Andrew has a really killer story going from marketing consultant to successful CEO and co-founder of review Robin. I have personally tested out this platform and it is a very cool platform. If you are even considering a SAS platform - you have to check out this podcast and getreviewrobin.com.

In this episode, I am talking with Andrew McBurney. He is a dynamic character that launched a SAS platform designed and created for Agencies. I'm excited to share his model with you today because I know a lot of you out there looking to get into the SAS model.

Takeaways From This Episode:

Having the right software for reviews is vital
Selling a scalpel to a patient instead of to the doctor
Learning how to Niche Down and Why it is so important
How Review Robin is built for agencies
The Biggest hurdles to overcome building a SAS platform

One of the main focuses talked about is local and organic SEO for service based businesses but a giant problem in that space is reviews, right? It's hard to get them. Even companies that know they should be getting reviews are not actually getting them. Why? Because they do not have the right solution - which is - the right software being used. There are many amazing software solutions out there but it is important to pick the right one. Listen to Andrew and me walk you through the right software and process.

To truly appreciate what Andrew has accomplished, it is good to understand the mindset around what it takes to be able to be an agency owner. It is really not for everyone. Andrew talks about being a control freak and his failures in the beginning. Hearing his story will help you to understand why I love the framework of getreviewrobin.com. I have seen more and more of the platforms take this approach, and it is paying off. Because at the end of the day agencies are the ones out there serving small business owners. This platform is created and designed for Agency owners.

"What made you think about going down the riskier path and targeting the smaller audience?

He describes his steps like selling a scalpel to the patient instead of to the doctor. Actually giving the patient the skills to do what needs to be done. He talks about where he originally heard this saying and how it just resonated because it is exactly how this feels.

close up of hands with scalpel at operation

In the beginning, they were selling to everybody. They were talking to these like super qualified prospects who just had no interest in signing up. Or if they did sign up, they wouldn't log in and actually use the damn thing. Then they noticed with agencies, it was a total flip. Now they exclusively serve small businesses that are actively investing in marketing agencies for themselves. So, it's not the solopreneurs, that $500 would mean that they miss rent this month or whatever. Andrew breaks down why his platform is so successful with small businesses and agencies and the path he went down with his business coach to get him there. Starting with Niching Down and why it is so important.

Starting with Niching Down and why it is so important.

Not only Niching Down but picking the right niche. Andrew made a few wrong assumptions about niche marketing and he can help you keep from making the same mistakes. Once he mastered it, he realized the more he niched down, the more he doubled down on his niche, the better for the clients and that everything across the board was better - marketing sales got easier. So, whenever it was time to do that, in the SAS space, it was an easy decision, because it made sense.

The most important thing about niching down is the perceived value. You have a precise target audience. You not only come across as the expert action, you are the expert. Think about it, if you are a jack of all trades agent, you are trying to master all audiences. When you serve a dentist one day and you serve an accountant the next, you literally go from zero to 100, back to zero to 100. It's not that you're not learning; It's just the fact you're not investing long term in an industry that will pay dividends. We talk about the four primary ways to niche out - Platform, Skill Set, Location and Geographic. It is important to understand the difference between these four ways and which way works best for you and your agency.

Review robin is built for agencies and makes it so much easier for you.

Powerlifter lifting weights helped by his master

So many times review platforms have no benefit to the agency. They will have a package program that you can't use or they want to upsell you. Review Robin gives the purchase power back to the agency. It gives you the flexibility that you deserve. Because at the end of the day, the agency is doing all the heavy lifting. It's not that hard to create technology, it's really hard to get out there, build a reputation, sell it and service small businesses, right. So in Andrew’s opinion, you guys are doing 80% of the work. Why should a review platform punish you and make you pay more?

For example, you can buy 10,000 credits and disperse as you see fit - no upsell - no punishment. You actually can aggregate all of those emails up here into like, 100,000 email buckets. And as they meet them, disperse them down at very little additional costs, and or additional costs that you can absorb 100% of profit for your agency.

Another benefit to agencies in this model is that you know exactly how much you're paying for the software, you don't need to constantly approve purchases whenever you need to go up or down month to month for the account managers. You're not constantly pulling out your credit card. Hear Andrew explain the details of how this works and works for you.

Biggest hurdles to overcome in building out a SAS

Composite image of businessman jumping a hurdle

1. Do not be feature Happy is the number one thing...keep it simple, stupid, please, please, please.

2. Know what features to build and don't fall in love with your own ideas.

3. Know how your platform is doing. One thing they lacked in the early stages was not knowing the errors happening behind the scenes.

4. Customer Service - actively going out of your way to make sure your clients are winning.

Having these systems in place makes you sleep better at night because at the end of the day, you want to be able to know what's going on behind the scenes. With this system Andrew was able to leverage different technologies and methods from different disciplines and make a system that works for you personally.

Andrew is a dynamic entrepreneur CEOs with a beautiful entrepreneurial journey. If you ask me what he is describing his very own secret sauce and how it works for you and I challenge everybody to go out there and do that same thing.

Shameless Plug

Check out their websites getreviewrobin.com or you can email Andrew directly at Andrew@getreviewrobin.com and see how specific they are in what they do. They are hyper focused on helping clients get more reviews, and market those reviews, stay on top of them, respond to them and soon have the option to be able to easily embed them into your customer emails and to your customer websites… Hear all about it.