I find is people will fall in love with a product or service a little bit like you just described of, you know, we're doing this thing over here, but we haven't actually tuned into, well, what's the, the pain point for my customers, or where is there a solution that they're actually looking for? So that second step being understand the value that your stakeholders actually want, it's in response to having those two things in place that we can capture value in return. So when I think of a business model and it's always that element of how do we deliver results that drive revenue? The way that I get people to think about it is just stepping through those. Those elements. Can you actually really focus on knowing the value you bring? Have you done the work to understand the value that customers or those broader stakeholders want? Then on the back of that, you're going to be able to tell a different story, position yourself more powerfully with your market that will ultimately lead to the revenue.
[00:09:24] Speaker A: Yeah. Makes a lot of sense. And so are, Are there any, are there any stories of those realizations where you come in and you find something like, well, wait a minute, what about this thing in the corner? Oh, that's Bob. You know, nobody talks to Bob. And then like, Bob is the, the solution to everything?
[00:09:43] Speaker B: Well, there is one that comes to mind, and interestingly, it's around the podcast angle, like you just said, you've explored with your business. So there was an organization I was working with, and, and they currently, when we went through their business model and we're looking at, okay, well, what's working, what's stacking up, they had made some assumptions, which is always where we kind of find ourselves in trouble when we haven't actually looked for evidence. We've kind of just assumed something was true and not asked our customers. So they had made an assumption that when they were doing a lot of work around SEO and people's YouTube channels and content, that there were certain elements that were valued and that's what they were charging their customers for. But they had a whole part of their team that were producing their clients podcasts at the same time, and they weren't charging for that because they in their minds were saying, this is the only way we can force a client to regularly, each week, give us that big piece of content we can then break up and use.
And when we went through the elements of in that back end, the costs that were associated, the time going into that, we got them to actually realize the incredible value and skill set that they had there and how that was really addressing a need that their customers were wanting. And what's been fascinating in the last few months is they now are charging for that same service they were just giving to people for free before. And it's become the most profitable element of what they're doing. And there is something, I think, that happens when we go through that process of starting to do the valuing what it is we're actually bringing and going, oh, now I know the distinction here and I understand what you're looking for. And instead of using my language and talking about SEO and YouTube, I'm going to start using your language of what it is you're looking for.
That switch suddenly changes a whole bunch of elements, because I'm sure you've found that often when we're doing something and a client's not paying for it, people don't value what they don't pay for. There has to be some kind of value exchange. And so that shift creates this beautiful self reinforcing loop of now the customer actually values that piece more, their content's better, their, they're engaging with you differently because they're paying for it. And in the process, what you've done is actually address what was previously a gap in the business model that was kind of money was pouring out and now you've actually, you've addressed it. So I think that one's a really good example of just by tuning in and changing something as simple as that, connecting those dots can make a real difference.
[00:12:14] Speaker A: Oh, that's. Yeah. That reminds me, now that you mention it, of another story just, just like that. Along the same spirit, there's a, a guy I was traveling with this Group. And there was a guy that I know this was, it was very, I was very young at the time and there was this guy that I knew and he was sitting in first class and like, well, what do you do to get in first class? You know? And he said, have you ever heard of the Money Box? And it was like this payday check cashing thing. Like, yeah. He says, Well, I own 69 of them. And like, oh.
And I'm like, how did that happen? And so he told me a story about his dad and his dad ran a grocery store and he was like bagging groceries and. And then one day he decided to start cashing checks, payday checks for 1%.
And within two months he was making more money cashing checks than the entire grocery store. So he started the Money Box and he was the founder of the Money Box. And, and it was like he closed down the grocery. He like, I don't care about the groceries anymore. Let's just do this.
[00:13:32] Speaker B: And it's like, fascinating.
[00:13:33] Speaker A: So many, so many stories about that, this overlooked thing, the one, the easy thing that you take for granted that you're not even thinking about somebody else.
[00:13:43] Speaker B: Yeah. Because we're so in love with and focused on this particular product or service that we offer over here that we're blind to that opportunity.
[00:13:51] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, it's great that we extracted that out of, of this conversation, Bessie. So tell us a little bit about who you serve and how can people connect with you?
[00:14:01] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. So the, the clients that I work with, established leaders, really the focus where I'm most passionate is in that small to medium sized business. So established organizations that, you know, not in that, that startup phase, usually people are in the over 10 mil a year, even in the small side of things. But they're at that point where a little bit like what we've talked about today, things are running along, but it's how do they get to the next level in a way that actually has more of a sense of sustainability over time? There's a lot of exhausted business owners out there at the moment. And our work is really around saying, how do we merge these ideas of money and meaning so that we can stick at this over the long haul? And what we're finding is that for the uncertainty of the market right now, you have to do business differently. There's a whole bunch of things that used to work that aren't working anymore. And so we're trying to support those leaders to figure out what is the business model that allows them to build a thriving business. Even in these uncertain markets and do that without kind of the exhaustion. And all those elements that I spoke about at the beginning that we're told are just the way it is, that it has to be all a grind and that you're going to be exhausted and you're not going to have a life or see your family, I just don't think those things are true. And so figuring out how to identify those underutilized assets, how to just run the business in a different way that actually brings together those elements of your own brilliance as a company really serving a market well. And on the back of that, getting the benefits of a solid business that can grow and sustain itself over time.
That's, that's the, the work that we, we love doing and happy to sort of connect with people. LinkedIn is my favorite place to, to connect if people want to, to chat. But otherwise the website is, is a good place to start as well.
[00:16:10] Speaker A: Okay, very well. And that'll wrap it up for this episode of Big Ticket Pros. Thanks so much to our guest, Bessie Graham for coming on and sharing a little bit of wisdom about what it takes to thrive in competitive markets. And for those of you who wish to connect with Bessie, where can they go?
[00:16:33] Speaker B: So you can go to Bessie graham dot com. You'll find the podcast and bits and pieces there. Or Benefit Capital.
[00:16:41] Speaker A: You got it. Bessie graham.com and if you're an agency coach, professional services provider, or otherwise sell expensive stuff, we'd love to have you on a future episode. You can
[email protected] and once again, if you want to stack your calendar with qualified, motivated prospects who want what you have, Download our free blueprint. That's very hard to say. Free blueprint. There we go. Download our free
[email protected] that's all for now. Go get that big ticket punched. See you later.
