How Good Is Your “Funnel Vision”?

I’m interested: how would you fill in this blank….

My business funnel consists of _______________; my marketing funnel consists of these sequential steps __________________; my sales funnel for my Signature Program consists of these steps______________.

These terms are bandied about so inconsistently, they’ve become meaningless–and maybe I’m only adding to the mix by creating yet more definitions, but I believe these will clear the cobwebs. I want you to be clear about what each of these does, and the fact that you need all of them in your business–done correctly.

Why am I so nutty about funnels lately? Because they are EVERYTHING! You don’t have a business without a business funnel; you won’t be seen without a marketing funnel, and no one will buy from you without a sales funnel (properly sequenced.)

I’m going to explain the differences today, but on April 16th, I’m leading a brand new BIZLIBS fill-in-the-blank game–“Funnel Vision”—that is going to be insanely educational—and fun!

 To get you ready, let me explore the differences in these funnels.

Think of these funnels on increasing camera zoom lenses. So, metaphorically, your business funnel zooms in on a “state”; your marketing funnel then zooms in on the “town,” and your sales funnel zooms in on a “house.”

          

I define a business funnel as your complete, progressive line-up of for-sale programs, which begins with the lowest time/lowest financial investment and gradually increases in both. I wrote a blog post in February outlining how to develop your business funnel; definitely make that weekend reading.

On BizLibs: Funnel Vision, you’ll be filling in blanks to develop or test this line-up or programs in your own business. Invaluable.

Just as your business funnel consists of sequential steps (that paying customers take,) your marketing funnel consists of sequential steps, as well—that prospects take. For the most part, marketing is a “front end job,” meaning that it focuses on getting people into your business, into the front end, namely your Signature Program. You do much less marketing, if any, for the backend. So, what does a typical marketing funnel look like? Here’s an image:

Picture6CROPPED

(1) You use social media, blog and other writing, speaking and JV partnerships to move people to (2) your opt-in page to get something for free. I always advise a written gift and also (3) a free event, which I call a “portal event.” Once there, they learn about the (4) Signature Program (and we move into the business funnel).

On BizLibs: Funnel Vision, you’ll be filling in blanks to help you create your marketing funnel. So easy and very instructive.

So, then, what is a sales funnel? Like the other funnels, it too is a sequence, but we’re now zoomed in on the “house,” so-to-speak. Concretely, this means that a sales funnel is the micro-sequence used to sell a product or program. People’s education on this is very minimal because not a lot of people are out there teaching it well. But let’s face it, you must go through a very selective series of steps on your “free portal event” to get people to actually buy your Signature Program. You must go through a very selective series of steps on your sales page to get people to buy your product. The same is true when you offer free consulting calls: a very selective series of steps needs to be taken to get callers to actually buy. So, you need properly converting sales funnels for everything in your business funnel.

Make sense?

On BizLibs: Funnel Vision, you’ll be filling in blanks to help you think cogently about your sales funnels, too!

So, what can you do while you await word from me on the BizLibs game?

EXERCISE: Review each of these funnels and visually sketch out the sequential steps you’ve currently got. Then ask yourself if you’re happy with the conversions of each of the programs in your business funnel. If not, check out analytics and conversions of items in your marketing funnel and improve your social media; increase your speaking; befriend more JV partners, etc. Then, look at your sales funnels for each program/information product. This is where you may have difficulty seeing the trouble-spots. You probably think you’re selling properly and don’t realize that you’re not pricing things creatively, or asking the right question at the right time, or making a “no-brainer” offer (and on and on).

BIZLIBSCropped

On BizLibs: Funnel Vision, you’ll play the game and then I’ll be answering questions on all of this! Just as our endocrine, circulatory, and nervous systems are us, your funnels are your business—and can either be sick or healthy. We’ll get them healthy on this very special webinar. Click here to read more and register!

What No One’s Telling You About…

 

Now, let me expand on what you just saw in the video.

The fastest, and truly most unique, way to fix your business in the minds and hearts of your prospects is with a story–a story they have never quite heard before that awakens a higher potential within them.

”Those who tell the stories rule the world.”—Plato

Ancient storytelling
Nothing separates you from your “competitors” the way a one-of-a-kind story does. Nothing moves you more authentically to the status of a leader than a story you have conceived that educates. And nothing establishes you more distinctly in the minds of the market. A story will peel you away from the pack faster and more satisfyingly than any other differentiation strategy.

But this particular story we’re talking about teaches. It puts forth a premise that is yours and yours alone, grown from your expertise, unique perspective, and wisdom.

So, rather than being differentiated on such typical ho-hummers as, “great customer service,” “attention to detail,” “really listening to a clients’ needs”—or the flash-in-the-pan fads, gimmicks and “attention-grabbing-bling”–YOU are known for a fresh, provocative idea that has substance.

And as someone here to help change the world—can it really be any other way?

Your Teaching Story offers dramatic tension like any good novel, and supports a strong thesis like any good non-fiction work. Done right, it masterfully satisfies your followers’ left brains with proof and facts, engages their right, holistic brain that senses, feels and creates—and, most important, provokes a paradigm shift in their understanding.

Remember, you are, more than anything else, a transformation artist and so your story, above all, must produce change in your audiences.

So, your story takes them deep inside a world they know, then it shows them how broken it is, and suggests the origins of the problem (every story needs a villain!), and then ushers them (as any good hero does) into a new world, one they’ve never seen before, complete with an original new possibility and solution.

And that new possibility and solution? That’s your brand. What you’re known for. Your Teaching Story is your brand, presented compellingly.

No one else is telling you about this…because no one else is doing it.

Come speak to me about your business…and how your very own Teaching Story is just weeks away. Click here to read more and talk to me.

Rebuilding After Hurricane Sandy

I’ve walked this boardwalk *countless* times. Well, what was a boardwalk.

Every single board of this 2-mile NJ landmark was ripped from its foundation by the force of Sandy and tossed lie a rag doll into the ocean.

Of course, this is mild compared to what has happened in other areas of my beloved NJ…and my beloved NYC. I am grateful that I get to sit, right now, in Starbucks, siphoning wi-fi so that I can experience a taste of civilization. I have been without power for 7 days and am staying–if you can believe it–with my ex, in a house currently alive because of a generator. We have no phone, internet or cable, and yesterday, I sat for 2 hours in line for gasoline–much shorter due to the new “even/odd” license plate rules. [Read more…]

Determining Your Target Market: 6 Ways You’ve Probably Not Considered–Part 2

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?

What Is Your High-Value-Driver in Business?

I was at a retreat about 14 years ago, where we were asked to make a list of our top 20 values. What mattered most to us and what ideals we shaped our lives around. I don’t have that list anymore, but I remember the exercise vividly. You may actually want to do the exercise as you read along, making sure not to read faster than you write. So, top 20 values.

Then, the facilitator asked us to remove 5. This was manageable and I remember the ah-ha I received from forcing the cream to the top. This was the solid 15 ideals I lived by.

Then, he asked us to remove 5 more. Ugh. But again, do-able. Can you see the next move? Yup, another 5. That one was impossible. Are you kidding me? I’m supposed to narrow all that matters most to me down to 5 words??? We all groaned and whined, certain that we were compromising or sacrificing as we chopped away. Then, the gauntlet fell, the moment of reckoning was offered to us: Take everything away but one.

It’s that single answer—that single word—that I remember so crisply 14 years later. And it revealed, without question, my true north star. It was THE value that had driven me since I was at least ten, when I’d asked a veterinarian my father knew if I could “shadow” him for the day and then came home and drafted a written test for myself and assessed my learning.

It is the single word that has driven my success in business and my success as an expert (two different things); what has driven my choice in mates and friends…and the leaving of mates and friends. It’s what has driven my parenting style; my spiritual journey. And that same value, that same word, is—though I’ve never done an official survey—the top value of my students and clients. My high-value driver is the same as those who pay me…as it can only be; we attract who we are. And as it really, should be. We should live with, clink glasses with, raise, and work with only those who value what we value.

What was my word? “Growing.”

I can’t do anything and not grow. I am highly self-reflective; intensely curious about things that capture my attention; I would far rather improve myself than be “right”. And I want the world to grow. I want extreme growth for my students, so they go out and bring growth to the world.

Whittling away what didn’t matter most for me was excruciating in the moment of that exercise, but what it revealed was precious and priceless: my high-value driver—why I do what I do. When things get choppy at home with friends or family, it is my value in “growth” that enables me to calm the waters. I seek to improve things, rather than let them be. And when things get funky in business, it is my high-value driver that pulls me through. I am here to grow myself, grow others and grow the world. Any outcome less than that will do me harm, truly, and so I’ll do whatever it takes, overcome all hard-spots to fulfill it.

So, what is your high-value driver in your business? What is the single word that conveys what you must do, and why you do it?


Introduction of New Ebook: Why Being Invisible In Business Hurts Your *Psyche*

Here is the next excerpt from “One of a Kind: The Powerhouse Strategy for Standing Out and Leading the Way with Your Business.” I’m releasing the ebook next week on an inteview call I’m doing with Therese Skelly. Definitely get on that here so you can hear me share with her how to get a truly one-of-a-kind business identity!

INTRODUCTION

If you are on this planet to serve the people on it through your business, you must succeed. You were not graced with the calling, talent and skill that you have just to fade into the background, unrecognized.

Yet, as you’ve heard countless times, talent and skill do not equate to business success. So many follow their passions only to end up sharing the very best of themselves with only a tiny circle of friends and family. They end up giving up and packing up because they cannot support themselves.

But then something far, far, far worse ensues. They end up living a life “unused.”

“This is the true joy in life: the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature…I want to be thoroughly used up when I die…” –-George Bernard Shaw

To be used up, I believe, is what every one of us wants. Not being so may be the only cause of our depression, the only thing that truly ages us.

You must be thoroughly used up when you die. And if your purpose is linked to your business, you must get your business right. But so many don’t take the time to understand all that is involved. This book isn’t designed to give an overview of all of the elements essential in building a successful business—there are plenty of those out there. This book is here to impress upon you one single thing:if you are not different in the marketplace, you will die with your song still in you.

The pain of blending in is a primal one, and will affect you on deep levels.

How does it feel when you get a blank stare or a look of confusion when you talk about your business? Or when only a few people sign up for your tele-call or seminar? How does it feel when people unsubscribe, or you go days and weeks without a single opt-in? What happens in you when, one after another, prospects slip out of your net?

I’ve seen it. A part of you is thrust back to high school, to the popular guy who never so much as sent you a glance; to the day you were passed over for the team; to all the parties where you hung back against the wall, unnoticed…and to all the times since, when friends, colleagues and even your own family haven’t recognized your value.

IT HURTS.

When your business isn’t special, it’s much too easy to start to think that you aren’t, and your confidence suffers a mighty blow that can too often be fatal to your business and your mission.

There is nothing more painful than not being worthy of someone’s attention. And in business, nothing more deadly than not being worthy of someone’s money.

When you can fill in this sentence, everything will change for you: “My business is the only one you will ever find that ____.”

When you can master this, the pain you’ve felt every time a prospect has rejected you will be replaced by a confidence that surpasses all understanding.

Being the “only one”–not just in your field, but period–is the game-changer.

Being “the only one who____” changes you from the inside out.

It heals the primal pain of going unseen.

It removes the pain of not fulfilling your life’s mission.

It assures you that you will be “used up.”

And it is the answer to most of your business problems:

  • Your vague and fuzzy articulation about what you do
  • Disinterested prospects in your 1-to-1 sales conversations
  • Poor attendance on tele-calls and other speaking events
  • The uphill battle to get clients
  • Low opt-ins on your website

Being provocatively unlike everyone else is the direct route to making money and to bending ears so that you change the world (which you’re here to do, by the way.)

So decide right now that you will put your attention on this. Very few other business efforts will matter if this isn’t right. To thrive–in business and in your own heart–you cannot spend one more minute in oblivion.

You would think this was obvious, but just take a look around at most service-based businesses: you could line them up and not one would stand out. You may notice shades of differences here and there, but overall, nothing would raise your brow in intrigue. Almost instantly, your brain would check out.

Why is this?

The Establishment

I can’t speak definitively, of course, but  after ten years of experience, I believe one answer is that there isn’t a clear enough definition of “what is different enough,” and so service entrepreneurs delude themselves into thinking they’re somehow making the grade….

You can read the rest next week when the book will be available.  Do listen in to my call with Therese, too, on May 5th. We’re bestest friends and it’s going to be a great interview! Check it out here.

Your Target Market is the Problem With Your Business

I’ve never met a service entrepreneur who didn’t squirm when confronted by a marketing truism: you must target your market. You cannot serve “everyone.” I cannot tell you the stunts students and clients have pulled, trying desperately to defend their position not to choose a narrow-population market. They fear they’ll be confined, bored, and will lose money. If you relate to that and haven’t chosen a targeted group of people to market to, that is your problem.

You are shooting yourself in the foot and setting yourself up for a business of fits and starts; erratic client income…and invisibility. Furthermore, you won’t be recognized as an expert if you’re talking to “everyone.” Experts are experts because they help a particular group.

So, here are 6 reasons you MUST narrow your market to a slim population and why you’ll FAIL if you don’t:

  1. Your target market IS your business when you’re a service entrepreneur. Every program you offer and information product you develop must be directed and composed specifically for them. If you are targeting “everyone” or straddling a few markets, your program offerings can’t solve the very unique and specific needs and desires of that market and will fly under their radar; they’ll never even “see” what you have to offer because it’s too general.
  1. It’s the fastest (and, most likely only,) way to become an expert. When you have a solution for, say, teen-age girls at risk, you will be noticed and sought out because it is assumed that you have very specialized knowledge and experience with that group. When you stay broad, you will never, ever become an expert.
  1. It clarifies your thinking. Your brain cannot picture “everyone” and so your thinking stays unfocused and broad. When you can see a specific population in your mind’s eye, you are able to form the specific wording that gets noticed by your prospects’ brains—which are always looking for one thing: how does this apply to me, specifically? I always say, “You write only as well as you think.” That goes with anything you’re producing, really. It all starts with a clear image. If you cannot SEE the careers and lifestyles of your market, your thinking is fuzzy and so will be your business identity.
  1. Your promotions get heard and noticed. When you speak to the laser-focused specific needs of your market, you leave them feeling something that is priceless for a business: heard and understood. If you convey your value in vague and general language, it won’t hit your prospect’s heart. EVERYONE wants to feel that they are fully and completely understood. When you have a sliver-population-target-market, you will tailor your message to them; they will feel embraced and understood and valued by you—and compelled to work with you. It is the most powerful, psychological gift you give to people who haven’t worked with you: I know you. I get you. And I can help YOU, specifically.

When a business speaks to everyone, it gets heard by no one.

  1. Your excitement will increase. When your communication about your value is specific to a specific group’s needs, you get excited because suddenly you really know who you’re helping!  You are here to alleviate pain, solve problems—when you are doing that for a narrow population who needs you, the very best of you will spring forth and you will love sharing what you do! Trust me on this. If you are feeling flat about your business–it’s probably because you don’t really know who needs you most. If you’re uninspired, your business will fall away.
  1. Your marketing efforts explode in effectiveness because you know precisely where to put them. You find where your target population congregates, and your articles, website links, advertising, newsletters, etc. go directly to them. The time and effort you put into marketing drops dramatically—something every business owner must appreciate!

I’ve got a 24-page workbook for you that will help you determine your narrow market FAST–AND it also gets really deep into their heads. Part 2 takes you into the “inner psyche” of your market’s minds. You will know exactly what they need so you can build the most marketable programs and write the most compelling copy. And there’s a 2-hour workshop that goes along with it next Thursday, April 19th, when I will coach you to have your perfect buyer AND teach you how to use their psyche to sell. Jump on this asap!!!

How Brain-Antagonistic Is Your Website?

Let’s review terms, so we’re all on the same page.

“Brain-Sticky” Communications are compelling, memorable,
original
–and persuade people to act.

“Brain-Antagonistic” Communications literally antagonize the
brain’s ability to process naturally. These are communications that
are boring, confusing–and perhaps surprisingly–too intellectual.

Are you surprised that most web-pages are Brain-Antagonistic?
Didn’t think so.

But I bet you’d be surprised to find that on your own site, your value
is not at all conveyed
. Or it’s communicated much too far down
the page. Do you know why customers need you? Don’t talk about
yourself–talk about THEIR needs–and say it immediately.

Another Brain-Antagonistic website mistake is the use of generalities
rather than specifics. Your prospect’s brain is seeking precision and
instant clarity. Do not say things like, “I help women have more energy.”
Far too general. What would they be doing if they had more energy?
Working out an extra 20 minutes? Then say that.

Rambling is another much-too-common Brain-Antagonistic blunder.
Get to the point. Write concisely. If you can’t manage this (you’ll
know if this is a trouble spot for you if you tend to ramble in your
spoken communication)–get a professional copywriter! I am happy
to share names I know. (I don’t do copy writing any more).

Most service professionals use vague, broad terms on their web
pages, when the brain is starving for concrete words that form
pictures
. “We evaluate your website communications” is vague and
broad. “We evaluate your website against the following 7 criteria…”
is concrete.

Maybe your very worst offense is that you’re saying nothing new.
The brain attends automatically to what is novel. Are you sharing
your expertise in intriguing new ways? Or are you saying what
everyone else is saying? I am willing to bet that you are NOT unique
enough, and so cannot convey your worth in an intriguing way.
If you’re game, I can check out your site and tell you instantly.

Most likely–this happens constantly–one of the main culprits of your
looking and sounding like everyone else is your use of cliche words.
Words that are over-used carry no meaning to the brain. Examples:
“authentic,” “stress relief,” “success,” “get to the next level.” GET
CREATIVE! Pull out a thesaurus–or again, get a professional copy-
writer.

And finally, chances are strong that you make no persuasive argument
on your site–or a very weak one. Prospects are instantly skeptical and
suspicious. If you cannot persuade them that your product or service
is required for them right now, your website has failed to do it’s job.
Your business has failed to do its job. First, you must HAVE an argument,
then you must prove it. Do you?

Here are the 7 Criteria of a Brain-Sticky website (possible only if the
business itself is Brain-Sticky): Your value is conveyed 1) immediately;
2) intriguingly; 3) specifically; 4) concretely, 5) concisely;
6) freshly and 7) persuasively.

Would you like to see if your site passes the Brain-Sticky
Litmus test?
For one week only–
Jan. 26-Feb 2--I am opening my
schedule for “1-hour 1-Shots.”
In a break-neck speed, action-packed
hour, I will examine your site against these 7 criteria–and provide
countless suggestions–all at a 50%+ discount off my private hourly fee.
This is unprecedented.
And if your site meets all 7 criteria, I’ll refund
your money back and congratulate you. Why? Because if your site meets
the Brain-Sticky Litmus Test, then your business does. And that’s really
what I’m checking for. I use the website as a tool to determine the health
of your business identity.

So, click here to get the details.  Don’t wait because it’s just for this
one week
.

Listen here to 2 excerpts from a web evaluation I did a
few months back. Hit the “back” arrow button to return
here.

WebsiteEvalSample1.mp3

webeval2

Jan 26 – Feb 2 only. Read the details and get not just your SITE, but your
entire business identity, up to Brain-Sticky speed! Click here now.

Session #6/8 With Financial Coaches: Copywriting for Their Marketing!

So what’s so important about having a signature program?
There are many advantages for a business, not the least of
which is that it is a sure-fire differentiation strategy.  As a
communications expert, I’m interested also in the fact that
it streamlines what the heck you talk about when describing
your business! When I attend networking meetings (which I
still do occasionally), and certainly in my daily work with
coaches, I consistently notice that they discuss several
things
they’ve got cooking. The brain can’t process all this
information. It wants to know you’re doing one thing. So,
in Session 6, one of the things I tell M&M is that they will
now be speaking only about “Feast or Famine,” their portal
event. On their website, ideally, they would have a squeeze
page, inviting people only to this event—rather than explaining
in detail all the things they offer. This always produces a big
sigh of relief for my clients, who are always aware that typically
their communication isn’t effective because they talk about
too much.

In this session, we also discuss possible copy for their promo-
tional postcard and I emphasize the need for their couples to
“self-identify”—to say, “That’s us!”—and to do it either in
the headline or in the first paragraph, and certainly through-
out the rest of the copy. So, I play around with a few possible
headlines for them that satisfy this requirement, then we pull
the first line of the copy straight out of their heads and gut:
It
(marriage, as referred to in the headline) hasn’t worked out
the way you envisioned it, has it
? So we’ve slammed them
with two “self-identifying” questions in the headline and
first sentence.

Then we list several unwanted things in their lives that
they never envisioned—things directly related to their
financial stress, and we further “call them out” by discussing
their particularly unique situation: that they make a good
income but continually coming up short. This rules out
other couples who don’t have that issue.

Then we slip on M&M’s “older and wiser couple” persona
with the next paragraph that begins, “We know.” And
continues on with the brief story of their financial struggles
twenty years ago and the constant fights they used to have,
inserting some of the accusations they hurled at each other,
which we know their market most certainly does as well. This
is another self-identifying tactic. And we conclude that
paragraph by saying, “we’ve weathered those storms and
are here to show you how to, too.”

Below that, in the center, is the title of their program and below
that, centered, is the thesis argument of their “brand
concept”
(Remember that? It’s a teaching point around
which their portal program revolves.) Theirs is that financial
struggle is directly related to a secret communication cycle
they can’t see. Below the thesis, we put the statement, You
must attend this special seminar to break free of that cycle
once and for all.” (That’s what I wrote about yesterday:
activating the compulsory need in humans to know). Then
we describe what they’ll learn in the 90-minute program and
conclude with logistical information such as where, when
and how to register.

Of course, I don’t write this on the fly; I spend time in off-call
hours constructing the final language, but we flesh out the
basics in this session.

I’m happy to provide some key pointers for your promotional
copy! I kept this post purposely vague for copyright purposes,
but there’s enough direction here for you to apply the general
concepts to your own marketing pieces.

TOMORROW IS THE DAY!! You can own this entire 8-session
consultation!
To see the first of two videos introducing the CD,
click here now!

8 Sessions with 2 Financial Coaches Who Want Clients

I had an 8-session consultation with two financial coaches
who wanted more clients to walk in the door. There was one
thing they were clear on: once they had clients, these two
coaches would do amazing work with them. The trick was
getting them in the door! Sound familiar?

Over the next 8 days, you’re going to get the chance to
“eavesdrop” in on my sessions with “M&M” and get some
ideas for your own business. This is just a sampling of
the work I do and I decided to make it public—not just
in these blog posts, but in a CD product I’m launching
next week
! You’ll be able to get the actual sessions,
plus 2 great bonuses, starting next Tuesday.

So Session 1 with M&M. Of course, I need to get the lay of
the land: how long have they been coaching, who have
they been coaching, etc. They tell me they were trained
through Dave Ramsey and have been coaching couples
on and off for ten years, mostly giving their coaching
away. Now, they’re ready to make money! I am pleased
to see that they have a somewhat Brain-Sticky differentia-
tion already, promoting themselves as, to paraphrase,
the “seasoned couple working with younger couples.”
This is, of course, very appealing, as what younger couple
wouldn’t want to be guided by an “older and wiser” couple,
who had weathered financial storms in marriage?

I am also pleased to see that they have a target market!
I can’t tell you how many service entrepreneurs don’t.
“Couples” is still too broad, but we can begin to focus this
down by looking at the age of their market’s children. Do
M&M work with very new couples, who have newborns?
Or those who have preschoolers? Or are they in high school,
facing the issue of college? Each “era” has its own difficulties
and it is critical to know which difficulty they want to
address as coaches. They tell me that most of their clients
have children in elementary-school, indicating that (generally),
the parents have been married at least seven years, and up
to 14 years.  These are often pressure-cooker times, when
the honeymoon is over, financial issues are no longer
ignorable and volcanic eruptions occur.

I begin to take M&M through a process I call the “Trigger
Event.”
The fact is, humans walk around thinking they can
handle most of their issues by themselves, or at least with
the help of friends and family. But something happens, one
day—in fact, one moment—that triggers their dawning reali-
zation that they need help. This is a tough exercise for most
people, and M&M and I move right in like “Google Earth” on
their couples, looking in on a typical scene when such an
awakening might occur. They decide the couple is reviewing
a new credit card statement and we move through the entire
scene: what the conversation is like, what eruption occurs,
and what finally “pops the cork;” has one or both of them
blurting out, “We can’t do this alone!”

Why is this important to know? For starters, it is critical
to understand that you won’t make money if your market
isn’t hungry—and they aren’t always hungry. I always tell
my clients and students that your greatest competition is
not someone else, but rather the idea, “I can do this myself.”
But there will be a tipping point when they are in such pain
or frustration they are finally ready to spend money. And
you want to know what that pain is—on a very specific level
—so you can refer to it in marketing copy, creating intimacy
with your market as they “self-identify,” saying, “That’s me!”
—and so you can potentially influence that trigger event in
those who haven’t had it yet. The trials and tribulations are
there in the background, like a humming furnace, but they
haven’t realized they need help yet. You can help them
realize it, by talking about those moments, only if you know
what they are.

So, what is a moment that would wake up your market
from enduring and tolerating whatever is not working for
them? Would love to hear your ideas below! And be sure
to come back tomorrow, when M&M decide on the strategy
they’re going to use to get more clients!

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