1

From 2003-2009, Jason Hanson held a job that most would consider the stuff of James Bond movies and high

intrigue—a CIA Officer.

But the lifestyle of a CIA officer, with the divorce rate a staggering 80%, wasn’t a good fit for Jason’s life with his wife and two young children. After 6 years, he was ready for the next challenge. He needed a job, preferably one that didn’t involve pushing papers in an office.

He decided to use his expertise to start a small business teaching personal protection skills, self-defense, weapons training and CIA tactics. His first clients were corporate, but soon not after he started he was working with civilians as well.

Jason’s business, Spy Escape and Evasion, wasn’t exactly an overnight success. His first year income was only about $20,000, and his initial class drew an underwhelming 8 participants, largely due to his lack of marketing knowledge.

“Yes, there were challenges. The highs are high and the lows are low. Any entrepreneur who says it wasn’t challenging is a liar. I was throwing spaghetti at the wall and just seeing what stuck. I was discouraged and wasting money. You name it, I was struggling with it.”

But even in spite of the early challenges, Jason never considered going back to traditional employment. He was in it for the long haul.

How an appearance on Shark Tank (and Infusionsoft) helped this former CIA agent build the small business of his dreams

We help small businesses succeed.

2

The big break

Jason was looking to grow his business, and a friend suggested he apply for Shark Tank (the hit ABC TV Show where a panel of investors, or Sharks, compete to fund promising startups). He took the leap. Jason describes his appearance on Shark Tank as a dream come true, a long process, and the break he had been waiting for.

One of the investors on Shark Tank, Daymond John, saw potential in Jason’s business model. As Founder and CEO of FUBU, Daymond typically invests in fashion and apparel companies—but he saw huge growth potential for Jason and Spy Escape. With the right marketing muscle, Jason would have a hit.

Daymond offered $150,000 for 45% of Spy Escape and Evasion, and Jason accepted.

Enter Infusionsoft

Once Daymond invests in a business on Shark Tank, he utilizes his marketing and branding company, Shark Branding, to fuel the company’s growth. Cliff Worley, Chief Digital Officer for Shark Branding, tackled Jason’s marketing first. Jason was using a basic email marketing system, nothing for contact management, and PayPal to handle his e-commerce activities. The entire system was disjointed. And without automation, he had to manually create a login for each contact and send out emails individually. Jason is the first to admit that he was not set up for success, given that he had no method of capturing leads and a website that was little more than a long-form sales page.

Cliff knew that Infusionsoft’s sales and marketing automation software was the perfect fit to scale a company like Jason’s. He had implemented Infusionsoft’s integrated marketing automation and CRM software in other small businesses, and was eager to leverage its power for Spy Escape.

We help small businesses succeed.

3

Jason’s Top Tips For Small Business Success

1 Learn how to write copy

Small business owners underestimate

the value of knowing how to write.

Do not overlook this; this skill is the

main reason I made it on Shark Tank

because I sent the producers the sales

letter for my Spy Escape and Evasion

training course.

2 Get up at 5am

When you wake up early and focus on

the most important things while most

people are still asleep, you’ll get your

best work done. You can get more

work done during those hours than

most do in an average 8-hour workday.

3 Don't listen to naysayers

As long as you know the right thing to

do, don’t care too much what others

think. Trust your instincts.

Spy Escape gets a marketing makeover

The goal was to use Infusionsoft’s fully customized sales and marketing automation to capture as many leads as possible the night the show aired, with sales as a secondary objective. They drove traffic from the show to his landing page, and implemented a webform to capture the names and email addresses of prospects visiting his site so he could follow up with them later.

They used Infusionsoft to send a strategic, automated follow-up sequence of emails to each person who registered, which included a time-sensitive call to action and a series of personalized, intentional upsells.

“With Infusionsoft, I can search and see exactly who has bought what, or get super-specific and send emails only to leads in the Chicago area, for instance.”

Don't underestimate the value of hard work

I spend a lot of time with billionaires. I

was looking for their secrets, or some

sort of magic pill. The real secret?

They are average Joes, just like me.

It comes down to 1% genius and 99%

working your tail off.

Self-Explanatory Bonus: Marry the right woman.

4

5

He also knew from past experience that Jason needed to have a strong system in place to handle the flood of traffic that would follow after the Shark Tank episode aired.

We help small businesses succeed.

4

The Results

Business exploded. In Jason’s first four years of business, Spy Escape’s revenue was approximately $400,000. In the first week following Shark Tank, Jason generated $200,000 in revenue. What’s more, Jason quadrupled his email list, positioning himself for future success.

In addition to Infusionsoft’s CRM and marketing automation tools (including lead capture and follow-up email campaigns), Jason utilized CustomerHub to implement a membership

program for his civilian course. This step brought in over $24,000 in additional revenue each month, and minimized the need to host as many in-person events. All of this success has lead to a book deal (with a six-figure advance) and a lucrative partnership with Survival Life.

Top Tips from Cliff Worley for Shark Tank Success:

Get your website ready:

Often people showcased on Shark

Tank do not have their websites truly

ready. Sites crash from the high

volume of traffic, and there is no

system in place to capture leads. If you

are going to be featured in a way that

will drive a high level of traffic to your

site, be sure it is designed to optimize

both purchase and lead capture.

Perfect your funnel:

Build out your funnel to perfection

BEFORE the traffic arrives so you can

maximize the opportunity. Consider

what you want people to do and the

sort of products or services you are

selling, as well as the kind of follow-up

that will lead them to purchase. And

test everything thoroughly.

Be willing to change:

Be willing to consistently tweak

things. Your first way is not the right

way, guaranteed. If you are open to

changing you will do so much better

than thinking what you have will work.

Chief Digital Officer, Shark Branding

1

2

3

Without Infusionsoft, Jason says the time following Shark Tank would have been a disaster for Spy Escape (instead of his big break). Jason and Cliff both agree that Spy Escape would have missed out on six figures of revenue, thousands of contacts, and unlimited potential in that first week alone.

With the strategic support from Shark Branding and Infusionsoft’s premier small business sales and marketing software, Spy Escape was poised for success. When the Shark Tank episode featuring Spy Escape aired in February of 2014, Jason was prepared to capitalize on an unprecedented level of exposure for his business.

We help small businesses succeed.

5

It’s not just about the money

Somewhere along this path, Jason’s personal definition of success changed. In his twenties, Jason readily admits that success looked like working hard, having millions of dollars and material possessions to reflect that wealth. Now success for Jason looks like owning a business that allows him to spend his time the way he wants to spend it, and, most importantly, that gives him more time to spend with his family.

Today Jason is working as hard as ever, but he’s working smarter, and getting more done. He eats lunch every day with his two young children, and leaves work at 5 pm.

“There’s a different measuring stick of success now – I don’t care about the material things. Infusionsoft not only helps me make more money, it makes my life easier. That is priceless.”

We help small businesses succeed.