Amanda McVicker (00:00)
Hello and welcome to this week's episode of The OBM Educator. This week, we're going to be talking about one of the problems I say problems even though it's not really a problem and we'll get more into that but one of the problems that a lot of new OBMs have, or aspiring OBMs have when, like, they're thinking of making the transition and that is what to do when a client asks you to do something and you don't know how to do it. You don't know what it is, and they're wanting you to do it for them, and so we're going to talk today about what are the steps that you can take. Obviously, this is going to apply to so many things, right, like, it's impossible to know everything that could come your way as an OBM, especially when you're starting out. So this can encompass so so many things. So this is going to be kind of a general process that you can go through when this comes up, because it is going to come up. It is kind of inevitable that at some point your client is going to ask you something that you just don't know, and so these are steps that you can go through that will make it easier on you to learn it, figure it out and also not beat yourself up about it.
Before we dive in, I do want to announce that I am doing my second workshop of the year, so last month I did a launching workshop. This is the first. That was the first workshop in my Like an OBM series, and so I am breaking down some common things that OBMs do that aren't necessarily taught from the OBM side of things, and so this month it's going to be all about data analytics and tracking and how you can provide better data to your clients so that they can make more informed decisions, and so the link to register is in my show notes. This is a free webinar workshop. It'll be on February 25th at 1 pm Eastern, but if you can't make it, I still encourage you to sign up because you will get the replay. I had so many comments from people from the launch workshop that it was so informative to really get kind of a very in-depth overview of what is needed in that case for launching, and so I know with this one, it's going to be kind of the same style. We're going to be going into what are the important things to be tracking for your clients, what are the easiest ways that you can track them, so you're not spending all of your time collecting data and then how you can present it to your client in a way that's easy for them to understand. So I encourage you to sign up Again. The link is in the show notes. It's free, you'll get the replay and I hope I'll see you there.Okay, let's get into today.
Welcome to The OBM Educator. I'm your host, Amanda McVicker, a veteran OBM who serves six and seven figure entrepreneurs as well as educates new OBMs with the skills and confidence they need to start and grow their own successful online business management business. Follow along as I share valuable insights behind the scenes, sneak peeks and proven strategies to help you build a better OBM business.
Okay, so before we dive into what are kind of the steps that you can do if you find yourself in a situation where your client is asking you to do something that you don't know how to do, that maybe you're not familiar with, I want to say that there is a difference between things that you just don't know and things that an OBM shouldn't be doing, and so I did an episode a couple episodes back, on what you're not responsible for as an OBM, and there are some things in there that it makes sense that you don't know how to do it, or that it's just not in your wheelhouse because it's not what you do. So if your client is coming to you to be like, oh hey, can you like learn how to edit podcasts, or like, can you learn how to do my taxes, or something like that, that is just something that an OBM shouldn't be doing and this is not going to apply. What I'm going to talk about in that situation, that's where you say you might want to consult a professional, hire someone who is a specialist in that, because that's not what my role is. And if you're in that situation where you have clients kind of asking you to be doing that, go listen to that other episode, because I do give a few tips on, like, how you can tell your client's that that's not your job. So I just wanted to get that out of the way.
So what I'm going to be talking about today is when your client comes to you with an OBM task that you just don't have experience in. And again, like this happens a lot, because it's impossible to know everything, and so it might be your client asks you to help launch and you've never launched before, or your client asks you to help track data and you have never tracked data before. So these are going to be the things, because, especially as a new OBM or someone who's looking to transition to OBM, there's a lot of fear around being ignorant about things. And it's not being ignorant, but that's what we think it is right. It's that we think we have to know everything in order to make the transition to OBM. In order to be an OBM, we just need to know everything, and that holds so many people back. I know it held me back. It's helped back so many people that I've helped throughout the years, and it's simply not true.
You can learn things on the job, you can learn things throughout your journey, like that is completely normal and expected and you shouldn't have that extra pressure on yourself to know everything. And so that kind of leads into the first thing that you'll do. So chances are you know this is going to come one of two ways. It's either going to come via an email or you know in your project management system however, it is that you get things from your client or it's going to come on a call. I've seen this happen a lot on a call, where a client is just kind of spitballing, brainstorming, and they'll be like, oh, maybe we can try XYZ, have you ever done that Right? So when it's an email or on a project management system, like that's whatever, you obviously have a reaction, but your client's not seeing that reaction.
If you're on a call with your client and that happens and you are drawing a blank, remember to pause, pause, regroup in your brain and just take a second right. What I always do is I, you know, I'll say I'm, I don't know, but I will get back to you on that. So it's telling your client like I am going to find out and then we can discuss it. This is a bit of a mindset piece to kind of like not get flustered right On on a call with them. But I want you to remember that you are not less of an OBM because you don't know something. And so when you take that second to pause and say I don't know, but I will find out, you are actually showing great leadership in your abilities because instead of you know BSing your way through something, you're wanting to get your client the legitimate information. And so when you take that step back, take a pause. Whatever you are signaling to your client, like I care about the information that I am going to give you, so let me get the best information that I can and I will get back to you, right, and you can give yourself a timeline, or, you know, give your client a timeline. I'll let you know by the end of the week what I think would be best for that.
So then, the next thing that you're going to do is schedule some time. You know, within that time frame that you gave yourself to do some research, because you are going going to be like that is the biggest part, right? If your client asks you to do something you don't know how to do, you need to learn how to do it, and so this is going to come from Googling, from ChatGPT, from different communities that you might be involved in, from asking your peers. You're going to be researching as much as you can to get the general idea of what it is right. So, going back to the earlier example, if your client's like I want to launch something, can you help me through it? You're going to be searching for how do I set up a launch? You know people have blog posts for days on this, right, go to Pinterest, search it like it's going to be there. If it has anything to do with an online business, I assure you someone has written a how-to guide on it.
So go research, find what it is that they want and start putting together a plan, right, like when it comes to launching, for example. You'll research and you'll see. Okay, well, I have to put on a launch event. What are launch events? Okay, I'm looking to see what the launch events are. Okay, I could do a wait list. I mean, that makes sense. I have the general idea about that. What's a masterclass Like? What would I do for a masterclass? Right? And so you start piecing it together based on your research.
Now, a big question that gets asked a lot is you know what is the billing situation on this? Do you bill this research time to your client or not? And people may disagree with me on this, but what I do for myself and what I recommend for others is to look at it as is this just a this client thing, or is this general OBM knowledge that I should know? Right, if it's just a this client thing, yeah, I'm going to bill them, or I'm going to count my hours towards that, because it's it's specific to that client, and so that's going to be in cases like your client is beta testing a new product or platform or something they got like a special invitation and you need to learn that platform. So in that case, build a client. But if it's something like launching, chances are you are going to be doing that for other clients. I would say that that's kind of a general OBM skill that you should know. I would not charge that, I would not count that towards my hours, because you will be using that with future clients.
And so, after you research the heck out of it and you got your plan, bring it to your client and then start putting it together Right. And again, this is where you're going to utilize tutorials, communities. I know you know Dubsado, kajabi, clickup. Personally, I know they all have Facebook communities. I'm in, you know, in those. I'm sure plenty of other platforms do as well, and so join those platforms.
Look to see like what people have said about certain things. If you have questions, ask, send for feedback to your peers If you're in memberships or you know, have a group of peers who are in the industry, you know, ask them for advice. But you're going to work through it right. So you do the research and then you do the work and so that's it right. Like it's not a super long process in the number of steps, but it can vary depending on you know any previous knowledge you have, how much source material is out there that you can research?
But as an OBM, you really do need to be resourceful, and saying I don't know is okay as long as you follow it up with but I will find out right. Just saying I don't know and leaving it at that is not helpful to your clients and it puts more work on them. You know, if they find a source, a resource that is helpful in the learning of this, that's great. They can send that to you. You can peruse it, all of that stuff, but do not put it on your clients solely to facilitate your learning of the process or the platform or whatever it is. I hope this was helpful.
And, as a reminder, if data tracking is one of those things that you're like I'm not sure quite how to do this, make sure to sign up for my February workshop. It is going to be in about a week and a half. It's free, there's no pitching or anything on there. It's really just for you to learn about the process of data analytics and tracking and how you can better serve your clients. So I hope to see you there. The link to register is in the show notes and I will talk with you guys next week. Bye.
Thanks for joining me for this episode of The OBM Educator. I hope what you heard today is helpful for you on your OBM journey. If you loved today's episode, I would so appreciate you sharing it and leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. Want to be a guest on The OBM Educator? Fill out the form in the show notes and I'll be in touch. Join us next time on The OBM Educator.
