An image of a person sat at a desk writing in a notebook. On the left side of the image there is an orange rectangle with a grey rectangle layered over the top with orange text reading ‘What is a Power Hour?’ and on the right side of the image there is an orange circle with white text reading ‘Jo Francis’

What is a Power Hour? (And why your business should have one)

A Power Hour is the perfect way to give the maximum amount of value to a client in just one hour. But it’s so much more than that. And, although this may sound a little harsh, it’s also the ideal way to prevent tyre kickers – people that can’t decide whether or not they want to work with you or people that just want to harness your knowledge but don’t want to pay for your time.

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Give potential clients the opportunity to work with you for one hour – to show them your value.

It’s often the way, with every business, that as you become more well known or as your business grows, you’ll start to get a lot of people asking if they can “just pick your brains for five minutes” or “could you just jump on a quick call”. Now I’m the first person to always want to help out, but as with everyone, I only have so many hours available every day. And much of that time needs to be devoted to my paying clients.

More often than not, if you do jump on a call with someone, or you do agree for them to email over their questions, you’ll end up spending a lot more than just five minutes on their question. So having a Power Hour is the perfect antidote for this. It’s your way of offering a single hour of your time to cover any potential clients’ questions and to help people out, but still get paid for your valuable time and your knowledge.

What can be covered in a Power Hour?

Everyone’s Power Hours are different, so you need to look closely at a) your niche and b) the questions your get frequently asked or your area of expertise that people come to you for help with.

For me, my niche areas are Facebook ads and email marketing automation. And these are the two areas that I often get asked the most questions about, but generally a Power Hour can be used to cover any tricky situation that a client is facing.

For example, in a recent Power Hour, I took a client all the way through from understanding his Facebook pixel to getting to grips with Ads Manager and building his first Facebook audience. We actually also managed to cover conversion events and building his first ad. In this instance, I didn’t do it for him but talked him through the process and there was so much information packed in to the hour that within a short amount of time following our call, he had created his first ad campaign, which I was thrilled to see go live and pop up in my Facebook newsfeed!

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Other Power Hours have been devoted to more strategic conversations, talking to clients about the types of funnels that they should be building out and how to take leads from their Facebook ads all the way through email marketing nurture sequences, and ultimately on to become clients / customers.

Additionally, I’ve spent many a Power Hour talking through the process of setting up email marketing automation and helping clients with the copy for their emails.

Why is a power hour more expensive than your hourly rate?

If you’re going to offer a Power Hour, it is just a single hour but it has so much value crammed into it and it’s quite an intense hour, so think carefully about your pricing. I do recommend at least one and a half times your “normal” hourly rate, not just because of the work involved but because a Power Hour is so jam packed with value.

When I take a Power Hour booking, in advance of the Power Hour I ask clients to send me their website details, their Facebook page details and very often, if we’re going to be working on their Facebook ads, I ask them to enable access to their ads manager. All of this takes additional time as I like to thoroughly research who I’m talking to and what their issues are before the call. And then after the call I make myself available for any additional questions they have via email. So, a Power Hour generally ends up being more than a single hour.

Is there any way of getting a cheaper Power Hour?

You need to think about how you package up your time. I would never advise offering discounts, but perhaps if a client is booking some kind of package with you, that includes a Power Hour, you may be able to work out a lower rate for them.

With my clients, if I know that they are keen to talk about Facebook ads, and actually want help with Facebook ad implementation then I’ll suggest that they book a three hour Facebook ad implementation session.

And because that package is based on three hours, the first hour Zoom call (which is similar to a Power Hour) actually works out at a lower cost than a Power Hour.

And the client then knows that they have me for three hours and I will work on their Facebook ads for the remainder of the time outside of the call.

And the same applies for email marketing – if someone wants me to go more in depth, perhaps with writing copy or setting up their automation, then I’ll suggest they book a three hour implementation session.

However, having said that, many of my regular clients and existing clients started off as Power Hour clients. It’s the ideal way for a new client to get to know me, me to get to know them and to see if we feel we can successfully work together.

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Should every service based business have a Power Hour?

Power Hours may not feel right for everybody, but I think they’re definitely something that every service based business could and should consider. It’s a great way to introduce yourself to a client and really show your knowledge and get under the skin of the problems that the client’s facing in quite a quick time.

Should you help anybody out for free?

Absolutely. It’s great for people to think of you as the “go to” person in your industry / speciality, so if you can help out in small ways and with quick questions then that’s never a harmful thing to to….just beware of “time hoovers” (those people that have “one quick question” that turns into a full Q&A session).

I definitely still answer many questions on a daily basis without charging and without pushing people towards a Power Hour. If someone emails me or messages me on a social media platform with just a quick question, then if it’s something I can answer quickly for them, I’m happy to do that. If I feel they need more in depth help, or there is value to them in going deeper, then I will suggest taking a Power Hour. However if it’s just a simple question, for example, “how do I know if I’ve got the Facebook pixel installed on my website?” then of course, I’m more than happy to advise on how to check that.

And over and above that, when I have a new client enquiry. I will always offer a 15 minute consultation free of charge because I understand that we both need to understand whether I’m able to help them, what the nature of their project is and whether we’re a good fit to work together. These consultations are of huge value to me but they are a mutual fact finding event, rather than me solving a specific problem or dealing with a specific issue in the client’s business.

Does having a Power Hour ever put a client off?

I’m sure it does occasionally. A lot of people want free information and some may find it not something they’re comfortable with – being asked to pay to have their questions answered. But ultimately, you have to decide, as I have done, whether they would be the right clients for you and you have to remain aware of the amount of hours that you have in a day.

Also, for me, I believe it’s important not to undervalue the amount of time and money I’ve put into building up my knowledge and the years experience that I have. And both the client and I should appreciate the value that I can add to their business, and if we don’t, then we’re probably not a good fit anyway.

What’s the best way for prepare for a Power Hour (as a client)?

If you’re booking a Power Hour, whether it’s with me or another business owner, then I would suggest being clear on what you want to cover in that hour. If you have specific questions, or a specific problem that you’re facing, then make that very clear, either by emailing in advance, or making it one of the first things you talk about.

It’s not rude to dispense with the polite chit chat – this is your hour and you’re paying for it. So you don’t need to have 15 minutes talking about kids, family, weather etc. You can go straight in with the pain points of your business and get the answers that you need.

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What happens after a Power Hour?

If you’re a business owner thinking about creating a Power Hour, then you need to decide what (if any) additional value you want to offer your clients, over and above the hour call.

I always offer to share the recording of the Power Hour with my clients, because there’s usually a lot covered in the hour. And this allows them to go back over and watch it again and perhaps take in some information they may have missed. This is particularly helpful if we’re working through Facebook ads and screen sharing. It’s also an ideal training tool for them, that they can refer back to.

And if any additional questions arrive arise, Power Hour clients are always more than welcome to email those over to me. If more time is needed, then I will suggest another Power Hour or if they need help implementing the strategies and the advice that I’ve given them we may move towards an implementation package.

How to book a Power Hour with me

If you’d like to book a Power Hour with me, you can head here. Once the booking is made, you’ll be sent the link to Calendly, where you can book in a time and date that suits you.

“Thank you so much for your time. I found it really valuable in that you helped me to both understand the principles AND start the practical set-up.”

Elisabeth – Facebook Ads Power Hour client

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