What do you think about when you hear the word “marketing?”

When we are in business for ourselves one of the things we have to do is market that business. I hope that everyone sees it that way. Sure we can hire someone to help us, maybe even a marketing manager, but ultimately we have to market the passion we have for what we do. However the concept of marketing often causes problems. Perhaps it brings to mind visions of creative genius executives working to produce the next killer brand or logo in a smoke filled room…..

 OK, maybe I revealed a little about my belief system there! The point is that we all have ideas about marketing and we may feel that we are just not “marketing people”

What is your message?

I invite you to check such thoughts at the door. You are a marketing person, it goes with the territory and you might as well figure out a way to enjoy it! If that raises doubts in your mind, recognize them and move on. Don’t forget that you are the world’s foremost expert on what you do, and more specifically, what value you bring to your clients. The client that loves you for what you do doesn’t care that you don’t have a Nike Swoosh for a logo, they care that you know about them, their problems and how to solve them.

That is huge and there is your marketing message. It is all wrapped up in what you do to make your client’s world better. If that isn’t fun and worth going to work for, I am not sure what is. Guess what? That is marketing your business right there!

What is this “give to get” stuff?

I am sure we have all heard it - you need to give to get. If you are networking, or selling in any way, give first, without expectation that you will get back right away, or from the same person. If it is so widely known, how come we get into loads of transactions where people seem to constantly trying to “get” clients? Maybe you have done that yourself, I certainly have. Once again, this is a mindset change.

How do you give first?

Remember that the first job of marketing is to gain attention from your prospect. We have covered that in other posts but it is all about putting yourself in their shoes and figuring out where their pain lies. All too often I see business owners get that far, and then leap into trying to get the deal done. It sounds something like this:

” I’d love to get together so I can tell you more about what we do and how we can help you”

“‘I’ll send you my brochure/proposal etc. that explains everything we do”

There are many variations on this theme. Mostly however they are, again, concerned with you and what you are going to TELL your prospect. Often times the prospect doesn’t want to be told,  it is too early in the process to be doing so. Notice that nothing has been given here, except a load of information about OURSELVES.This is a turn off and is unlikely to thrill the prospect. Why? Because he or she probably thinks you are into selling too fast and haven’t proved to me that you understand me yet.

This is where giving comes in

It’s about showing you understand them, their issues, and are prepared to offer them something of value to begin solving issues for them. This can take numerous forms from referral to someone else, to a report you have written, to a blog that addresses these issues, a seminar and so on. How do you establish the correct approach? ASK QUESTIONS. Ask them about their issues, their businesses, key challenges and resist the temptation to rush in and tell then how you would solve it. Only once you understand, are you (maybe) in a position to give them some of your expertise. Note also that these questions may reveal that the person you regarded as a hot prospect doesn’t actually fit your ideal client profile (you have one of those, right?). That’s OK too - you have saved both of you a lot of time.

Don’t give away the farm

There is an obvious objection here.

“If I give away my expertise then why would anyone pay me for that information?”

It’s a good question but I invite you to ask yourself whether you can really give away your entire service in a report or even a seminar. Most businesses are a lot more complex than that. However you can give away genuinely useful things (and you should) that build your credibility and level of trust with your prospect. It gives them a chance to sample you without committing 100% to hiring you at this stage.

It works, but it requires a change in mindset. What will you give away that:

a) Adds value to your prospect

b) Showcases your expertise

c) Allows them to disqualify you (and you, them) or make a decision to go to the next step

You will also find this is a lot less stressful than trying to persuade people all the time and have them resist being “sold” to.

Is your message getting through?

As a business owner or independent professional, getting the word out about your business is clearly a key activity. However, often times it seems that we are talking in a language that our prospects don’t seem to understand or even hear. We LOVE what we do and we can clearly see the benefit of the latest innovation that we have put in place - why doesn’t everyone else see that? Surely it’s as clear to them as it is to us? Well, actually, no it’s not.

Are you broadcasting on the right wavelength?

If you want to listen to an FM station you need an FM receiver right? OK, I know that’s changed a bit with the Internet but let’s stay with the metaphor for a minute! If your prospects have an FM receiver and you are broadcasting on Medium wave they will not hear you. Remember that people (including your prospects) are going through life thinking about their personal issues and challenges therefore their receiver is tuned to WIIFM - i.e. What’s In It for Me?

Here’s the deal - most broadcast messages are going out on WWD - What We Do. If you are talking/writing/producing a brochure/website solely concerned with what you do, you are relying on the prospect turning that message into something that makes sense to them personally. Chances are they won’t do that - chances are they have a receiver tuned to a different wavelength and therefore your message is simply noise.

Change your wavelength!

The passion that you have for your business has direct effect on your clients world - it makes their lives better. Think about that in specific terms and turn that into your message. In other words less about the services you offer (WWD) and more about what benefit that provides to your customer, what pain it takes away (WIIFM)

This is a mindset change - your BEST client will tell you why they work with you, what they love about you and what pain you take away/pleasure you provide for them specifically. It will work wonders for the attraction you will get from your prospects.

There are a number of ways to think about that question but I invite you to consider it in terms of your business (or career).

How easy is it to answer the question: What are you passionate about?

I think it is easy to see and hear when someone is passionate about their business. There is an energy about them, they speak in more elevated tones and their eyes twinkle. Have you ever seen that? It can be very attractive as a prospect, it leads you to think: “here is someone who really cares about their business and by extension will probably care about me”. Remember the quotation from Theodore Roosevelt: “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care”. That applies hugely in putting together a marketing message

How does your passion for what you do impact others?

Here is the key marketing rub. How do you get people to connect with your passion and ultimately hire you? As a clue, I have never heard anyone say they are passionate about the money that their business makes them. Even if it is true, it is not always an attractive message. Much more commonly the passion is for something that is intangible at first sight. Examples include: helping people, people generally, making something better, serving, being seen to make a difference, standing out from the crowd and so on.

What is it for you?

So what’s the point of all this?

It is very common - I mean very, very common - for the initial message a business sends to concentrate on a laundry list of services. Whilst we may love what we do, the services are the tool, a means to an end and the end is what we are passionate about. Most people would much rather hear about the difference you seek to make generally, and how that applies to them specifically, than about the list of things that you do.

When you provide a list you are asking prospects to turn that into a message that applies to them, and they generally won’t. Remember that they have things they are passionate about as well. As these relate to their business they may well be looking (or know someone who is) for a solution to a problem that would allow them to deliver THEIR difference making service better.

Find out what your clients and prospects are passionate about and how what you are passionate about helps them. Within that lies the foundation of a strong, attractive marketing message

We may have mentioned this before but…….

So What?

The so what question is a great one to ask yourself when you are putting together your marketing message. Is “So what?” a valid response to a statement like the one above? I would argue that it is entirely relevant and in this case, may even be the most obvious response. However the length of time the company and/or the individual has been in business is one of the more common statements I hear from businesses introducing themselves.

What were you thinking?

I don’t want to pick on anyone or any business who may be using this as a line, but ask yourself if it is serving you. I guess the thinking is that a long time in business somehow equates to competence and/or excellence. That may be valid. After all, businesses don’t survive for long by being incompetent. However, you are relying on the prospect turning that statement into something that talks to issues in her world, addresses an issue she has and to that end, length of time in the business is probably close to irrelevant. What can you do for me TODAY? Show me that you understand MY ISSUES.

Turn your thinking outwards

If you are part of a business that has been successful for many years you are probably proud of that and you should be. it can be tough to make a business work and if you are successful over the long haul you are doing a lot of things right. Experience is very often important. Why though? It is not the length of time so much as the fact that you are satisfying your customers consistently. Even that isn’t the marketing message - the way to get and keep attention is to show HOW you deliver value, show you UNDERSTAND their world and make that better. Can you do that even though you haven’t been in business for 100 years? I would argue that you can, and you can do it well.

So What?

“I’ve been in business 10 years”

“So what?”

“Well, we have a lot of experience”

“So what?”

And so it goes on. You may get there eventually but often times prospects won’t bother to ask the question, they will simply move on. The answer? Stop saying how long you have been in business and start figuring out what problem you solve for your clients that has allowed you to be successful for so long.

You will know when you have the message right when “so what?” makes no sense as a response. For example:

We help successful small business owners frustrated that they are paying more in tax and so unable to invest in their business.

Much more likely than “so what?” is “Really, how?” and that is much more useful to you!

There are so many great things to try when it comes to getting your message across - from websites to promotional items to networking, the list is almost endless. When we get into a new business venture it is natural to want to get the word out as fast and as widely as possible. There is no shortage of excellent companies willing to help you out, help that you will have to pay for of course

Do you need that brochure?

One of the first tools of the trade is the brochure. How often have you been to a networking event and either been handed a brochure, or directed to the table upon which they are resting? It is common and they can be informative. However I would venture to suggest that many, many of these are glanced at and then discarded (or worse, filed) never to see the light of day again. Now, often you will get a break on the printing when you order higher numbers which means you may have 1000 or so to get rid of. do you have enough storage in your office to accommodate them all?

It’s not about you, and brochures almost always are

The key to grabbing your prospects attention is getting into their shoes. What is their mindset and what pain are they dealing with in their lives? Specifically, what pain does your service solve for them? It is possible to get this message across in a brochure but in my experience, I rarely see such documents written that way. Much more common (also true of many websites) is the approach that TELLS you:

a) Who we are

b) Bios of the CEO/founder etc.

c) List of services

d) List of locations

e) Contact information

If you recognize this from brochures that you have seen that’s not surprising as it is very common.

Gaining attention is key

I don’t intend to pick on brochures as there is, like most things, a time and a place for them and they can be very effective. The issue is that commonly there is a lack of planning that goes into this, or indeed any other tool.What do I mean by that? Well the following things are highly relevent:

- What is it that you are passionate about in your business? Why did you get into it on day one?

- Who, as specifically as you can, makes up your target audience?

- What, specifically, are the issues they are dealing with and how do you help them?

That may sound easy to define but in reality, it often takes a lot of thought and time to get precisely right. It is time very well spent though. The sad thing is that many businesses never really take that time and end up with an explosion of different activities (brochure, website, mail shots, direct mail, advertising, networking etc.) that are not connected or even linked to a common theme and all too often concentrate on the service provider rather than the potential client.

Think about the three questions outlined above and then ask yourself whether the option you are considering to market your message gels with the answers