This 10-day video series honors our upcoming Independence Day here in the
States–July 4; honors the determination our forefathers had to be free by
looking at the freedoms entrepreneurial thought leaders must claim in
order to be successful in business and in changing the world.
In this first video. we look at the most important freedom for an entrepreneur.
Enjoy!
[youtube width=”640″ height=”480″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtAf6KfcEqc&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
I have been fairly absent on the public scene for six weeks because I was busy breaking all known barriers in the virtual landscape again. I don’t say that to boast and I’m certainly not hyping it up. It’s just the truth and if you’re serious about making a mark as a leader in business this year, you want to read this post.
After my first free “Facebook Adventure” in July—The Inspired Leaders’ Summer 2012 Road Trip—I swore I’d never do anything like it again because the amount of focus and attention required was too much for any mere mortal to put forth again. But the fabled “December 2012” was looming and I knew, as a vocal proponent of the arrival of a new world consciousness with that date, that I had to lead another community event. And so I did: “The Inspired Leaders’ December 2012 Rite of Passage.” [Read more…]
It’s pretty rare to come across a book that expands a business’s creative potential quite exponentially; has real and practical application, and is p
rofound. I believe that Winning the Story Wars by Jonah Sachs is one of the best books I’ve read in a decade because of these elements. It tells a unique and potentially world-changing story as it invites you to do the same. You’ll want to read it yourself and glean from it whatever your business most needs, but I’d like to share the impact it had on me–and it was, indeed, profound.
First, for you to feel the impact yourself, it’s necessary—in reading the book or in reading this post–to view yourself as a marketer. I always tell my Inspired Leaders that selling and marketing is 80% of their business, but I’ve never really called them or myself, “marketers.” Now, I will–and proudly, as you’ll see. [Read more…]
This is the final installment in this series and is most relevant for those who sell business-to-business.
#6: The size of the company will determine your market.
You will always need to get in front of decision makers, and the size of the company, business or organization whom you approach determines who that is and thus who your market is. It’s well worth your time to think this through.
If you want to target a large company, your market is HR or perhaps a top executive–and most likely, they will not be your final audience. This awareness, then, tells you–as any target market will–how to craft your marketing communications. They will not be directed to the C-levels, managers or other employees with whom you will be directly interacting–everything will be constructed around “what’s in it for” the decision maker. [Read more…]
# 5: Your 4 Business Roles
As a service-based business owner, there are 4 roles you will likely play in your career. But only one is where you want to spend most of your time. One is the best option given your mission. One is the best option given ethical behavior toward your clients. And it is very important to build your business so that you are utilizing the best role in your Signature Program—the program that is central to your entire business. Since your Signature Program will be populated by a certain target market, it stands to reason that you need to know which of these roles you’re playing in that program so you can determine who should be “in the room.” [Read more…]
Today, we’re moving to the 3rd post in a 6-part series designed to help you determine whom you should be leading. I expect this will be enlightening and helpful to even the most successful service entrepreneurs.
3. Who are YOU? BE your market.
Richard Branson was featured yet again in Entrepreneur Magazine, June 2012, and was quoted as saying, “All startups should be thinking, ‘What frustrates me [as a customer] and how can I make it better? It might be a small…or…a big thing, but…if they think like that, they’re likely to build a very successful business.”
The most relevant piece to our discussion is this: he spoke of the fact that he has always been his own customer. Everything he ever created, from Virgin Records to Virgin Airlines and everything in between and after, came from his own need. And he credits “being his own customer” to his success.
This has now become a topic of conversation between me and my clients who go through my 7-session private program, The Powerhouse Method, looking to build a highly-marketable, one-of-a-kind business. The first order of business is to determine whom they will be serving. To aid in this extremely (for most) challenging act, I tell them what Branson advises: You should be your market. But the converse is equally true: your market should be you. Either who you once were, or who you are now. Do not try marketing to a group you are not. Branson never did. Help those with the same needs you had once upon a time. If you’re frustrated now by how things are being done in your field–close the gap with an innovation and then sell it to others just like you with that need.
When you are your market, and your market is you, you secure one of the most important factors of success in business: credibility. They will listen to you because you are them and have an answer relevant to them. It means you will communicate (i.e. sell) to them like no one else because you speak their language and understand them at a deep level. It means you will design “urgently wanted” programs and products that nail their needs and desires because you know them so intimately.
I have always been my market, and as a result, every one of my programs through the years has knocked it out of the park. I have also always sold quite easily (once I overcame my issues with selling), because I created content *I* would have wanted and that my market (me, in an earlier time) wants and needs.
So, in trying to decide who your market is, look no further than your own mirror.
This is the 2nd in a 6-part series on mastering who your sliver-population market is. I’ve said to my students and clients for years that your market *is* your business. Without a market, you have either an unwieldy, undefined business or you have no business at all.
It is your market that will determine how you sell to them–the communication that will actually work.
Your market that will determine the free and paid programs you offer.
Your market who will create your expert-status.
Your market who will make you money.
And your market who will determine your destiny. If you are here to change the world, it is only a very segmented population that will help you do it.
There are many things I ask my private clients that enable them to take the vital step of shaping their all-important market, and recently, I’ve been directing them with these 6 tools. Today, I’m giving you the 2nd one.
2. The 4 Criteria
I have found these 4 questions quickly answer whether or not a market is a smart decision. You need to have a sense of a market in order for this to help, but once you have an idea of one or even two markets, measure your options (independently) against these 4 criteria:
On a 1-10 scale (0=not at all; 10=extremely), how would you rate your TM option on the following:
1. How “on the surface” is their awareness of their pain?
2. How credible are you to them? (They would believe you; respect you; resonate with you.)
3. How passionate do you feel when you think of working with them?
4. How able are they to pay for you?
Every single one of these is important.
And you want to be answering at an 8 (lowest), and preferably a 9 or 10.
If a market is a 9 or 10 in awareness of their pain, this is very good. It means they have an urgent need, and your business *must* be “urgently wanted”–or you will simply sit on the shelf as a one-day possibility (if you’re lucky.) Sound familiar?
You are credible to a market if you have been through what they are going through; if you have overcome what they’re in the midst of; if you express beliefs that immediately align with theirs. If you are an 8-10 in credibility, there is a high likelihood that they will buy you.
You must be at a 9 or 10 in passion for your market. If you are a follower of mine, you are here to effect change in the world and must want that change for a particular segment far more than for any other segment. You must be passionate about what you see is possible for them; what you think they’re here for–after all, you’ll be helping them get it. I am off-the-charts passionate about visionary entrepreneurs, those who are here to inspire change. I could do what I do for corporations, but I believe the world should be run by entrepreneurs, so I have no interest in helping executives. I used to work with any type of coach and consultant, but then decided that I only had interest in working with those who want to have a powerful impact in the world. I believe they have a purpose on the planet at this time and am extremely passionate about that and them. So, they are now the only type of service provider I work with.
And finally, needless to say, you want your market to be able to pay you at an 8, 9 or 10 level. If you answer anything lower than an 8, you will pay for it.
So, what are your answers when you take yourself through all 4 criteria?
It is a constant trouble-spot for my market of authors, speakers, consultants, coaches: Determining their market. I have a free ebook to help the process, but there are so many fine hairs to split, that it’s not really enough.
The Target Market question is the biggest boulder in the way of success for an entrepreneur; the hidden answer to their struggle; and the place that gets nearly every one of them—to use a term favored by a dear friend—“wonky.”
Tussling with who it is they will serve reveals commitment issues (I have to work only with them? For years??). Trust issues. (What if this market is a mistake and everything I build for them doesn’t work?) Ego and pride. (The big successes don’t target their market; I’m going to follow them.) When these issues become so obvious that they need to be pointed out lest we spend precious time extracting bullets from their feet, I provide these incisive insight–then end the nurturing with, “Get over all of it. Just pick.”
The other day, I was working with a client on his market and heard myself moving him through six ways to grab hold of a possible market for him. I am going to share them all with you in this diagram today and comment on the first, and then write content for the other five over the next week.
So, you can, and must, evaluate your market on at least the following conditions:
Even this is not a cut-and-dried question, and is hair that can be split dozens of ways, but it must be answered! The biggest problem I see for service-based entrepreneurs is that they do not ensure that they are delivering something to the market that the market would “climb over chairs to get.” They’re putting out what they want to put out.
But even if they work on this some, they’re still not reasoning it through enough. They really believe “everyone” could be served by what they offer. But this is not true. Some age-group (the fastest way to get at this if it’s a consumer market) or some company desperately wants what they have more than another. So, what is that age group? And then, what is the situation they’re in that heightens their urgent want? Did they just get divorced? Just graduate college? Did the corporation just merge? Who is in urgent pain and therefore urgently wants what you have?
You *must strike* where there is pain, or you will gather dust very quickly. And there are times in life when the pain out there that you can heal is more acute than at other times. Yes, you provide outstanding marketing services–but at what stage does a business recognize that it REALLY WANTS marketing help? Probably after about two years of failure. Yes, you’re a great parent coach, but what situations would cause a parent to come seeking your services? There are only a few times when pain is acute: during pregnancy; toddler years; teen-age years.
Look for stages of life and situations that will cause an upsurge of interest in your solution. You are not wanted all of the time. AND you are not wanted by everyone. You are wanted at a specific moment in time, by a very specific type of person/company.
So, what are the crackling synapses in your brain telling you right now?
Stay tuned for the next installment…
Ready for this? Your business sales are directly proportionate to your ability to stand before the judge and win your case.
Yes, you’re here to effect change in the world. To do good. Be an inspired leader. But in addition, you must be as sharp as a prosecuting attorney if you’re going to make money helping the world with your business–any money.
Sans all sleazy and unethical tactics. In fact, the opposite of slimy verbal gymnastics will win your case: irrefutable truth is the secret. But I’m jumping ahead of myself–and don’t assume you know what I’m about to say. Read on. I promise this will twist your circuits and get you thinking…
So, what does the prosecution in a case do? He puts forth an argument and then sets about proving it beyond a reasonable doubt. If he wins, it’s because the jurors or judge couldn’t come back with a, “Yeah, but –”. The proof was irrefutably true…or, at least, presented no holes.
I want you to realize why you may not be making enough money. Because you’re not presenting a solid case.
I’m willing to bet my life that 1. you don’t have a carefully considered and clearly articulated argument for your market on what they must do (hence your confusion, round-and-round thinking, lack of spark in your business); and 2. I’m willing to lay down my life that you haven’t considered or articulated iron-clad proof of your argument.
Am I warm?
If you fail to present your case, you lose. If your market doesn’t buy (believe) what you’re saying, they won’t buy it. You must present a truth they can’t deny.
So, let’s look at point 1: What is your contention for what your market must do? Spin on their toes for 5 minutes every day? Drink spring water from the Himalyas? Clear their mental blocks to success?
(You need an argument/contention for your entire business AND for every program and product you put out there. Your brand should have one salient contention; the single “to-do” that you are fired up with conviction about. And your smaller program/product contentions should step in line with that.)
Now, the more hackneyed your service (insurance; fitness; weight loss; life coaching; accounting; financial planning; yoga; etc.) the more immune we are to your argument because we’ve heard it already and have already made a decision about whether or not it’s true that we should do that—and, often, the more skeptical we are that your position has any merit. So, you have to work all the harder to articulate a provocative contention that catches attention.
For point #2: presenting the case–stating proof to expunge reasonable doubt. I’m a task-master with this and my clients have to go to the drawing board several times until they have satisfied this criteria. Not one of them has an easy go of it because it’s challenging to remove the holes a prospective client could poke in their argument. They get frustrated in that challenge, but I tell you, it turns their business from questionable to viable—and THAT is the difference between having to quit and Easy Street.
Heads up: The more esoteric, abstract and fringe your service (energy healing; dream analysis; past-life regression; medical intuitive healing; group sex therapy; Akashic Record clearing; even raw-food dieting) the harder it’s going to be to make a sale–because the harder it is to build a case that overcomes resistance or that has hard-core evidence that takes them beyond a reasonable doubt. So your job is to dig really hard and really deep to find the kind of evidence that will make your case.
Whatever your business, whatever stage your business is in–it is essential that you give this top priority.
This is selling we’re talking about. So, step one is to ask yourself, “What does my market have to do?” Don’t take yourself out of this by insisting that you don’t believe in telling your clients what to do!! That’s a really, really weak argument! You will only be successful in business to the degree that you have ironclad conviction about the very, very best solution for your folks. Without it, you will never stand apart, you will never sell well, you will not have a sustainable business—and you will lose your way in restlessness, uncertainty, self-doubt and confusion. Know what they must do and be a stand for it!
After you have your contention—put the word “because” after it…and start explaining why it’s true, in bullet-points.
Then look at each and ask yourself, “Could someone poke a hole in this?” If so, go at it until you have at least three or four solid proof-statements your market would buy. Then get out there and share it so they buy!
Coming in June! A free training call on how to build a successful one-of-a-kind business empire. THIS is one of the keys!
Today, a favorite client finished The Powerhouse Method™, my 7-session private program that develops one-of-a-kind business identities (and hers rocks!). For a series of reasons, she is unable to continue with me now, so I asked her a laser “completion” question that is relevant to anyone embarking on a new business venture.
“What is the single thing you could do to derail this initiative?” (It is actually a “movement” that she is starting.) She thought a moment and replied, “Believing that I’m not equipped, that I can’t pull it off.”
I said, “What does it take to ‘pull it off’?” She rattled off at least five or six attributes and character traits of someone who would succeed at building a movement. I then asked, “And in which of those do you have the least trust in yourself?” She knew right away: “Organized daily commitment. I get side-tracked so easily and am always learning and searching and telling myself that ‘somehow I can use this.’ But what I need to do is be really focused only on the daily tasks that will directly get me where I want to go.”
So, I asked her to make a commitment—and to only speak it if she meant it. She paused and then stated that she would work a designated number of hours per day and that all of those hours would focus only on the blueprint we had laid out for her to follow over the next three months.
Then I asked, “How will you celebrate yourself for successfully doing that each day?” She gave some typically-human weak answer like, “Just immersing myself in this movement will be celebration enough.” I said, “Nope. You have to celebrate that you have mastered a new habit for the day.” And I suggested that she put some money in a jar every day, from $2-5 dollars, and then to “cash it in”–in 2 weeks at first, then 4 weeks—on some treat: a lunch out for herself; a manicure; a round of lattes with some friends. She loved that idea and committed to doing it.
And finally, I asked her, “Why are you going to implement this new habit–i.e. work these very targeted hours each day?” And she said some powerful things like, “Because I cannot die with this in me. It is my life’s purpose and now that I have it, I’m not giving it up,” and, “Because it will totally make my life big to do this.” I then encouraged her to think of her market—those who will comprise the movement. “Why are you doing it for them?” And she said, “Because they will be totally expanded–completely changed forever. And so will the rest of the planet.”
I underscored her potent words by saying, “Your doing this every day, then, is a sacred walk to your purpose and to their transformation. ”
She was silent for a while and then gruffly said, “You totally got me with that, Lizabeth. It is absolutely a sacred walk.”
“So,” I summarized, “what you could do to derail this, since I won’t be there to keep you on track—believing you can’t pull it off–will be summarily extinguished with measurable habits, celebrations of those habits every day, and the daily recognition that doing this work is a sacred walk that will change, one day, millions of lives.”
This was a potent few minutes I took her through–and so I encourage you, reader, to go through a similar process:
In whatever it is you are intending: what could you do to derail it?
Answer quickly. Now.
Ask yourself, “What does it take to _______?” or “What does it take not to ______”? [For instance, you may have answered that to achieve what you want would take “not being attached to the outcome.” So, what does it take to not be attached to the outcome?]
In which of your answers do you have the least trust in yourself? Choose just one.
Make a commitment about it. But only make it if you’re going to mean it.
How will you celebrate your habit of keeping that commitment each day?
Why will you keep it? Why for yourself? Why for your market?
Do you see that it is a sacred walk to all that you are here for and all that your market can become?
If so, hold your new habit as a sacred act every single moment.
If not, contact me. 🙂