Knowing something doesn’t help your perception as an expert

I love to read. There is so little time and so much to read I always seem to have a pile of unread books to work my way through. There is a lot of value in the wisdom that comes from books. One of my favorites:

“Made to Stick - Why some ideas survive and others die by Chip and Dan Heath”

I highly recommend it generally, but it has specific relevance to marketing. In particular there is a concept that I see demonstrated again and again, called the “curse of knowledge”.  I paraphrase (and you can hear from the experts in their blog) but this curse is essentially this: when we know something it is almost impossible to remember what it is like not to know it. As a result we become poor communicators

When were you last confused by an “expert”?

In my experience this has proven true in marketing messages. Trying to demonstrate how expert you are by telling prospects all about you and the unique, technical things you do is a guaranteed turn off. If you are a financial planner I probably know that you are very familiar with your products and the state of the market (at least I hope so!). However a detailed explanation of everything you do is not what I am looking for and may actually repel my interest. Often this is the case with very knowledgeable folks with a great deal of experience - lawyers for example.

What about me?

The fact is most people are more concerned that you understand them, than that they impress you with deep knowledge of a particular subject. This can be a stretch. Of course you need to have that expertise to be effective but for a MARKETING point of view, showing that off is counter productive

The answer? You will be credited with a lot more expertise when you ask perceptive questions based on your knowledge that really get your prospect thinking, and shows them you understand them. To get there you need to understand the profile, preferences, hopes, fears and pain that your ideal client is experiencing. Tapping into this via insightful questions, and giving them information that helps them address it is far more effective than telling them all that you do and showing off how much you know.

Remember what it is like when you didn’t have the knowledge you have - does the jargon you use confuse rather than attract?

Do you know what the three most dangerous words in all of marketing are?

Actually, they’re the three most dangerous words in all of English language. But, since this blog is focused on marketing and small business success topics, we’ll limit the discussion to the dangers in regards to marketing.

By themselves or used within the context of millions of other sentences, these words pose absolutely no threat. But, string these words together and the results could be devestating to your results.

And, you’re probably using this little three-word phrase way more than you realize. Most of the time it’s probably not even being spoken out loud. But, if you ever hear “the little voice inside your head” saying it then the power of its destructive force is even greater.

OK, enough of the suspense already… What are these three “most dangerous” words in all of marketing?

Are you ready?

“I Know That.”

Any time you catch yourself saying that, either out loud or in your mind, stop and concentrate twice as hard on what lesson or knowledge you might aquire. You see, it’s not what you don’t know… It’s what you already know that just isn’t so that’s keeping you from all the results you desire.

You need to focus on a well-defined target market - I Know That!

But do you really? Have you done that for your own business? My experience is that most small businesses are taking whatever business they can get through the door. Do you know how to create a laser-focused target market definition?

You need to establish your uniqueness (why you’re different) to stand out from competition - I Know That!

But do you really? Have you done that for your own business? My experience is that most small businesses are still focused on telling prospects they’re different because of their number of years in the business or because they’re totally focused on quality customer service. But who is not saying those things?

You need to focus on client results and benefits, not on your product or service’s functions and features - I Know That!

But do you really? Do your current marekting messages reflect that? My experience is that most small businesses never get beyond trite phrases like, “We’re focused on your results! Our success is based on helping you succeed!”

Look, I’m not suggesting that small business owners in general don’t know anything about marketing. In fact, most have a pretty good idea about how marketing should work. It’s just that when you keep saying “I Know That” you are closing your mind to new ideas, new perspectives, and new possibilities.

With marketing, a slight adjustment in your wording could mean a 1,000 percent or more increase in your results. Isn’t it possible that someone else’s perspective or idea could lead you to that slight adjustment? Well not if you’re constantly saying “I Know That!”

There is a saying in busienss and in life that goes something like, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.” If you’re not continually learning and picking up nuggets of wisdom, then you’re likely stagnating and withering away.

And that’s why “I Know That” is the three most dangerous words in all of marketing (and of course in life). When you’re saying “I Know That” you’re not learning and looking for nuggets.

So when you hear it (out loud or only through the little voice inside your head)… My advice is to concentrate twice as hard on what the new idea, perspective, or possiblity is for you.

We all need a website, right? However what is the typical web experience?

I came across a great article on Marketing profs discussing designing a website to put the customer in charge of the experience. Well, that sounds obvious doesn’t it? As a surfer or a prospect it would seem logical that you are in control of what you do and where you go. However is that really the case?

How often do websites suffer from the same problem that afflicts many of us when we are selling or marketing face to face - namely: too much telling. In the web context this is about a home page that is all “About Us” or “our services” or even the better, but still self serving, “Things our customes say about us”.

How about me? What are my issues as a prospect? Buried in the message somewhere may be what you can do for me specifically. How you help my pain, but I am not honestly going to bother to search for it.

You can see the marketing prof article here which talks about some of the more technical ways to design a customer friendly website. In my view the initial impact must be about the customer and their experiences directly - telling customer stories (generic if you don’t want to be specific) is a great place to start. The source of these? Yes! Your most satisfied customers.

Hello and welcome to the Get More Clients Fast Path!

This blog is part of a joint effort between Jerry Smith of Accord Coaching and Kevin Dervin of KPD Marketing.

We started this small business marketing “blog” as a tool to help answer some of the common small business challenges and questions that so many folks have. We’ll share insights and resources that we’ve found useful in our own journey, as well as experience in working with small business owners.

You can be a better marketer! You can absolutely learn how to regularly and consistently attract all the clients you can handle. And, you can do it quickly without having to earn some kind of marketing degree. We want to prove it to you!

This blog space is a place where we’ll make regular entries and share aricles to help you with your own marketing challenges. And, you’ll be able to add your own comments to each posting. So we hope you’ll join us and feel free to participate actively!

If you’re really motivated to take your business to a new level, then join us on the Get More Clients Fast Path. Check out upcoming seminar dates we have scheduled and read all about our eight-week Get More Clients Fast Path program.

Stay tuned for more great information to help you get better results from your small business marketing.

All the Best!
Kevin Dervin & Jerry Smith