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May 3, 20223 min read

The Customer X Money Formula




One question I often get asked by young entrepreneurs is: ' What exactly keeps a young company afloat? Funding, cash flow, products, services....what? '


The answer is as bland as it is real: customers.


Customers keep your company afloat. And not just buying customers or by-the-way customers, but customers in the pipeline. Pipeline Customers are the people in your database that are one sneeze away from buying your product: they have bought into your vision, resonate with your message, and see value in the solution you are offering. Even if they are not buying today they will buy tomorrow - if you ask right.


Typically, 10% of your current pipeline will purchase your product or service at any one time - remember that. Pipeline is crucial to your business cash flow. The more pipeline you have, the greater your access to cash flow.


So it goes to show that the greater your customer pipeline, the greater your resultant 10% conversion and the greater your resultant revenue from actual purchases.


Here is a simple formula I developed for increasing your customer pipeline:


M.A.N = Messaging (M) x Ad Spend (A) x New Clients (N)

We can increase our customer pipeline in 3 ways :

  1. Improving how we message our communication to potential customers

  2. Increasing the amount we spend on marketing Ads

  3. Getting new customers who haven't heard of us before


Of the 3 routes to market above, the easiest and most affordable from the group is no.1.


When we improve our marketing message to our customers we reduce confusion, increase clarity ad ultimately reduce the duration it takes a customer's money to move from their heads to their wallets to our bank account. Greater traction. Faster purchases. More money.


Messaging is not as complicated as the books make it out to be. You can improve your messaging by these simple steps:

  • Understanding your customer demographic - gender, age, location, income, nationality, etc.

  • Running an annual or bi-annual survey to understand their needs

  • Picking the top 3 customer problems that stick out from the survey

  • Developing a solution that addresses these top 3 problems

  • Attaching an emotional benefit to the outcome of the solution

Ok, time to make this really simple. The above steps can be simplified in a template message thus:


'' At ...........(1)................, we help .................(2)....................... overcome challenges of ...............(3)...................,

........(4)................, and ..............(5).................... through ...................(6)................ which ultimately allows them to


..................(7)................................ ''


(1) The name of your company

(2) Description of your customer

(3) to (5) Their top 3 problems

(6) The solution

(7) Big break-through


A former trainee of mine has a wonderful unique weight loss product at her luxury spa for young mothers looking to lose post-birth weight. Looking at her ads online I saw a wonderful messaging concept idea that would increase her customer pipeline for this new product thus:


'' At the Lux Spa, we help new mothers overcome challenges of weight loss, negative body image, and low self-esteem, through our unique Cavitation treatment which ultimately allows them to live life on their terms. '


See how that sounds? Greater clarity in a business message creates less confusion in the customers' minds and makes them buy more stuff from you. It also lets them see the product value upfront and they will be less likely to complain about your prices since the emotional benefit is quite clear.


The author, Jan Okonji is an entrepreneur, speaker, coach, and Founder of the Pan-African accelerator BGS – Business Growth Solutions.


Jan is passionate about helping employees transition safely into entrepreneurship whilst turning their great ideas into profitable businesses and has helped entrepreneurs collectively grow their revenue to over $ 10 Million in the course of running BGS.


Get in touch with him and book a personal session HERE




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