Look for Customers Who are Looking for YOU
Have you ever wondered why it’s so difficult to get new paying customers when there are so many people experiencing the exact problems you’re best at solving?
Maybe what you do is so fantastic that you could help everyone. Whether it’s true or not, for a moment, let’s assume that it is.
Even if your product or service could help everyone, there’s some bad news.
Only certain people are willing to be helped by you. Many who have the problem you solve are not yet willing to admit that it’s really a problem. Of those who have acknowledged this problem, only a handful are disturbed enough for the problem to be a priority. And of the handful that are going to do something, only a select few are actively looking for you to help them.
They are your ideal clients.
They know they have the problem you solve. It’s painful enough for them to take action. And they are looking for you.
If they’re looking for you, they’re probably also prepared to pay you for the solutions to their problems.
Who are they? This is the part that most small business owners miss. They don’t clearly define who their ideal clients are.
List everything that you know about them. What types of professions are they in? What age group? Do they represent one gender or both? What are their priorities, values, and beliefs?
Next, determine where you are most likely to find them. Remember, they are actively looking for you. Where are they looking?
Finally, go to where they are looking and start talking about the problem and what their lives will be like when the problem is gone. Don’t lead the conversation talking about your products, services or credentials. Remember that if they’re looking for you they’re in a problem solving mode and that problem is consuming their attention. That’s what they want to talk about. So. . .
Explain their problem better than they can, THEN paint a vivid picture of how wonderful their life without the problem. Once they feel that you understand where they are and where they’re going, they will be very interested in your solution.
This will get you a lot more customers than trying to convince people who don’t even know they have a problem or who aren’t frustrated enough to do something about it.
Is it your best ever?
I had this quote from Alan Cohen in my e-mail inbox this morning.
“If your current endeavor is not the best you have ever done, stop and consider what it would take to make it so.” – Alan Cohen
My first thought was, “That’s a great way of evaluating what I’m doing.” And within just a few seconds I was ready to discard it into the waste bin of ‘great concepts that I’m too busy for’. That’s because it’s so BIG and it requires such a high level of personal integrity that it’s intimidating.
Well, I decided it’s time to get over small thoughts about who I am and what I’m capable of. I really do have something brewing that’s bigger and bolder than I’ve ever done. A select few people know about it so far and it scares the crap out of me to reveal it to the world, but I know that announcing it will do two really big things for me.
First, it will require me to hold myself accountable to myself at a higher level because avoiding looking like a fool motivates me more than than staying within the velvet lined confines of my shoe box sized comfort zone. Second, the cause is so noble and worthy that I know I’ll get a level of support that I can’t yet imagine.
Stay tuned in – it’s coming soon. Meanwhile, what can you do to make your current work or play your best ever?
Get ready for YES
How prepared are you when you make a request of someone? Do you go in expecting to get a ‘YES’? And are you ready for what happens next?
On Friday 5/29 at the Lisa Nichols – No Matter What book event in Minneapolis, I made a request without being fully prepared for the next step and missed out on a great opportunity. It looked like I was ready when I arrived with my new Flip video camera and a plan to ask Lisa for an interview, but I wasn’t.
Before Lisa’s talk, Bill Harris of Centerpointe Research, told the story of starting his company at his kitchen table with borrowed recording equipment. Now he’s pulling in $1.5 million PER MONTH.
Bill was answering questions in the hallway after Lisa’s talk. I needed great new website material. I decided on the spot I would ask him for an interview about the lessons he’s learned in his journey From Invisible to In Demand.
With Flip in hand, I waited for my opening and I asked.
“Do you mean right now?” he asked. “Uh, yeah,” I said.
He started talking, so I turned the camera on, pressed the record button, and handed it to one of the other people gathered around Bill. My new helper pointed the camera our way and I was getting my interview, just like that.
Bill went into detail about making customer preferences much more important than what you like. He shared how Centerpointe uses the influence principle of RECIPROCITY by giving away great bonus materials to their customers. And I WAS GETTING IT ALL ON VIDEO.
That’s what I thought until my helper handed the Flip back to me with a blank screen. It shut off during the interview.
The problem was that I never really started recording and I didn’t realize it. Since the camera was unfamiliar, I was not aware there would have been a red light on the front while recording. The red light wasn’t on, but I didn’t even know to look for it.
No interview. Nothing new to post on my website.
I thanked Bill for his time and went to get Lisa Nichols to sign my copy of her book.
After this screw-up, did I have the courage to ask for the interview I really wanted to get that night? If you’ve seen my home page, you already know the answer. By the way, she was gracious enough to give that interview after signing books for 2 ½ hours. What a wonderful person!
Get ready for ‘YES’ in advance – you’ll be glad you did,
Jim