In this interview, we pick the brain of Russ Ruffino, CEO, and Founder of Clients on Demand (COD). Russ and his team help entrepreneurs all over the world realise their true potential by teaching them the skills they need to find the perfect clients for their business.

Operating for a little over nine years, COD has gone from strength to strength as students of their course continuously boast of results thanks to their teachings.

Can you tell us how Clients on Demand was born?

As you know, digital marketing is not a new concept. In fact, it’s one of the most competitive industries in the world. However, the amount of near-useless or misleading information out there is simply staggering.

Before I started Clients on Demand, I used to pay for online training programs to improve my chances of becoming a successful entrepreneur. Week after week, month after month, I would give my hard-earned money to marketing “gurus” hoping to find the magic pill to success. Whether it was lead generation strategies or advice on how to close sales, nothing seemed to work.

After many years of trial and error, I started to understand the importance of distinguishing between information and transformation. There are literally millions of would-be entrepreneurs out there who buy these courses on a whim but fail to absorb any of the information in a meaningful way. It ends up becoming an impulse buy and, eventually, a complete waste of money.

I believe the main reason for this is that these courses are designed to enroll as many students as possible, without any regard for who gets results. They do these huge launches and enroll 2,000+ clients at one time. When you do this, there’s no way you can provide the kind personalized, individual support that really gets results. So they make millions, but their clients never get the outcome they paid for.

It’s through this experience I saw the need to create a new system that was entirely focused on delivering results to its students. Hence, Clients on Demand was born. By this point, I had become a highly successful marketer in my own right, and I knew exactly what it takes to get results. However, I knew that if I really wanted to teach my students what they needed to learn, I needed to raise my prices so I could work with fewer people and provide a truly transformational experience..

What differentiates Clients on Demand from other programs?

We are 100% about getting results for our clients. It’s as simple as that. Our whole business model revolves around the success of the students that take our course. It creates this beautiful community where everyone’s interests are aligned, and it really helps everyone to push each other and find success.

And when I say results, I don’t mean in 12 or 18 months down the line; I mean right now. That may seem like a bold statement, but people have become too familiar with the passive marketing strategies taught in the industry today. We focus on providing a robust, high-octane marketing strategy with a very short sales cycle (24-48 hours).

We try to avoid the overreliance on content marketing strategies such as blogging and podcasting. Don’t get me wrong, blogging still works for a lot of people, but content marketing strategies are incredibly time-consuming and require a multi-year investment if you want to see significant returns, and let’s be honest,  spending a year grinding out blog posts before you see a dime in revenue is just not a realistic strategy.

Secondly, one of the main differentiators between COD and our competition is our focus on finding the right clients for your business. We are not content with connecting you with any old person that walks through the door. That’s too easy. We want our clients to find the people who are perfectly suited to their business. Highly-committed, hard-working, appreciative clients who will follow what you teach and get the result.

Most of the other programs focus on securing as many leads as possible. They teach a volume-based approach that advocates quantity over quality, and that’s just not the way to do it.

It’s within everyone’s interest that you find customers that are well suited to your business as they are the ones that will benefit the most from your service. In turn, they are also the people who are willing to pay the most. Approaching business with this frame of mind allows you to build real connections with your audience.

What is the main factor you would attribute to success?

For me, it’s all about understanding your why. It’s impossible to constantly motivate yourself if you don’t truly believe in what you’re doing. You need to have a real passion for your business. Something that’s going to get you out of bed when you aren’t feeling too good instead of hitting the snooze button. Something that you can drive towards where you feel like you’re making a positive impact.

In order to be successful, you must have a destination in mind and a benchmark to hold yourself against; otherwise, you are far too susceptible to distractions.

What does the future hold for Russ Ruffino and Clients on Demand?

Covid-19 has thrown a real spanner in the works for a lot of businesses. However, we teach our clients how to run their coaching or service business 100% online, with no need for any face-to-face or in-person contact whatsoever. For that reason, our client’s businesses were largely untouched by COVID, and in fact for many of our clients, 2020 was their best year ever.

I believe that every coaching, consulting, or professional services company should have a revenue stream that functions 100% online. No one knows what the future holds, or when it will be safe to see clients face-to-face again. Having an offer that is sold and delivered online is a no-brainer for people looking to expand and secure their revenue, while maximizing their reach and global impact.

On a final note in the words of Clients on Demand’s own website – Success is hard. We coached every one of our clients through fear, overwhelm, and challenges to find success. Your business is different, therefore your results will be different. If you are looking for “get rich quick” or “get rich easy” look elsewhere.”