Podcast Summary: The $100 MBA Show – Episode MBA2697

Episode Title: How to Know Why You’re Not Making Enough Money in Your Business
Host: Omar Zenhom
Date: October 31, 2025
Duration (content): Approximately 20 minutes

Overview

In this actionable episode, Omar Zenhom breaks down how to diagnose why your business isn’t generating as much revenue as you expect, even when you’re putting in a ton of work. He introduces a clear, step-by-step approach for identifying bottlenecks in your business funnel, provides explicit benchmark metrics, and offers quick, high-impact suggestions to address each issue. The tone is practical, no-nonsense, and encouraging, focusing on “knowing your numbers” and methodically fixing what’s broken.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Business Funnel as a Diagnostic Tool

[02:04]

• Funnel = Five Gates. Think of your business/revenue as a river flowing through five gates. If any is blocked, revenue gets “stuck.”
  1. Market & Message: Are you communicating with the right people, with the right promise?
  2. Lead Capture: Are site/content visitors joining your list?
  3. Nurture: Are your leads engaged—opening and clicking your emails; do they trust you?
  4. Conversion & Sales: Do people buy when you ask?
  5. Retention & Support: Do customers stay, buy again, and refer others?
• Hot Tip:

  “First, fix the part of your funnel that’s closest to the cash. That’s called the theory of constraints. I learned this the hard way.” – Omar [04:00]

• Focus: Most businesses don’t have a traffic problem—they have a conversion problem.

2. Create a Minimal Viable Scorecard

[05:10]

• Track and benchmark key metrics for each gate in a simple Google/Excel sheet.
  • This “dashboard” lets you spot exactly where things are breaking down.
  • Omar delivers detailed benchmark rates so you know what qualifies as “good.”

3. Benchmark Metrics for Each Funnel Stage

A. Lead Capture (Traffic to Leads)

[06:08]

• Warm Traffic: 25–40% opt-in rate (25% is minimum, 40% is aspirational).
• Cold Traffic: 15–25% opt-in.
• If below these, work on your lead capture (landing page/offer).

B. Cost Per Lead (CPL)

[08:03]

• Formula: Ad Spend ÷ Leads
• “No universal benchmark; $5–$500 may be healthy depending on industry.”

C. Nurture (Email Engagement)

[09:10]

• Open Rates (first 72 hours):
  • Warm leads (on your list 3+ months): 35–50%
  • Colder leads: 25–35%
  • “30% open is a good general average.” – Omar
• Click-through: 1–3% is strong; higher if highly targeted.

D. Conversion & Sales

[10:35]

• Sales Page Conversion:
  • Cold traffic: 1–3%
  • Warm traffic: 3–8%
• Webinars (Live):
  • Registration-to-attendance: 30–40%
  • Attendance-to-buy: 5–15%

    “I used to average around 10–15%. Some webinars went up to 25% with highly targeted buyers.” – Omar [12:01]

• Sales Calls (1:1):
  • Show-up rate: 60–80%
  • Closing rate: 20–40%

E. Retention & Support

[13:20]

• Refund Rate:
  • Info products: <3%
  • SaaS: <5%
• Churn (recurring models):
  • First year: 5–8%
  • Mature business: <3%

    “Less than 3% churn allows you to grow rapidly and not keep fighting churn.” – Omar

4. Weekly Review Practice

[15:11]

• “Run a weekly 45-minute review” of your funnel metrics, starting nearest the cash—sales, then retention/support.
• Once things are stable, you can reduce to 5-minute weekly check-ins.

5. Specific Fixes for Funnel Problems

A. Retention/Refunds/Churn

• Create an onboarding email series:

  “Day one: do this. Day two: do this... Give them guidance, not just radio silence after they buy.” – Omar [16:12]

B. Low Conversion

• Review and clarify your offer
• Add social proof, risk reversal (money-back guarantee), and clear CTAs.
• Use “verb + outcome + timeframe” headlines.

  e.g., “Sign up for this course + learn how to snowboard + in two days.”

C. Low Nurture/Engagement (Emails)

• Send shorter, story-led emails with a single CTA.
• Consider video for clarity/trust ("show, don’t tell").
• Try a “reactivation campaign”:

  “What's your current roadblock? Reply and let me know.” – Omar [17:21]

D. Low Lead Capture

• Improve your offer (lead magnet), try different formats/media.
• Ensure opt-in is “above the fold.”
• Add testimonials and press mentions.

E. Weak Market/Message

• Clarify “who” you serve and their pain points.
• Cut weak marketing channels; double-down on your best ones.
• Use data (Google Analytics) to zero in on what’s actually working.

6. Real-World Diagnostic Example

[18:59]

• Scenario: Course creator, $497 product, 5,000 page views, 10% opt-in (500 leads) = “below average” for lead capture
• Strong nurture (48% open, 5% click rate)—keep doing what works there.
• Immediate advice: improve landing page/lead magnet, optimize opt-in rate.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If you fix your conversion rate, it can mean doubling, tripling revenue. Like, if your conversion rate right now is 0.5% and you take it to 1%, you just doubled your money easily.” [04:18]

• On business success:

  “If you’re not making enough money, it’s not a mystery, it’s science. It’s a mechanical problem in your business. Something is blocking the money.” [19:24]

• On the process:

  “Do one focus change per week so that you can see what works and test and then move on.” [19:44]

• On numbers:

  “Sometimes, in business, success is just all about knowing your numbers, knowing the math and seeing what’s not working and fixing what’s not working. It’s a little boring sometimes… but it results in more money. And that’s not boring.” [19:59]

Key Takeaways

• Diagnose your entire funnel with specific, actionable metrics.
• Always start fixing the stage closest to revenue (sales/retention) for the fastest impact.
• Weekly reviews drive continuous improvement—it’s a method, not a mystery.
• Success is math: track, test changes, and trust the process, even if it’s not glamorous.

Suggested Action Steps

1. Build your scorecard with Omar’s benchmarks.
2. Review it weekly, fixing cash-nearest bottlenecks first.
3. Don’t overcomplicate the process—get clear on the “leakiest pipe” and address it head-on.

This episode provides a focused, motivation-charged “blueprint” for systematically fixing what’s stopping your revenue from growing—the practical, step-by-step roadmap to identifying then solving your business’s money problems.