Ep. 331: How to Reach Six Figures with Just One Offer with Sales Queen, Nellie Corriveau

Shannon Mattern: Welcome to episode 331 of Pep Talks for Side Hustlers. And I am so excited to introduce you to today's guest Nellie Corriveau, the self-proclaimed sales queen who helps busy entrepreneurs with big dreams, reach their sales goals by translating her unique sales ability into coaching them on how to actually make money doing what they love. So, Nellie, thank you so much for being here. Can you share a little bit more with our listeners about you and what you do?

Nellie Corriveau: Heck yes. Thank you for having me Shannon. I'm like your number one fan. And I just think so highly of you and everything that you do for entrepreneurs. And it's just awesome. So I'm excited to be here. So yeah. It's honestly a crazy story. Really. Like I started off in the nonprofit space when I was 16 years old and I like to say that a nonprofit found me. I didn't wake up as a 16 year old like saying I'm gonna build a nonprofit organization and raise millions of dollars. It honestly started with an idea like we all do, right. It started with this little whisper of "you are made for more. You have some really special gifts that you can put out into this world". And I tried out for the cheerleading team and didn't make it. Tried out for the tennis team and didn't make it.

Nellie Corriveau: So it's like sports must not be in the cards for me. I must find some other way to, you know, get connected and make my mark on this world. So, my grandmother passed away from cancer when I was very young. Fashion is what bonded us together. And before she passed away we would put on these fashion shows in her living room. And I would put on all of her jewelry and her shoes that didn't fit me. And so fashion just means so much to me for those reasons and so many more. And so when I lost her to cancer I just felt like, dang, like this sucks. And going through the grieving like everyone else does when you lose somebody because it does suck. And so when I was 16, I was going through all of her jewelry that I used to wear in her living room when we put on fashion shows and literally it was this epiphany of, Oh my gosh, I don't have to be angry anymore.

Nellie Corriveau: What if we celebrated her life and gave back to the community in a very fun way through a fashion show? And that one light bulb moment drastically changed my whole life. But I feel like we can have those ideas and not act on them. But I feel like the benefit of me being young, I didn't have a lot of risks, right. Like obviously I lived with my parents and I was in high school and I didn't have a family. So it was like let's just go for it. Like what do we have to lose? And so I started breaking down what do I need to actually do? I need a venue. I need a DJ. I need models. Like all of the things. And my friends thought I was crazy. And it just really started off as a one-time fashion show fundraiser.

Nellie Corriveau: I had no intentions of making it a nonprofit. We handed the money to Nationwide Children's Hospital here in Columbus, Ohio, and that was going to be it. And there was one girl in particular that was going through neuroblastoma. She was seven at the time. And just seeing her go through something so traumatic and being so strong and grateful, like for living, really put things into perspective of our lives. And at the fashion show she just had the most amazing time and just seeing her light up and enjoy herself was just like the greatest gift ever. So she started talking about the next fashion show. And how do you tell a little girl that's going through cancer I'm sorry, there was only going to be one and this is it. Sorry about your luck. And so right then and there I promised her that there would be another one and I didn't know what that looked like, but we kept going and growing.

Nellie Corriveau: And that was my sophomore year of high school. And then we did another fashion show. She, unfortunately, wasn't able to be in the next one because she was so sick. But I kept saying, she'll be in the next one. She'll be in the next one. And then my senior year of high school she passed away to cancer and, being 18 at her funeral was just devastating. And I got angry at cancer again, and I thought, this is not okay. At that point, we kept doubling our numbers and fundraising is just like a business you grow and you grow and you grow, which is great. But it wasn't enough. I wanted to do more. And so as I was packing my bags for college, we were filing paperwork to become an official nonprofit.

Nellie Corriveau: I found an office. I got a board of directors. We opened up a website. I wanted to be the real deal. And I wanted to make our mark on Columbus, Ohio and beyond. And so that passion was just lit up. And just trying to channel that passion in a very effective way. And so we just continued to raise more and more funds for pediatric cancer. And what I love that we do as a nonprofit organization is we directly help the family. So anything from a gas card, grocery card, Christmas presents, back to school supplies, we're really there in one of the family's darkest times to be that bright light. But unfortunately through that whole process, fundraising is hard and I really lost myself through that. Because NC 4k became my identity. And so I became very anxious, very overweight, very exhausted.

Nellie Corriveau: Some listeners may even feel that way in their business and it's very easy to do. And had a huge wake up call when I was driving to an appointment for the nonprofit and it was downtown and I was driving there and my body went completely numb while driving, almost like the feeling that you get when you like your leg falls asleep. But like 10 times worse. And I couldn't feel my whole body. And so I remember pulling over on the side of the road, cause I was like, this isn't safe. Like I should probably get over. And so that was a huge wake up call for me because I don't want anyone to live that way. And my body was sending me a really clear message of like, you've got to change your ways. And so I started to work on myself, continued to fundraise, but I was like, I need to start making myself a priority before this gets worse.

Nellie Corriveau: And no wonder I pulled over. I wasn't sleeping very well. I wasn't eating very well. I wasn't exercising at all. Like no wonder. Like hindsight's 2020. So I started doing those things. Started sleeping, more reading, personal development, got a fitness trainer. And it was a slow process. And then I started going to conferences, right? Like our world now, like I started to like get introduced to that and my mind was blown. And I remember being at a leadership conference in front of a room full of strangers saying I'm going to leave my job. The nonprofit that I started and had no idea where that came from. That was never in the cards. I never saw myself doing anything else besides fundraising. But let's be real. You don't go into fundraising to make a lot of money. You do it because you love it.

Nellie Corriveau: And so my priorities were out of alignment because we have all these big family dreams that we kept talking about, but I was spending 40 to honestly, 80 hours a week, not doing those things, not fighting for my family's dreams. And so I had to make the decision of how can everyone win. And that was a huge moment for me. Our ego can get in the way a lot of the times. And I don't have to be in the driver's seat for this to keep going. There's plenty of businesses and nonprofits that the founder isn't involved. And so after that leadership training, that became my mission of how do I work myself out of a job to keep this growing on its own. Because that was my fear. These children, these families need us. Therefore I must sacrifice my life.

Nellie Corriveau: That was the story that I was creating in my head. And then I started to rewire that of like, these families need us, but it doesn't all have to be on me and I can still be involved on the level that I want and my family gets to win. And so it honestly took about a year and a half after that, that epiphany. We got pregnant in that process too. So that was a great deadline of like, Hey, like this is the plan, this is the vision. I like all of my board members on board. I'm now on the board of directors. We have an amazing leadership team and it's opened up. So that was three years ago now. And it's opened up all this opportunity to not only be the best mom, the best wife, but really step into an whole new role in the world of impacting women in business. And so really what I'm focusing on now is there's this statistic of 88% of women-owned businesses still make less than six figures. And I get it because it's hard to earn money, especially online. But after you start to understand the mechanics and you have the accountability, it becomes so much easier. And so that's really what I want. To support women with "you deserve six figures and so much more let's help you get there".

Shannon Mattern: That story is just absolutely incredible. And I think that the realization that you had, that you're actually holding this charity, this organization back from becoming all that it can be when it's on the shoulders of one person. And that is not sustainable for you, nor for the business, nor for all the kids that you're helping. I'm sure it was like feeling like you probably felt so selfish the first time you thought you needed to get out of it. But then the question that you asked, how can everyone win, and realizing that you stepping away is the way that everyone can win. That's the best question I think, to ever ask yourself when you're facing any kind of like dilemma of how to move forward.

Nellie Corriveau: Exactly. Everything in business and life I feel like it's 99% mindset. And I know you and I have talked about that. It's so much mindset work, which is not the sexy stuff, but once you know that...

Shannon Mattern: It becomes the sexy stuff once you figure it out, because then it's so much fun to figure it out .

Nellie Corriveau: 100%. So when you're feeling the fear, when you're having doubt, it doesn't feel as scary because you're like, okay, I feel this. And I know why this is happening. Now I have the tools and resources to bounce back. Right. And rather than it paralyzing you and stopping you from your big dreams, because I hear so many beautiful dreams from people, and they're 100% possible if we work on our mindset.

Shannon Mattern: So good. So just for you listeners, a little bit of backstory with me and Nellie. She didn't know this til I told her this the other day. I was sitting in the audience of one of her NC 4k fashion shows because my husband's company here in Columbus, they have an office here in Columbus. They're headquartered in Seattle. Zulily is a big contributor. And so they bought a table and he's like, hey, we're going to go to this children's charity fashion show on a Friday night. And I'm like, okay, you know, whatever. And it was incredible. Like, I was like crying my eyeballs out. I was like, these kids are amazing. Where's my credit card. And then I saw you sitting there with your fabulous glasses. I was just like, this is incredible.

Shannon Mattern: So, you know, that was it. We never met. And then I met Alicia St. Germain, who's been a guest on the podcast. And she was like, hey, we're this Columbus local mastermind thing. Would you want to join this? And then I get an email from you. And I asked my husband, isn't that the girl that started NC 4k. And he's like, yeah. And so that's kind of how we connected. And I was just like, okay, she's amazing. I can't even believe I get to be part of this group of like legit Columbus entrepreneurs. Because I totally went it alone, blazed my own trail. Took the hard road of entrepreneurship. Like, I'm sure you see a lot of people do who are just like, I can do it all on my own.

Shannon Mattern: I don't need help. I don't need friends. I've got this. Like, I'm just going to put my head down and work. And see, that gets you to like the misery that you described with, you know, the physical, you know, not sleeping, overweight, overeating, over drinking, like all of those things. Right? And so just being a part of that group, when you put yourself in a room with other people who are winning and just want everyone around them to win, you know, it's, it's an incredible thing. And I remember you say, I was like, I don't know if I really want to go for this one thing. And you're like, you have outgrown your daydream and we need to fix that. You need to figure out what you want. Like basically, you know, you're playing small. And you didn't say that, but that's what you were telling me, you know? So that's kind of like our backstory. And just to hear in detail, like how you got to where you're like 88% of women-owned businesses make less than six figures. Like it truly is your mission to fix that, you know? And so tell me more about that. You started down that path, right? You leave NC 4k, you start down that path. What does that look like?

Nellie Corriveau: Very messy. I won't even sugar coat. It has been a messy journey because for many different reasons. One, my husband jokes, he's like, you went from building this career, all this success, all this impact for a decade. And then you went back to the entry-level job, if you will. Right. And so it's like, I was guns blazing again. That passion like when we were like opening up the NC 4k office. I felt that again of let's do this. However, I was also a newborn mom. So with no childcare, which can be like a recipe for, I don't want to say disaster, but chaos. Maybe we'll say chaos. And the moms that are listening, they're like, Oh yeah, I get you. Because it's like, Oh, this is going to be easy. This is going to be so easy.

Nellie Corriveau: She's going to nap in her swing for hours. And I can like sit there and get all my work done and do all my videos. And I don't childcare. The pattern that keeps happening, right. Like I can do it on my own. And so, I learned a lot. There was a lot of different things that I did in the world. I didn't start with sales coaching. It was a lot of one on one. People just wanted to talk to me. They were like... I don't know why, but people come to me and they're like, can I just tell you all my deepest, darkest things and can you help me with them? So I started doing a lot of life coaching problem solving. I have a t-shirt line I dabbled in. Some product sales outside of my clothing and just really like trying all the things.

Nellie Corriveau: And so now what I teach is, that didn't get me anywhere but bleeding a lot of money because I was trying too many things at once. And so what I teach now to all of my clients and students is focus on one course until you're successful. That's truly how you get to six figures. And that's how I've done it multiple times in my business. It's one launch, one product, one program, one service, whatever your one thing is. Now, don't get me wrong. There's other things that you can add on. Just like if you're at dinner, you're mainly going there for the entree. Right. And it would be rare if you didn't order an entree. Right. But you would get an appetizer, you would get a dessert, maybe some extra, some drinks. Right. But you're going there for the entree. So we've got to sell the entree.

Nellie Corriveau: So it was very messy for, I would say, the first year to two years. And then this past year, honestly, even during the pandemic, was my best year ever. Yeah. Which like, I've gotten past the guilt of saying that out loud too. Because we should celebrate that. Because statistically, through other recessions, there's tons of businesses where that's their most innovative time. And I think what it was for me was I had no choice but to level up. And I've heard that from other entrepreneurs too, where it was like, oh, this getting real. And I had no childcare again for two months, but my like survivor mode went on of let's do this and let's help other entrepreneurs do the same and problem solve. And my mastermind was just kicking off and I was like, I could lose all of them.

Nellie Corriveau: Like they could choose to leave even though there's contracts. But they could choose to leave. And bonded together. And , everyone was brainstorming of how they can get through this. And I work very well under pressure. And I think that was one of the biggest things for me last year. I created more courses. I hired team members, we moved into an office. It was a very pivotal year. And now I have that mission. That the mission is so clear to me of helping women with online businesses reach and exceed six figures. And we're going to help them do that with one offer. So it's super simple.

Shannon Mattern: Oh my gosh. So I think back to when I was first starting and it feels like if I could do the math, it's like for every offer I tried to do all at once is how many years it took me to get them to get something working. You know? So if I think about like, Oh, I did this thing, I put it out there. I expected it to be a success. The first time I put it out there. And if it didn't meet whatever random standard I had in my head that was not evidence-based or not based on any data or any mentorship or any real expectations, it was based on like what I saw other people doing online. If it didn't meet those standards well then I should start over and do something different. And for every time I did that, basically just tack on a year to how long it took me to get traction in my business and start making money. And so when you say like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, with one offer, that's when I'm just like, please listen to what she is saying. Listen to what Nellie is trying to tell you right now.

Nellie Corriveau: Can you say that louder for the people in the back?

Shannon Mattern: It's so true. And you know. Do you see your clients pull back? When do you see your clients pulling back? I'm not gonna like tell you. When do you see your clients like resisting that?

Nellie Corriveau: Yeah. There's a lot of resistance because it's scary to put all of your eggs in one basket. And I'm not asking you to do it forever. But your time is so valuable and even more than that, your audience's time, right? If you're constantly promoting different things left and right, it's like whiplash, right? A confused buyer does not buy. And so I have a whole lot of data when I tried doing a ton of things at once. And I have a lot of data of me focusing, on one thing at a time, and guess which one's more suc cessful? When I focused on one thing at a time. And some people don't like it. They're like, can I get a menu of your services? I'm like, this is what's available right now. Take it or leave it. And that just really helps me focus.

Nellie Corriveau: And it helps my team focus and all of our marketing and really understanding what is working. What's not working so we can course correct. When your energy is just all over the place you get exhausted. And it's just hard to see, exactly what you said, the traction in your business. So I like to think of this. Like J-Lo. J-Lo has had a super successful long career right? Now, the J-Lo that we know, she's doing a lot. Right? But she has a team. She has the credibility. Right? And she's built a name for herself that she slowly has added in different things as where when she started you knew her as the singer. And then she started adding in acting. And now she has beauty products and she does performances. Right? And she does all commercials. But she didn't go and do all the things at once. She took time to build it out.

Shannon Mattern: That's such a good analogy. And I think just understanding, you know, that it is a process to get your idea to where it is in your mind when you first imagine it, to really getting your audience to understand what's in it for them. It takes like time. It takes testing. It takes experimentation. And if you make it mean the first time you offer something and it doesn't like explode overnight, that like you're bad, you're wrong, whatever. And you throw it all away and you start over. You're missing out on all the gold that you needed to perfect. It.

Nellie Corriveau: Exactly. My favorite thing that I have learned is literally find a hot market. Like who do you want to work with? Ask them what they want. Right? And then give it to them.

Shannon Mattern: It's that easy.

Nellie Corriveau: It really is. We over-complicate it so much. And so going back to your question of the resistance, my clients, not all, not all the time and not all of them resist, but you can tell that there is that "is this too good to be true?" And I think it is scary to focus on one thing at a time because you're going to have to face a lot of growth. Right? Rather than the... I say the squirrel syndrome won't get you to six figures. And that's like going all over the place. But why I think we do that is it's a very healthy distraction of addressing really are we clear enough on our hot market? Do we really know what they want? Right. Instead of just like, the why under the why. Like really uncovering that and getting clear on that so we can give it to them.

Shannon Mattern: Yeah. And so I call it like" create mode versus do mode". My students love to learn and build stuff and make things and everything. But the actual, like talking to the clients or seeing, you know, talking to them, asking them what they want, engaging with them, showing up. Like all the stuff that keeps us.... And I was guilty of this in the beginning, too. All the stuff that keeps you behind your laptop, really busy, Like you're doing something, hustling. But like none of anything that's going to actually give you any data to work with.

Nellie Corriveau: I like to say that can be a very expensive hobby. And I've been there too, where like, literally I was bleeding money in my business. Like we invested so much. And it was like, I had no choice. It was like something has got to change. This is a very expensive hobby. And that's not how our business is supposed to be. It's supposed to be a value add to your life, right? Or why do it? Cause most people, just like you and I, we left another job that we had a boss. Right? So why go from that, whether you loved it or not, right, but we're choosing to step into entrepreneurship. So we might as well make money and do what we love.

Shannon Mattern: And it's not as scary as you think to... I mean, it probably will feel scary to put your idea out there and ask for strangers' opinions. I mean, you might hear some things that you aren't prepared to hear, but you can prepare yourself to hear them.

Nellie Corriveau: Yes. And I like to also think that the people that are giving their opinions, are they my ideal person? Your Facebook following may not all be your ideal client or customer.

Shannon Mattern: Yah. Your brother-in-law's opinion about whether your business idea is good, if he's never going to be the one that's going to buy your web design course, then it doesn't matter. Right?

Nellie Corriveau: Yes. The validation gets to be from your ideal person and getting that feedback. It's a really great sales strategy because you can go back and approach them and say, Hey, I took your feedback. Cause then they have ownership of it too. Right. I took your feedback and this is what I came up with. Would this be of value to you? And they can say yes or no. So it can be a great idea of co-creating together.

Shannon Mattern: Yeah. So you have people focus on one thing. And that one thing is a course. Why courses out of all of the potential ways someone could make money online from their business?

Nellie Corriveau: Yeah. It doesn't have to be a course. That was one thing that I picked. So it's really focusing on what are they most passionate about? So as long as it's in the online space. So like a network marketer, a coach, a consultant, someone that can sell online. And really picking something, I like to call it your vehicle to six-figures. And there's all different vehicles on the road, right? Some are very luxury based. Some are more modest, right? Some are minivans, right. Sports cars. So it's really deciding what vehicle you want to be in that's going to excite you because your energy around your sales is the most valuable asset that you have. Because you can't really fake it. Like people can feel it, whether you're saying it or not. And I have noticed when I'm more passionate about something, you can't shut me up.

Nellie Corriveau: I will be on every podcast. I will do every Facebook live. I will not stop. I don't care if you unfriend me because I'm on a mission. And I think that is really like the can't eat, can't sleep, World Series kind of sales mindset is what I want for every person. So if, when you're asking yourself, does this excite me enough that I can only talk about this? So whether it's building your team as a network marketer, or that course, that coaching program. And also done for you services because there's lots of opportunity there, to be able to grow very quickly and even hire out a team to be able to support you with it. So there's tons of ways to get there. It's just a matter of them checking in with themselves of like, what would be so exciting for me. And then let's break down the strategy. And that's really where I step in, help helping them, supporting them with really breaking down that strategy because you can have the best vehicle, but does it have gas in the car to be able to go? . You could have the Maserati in your driveway, but if there's no gas in it we can't get from point A to point B.

Shannon Mattern: It's so good. I think when you were saying, you know, is it going to be like, can't eat, can't sleep, world series kind of excitement, like there have definitely been things in my business that they don't feel like work. The time goes by and you're like, what happened? Like it was literally just 10:00 AM. How is it already six? And this just poured out of me. I could not stop the flow of all of the things. And then there have been other things that are just like a grind. Like you just can't seem to figure out, you know, what to say, how to do it. And, you know, I think that if I could put my finger on the difference for me, it's when I know that I'm filling the gap for my customer and solving the problem. Versus when I think I have a solution but I haven't really talked to anybody yet. So much harder to build that energy when you're kind of working solo in a vacuum by yourself, not really knowing if you're helping someone or not.

Nellie Corriveau: Exactly. We as entrepreneurs, we want to help. And it's so true because when you know, and you've already gotten that feedback from people like, yes, like they're banging on your door. When is this available? When can I get in? You're like, Oh, I better get to work. Right? You have that positive peer pressure and that validation that people want it.

Shannon Mattern: So you finally land on, I'm going to help women make six figures. And that becomes your mission and you have the best year ever in 2020 and in a pandemic. And I think you mentioned it was a pivotal year for you. Same for me. And I think that passion, I think similarly ignited us. We're like not only do I have to figure out how to survive, I need to help my people figure out how to pivot. Like I need to help them figure out how they are going to survive. And I think that kind of just like turned me on and made me like I'm going all in for them. And so tell me like what your business journey was in 2020 that kind of made it your best year ever.

Nellie Corriveau: So let's go back to January of last year. So January of 2020, I went from having one day of childcare to two days of childcare. Oh yeah. Mama gets some freedom. I packed those days, like talk about like back to back time blocking it. I had either client calls, client meetings, strategy, time, you name it. And it got packed into those days. And I was still working when I had her, but obviously there's only so much you can do. And I only wanted to do two. So I had that for January and February. And then the news started to trickle in of COVID. And so at first it was just like, this is going to be a short-term thing. Like, you know, no worries, but let's figure out some solutions. But obviously then childcare went away and my mastermind was starting and like I said earlier, they had contracts for a year and it was like going to be awesome.

Nellie Corriveau: And so it was just this moment of like, I have no choice but level to level up. Because you can only take somebody as far as you've been. So I wanted to be the leader that they deserved. And so I did everything in my power to go above and beyond for them. One-on-one calls when that wasn't in the offer, if you will. We had extra group calls, like brainstorming, introducing them to people, strategizing because some of their offers, like one of my clients does in-person ballroom dancing. You can't really do that in a pandemic. So really brainstorming and strategizing with him. And he completely transitioned to all online and did such really powerful, cool things through that innovation. And so that was the first moment of like, okay, we've got this. Like deep breath.

Nellie Corriveau: It's crazy. It's chaotic. But like when my husband got home, he took Emma and then I worked late. So it was just, it was a definitely like a very much survival mode. But also like I enjoyed it at the same time. It was like, we're all rising together through this. And there was no other option. And so we would be on these calls as a group and they're like, we just want to get in your head. You know, so much throughout a decade of experience, right? It's like, that's valuable to be able to sit across from somebody and be able to just be like, what mistakes did you make? How can I learn from those? What's your best advice? And so I was noticing that there was so much that I was still leaving on the table to be able to support them. And there's only so much you can do in calls. That's when my course was born. So I literally brain dumped what the course would look like. It was called the Six-Figure Squad School, got their feedback. Like, am I on track? And they're like, yes, we need all of this. Which was awesome. So then I went into beta launch mode for it and we started launching in June. That's when childcare opened back up and Emma started going full-time to childcare. So for the first time in three years, I honestly felt like an adult again.

Nellie Corriveau: And like, I think it's okay to love your job and love being a mom and keep them separate. And everyone's choice is different. But for the first time, my mental health actually felt very stable rather than surviving. I felt like I had an environment to thrive. And I don't think that's talked about enough. I think there's a lot of shame on moms wanting to work and being away from their kids. And we don't shame stay at home moms. So we shouldn't shame work moms, whether they're working from home or working at an office or whatever that looks like for them. But we shouldn't shame them. And so I just felt that passion, that guns blazing passion again of like, Oh my gosh, I'm going to be able to... my goal was a hundred people in the course and over a few months we reached and exceeded it. I had upsells, we had add-ons.

Nellie Corriveau: We had all the things that you hear about. And just, through that course alone made $150,000. Just on that course. And then I also launched one-on-one experiences. We had a conference, Crissy and I, which I know she's been on the podcast. We had our conference, which was another pivot because obviously you can't have a conference in person. We had that. We had an upsell at the conference for our Destin retreat and it started selling like crazy. And I think it's just like, we have to stop getting in our own way with sales, because you don't know until you put yourself out there. I had no guarantee that people would stay in the mastermind, buy the course, come to the conference, join the Destin retreat. Like nothing is a guarantee in business, whether you work for yourself or not. But we've got to put ourselves out there and take risks. And hey, there's things that have flopped. There was an offer that I had before the course that completely flopped. And it was a huge shot to the ego. Cause I was like, this is it. This is how we're going to get to a million dollars. Cause we're on a seven figure journey. This is the path. And it was completely not the path.

Shannon Mattern: Why wasn't that offer successful?

Nellie Corriveau: I think it was very low ticket, but high value. And so it took a lot of my energy, but the pricing was completely off. And here's a money block that I think we tend to have in business. I'll just price it cheap so that more people will say yes, but most of the time the opposite happens.

Shannon Mattern: That has been my experience recently, which has been very mind blowing for me. I had this program called the Web Designer Academy and it's one that I launched very early in my journey. One of the courses that I launched with other courses that made it take forever to get where I was sustainable because I was trying to do too many things at once. And so when I launched it in the early days, my money mindset was like $600 is so much money to ask somebody to pay me because what if they pay me and they can't pay their bills and they lose everything. And that's really where my mind was. And so even asking for $600 was like such a stretch. And I like gave my soul to these people, you know, like for this group program. And that first round it was great.

Shannon Mattern: But then I was like, okay. It helped me figure out what they needed. And then I raised the price to $2,000, which was again like that's somebody's mortgage payment. Like I'm feel like I'm asking so much and like their whole world could come crumbling down. Like I just put it all on my shoulders that like this money's going away forever. It's never going to come back to them. Like I like stopped at the point where it left their bank account. Like the value. Anyway. I have since learned. Even $2,000 was like, Oh, you know. Then I got to the point where I was like, that's actually not that much money with like the return on their investment piece of this equation. That they're going to actually be able to go get web design clients. And so still though, not only was it like all of the templates, everything that they needed to run their business, it was me, it was like a weekly thing.

Shannon Mattern: It was a lifetime access. Like one $2,000 one time and you get me forever kind of offer. It wasn't until I put the $5,000 price tag on it that people really started buying it. And not only buying it, but like doing it and going all in and being really successful and getting the return that I like, having the business success that I knew they could have. Because like, I don't know it, maybe you can tell me what it is, but I feel like it was like, I created enough tension for them to like it stretched their mind enough to be like, if I'm going to do this, if I'm going to part with this money then I'm going to go all in to get it back and then some. And so it wasn't like now they're giving me their money. I'm like, I'm just holding it for you until you go to get it back and then multiply it.

Nellie Corriveau: I love that. That's so good.

Shannon Mattern: So that's been, my experience. It's like when I finally price my offers correctly for the transformation that they're going to get, is like everything changed.

Nellie Corriveau: Yup. I 100%. And here is like, if you take one thing away from this podcast episode, it's this. There's so much value in higher ticket programs, products and services, because before you hit that 100k mark, typically you are a solo entrepreneur. Maybe you have a VA or your husband or your kids working for you, but it is a very small team. Small and mighty. And so higher ticket means less customers and clients that you get to serve and support, which means you can give them the most amazing experience and the energetic exchange is there on both parties that everyone's happy, everyone wins. And when you pay, you pay attention and the more you pay, the more attention you pay, right? So100% you hit the nail on the head. Because last year I invested in a seven figure coach. I assigned a large lease for my office and I'm paying attention, right? This is not a hobby, right? This is like, I want to be the real deal. And I want to help people. And I want to show that you can do it, whether you're a mom or you know, you have challenges. I like to say I help the underdogs because I'm no one special, like I didn't make the tennis team. I didn't make the cheerleading team like, look at me now. So if I can do it, you could do it.

Shannon Mattern: Yes. And, Oh gosh, there was something that you said that made me think it literally takes just as much effort to build a website and create a sales page and build a checkout cart and go live and talk about everything for something that you type in $27 in your cart product. And you say the words $27 versus putting $5,000 on your shopping cart sales page and saying the words 5,000. Like if you're going to put the time into building the system on the backend, like it takes the same amount of time for something that's $27 versus $2,700 or $5,000 or, or whatever. So why not put the higher price in, right?

Nellie Corriveau: Exactly. Exactly. Well, and there is a strategy with every price point. Plenty of people in the marketplace do a $27 offer with multiple upsells to get you in their customer journey. And I, as a buyer, purchase things like that. And then I end up like... One of my mentors, his book was on my seat at a conference and I've seen him online, but never engaged with him. I read his book, he was on our podcast. And then he was like, if you love my books so much, you would love my mastermind. And I was like, Oh, I love being sold to, and it's a $10,000 program. So I went from reading his book to buying a $10,000 program in months. And so there can be strategies to that. But just know if you're really on a six figure journey wanting to pay yourself, hire a team, like those big goals, you need some cash to do that. And so that's why I like to focus on one offer at a time because it helps get you there and with less stress.

Shannon Mattern: So, so, so good. Couple more questions for you before we wrap up. What would you say to someone who is listening, who is struggling to get traction in their business right now?

Nellie Corriveau: It depends. I would have so many follow-up questions, like, feel free to DM me. I love to chat business and like give you one thing to go run with. And you're like, Oh, this works Nellie. And I'm like, it wasn't that hard. So, but the quick answer I think is to stop overthinking it. Right, exactly what you said earlier, where when we're in learning mode, it can become very overwhelming that if you just took some time to build some authentic relationships and get to know people and serve and support others, it's going to get you out of a funk. It's going to get you in the best energy. And don't be afraid to make more calls to action. Book a call with me. Let's talk about my offer, right? I have four of those tomorrow. I'm like, Hey, I know you're interested,

Nellie Corriveau: let's just get on a call and let's chat. I don't pressure anyone to buy from me. I'm an information giver. I will answer all of your questions. You hold your wallet. You get to decide when the time is right for you, if it is. But I am going to position myself and set myself up for success to not be afraid to like, hey, let's get on a call. Everyone loves to be pursued. So, I would say those would be my two things. Stop overthinking it. Take more action and make more calls to action.

Shannon Mattern: So good. Okay. So this is one I ask everybody that comes on the show and that is what belief about yourself did you have to change to get where you are today?

Nellie Corriveau: Ooh, this is so good. So I have really been working on not only helping break through my money blocks because we all have them, whether we know it or not, but also helping other people. And so one of the biggest money blocks that I've been breaking through is I don't have to work with people one-on-one to make a huge impact and make really good money. I thought I had to give all of my time to one person to deserve that high ticket. And that's not true.

Shannon Mattern: So good. That's something that I'm learning now too.

Nellie Corriveau: Yes, it's so real. And I think, you know, just being vulnerable and sharing it, I think is important because entrepreneurs are hard workers, so let's make the money that we all deserve and create more impact.

Shannon Mattern: Yep, absolutely. And you know, I can still give you the transformation without like being there for every second of it.

Nellie Corriveau: Yes, exactly. Think of all the books we have listened to or read. There's tons of books that have created so much impact to my business and they don't know who I am.

Shannon Mattern: Exactly. Yeah. You've packaged up your intellectual property in a way that's like helping someone have a transformation and you did the work upfront to package it up in a way that you knew would be impactful and that doesn't make it worth any less because we're not physically there.

Nellie Corriveau: Yes. And that's when I think our ego gets in the way that we need that conformation that we gave somebody or created a transformation for them rather than really stepping into our zone of genius and being confident that I know when I put that course out there, that book out there, somebody sees the summit that I was at. They'll have some sort of breakthrough that will help them on their path.

Shannon Mattern: Yeah. And just trusting that like they are powerful and motivated and dedicated enough that they don't need the handholding. Right. Like I can get out of their way. I can like give them the information and like get out of their way.

Nellie Corriveau: Oh, that's so good. That's good, to get out of their way.

Shannon Mattern: Thank you so much for being here. I could talk to you for hours about this. I'm sure we will talk for many more hours about this. So can you let everyone know where they can find you and connect with you and just learn more about how you can help them grow their business to six figures?

Nellie Corriveau: Yes. So the easiest place to go is salesqueencoaching.com. And that has all the social media, all the freebies, all the information right on it for you. I hang out mostly on Facebook. So feel free to drop in a DM and say, hi, if you are stuck in your business, you know, just let me know. And I'd be happy to chat with you via DMs.

Shannon Mattern: Awesome. So all of that will be linked up in the show notes at shannonmattern.com/311. And Nellie, thank you so much. It was so amazing talking to you.

Nellie Corriveau: Here are the coolest Shannon. Thank you for having me.