Hey all,
I just got back from Eugene, Oregon where we had a wonderful weekend workshop with some really fantastic folks.
March 2-4 will see me in Calgary - the event is three weeks away and there's only 7 spots left.
You can sign up by going to www.tadhargrave.com/RBI (or spread the word by sending your friends there).
I'm really excited about this issue of "Your Niche".
This was actually the topic I wanted to send out first.
I think you'll find it really, really, really useful and clarifying. Enjoy.
Warmest,
Tad
* * *
How to pick your perfect niche:
So, we know that having a clear niche or target market is essential, but, how do you know if you’ve got a good niche?
It’s one of the biggest fears people have - “what if I pick the wrong niche?”
And the fear is justifiable. After all, if you pick the wrong niche and spend a lot of time, money and energy in trying to reach it . . . and it doesn’t work out. Well, you’d probably rather not go through that.
The truth is, you could pick a perfect niche and still fail. A strong niche isn’t a guarantee of success, it just makes it a lot more likely is all.
So, what constitutes a good niche?
Luckily for you, it’s extremely easy to tell whether your niche is a good choice or not. There’s eight specific pieces of criteria you can use to judge any niche by.
And let me make a few predictions.
First: I predict these will all make a ton of sense to you.
Second: I predict you will agree with and really like these criteria.
Third: I predict that these criteria will give you some ‘aha’ moments of why past marketing efforts of yours have failed.
THE EIGHT QUALITIES OF YOUR PERFECT NICHE
1. they are experiencing a common set of easily identifiable needs you can fulfill or problems that you can help them with (and they are, at least, open to the notion that these problems can be solved and ideally they are passionately committed to solving it now - it’s a ‘must’ for them, not a ‘should’ that they’ll get to someday).
If they don’t have a common problem - it’s not a target market. And if you can’t help them with the problem - there’s simply no basis for any conversation. The problem or need is the basis of all your marketing. Most people make the mistake of thinking that people are buying their products or services - but that’s not true.
People couldn’t care less about your products or services (owch. the truth smarts) they just want a solution to their problems, they want relief from pain, they want to meet a need of theirs. Your products and services are merely a means to an ends.
So many entrepreneurs I know can talk for hours about the features and benefits of their products but if I say, “why do people need this? What are they buying it for?” they totally blank. They don’t know how to answer it. The ‘problem’ is not only the basis of your marketing message - it’s the white hot center of your niche.
2. common lifestyle: desires, passions, values, interests, hobbies, a common bond that you can cater to.
Some problems are so specific that only a narrow niche of people will suffer from them (e.g. a particular problem with a highly specialized computer application).
But some problems (e.g. back pain) are really generic. So, some problems have a sort of implied niche to them. Others don’t. If the problems that you solve are widely held - then you should likely consider selecting a particular community to work with and develop packages for.
A couple examples: a massage therapist who works with the BDSM community in Seattle. Sure, lots of people need massage - but when she caters her business to this community - she can cater to their particular needs, values and vibe. I saw an ad once that just said, “Rad Dyke Plumber” - a lesbian plumber. Now, it’s not like she’s dealing with different piping issues in any technical sense - but she is dealing with a different subculture with its own sense of esthetic.
If the problem is widely held - pick a particular community to serve. For example, if you’re tennis player and a massage therapist, you might consider becoming a massage therapist that caters to tennis players. A good niche shares a certain lifestyle.
Maybe they’re clubbers, maybe they’re weekend warriors who love to go camping each weekend, Maybe they’re all theatre buffs. Maybe they love to read comic books and play Dungeons and Dragons. They’re dog owners. They’re parents. They’re grandparents.
3. established, high quality hubs, communication networks etc.
Basically, this means that you can find them and reach them easily.
What is a hub? Think of it like the hub of a wheel. It’s the only point on the wheel where all of the spokes come together and meet. A hub is any place where you can find your niche. It might be an association they belong to, an event they tend to go to.
I can’t tell you how many times I hear people get excited about a niche they have little hope of reaching. Before you commit a dime to any niche ask yourself: Do they tend to hang out in the same places? Do they read the same magazines? Do they spend money in the same places? Are they a part of the same groups?
There are seven main categories of hubs (e.g. events, businesses, groups, publications, individuals, support systems, and websearch related). The more hubs that your niche has, the easier they will be to reach. The fewer hubs there are, the harder it will be.
Why do you want to find hubs?
Why do they matter so much?
Well, consider this - you can spend all of your time trying to find your clients individually, or you can just go to where they already are. You can spend all of your days trying to win the trust of the individuals in your niche one at a time . . . or you can secure the endorsement of someone they already trust and win over all of their trust at once.
The latter is far easier in the long term. When I go to a new town I could spend hundreds of dollars postering the city about my workshops, or I could just call up the local progressive, local business network and get their endorsement. Much easier.
4. there’s enough of them to meet your needs. While most people don’t niche narrowly enough, you can make your niche too narrow. If there’s only three people in town who fit your description you may need to broaden your reach. You need to be really honest with yourself here. And challenge yourself: if you think there’s enough people - what are you basing that on? Hope? Or have you actually done some research?
5. they’re fun to work with and in alignment with your nature (these are likely the kinds of clients you most easily and naturally attract and the ones to whom you feel the most attracted - it’s a niche or community that you want to see thrive).
Who would really excite you to work with? Is there a particular niche or community of folks that you just naturally seem to love working?
I’ll tell you something I’ve noticed: there is a deep connection between your ideal niche and your nature as a person. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people in my workshops say, “well, basically, my niche is people just like me!” And that’s not a crazy response. It makes sense.
6. they are underserved: the niche is often based on what your competitors aren’t doing.
If they have a need but are being ignored by your competition, that can be a goldmine. If they’re already being courted for their business by dozens of other businesses then that niche is less than ideal **unless** you are able to offer something so unique and so clearly more valuable that it will blow the competition out of the water.
If you’re able to do that then you’re in a good place.
If they are overserved - if they are inundated with options then you need to do one of three things: be the only option that focuses just on that niche exclusively (e.g. the only massage therapist in town who works only with mothers).
If there’s already a lot of other businesses focusing exclusively on that niche then you might consider picking a sub-niche - focusing on one particular sub-group of people in that niche (e.g. be the only massage practitioner in town that works exclusively with new mothers). Or third - you will also need to distinguish yourself in some other way.
You can differentiate yourself by: what you do, how you do it. how much you charge, who you offer it to, when you offer it and where you offer it.
7. they can afford to pay you full price for your products and services. It’s important that they are able to pay you an amount that feels good and meets your needs. That may be a small amount or a large amount. That’s up to you - but if it’s less than you really want and need you will begin to resent them.
It will drain your energy. And you won’t have enough money to sustain yourself. It will start out as a gesture of goodwill, but will end in bitterness.
8. they are in alignment with your long-term business goals - if you know where your business is headed long term, it’s just smart to pick clients that will fit with that (e.g. if you do eco-lawn care and want to work with “Golf Courses” eventually, but now need to do residential, it might be wise to focus on people who golf for now so that you can bridge into that later).
Says Dominic Canterbury: “Let me give you an example: In my recent weekend seminar one of the attendees was an in-home physical trainer.
His target: affluent middle-aged Eastside women. He was flummoxed. He'd tried all the traditional forms of marketing but nothing was working.
So wielding my magic wand of marketing I says to him, "How about targeting affluent new moms. That way you can develop a set of services to meet their specific needs and you can cross promote with OBGYNs, Dulas and baby stores, and you can get them to pay attention to you by holding informative events or writing an article for local parenting magazines. You might even consider a blog."
He loved the idea and immediately started coming up with excellent ideas on his own.
So, what makes this a good target and what makes the other suck? I'll tell ya.
The new target market passes my patented tripartite Target Market Test:
1. They have shared needs you can meet through your business
2. They have hubs of communication
3. There's enough of them to make it worth your time
The original target passed only #3, and I'm sorry folks, but you have to score high on all of them for it to work.”
* * *
In Part 5: we'll look at 9 ways that you might go about
identifying your niche (some of which are really obvious but
most people never consider them).
In Part 6: We'll look at how to describe your niche in a single
compelling sentence.
In Part 7: You'll get a tonne of real life examples of niches.
I hope you're well.
Warmest,
Tad
p.s. I'm leading a weekend workshop in Calgary, Alberta March 2-4. Feel free to tell anyone you know - there's only 7 spaces available. Just send them to: www.tadhargrave.com/RBI
* * *
radical business: marketing consulting for hippies
a blog for green business, eco-business, ethical business, conscious business, sustainable business, and community-minded entrepreneurs who are struggling with their cashflow, not attracting enough clients and have mixed feelings about marketing - www.tadhargrave.com
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Your Niche - Inner vs. Outer Realities - Part 3 of 7
Hey everyone,
Thanks again to everyone who's sent their feedback and comments on this "Your Niche" series. It seems to be striking a chord with many of you.
And it should.
It's the heart of your business.
I'm really glad you've been enjoying it.
I really hope that you enjoy reading this week's installment as much as I did writing it.
Warmest,
Tad
p.s. I'm leading a weekend workshop in Eugene, Oregon Feb 2-4. Feel free to tell anyone you know - there's still some spaces available. Just send them to: www.tadhargrave.com/RBI
* * *
Inner vs. Outer Realities:
So, how do you know if a niche you’re thinking of is a good one?
Well, your niche may be defined by what you do. You make a particular widget that has only one use and there’s only three buyers of it in the market. Your service is helping to turn breach babies naturally - the nature of your service may define the target market.
But that’s a rare thing.
Your product and service likely gives what you’re offering some definition. If you do eco-friendly lawn care there’s likely going to be some folks that are more into that than others.
At the heart of it, you’re only going to be helping folks who have a problem you can help them solve. But what if there’s a lot of people who have that problem? What if a lot of people could technically benefit from the use of your product or service?
In many cases, I will ask people who their niche is and they’ll say, “everybody!”. That is, of course, the wrong answer. When I explain that they can’t reach everyone, they look glum, pout and say, “but my product or service could help anyone!”
And that may or may not be true.
But it’s a tempting line of logic - after all look at the following list and ask yourself, “Who could these products and services be used by?”
- massage
- marketing consulting
- accounting
- recycled paper
- recycled journals and notebooks
- a health food bar
- life coaching
- interior design
- real estate agent
etc.
Couldn’t a lot of people use each of those? Sure, each of them vaguely suggests a target market, but only vaguely. Yes, a marketing consultant will work with businesses - but what kind of businesses? An interior designer will work with people who live somewhere or have an office - but what kinds of people? A real estate agent will work with people looking to buy or sell a home - but what kinds of people?
Do you follow?
The implied niche is, almost always, too wide.
There’s a tonne of food bars - and sure they implied niche is ‘people interested in their health’. But what kind of people? Luna Bar was the first to target active women specifically.
There’s lots of companies that make journals and notebooks - and the implied niche is obviously - people who like to write and need something to take notes in . . . but what kinds of people? Recover Journals out of Halifax, Nova Scotia was one of the first to target to eco, funky, retro crowd.
Most of us could help a lot of people with what we do. But if we try to reach everyone - if we don’t pick a niche - we make our marketing jobs 100 times harder. It’s just easier and more effective to pick a niche. What kinds of people do we want to target?
There’s eight specific qualities that you will want to look at - but I’ll get to that a bit later. For now there’s a ‘meta-distinction’ - a big and overarching idea that is really important to ‘get’.
It’s about the difference between people’s inner and outer realities.
This is a critical question - I’ve asked many people who their niche is and gotten answers that were profoundly off base.
And there’s two kinds “off base”. The first kind sounds like this.
- my niche is that I sell organic produce
- my niche is that I make my products using only fair trade products
- my niche is that I teach this particular style of Karate (and I’m the only one in town who does it)
What’s the problem here?
They’re defining their niche by what they do, instead of who they’re targeting with it. Again, in some cases, what you do will determine your niche - but that’s rare. If you’ve got that situation you don’t need to read another word. You’re set.
If that’s not you.
It’s not that the above list aren’t fine selling features. They are. But they are not a niche. They might be part of what’s called your USP or your Irresistible Offer - but they’re not a niche.
A niche is your target market. They’re not what you do. They’re who you’re trying to reach.
But how are we describing ‘who’ we’re trying to reach?
That’s where we run into the second - and more common - mistake.
People often say things like:
- my niche is women ages 25-35 living in Calgary
- my niche is people who make over $65,000 per year
- my niche is black men ages 20-30
- our niche is the asian community
Those look like good targets, don’t they? They seem to be well thought out and really specific.
But we need to be aware of the difference between demographics and psychographics. Many people think that a niche is defined by the external appearances (e.g. age, ethnic background, gender, income). But this is the worst way to identify your niche.
Why?
Well, just because people share external appearances doesn’t mean that they talk to each other. It doesn’t mean they share the same values or hang out in the same clubs.
Not all women, ages 25-35 living in your community talk with each other. They don’t give each other a ‘knowing wink’ as they pass each other on the street.
And that knowing wink is key. It means that they recognize and know each other when they see each other. It means that they recognize each other as “they’re one of us.” or “they’re just like me!” You can see the burst of recognition, “Ohmygodyou’reintoAniDiFrancometoo!!!!” They’re a part of a similar subculture that shares certain habits, values, passions, obsessions, tastes, aesthetics and hobbies.
Anything that is a priority for them - anything they organize their life and time around could be the basis of a niche - if enough people share it and if . . . I’m getting ahead of myself. Here’s a simple equation:
Niche = target market = subculture = community = lifestyle.
When you see punks walking down the street - they notice each other when they pass by. In certain communities in San Francisco you could see the gay community give each other these looks - even if they didn’t know each other (strong gaydar) - to the total cluelessness of the straight people around them. People who are hardcore into Dungeon’s and Dragons might notice a book someone’s reading. Dog owners notice other dog owners when going on walks. Single mothers notice other single mothers. Etc.
More importantly, these folks all tend to hang out in groups - and that will become very important as we progress.
Inner realities not outer realities.
Not all black men ages 40-50 living in the same neighbourhood talk with one another. They don’t all think alike. They don’t have the same problems - we just delude ourselves into thinking that they do.
In the modern world, we live more in communities of affinity than communities of geography. A sad fact, but a true one none the less.
The point is this: when you identify your niche, you must be predominantly aware of people’s inner reality more than their outer reality. This doesn’t mean you ignore demographics. It means that they aren’t primary.
“American marketing has historically been based upon customer demographics - what we look like on the outside. But in the past few years, psychographics - what we look like on the inside - have become a far better means of capturing the hearts and minds of customers. Demographics tend to be more tangible and are primarily focused on age, race, or income. Psychographics focus more on intangible - passions, beliefs, or values. Demographics are often defined by how the world sees us while psychographics are defined by how we see ourselves.” (Marketing That Matters, p,67)
But simply shifting to acknowledge people’s inner realities isn’t enough. It’s easy to do that in a vague - and totally meaningless - way.
- my niche is people who can afford me
- my niche is people who like me
- my niche is people who are fundamentally open to change
- people who are positive and optimistic
When looking at our niche we need to be specific - a vague niche is as much an oxymoron as ‘military intelligence’.
A bit later, we’re going to look at how to boil your niche down into a single, easy to say sentence that people will ‘get’ right away.
But for now, it’s enough to understand that a niche is more than appearances and bank balances.
So, next let’s look at eight criteria that I believe your niche must pass to be attention-worthy.
* * *
In Part 4: we'll look at eight characteristics of a great
niche. It's a really useful checklist you can use to see
whether the niche's you're considering are worth the effort
(and if your current niche isn't working why not)
In Part 5: we'll look at 9 ways that you might go about
identifying your niche (some of which are really obvious but
most people never consider them).
In Part 6: We'll look at how to describe your niche in a single
compelling sentence.
In Part 7: You'll get a tonne of real life examples of niches.
I hope you're well.
Warmest,
Tad
p.s. I'm leading a weekend workshop in Eugene, Oregon Feb 2-4. Feel free to tell anyone you know - there's still some spaces available. Just send them to: www.tadhargrave.com/RBI
Thanks again to everyone who's sent their feedback and comments on this "Your Niche" series. It seems to be striking a chord with many of you.
And it should.
It's the heart of your business.
I'm really glad you've been enjoying it.
I really hope that you enjoy reading this week's installment as much as I did writing it.
Warmest,
Tad
p.s. I'm leading a weekend workshop in Eugene, Oregon Feb 2-4. Feel free to tell anyone you know - there's still some spaces available. Just send them to: www.tadhargrave.com/RBI
* * *
Inner vs. Outer Realities:
So, how do you know if a niche you’re thinking of is a good one?
Well, your niche may be defined by what you do. You make a particular widget that has only one use and there’s only three buyers of it in the market. Your service is helping to turn breach babies naturally - the nature of your service may define the target market.
But that’s a rare thing.
Your product and service likely gives what you’re offering some definition. If you do eco-friendly lawn care there’s likely going to be some folks that are more into that than others.
At the heart of it, you’re only going to be helping folks who have a problem you can help them solve. But what if there’s a lot of people who have that problem? What if a lot of people could technically benefit from the use of your product or service?
In many cases, I will ask people who their niche is and they’ll say, “everybody!”. That is, of course, the wrong answer. When I explain that they can’t reach everyone, they look glum, pout and say, “but my product or service could help anyone!”
And that may or may not be true.
But it’s a tempting line of logic - after all look at the following list and ask yourself, “Who could these products and services be used by?”
- massage
- marketing consulting
- accounting
- recycled paper
- recycled journals and notebooks
- a health food bar
- life coaching
- interior design
- real estate agent
etc.
Couldn’t a lot of people use each of those? Sure, each of them vaguely suggests a target market, but only vaguely. Yes, a marketing consultant will work with businesses - but what kind of businesses? An interior designer will work with people who live somewhere or have an office - but what kinds of people? A real estate agent will work with people looking to buy or sell a home - but what kinds of people?
Do you follow?
The implied niche is, almost always, too wide.
There’s a tonne of food bars - and sure they implied niche is ‘people interested in their health’. But what kind of people? Luna Bar was the first to target active women specifically.
There’s lots of companies that make journals and notebooks - and the implied niche is obviously - people who like to write and need something to take notes in . . . but what kinds of people? Recover Journals out of Halifax, Nova Scotia was one of the first to target to eco, funky, retro crowd.
Most of us could help a lot of people with what we do. But if we try to reach everyone - if we don’t pick a niche - we make our marketing jobs 100 times harder. It’s just easier and more effective to pick a niche. What kinds of people do we want to target?
There’s eight specific qualities that you will want to look at - but I’ll get to that a bit later. For now there’s a ‘meta-distinction’ - a big and overarching idea that is really important to ‘get’.
It’s about the difference between people’s inner and outer realities.
This is a critical question - I’ve asked many people who their niche is and gotten answers that were profoundly off base.
And there’s two kinds “off base”. The first kind sounds like this.
- my niche is that I sell organic produce
- my niche is that I make my products using only fair trade products
- my niche is that I teach this particular style of Karate (and I’m the only one in town who does it)
What’s the problem here?
They’re defining their niche by what they do, instead of who they’re targeting with it. Again, in some cases, what you do will determine your niche - but that’s rare. If you’ve got that situation you don’t need to read another word. You’re set.
If that’s not you.
It’s not that the above list aren’t fine selling features. They are. But they are not a niche. They might be part of what’s called your USP or your Irresistible Offer - but they’re not a niche.
A niche is your target market. They’re not what you do. They’re who you’re trying to reach.
But how are we describing ‘who’ we’re trying to reach?
That’s where we run into the second - and more common - mistake.
People often say things like:
- my niche is women ages 25-35 living in Calgary
- my niche is people who make over $65,000 per year
- my niche is black men ages 20-30
- our niche is the asian community
Those look like good targets, don’t they? They seem to be well thought out and really specific.
But we need to be aware of the difference between demographics and psychographics. Many people think that a niche is defined by the external appearances (e.g. age, ethnic background, gender, income). But this is the worst way to identify your niche.
Why?
Well, just because people share external appearances doesn’t mean that they talk to each other. It doesn’t mean they share the same values or hang out in the same clubs.
Not all women, ages 25-35 living in your community talk with each other. They don’t give each other a ‘knowing wink’ as they pass each other on the street.
And that knowing wink is key. It means that they recognize and know each other when they see each other. It means that they recognize each other as “they’re one of us.” or “they’re just like me!” You can see the burst of recognition, “Ohmygodyou’reintoAniDiFrancometoo!!!!” They’re a part of a similar subculture that shares certain habits, values, passions, obsessions, tastes, aesthetics and hobbies.
Anything that is a priority for them - anything they organize their life and time around could be the basis of a niche - if enough people share it and if . . . I’m getting ahead of myself. Here’s a simple equation:
Niche = target market = subculture = community = lifestyle.
When you see punks walking down the street - they notice each other when they pass by. In certain communities in San Francisco you could see the gay community give each other these looks - even if they didn’t know each other (strong gaydar) - to the total cluelessness of the straight people around them. People who are hardcore into Dungeon’s and Dragons might notice a book someone’s reading. Dog owners notice other dog owners when going on walks. Single mothers notice other single mothers. Etc.
More importantly, these folks all tend to hang out in groups - and that will become very important as we progress.
Inner realities not outer realities.
Not all black men ages 40-50 living in the same neighbourhood talk with one another. They don’t all think alike. They don’t have the same problems - we just delude ourselves into thinking that they do.
In the modern world, we live more in communities of affinity than communities of geography. A sad fact, but a true one none the less.
The point is this: when you identify your niche, you must be predominantly aware of people’s inner reality more than their outer reality. This doesn’t mean you ignore demographics. It means that they aren’t primary.
“American marketing has historically been based upon customer demographics - what we look like on the outside. But in the past few years, psychographics - what we look like on the inside - have become a far better means of capturing the hearts and minds of customers. Demographics tend to be more tangible and are primarily focused on age, race, or income. Psychographics focus more on intangible - passions, beliefs, or values. Demographics are often defined by how the world sees us while psychographics are defined by how we see ourselves.” (Marketing That Matters, p,67)
But simply shifting to acknowledge people’s inner realities isn’t enough. It’s easy to do that in a vague - and totally meaningless - way.
- my niche is people who can afford me
- my niche is people who like me
- my niche is people who are fundamentally open to change
- people who are positive and optimistic
When looking at our niche we need to be specific - a vague niche is as much an oxymoron as ‘military intelligence’.
A bit later, we’re going to look at how to boil your niche down into a single, easy to say sentence that people will ‘get’ right away.
But for now, it’s enough to understand that a niche is more than appearances and bank balances.
So, next let’s look at eight criteria that I believe your niche must pass to be attention-worthy.
* * *
In Part 4: we'll look at eight characteristics of a great
niche. It's a really useful checklist you can use to see
whether the niche's you're considering are worth the effort
(and if your current niche isn't working why not)
In Part 5: we'll look at 9 ways that you might go about
identifying your niche (some of which are really obvious but
most people never consider them).
In Part 6: We'll look at how to describe your niche in a single
compelling sentence.
In Part 7: You'll get a tonne of real life examples of niches.
I hope you're well.
Warmest,
Tad
p.s. I'm leading a weekend workshop in Eugene, Oregon Feb 2-4. Feel free to tell anyone you know - there's still some spaces available. Just send them to: www.tadhargrave.com/RBI
Your Niche - Seven Premises - Part 2
Hey there,
In the last blog I spoke about the importance
of identifying your niche.
Many thanks to all of you who sent such
appreciative emails. I hope you like this one
as much.
This week, I'm going to speak about . . .
Seven Important Premises About Identifying Your
Niche:
Yes. People often freak out when they are asked
to identify a niche. Of course, the reason that
most people freak out is because they assume
they have to change everything about their
business right now. They are terrified that they
will have to change their logo, their font choice,
they’ll have to dump most of their current clients,
reword all of their marketing materials and website,
and divorce their spouse etc.
So, as you go through this virtual workshop let’s
build on these assumptions . . .
FIRST: You can be explicit without being exclusive.
just because you’ve picked a niche doesn’t mean that
you can’t work with people outside of it. Let’s say
you’re a massage therapist who focuses on pregnant
women. That doesn’t mean you can’t also massage men
or elderly women - it just means that you aren’t
targeting them. It means that the bulk of the people
you attract will be within your niche, but you will
still attract other folks who don’t fit your niche -
just because they like you, happened to hear about
you first, or were recommended by someone they trust.
That’s fine. There’s no need to turn them away.
SECOND: A niche can be phased in. You don’t need to
try to turn everything around overnight. In fact,
that’s likely a bad idea. Better is to adopt an
attitude of ‘playing’ with some niches. You can
identify a few niches that you think might be a fit
and attempt different promotions to each. When you
find a niche that feels really wonderful (and meets
the criteria I’m about to show you), you can try more
promotions and those promotions can expand to become
the bulk of your business. Of course, the more you
focus and commit to a niche - the more it will expand.
THIRD: A niche may take a while to identify (and that’s
okay). Think of clarifying your ideal client as a long-term
process rather than an event. You’ll be able to answer some
of the questions in this virtual workshop easily. Others
you’ll need to sit with; some for a few weeks and some for a
few years. That’s the truth. Most people tell me that when
they stumble across their niche - and stumble is really a
good word - it’s like a light bulb going off and they think,
“Why didn’t I see that before?” Because they couldn’t. It’s
a process.
Since the niche is so connected to our nature - to who
we are as people - it lifts up all of the places we’re
not clear on our nature, not clear about our passions
and our purpose. It can feel like such a huge decision.
The reality is that we humans aren’t so narrowly
specialized or defined as we are asking our businesses
to be sometimes - we fear giving up on parts of ourselves.
But remember, that your business is not who you are. It
will, by necessity, be more narrowly focused than you are
as an individual. That’s okay.
Before you even begin to look at any of these materials,
please take 3 minutes and go read the following article
by Robert Middleton . . .
http://radicalbusiness.blogspot.com/2006/09/finding-your-niche-robert-middleton.html
FOURTH: You’re already losing people: perhaps the
greatest fear that comes up for people when asked
to identify a specific niche is that they will lose
potential clients. This is true. But consider this.
You already are. You will never, ever, ever, ever, EVER
be attractive to everyone. Impossible. If you try to be
everything to everybody you’ll just become nothing to
everybody. You’ll become generic and thus invisible. No
matter what strategy you’re using right now, you’re
already losing people. Some people love it and others
are turned off by it. That’s not a problem. The real
question is: who do you want to attract? And are you
doing everything you could be attractive to them?
FIFTH: Starting specific is better than starting
general. Imagine a funnel. At the top is the whole
marketplace. Everybody. At the bottom is a single
person. Now obviously, trying to reach everyone at
the top won’t work, but a single person at the
bottom can’t sustain you either. What to do. Most
people come from the orientation of, “okay, let’s
start general and only go as specific as we have to.”
I’m suggesting an opposite orientation - starting at
the very specific, targeted bottom and only going up
as far as you absolutely have to. Start with a very
defined target and only widen as much as you need to.
SIXTH: Don’t underestimate the size of your niche.
Most entrepreneurs do. You don’t just have to appeal
to the hardcore, ‘true believers’. Sure, that’s who
you might be most attractive to, but you can also
reach those who are ‘on the road’. Plus, as you grow,
you may need to tinker your marketing to reach a
slightly broader niche. Now, if there’s enough hardcore
folks to meet your needs then that’s fine, but sometimes
people make the mistake of thinking, “oh there’s not
enough people who are into ______.” Well, maybe not as
a full time lifestyle, but there’s probably a bunch who
are interested. The weekend warriors of camping for
example - they’re not ‘hardcore campers’ - but maybe
you don’t need them to be.
SEVENTH: It’s up to you. It’s your damned decision.
Don’t let any marketing or business consultant tell
you otherwise. Yes, there are things you can do to
pick a winning niche - and, a bit later - I’ll show
you some criteria that I think you’ll love that might
make your decision making process much easier - but,
hey, this is your life right? All sorts of people will
have all sorts of ideas about what’s best for you and
your business. And, who knows, some of them are probably
right (the bastards). But some are wrong. Your life and
your business = your decisions. You’ll make some mistakes,
but at least let them be your mistakes, not someone else’s.
* * *
In Part 3: we'll look at eight characteristics of a great
niche. It's a really useful checklist you can use to see
whether the niche's you're considering are worth the effort
(and if your current niche isn't working why not)
In Part 4: we'll look at 9 ways that you might go about
identifying your niche (some of which are really obvious but
most people never consider them).
In Part 5: We'll look at how to describe your niche in a single
compelling sentence.
In Part 6: You'll get a tonne of real life examples of niches.
I hope you're well.
Warmest,
tad
In the last blog I spoke about the importance
of identifying your niche.
Many thanks to all of you who sent such
appreciative emails. I hope you like this one
as much.
This week, I'm going to speak about . . .
Seven Important Premises About Identifying Your
Niche:
Yes. People often freak out when they are asked
to identify a niche. Of course, the reason that
most people freak out is because they assume
they have to change everything about their
business right now. They are terrified that they
will have to change their logo, their font choice,
they’ll have to dump most of their current clients,
reword all of their marketing materials and website,
and divorce their spouse etc.
So, as you go through this virtual workshop let’s
build on these assumptions . . .
FIRST: You can be explicit without being exclusive.
just because you’ve picked a niche doesn’t mean that
you can’t work with people outside of it. Let’s say
you’re a massage therapist who focuses on pregnant
women. That doesn’t mean you can’t also massage men
or elderly women - it just means that you aren’t
targeting them. It means that the bulk of the people
you attract will be within your niche, but you will
still attract other folks who don’t fit your niche -
just because they like you, happened to hear about
you first, or were recommended by someone they trust.
That’s fine. There’s no need to turn them away.
SECOND: A niche can be phased in. You don’t need to
try to turn everything around overnight. In fact,
that’s likely a bad idea. Better is to adopt an
attitude of ‘playing’ with some niches. You can
identify a few niches that you think might be a fit
and attempt different promotions to each. When you
find a niche that feels really wonderful (and meets
the criteria I’m about to show you), you can try more
promotions and those promotions can expand to become
the bulk of your business. Of course, the more you
focus and commit to a niche - the more it will expand.
THIRD: A niche may take a while to identify (and that’s
okay). Think of clarifying your ideal client as a long-term
process rather than an event. You’ll be able to answer some
of the questions in this virtual workshop easily. Others
you’ll need to sit with; some for a few weeks and some for a
few years. That’s the truth. Most people tell me that when
they stumble across their niche - and stumble is really a
good word - it’s like a light bulb going off and they think,
“Why didn’t I see that before?” Because they couldn’t. It’s
a process.
Since the niche is so connected to our nature - to who
we are as people - it lifts up all of the places we’re
not clear on our nature, not clear about our passions
and our purpose. It can feel like such a huge decision.
The reality is that we humans aren’t so narrowly
specialized or defined as we are asking our businesses
to be sometimes - we fear giving up on parts of ourselves.
But remember, that your business is not who you are. It
will, by necessity, be more narrowly focused than you are
as an individual. That’s okay.
Before you even begin to look at any of these materials,
please take 3 minutes and go read the following article
by Robert Middleton . . .
http://radicalbusiness.blogspot.com/2006/09/finding-your-niche-robert-middleton.html
FOURTH: You’re already losing people: perhaps the
greatest fear that comes up for people when asked
to identify a specific niche is that they will lose
potential clients. This is true. But consider this.
You already are. You will never, ever, ever, ever, EVER
be attractive to everyone. Impossible. If you try to be
everything to everybody you’ll just become nothing to
everybody. You’ll become generic and thus invisible. No
matter what strategy you’re using right now, you’re
already losing people. Some people love it and others
are turned off by it. That’s not a problem. The real
question is: who do you want to attract? And are you
doing everything you could be attractive to them?
FIFTH: Starting specific is better than starting
general. Imagine a funnel. At the top is the whole
marketplace. Everybody. At the bottom is a single
person. Now obviously, trying to reach everyone at
the top won’t work, but a single person at the
bottom can’t sustain you either. What to do. Most
people come from the orientation of, “okay, let’s
start general and only go as specific as we have to.”
I’m suggesting an opposite orientation - starting at
the very specific, targeted bottom and only going up
as far as you absolutely have to. Start with a very
defined target and only widen as much as you need to.
SIXTH: Don’t underestimate the size of your niche.
Most entrepreneurs do. You don’t just have to appeal
to the hardcore, ‘true believers’. Sure, that’s who
you might be most attractive to, but you can also
reach those who are ‘on the road’. Plus, as you grow,
you may need to tinker your marketing to reach a
slightly broader niche. Now, if there’s enough hardcore
folks to meet your needs then that’s fine, but sometimes
people make the mistake of thinking, “oh there’s not
enough people who are into ______.” Well, maybe not as
a full time lifestyle, but there’s probably a bunch who
are interested. The weekend warriors of camping for
example - they’re not ‘hardcore campers’ - but maybe
you don’t need them to be.
SEVENTH: It’s up to you. It’s your damned decision.
Don’t let any marketing or business consultant tell
you otherwise. Yes, there are things you can do to
pick a winning niche - and, a bit later - I’ll show
you some criteria that I think you’ll love that might
make your decision making process much easier - but,
hey, this is your life right? All sorts of people will
have all sorts of ideas about what’s best for you and
your business. And, who knows, some of them are probably
right (the bastards). But some are wrong. Your life and
your business = your decisions. You’ll make some mistakes,
but at least let them be your mistakes, not someone else’s.
* * *
In Part 3: we'll look at eight characteristics of a great
niche. It's a really useful checklist you can use to see
whether the niche's you're considering are worth the effort
(and if your current niche isn't working why not)
In Part 4: we'll look at 9 ways that you might go about
identifying your niche (some of which are really obvious but
most people never consider them).
In Part 5: We'll look at how to describe your niche in a single
compelling sentence.
In Part 6: You'll get a tonne of real life examples of niches.
I hope you're well.
Warmest,
tad
Your Niche - Why Bother - Part 1 of 7
In this blog, we're going to start with the
Most basic of all questions:
Why bother?
Well . . .
My friend Dominic Canterbury - a word of mouth
marketing specialist - came up with this list:
You know your targeting sucks when:
1. Your marketing strategy consists of "just getting
your name out there"
2. Your target is, "People who can afford me."
3. Your Unique Selling Proposition is a lame platitude
such as, "I work to truly understand my client's needs."
4. You wish you didn't look just like the competition
5. You define it by age, income and geography
6. Your word-of-mouth strategy is based on lines like,
"The highest compliment you can pay us is the referral
of a friend."
7. You blew your marketing budget on advertising that
did nothing for you
8. You don't like your clients
9. Or, you've run plumb out of fresh marketing ideas
Owch.
Hard but true.
One of the classic blunders in marketing is:
Not clearly identifying your ideal client.
But most businesses have never really answered
the question, “Who is my niche?” in any meaningful
way. And it’s probably one of the most important
question you’ll ever answer for your business.
They say, “We help everybody . . .”
“Who are you trying to reach?
Who’s your target market?
Who’s your niche?”
There is likely no decision in business more central
or profound than this one.
And no question that meets with more resistance.
After all, that question asks you to make a decision.
Once you decide who you’re trying to reach you have
also, by necessity, made a decision about who you are
no longer trying to reach.
You are asking yourself, “who am I best able to help?”
And this brings up a lot of very personal issues about
what you’re passionate about, why you’re here on Earth,
what your talents are - questions that are often dealt
with by ignoring them.
I’ve found that many people sort of “short circuit”
when asked to address this question directly. Their
eyes glaze over and they go into a deep haze.
But it must be addressed.
And yet, most entrepreneurs aren’t even aware that they
have a problem.
Why is identifying your niche important?
Dominic Canterbury (www.dc-strategic.com) told me once that,
whenever he feels stuck or cloudy about what to do next in
his marketing work with a client he takes that as a sign that
he’s lost sight of the niche. So, he’ll stop, review who the
target market is and instantly, ideas will start to flow.
Why is that?
Your niche is the very center of all of your marketing efforts.
You must identify a niche. Until and unless you do that:
1. How can you possibly make your business attractive to
them (or yourself)? And why would you market? You will be
irresistibly attracted to your ideal client - and this will,
in the long term, make you irresistibly attractive to them.
Having a client you’re excited to attract & serve gives you
energy.
* * *
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE:
You have 24 hours to find the perfect gift for my friend or
else you will never see your family again. ( . . . “Does that
include my in-laws?” you ask.) BUT! The catch is that I won’t
tell you anything about them. This is, of course, impossible.
* * *
2. How do you know how to word your marketing materials?
The more that people feel you are speaking right to them, and
nobody else, the more likely they are to buy. You want them
saying, “that’s me!” not “so what.” The better you know them,
the more you will know what to say and what to avoid saying.
It’s about knowing exactly the right thing to say to them to
get them to act.
3. How do you know where to invest your marketing efforts?
4. How can you possibly expect to receive any quality
referrals from your existing clients? If you can’t tell them
the kind of people you want them to send you - how will they
know?
5. How can you know where to find them if you don’t know
who they are? You’d be surprised how often people miss this
obvious point. People ask me all the time, “Where can I find
more clients?” and I ask them, “Well, what kind of clients?
Who are you looking for?” Most folks can’t really answer that
except in vague notions of “people who are open to change”.
That’s likely too vague. Different sorts of folks hang out in
different places. Some people may already have your ideal
client as their clients. You target market is already spending
their money somewhere. They’re likely already hanging out
somewhere.
For most businesses I know, finding a niche is one of the
most important steps. If you can’t be everything to everyone,
then who are you best able you serve? What are you best at?
So, over the next few weeks - roughly once a week - we're going
to focus on this issue.
In the Part 2 - the next email I'm going to cover Five
Important Premises to consider when identifying your niche
(that can take a lot of the fear out of it).
In Part 3: we'll look at eight characteristics of a great
niche. It's a really useful checklist you can use to see
whether the niche's you're considering are worth the effort
(and if your current niche isn't working why not)
In Part 4: we'll look at 9 ways that you might go about
identifying your niche (some of which are really obvious but
most people never consider them).
In Part 5: We'll look at how to describe your niche in a single
compelling sentence.
In Part 6: You'll get a tonne of real life examples of niches.
That's the plan.
I hope you're well.
Warmest,
tad
Most basic of all questions:
Why bother?
Well . . .
My friend Dominic Canterbury - a word of mouth
marketing specialist - came up with this list:
You know your targeting sucks when:
1. Your marketing strategy consists of "just getting
your name out there"
2. Your target is, "People who can afford me."
3. Your Unique Selling Proposition is a lame platitude
such as, "I work to truly understand my client's needs."
4. You wish you didn't look just like the competition
5. You define it by age, income and geography
6. Your word-of-mouth strategy is based on lines like,
"The highest compliment you can pay us is the referral
of a friend."
7. You blew your marketing budget on advertising that
did nothing for you
8. You don't like your clients
9. Or, you've run plumb out of fresh marketing ideas
Owch.
Hard but true.
One of the classic blunders in marketing is:
Not clearly identifying your ideal client.
But most businesses have never really answered
the question, “Who is my niche?” in any meaningful
way. And it’s probably one of the most important
question you’ll ever answer for your business.
They say, “We help everybody . . .”
“Who are you trying to reach?
Who’s your target market?
Who’s your niche?”
There is likely no decision in business more central
or profound than this one.
And no question that meets with more resistance.
After all, that question asks you to make a decision.
Once you decide who you’re trying to reach you have
also, by necessity, made a decision about who you are
no longer trying to reach.
You are asking yourself, “who am I best able to help?”
And this brings up a lot of very personal issues about
what you’re passionate about, why you’re here on Earth,
what your talents are - questions that are often dealt
with by ignoring them.
I’ve found that many people sort of “short circuit”
when asked to address this question directly. Their
eyes glaze over and they go into a deep haze.
But it must be addressed.
And yet, most entrepreneurs aren’t even aware that they
have a problem.
Why is identifying your niche important?
Dominic Canterbury (www.dc-strategic.com) told me once that,
whenever he feels stuck or cloudy about what to do next in
his marketing work with a client he takes that as a sign that
he’s lost sight of the niche. So, he’ll stop, review who the
target market is and instantly, ideas will start to flow.
Why is that?
Your niche is the very center of all of your marketing efforts.
You must identify a niche. Until and unless you do that:
1. How can you possibly make your business attractive to
them (or yourself)? And why would you market? You will be
irresistibly attracted to your ideal client - and this will,
in the long term, make you irresistibly attractive to them.
Having a client you’re excited to attract & serve gives you
energy.
* * *
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE:
You have 24 hours to find the perfect gift for my friend or
else you will never see your family again. ( . . . “Does that
include my in-laws?” you ask.) BUT! The catch is that I won’t
tell you anything about them. This is, of course, impossible.
* * *
2. How do you know how to word your marketing materials?
The more that people feel you are speaking right to them, and
nobody else, the more likely they are to buy. You want them
saying, “that’s me!” not “so what.” The better you know them,
the more you will know what to say and what to avoid saying.
It’s about knowing exactly the right thing to say to them to
get them to act.
3. How do you know where to invest your marketing efforts?
4. How can you possibly expect to receive any quality
referrals from your existing clients? If you can’t tell them
the kind of people you want them to send you - how will they
know?
5. How can you know where to find them if you don’t know
who they are? You’d be surprised how often people miss this
obvious point. People ask me all the time, “Where can I find
more clients?” and I ask them, “Well, what kind of clients?
Who are you looking for?” Most folks can’t really answer that
except in vague notions of “people who are open to change”.
That’s likely too vague. Different sorts of folks hang out in
different places. Some people may already have your ideal
client as their clients. You target market is already spending
their money somewhere. They’re likely already hanging out
somewhere.
For most businesses I know, finding a niche is one of the
most important steps. If you can’t be everything to everyone,
then who are you best able you serve? What are you best at?
So, over the next few weeks - roughly once a week - we're going
to focus on this issue.
In the Part 2 - the next email I'm going to cover Five
Important Premises to consider when identifying your niche
(that can take a lot of the fear out of it).
In Part 3: we'll look at eight characteristics of a great
niche. It's a really useful checklist you can use to see
whether the niche's you're considering are worth the effort
(and if your current niche isn't working why not)
In Part 4: we'll look at 9 ways that you might go about
identifying your niche (some of which are really obvious but
most people never consider them).
In Part 5: We'll look at how to describe your niche in a single
compelling sentence.
In Part 6: You'll get a tonne of real life examples of niches.
That's the plan.
I hope you're well.
Warmest,
tad
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Seven Types of Hubs:
When you start thinking about your niche market, and how to reach them with effective word of mouth marketing - you immediately need to start thinking about the 'hubs' in their networks. You need to ask yourself, "who do they already trust?"
Luckily, it's not that hard.These seven questions will take you most of the way there.
1. EVENTS & LOCATIONS: Where does your niche gather, congregate, celebrate and hangout?
2. BUSINESSES: Where do they already spend their money?
3. GROUPS: What formal groups are they a part of?
4. SUPPORT: What resources or groups exist to support them?
5. WEBSEARCH: if your niche were to search for a solution to their problems on google, what would they type in?
6. PUBLICATIONS (on and offline): Where do they go for news and information that is relevant, credible and valuable for them?
7. INDIVIDUALS: Which individuals do they most trust (whether globally or locally)?
9 QUALITIES OF A GOOD HUB:
Once you've identified the niche you want to attract, it's probably a good idea to ask yourself, "Where do they already spend time, money or attention? What are the events, groups, businesses that they already trust? Who are the individuals they respect?" After all, if you can align yourself with those groups - those hubs - well, you've made your life much easier.
But what makes a good hub in your niche's network?
9 things . . .
1. credibility: they are trusted and respected by your niche, they are influential to the life, work, opinions and practices of your niche (e.g. maybe they’re pushing the envelope, on the cutting edge and an industry leader or maybe they’re committed to the basics etc).
2. reach: they have a large sphere of influence and reach a lot of people within your niche
3. list: already established, well organized and set up communication mechanisms through which they are regularly in touch with your niche (e.g. email list, mailing list, blog etc).
4. mutual respect: you already know them and they trust you, you have an authentic relationship with them, you genuinely respect them and already endorse their work to your clients and friends, you’re a really big fan of theirs
5. cooperative: they are open to endorsing quality things to their list, they’re excited to partner and collaborate
6. active relationship with niche: your niche already spends a good deal of money, time and attention on or with them
7. shared vision: you share a common vision and set of values
8. fresh: you haven’t maxed out this relationship already (e.g. maybe they’ve already endorsed you to everyone they can think of)
9. service: they’re passionate about meeting the needs of your niche
NOTE: You may have to create your OWN hub if none exists and be a host for your community.
But what makes a good hub in your niche's network?
9 things . . .
1. credibility: they are trusted and respected by your niche, they are influential to the life, work, opinions and practices of your niche (e.g. maybe they’re pushing the envelope, on the cutting edge and an industry leader or maybe they’re committed to the basics etc).
2. reach: they have a large sphere of influence and reach a lot of people within your niche
3. list: already established, well organized and set up communication mechanisms through which they are regularly in touch with your niche (e.g. email list, mailing list, blog etc).
4. mutual respect: you already know them and they trust you, you have an authentic relationship with them, you genuinely respect them and already endorse their work to your clients and friends, you’re a really big fan of theirs
5. cooperative: they are open to endorsing quality things to their list, they’re excited to partner and collaborate
6. active relationship with niche: your niche already spends a good deal of money, time and attention on or with them
7. shared vision: you share a common vision and set of values
8. fresh: you haven’t maxed out this relationship already (e.g. maybe they’ve already endorsed you to everyone they can think of)
9. service: they’re passionate about meeting the needs of your niche
NOTE: You may have to create your OWN hub if none exists and be a host for your community.
14 PREMISES OF EFFECTIVE WORD OF MOUTH:
The most effective marketing is, we all know it, word of mouth. Here's 14
"seed thoughts" to consider when you think of word of mouth marketing.
warmest,tad
1. The Law of the Niche: Trying to reach everyone is futile. Life becomes easier as you choose a focus.
2. The Law of 1000 Miles: the conversion of stranger to client is one of many steps.
3. The Law of Irresistible Steps: Make each step irresistible. Each step must be low risk and high value (high R.O.I.) to your niche - and ideally low cost to you. Remember: people want solutions to problems and relief from pain - they want you to do it for them, to have it already figured out and be told what to do, they want you to hold their hand. They don’t want to have to spend years educating themselves and read reams of info and listen to hours of audio. What drives sales in this process is not “closing techniques” but “irresistible offers”. Marketing is best woven in from the start - not plopped on at the end
4. The Law of Push-Back. Pressure is deadly. The entire process must be pressure free - they must be 100% in control. People love buying but they hate being sold to.
5. The Law of Gossip. People love to share their opinions and experiences (good and bad) with their friends. If people like you and like what you do they are already talking about you to their friends. The stronger the emotional intensity of their experience the more often and more intensely they will share their experience (whether positive or negative).
6. The Law of Advertising: People don’t trust ads & pitches. People mistrust things that look like advertising or sales pitches. Their defenses go up. The most successful marketing will therefore be authentic, genuine endorsements from people they already trust.
7. The Law of Problems: In the prospects mind, they are not looking for your product or service, they are looking for solutions to problems. They want relief from pain. They’re look for a particular result that is self serving to them. There is a particular need that they are trying to fulfill. Everything in your marketing must be geared around this.
8. The Law of Empathy: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. In old sales, you would spend hours identifying people’s problems. In today’s market you need to walk in with a deep understanding and empathy for the pains they are experiencing and the frustrations that they have with your industry.
9. The Law of Alignment: In order to influence people you must know what already influences them; you must know what is most important to them. And then you must do whatever it takes to make your business a living, breathing expression of those values.
10. The “Birds of a feather” Law:
11. Bigger Birds: Some birds are bigger and sing louder and more beautifully than others.
12. The Law of Endorsement: In order to influence people you must know who already influences them. And then you must do whatever it takes to get the endorsement of those people and groups.
13. The Law of Hand to Hand: There are things you can do to support people in talking about you. You must create materials that can be passed on at the point of conversation.
14. Marketing = community building. Pick a niche and become a champion of that community, help it to thrive.
Eight Qualities of a Good Niche
So, you've decided that you want to fiddle with a niche. That's a very good decision, but how do you know if the niche you're thinking of is a good one?
The list of eight criteria below probably isn't a bad start.
warmest,
tad
The list of eight criteria below probably isn't a bad start.
warmest,
tad
1. common set of easily identifiable needs, problems that you can help them with
2. common lifestyle: desires, passions, values, interests, hobbies, that you can cater to
3. established, high quality hubs, communication networks etc. You can find them and reach them easily.
4. there’s enough of them to meet your needs
5. they’re fun to work with and in alignment with your nature (these are likely the kinds of clients you most easily and naturally attract and the ones to whom you feel the most attracted - it’s a niche or community that you want to see thrive).
6. they are underserved
7. they can afford to pay you full price for your products and services
8. they are in alignment with your long-term business goals (e.g. if you do eco-lawn care and want to work with “Golf Clubs" eventually, but now need to do residential, it might be wise to focus on people who golf for now so that you can bridge into that later).
Tad in the Globe and Mail
I was recently featured in an article in The Globe and Mail - one of Canada's national newspapers.
http://www.tadhargrave.com/Media/globeandmail
http://www.tadhargrave.com/Media/globeandmail
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
The Pain vs. The Problem - Ari Galper
You know, I'm sure that somewhere in your career
you've heard someone in sales tell you that if you
can 'find someone's pain,' they'll buy what you
have.
What they mean is, if you ask certain questions
designed to get the person you're talking with to
spill their emotions about a need or 'pain' they
have, then all you have to do is show them your
solution and you've got them right where you want
them -- grabbing for their wallet and buying what
you're selling.
In fact, digging for the prospect's pain is still
a common 'technique' taught by many of the
old-school sales trainers today.
I don't know about you, but asking pre-designed
questions that you hope will get someone into an
emotional frenzy, so they'll jump to buy what you
have, feels very manipulative. In fact, I strongly
feel that it's flat-out wrong to manipulate
someone for your own gain.
Growing up with a dad who's a psychologist and who
made it his mission to be sure I could discern
between right and wrong really sensitized me to
these kinds of inauthentic sales techniques.
What continues to surprise me is that these
techniques are considered standard practice in the
business world and that somehow, since 'everyone
else is doing it,' that makes it okay.
History is full of lessons about what can happen
when people start going along with what everyone
else around them is doing, even though they know
deep down that it feels wrong and is wrong.
If you're asking yourself, 'If I don't try to get
at the person's pain, how am I going to sell my
solution?,' that means you're looking at selling
in one narrow way -- with only the goal of making
the sale.
If you're already one of my Mastery Program
clients, you'll realize that what I teach is how
to be a problem-solver.
What that means is having intimate
knowledge of your prospects' problems
BEFORE you approach them.
How is that possible?
Well, that's the system I teach, and it's based on
understanding your prospects' world.
When you follow the Mindset of seeking the truth
instead of being fixated on the sale, you'll find
that:
* You'll get into deep discussions with your
prospects about their problems or issues
* They'll feel understood and not pressured by
you
* Without you ever trying to 'close' the sale,
it'll happen naturally if there's really a match
between their problem and the solution you offer.
If you've haven't experienced this before, it's
something you'll never forget... it's almost
magical.
And the funny thing is, more sales happen because
you AREN'T chasing the sale.
You might be thinking, 'I still don't
understand the difference between the problem and
the pain.'
The difference is really the connection
that's created between the two of you when they
feel you understand them and don't have a hidden
agenda -- instead of trying to engineer pushing
their 'pain button.'
For me, the common belief that playing in the
'gray area' of business, which includes
manipulation, is not okay.
Why? Because when you get down to it, there's
really only one playing field - life - and the more
authentic you are with the people in your life
personally and professionally, the more you honor
them AND yourself... something to think about.
Please let me know your thoughts.
To your success,
Ari Galper
Founder, Unlock The Game
P.S. You can learn more about the
Mastery Program here: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com/LearnMore
Unlock The Game 24112 Park Casino Calabasas, CA 91302
US/CAN: 877-641-3039 UK: 020 815 6147 AUS: 0402 600 387
you've heard someone in sales tell you that if you
can 'find someone's pain,' they'll buy what you
have.
What they mean is, if you ask certain questions
designed to get the person you're talking with to
spill their emotions about a need or 'pain' they
have, then all you have to do is show them your
solution and you've got them right where you want
them -- grabbing for their wallet and buying what
you're selling.
In fact, digging for the prospect's pain is still
a common 'technique' taught by many of the
old-school sales trainers today.
I don't know about you, but asking pre-designed
questions that you hope will get someone into an
emotional frenzy, so they'll jump to buy what you
have, feels very manipulative. In fact, I strongly
feel that it's flat-out wrong to manipulate
someone for your own gain.
Growing up with a dad who's a psychologist and who
made it his mission to be sure I could discern
between right and wrong really sensitized me to
these kinds of inauthentic sales techniques.
What continues to surprise me is that these
techniques are considered standard practice in the
business world and that somehow, since 'everyone
else is doing it,' that makes it okay.
History is full of lessons about what can happen
when people start going along with what everyone
else around them is doing, even though they know
deep down that it feels wrong and is wrong.
If you're asking yourself, 'If I don't try to get
at the person's pain, how am I going to sell my
solution?,' that means you're looking at selling
in one narrow way -- with only the goal of making
the sale.
If you're already one of my Mastery Program
clients, you'll realize that what I teach is how
to be a problem-solver.
What that means is having intimate
knowledge of your prospects' problems
BEFORE you approach them.
How is that possible?
Well, that's the system I teach, and it's based on
understanding your prospects' world.
When you follow the Mindset of seeking the truth
instead of being fixated on the sale, you'll find
that:
* You'll get into deep discussions with your
prospects about their problems or issues
* They'll feel understood and not pressured by
you
* Without you ever trying to 'close' the sale,
it'll happen naturally if there's really a match
between their problem and the solution you offer.
If you've haven't experienced this before, it's
something you'll never forget... it's almost
magical.
And the funny thing is, more sales happen because
you AREN'T chasing the sale.
You might be thinking, 'I still don't
understand the difference between the problem and
the pain.'
The difference is really the connection
that's created between the two of you when they
feel you understand them and don't have a hidden
agenda -- instead of trying to engineer pushing
their 'pain button.'
For me, the common belief that playing in the
'gray area' of business, which includes
manipulation, is not okay.
Why? Because when you get down to it, there's
really only one playing field - life - and the more
authentic you are with the people in your life
personally and professionally, the more you honor
them AND yourself... something to think about.
Please let me know your thoughts.
To your success,
Ari Galper
Founder, Unlock The Game
P.S. You can learn more about the
Mastery Program here: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com
Unlock The Game 24112 Park Casino Calabasas, CA 91302
US/CAN: 877-641-3039 UK: 020 815 6147 AUS: 0402 600 387
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
a FREE workshop on identifying your ideal client
Hey there,
There's probably no more fundamental question in marketing than: who are you trying to reach? It affects everything you will ever do in your marketing. Your understanding of and empathy for the people you're trying to reach is the basis of all your marketing.
Do you really get them?
Do you understand their hopes, their fears?
It's an old burned out saying but it's true: if you want to influence someone, you must know what already influences them.
Do you?
My guess is that you have some understanding but that it could be refined.
Now, to be clear: understanding who your ideal client is is NOT the same as having a marketing plan. But it is the basis of every marketing plan you will ever devise. This is the necessary and foundational spade work for your marketing.
And what's the promise of it?
Well, think of your favorite clients. The one's you just love. Now imagine that all of your clients were like that.
Interested?
If you want to get started right away, just go to:
http://www.tadhargrave.com/idealclientworkshop
And download your FREE 10 page workshop. Feel free to email me with any questions at: tad@tadhargrave.com
This is material that, until now, I've only ever covered in my workshops live. But now I'm offering it to you here for no cost.
Because I want to.
So there.
Warmest,
tad
p.s. feel free to pass this onto anyone who you think might find it of use.
There's probably no more fundamental question in marketing than: who are you trying to reach? It affects everything you will ever do in your marketing. Your understanding of and empathy for the people you're trying to reach is the basis of all your marketing.
Do you really get them?
Do you understand their hopes, their fears?
It's an old burned out saying but it's true: if you want to influence someone, you must know what already influences them.
Do you?
My guess is that you have some understanding but that it could be refined.
Now, to be clear: understanding who your ideal client is is NOT the same as having a marketing plan. But it is the basis of every marketing plan you will ever devise. This is the necessary and foundational spade work for your marketing.
And what's the promise of it?
Well, think of your favorite clients. The one's you just love. Now imagine that all of your clients were like that.
Interested?
If you want to get started right away, just go to:
http://www.tadhargrave.com/idealclientworkshop
And download your FREE 10 page workshop. Feel free to email me with any questions at: tad@tadhargrave.com
This is material that, until now, I've only ever covered in my workshops live. But now I'm offering it to you here for no cost.
Because I want to.
So there.
Warmest,
tad
p.s. feel free to pass this onto anyone who you think might find it of use.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Finding Your Niche - Robert Middleton
(another brilliant piece from Robert Middleton that's right on the money)
warmest,
tad
Finding a Niche
===================================================
I got an email from a customer recently with this comment:
"I can't make any progress with my marketing until I know what my
marketing niche is. Until I know who my ideal clients are going to be,
I can't start with my marketing, so I really can't get any of your
products until I'm clear about this."
You might want to substitute your own concern: "I don't know what
my services are yet," or "I don't really know what the ultimate
outcome is that I provide for my clients," or "I don't know what
makes me unique yet."
And with this declaration of what you don't know, your marketing
grinds to a screeching standstill.
My answer to this customer was the following:
You don't find your niche. Your niche finds you. And this goes for
your services, ultimate outcome, uniqueness, etc.
What I mean by this is that you can't really figure it out in your head.
You need to discover it. And the way you discover it is to jump into
the process of marketing.
I know this might not makes sense to you, but stick with me here,
because this is really one of the biggest issues Independent
Professionals face.
I've seen it hundreds of times.
I've seen people completely stuck because they can't figure out their
audio logo or perfect marketing message. And they "know" that
when they figure it out, all their marketing will fall magically into
place.
Utter nonsense, I'm afraid.
Here's the big secret that nobody has told you: You take your best
guess, give it a shot and see what response you get. That's all,
really. You don't get it right. You get it wrong - maybe for a long
time - until it finally falls into place.
My customer is confused about which clients she should go after. But
she doesn't have to decide - yet. All she has to do is take a mad
stab at it and say, for the time being: "These are the clients I'll work
with for now." And then build a marketing message around that.
She'll discover soon enough if it's the right niche or not.
She'll talk to a lot of people. She'll use her newly created audio logo,
ultimate outcome, etc. She'll get responses or not. If not, no
problem, back to the drawing board.
If she gets a few clients in this niche, she'll soon discover if they are
ideal or not. She'll learn as she goes, and fine tune her message
along the way. After awhile the niche will find her. She'll stumble
upon it. Aaha! that's it! And then the next version of her marketing
message will be right on target.
Let me give you an analogy in another field.
A new music student says: "I can't learn music until I know what
composers I'm going to play. I'm really conflicted. Will I play Mozart
and Bach, or Betthoven and Brahms? Difficult choice. But when I'm
clear on who, then I'll start to learn music.
Wouldn't we roll our eyes if we heard this? Then why do we take the
declaration so seriously that someone can't find their niche? It's nuts.
Sadly, the chance of the above person ever becoming a musician is
pretty slim. And with this approach, the chance of my customer ever
becoming a successful Independent Professional is pretty slim as
well. The good news is she's willing to try.
And starting is easy.
Get a book, manual, or tape program, or attend a course. Start with
the first lesson. Do the homework. Apply it the best you can to your
business.
You won't be a marketing genius in a week or two, but you'll be way
beyond where you are now. So get out of your head, let go of the
need to have things perfect, be willing to fail fast and just do it!
*
The More Clients Bottom Line: You don't figure out all your marketing
strategies first and then start marketing. You start your marketing
with one imperfect message at a time and figure it out as you go.
*
What holds you back from starting your marketing? What could you
do to get started... now? Please share on the More Clients Blog.
http://www.actionplan.blogs.com
===================================================
Marketing Tools to Get Your Marketing Started
===================================================
One of the most frequent questions I hear from customers is "What
Action Plan Marketing product or service should I start with first?
The answer is that is depends upon where you are in your business and
marketing. Here are some suggestions:
The InfoGuru Marketing Manual - This is for Independent Professionals
who are starting out, who haven't done much marketing or who
haven't had much success with their marketing.
http://www.actionplan.com/infoguru.html
The Web Site ToolKit - This is for any Independent Professional who
wants to create a high quality web site - the first time. I will walk you
through every step of the process of developing your content and
then give you guidelines for getting it designed.
http://www.actionplan.com/wstk.html
The Action Plan ToolKit - This is for Independent Professionals who
need some support in getting their marketing off the ground. It will
guide you in creating targeted marketing action plans.
http://www.actionplan.com/aptk.html
The MAPP Program - This is a live teleconference program held over
six weeks and seven sessions. It's for Independent Professionals who
want to accelerate the implementation of their marketing.
http://www.actionplan.com/mappwkp.html
Audio Programs - These programs are recorded interviews with
marketing experts on specific aspects of marketing your services and
are appropriate for anyone who wants to increase their skills in that
area.
http://www.actionplan.com/teleclasses.html
All of our products and services are very hands-on and how-to. They
get to the heart of how to attract more clients and how to make
marketing less of a struggle. They all come with a money back
guarantee, so it can't hurt to check them out.
Just click on any of the links above to learn more about these
products and services and to order on our secure shopping cart
system.
warmest,
tad
Finding a Niche
==============================
I got an email from a customer recently with this comment:
"I can't make any progress with my marketing until I know what my
marketing niche is. Until I know who my ideal clients are going to be,
I can't start with my marketing, so I really can't get any of your
products until I'm clear about this."
You might want to substitute your own concern: "I don't know what
my services are yet," or "I don't really know what the ultimate
outcome is that I provide for my clients," or "I don't know what
makes me unique yet."
And with this declaration of what you don't know, your marketing
grinds to a screeching standstill.
My answer to this customer was the following:
You don't find your niche. Your niche finds you. And this goes for
your services, ultimate outcome, uniqueness, etc.
What I mean by this is that you can't really figure it out in your head.
You need to discover it. And the way you discover it is to jump into
the process of marketing.
I know this might not makes sense to you, but stick with me here,
because this is really one of the biggest issues Independent
Professionals face.
I've seen it hundreds of times.
I've seen people completely stuck because they can't figure out their
audio logo or perfect marketing message. And they "know" that
when they figure it out, all their marketing will fall magically into
place.
Utter nonsense, I'm afraid.
Here's the big secret that nobody has told you: You take your best
guess, give it a shot and see what response you get. That's all,
really. You don't get it right. You get it wrong - maybe for a long
time - until it finally falls into place.
My customer is confused about which clients she should go after. But
she doesn't have to decide - yet. All she has to do is take a mad
stab at it and say, for the time being: "These are the clients I'll work
with for now." And then build a marketing message around that.
She'll discover soon enough if it's the right niche or not.
She'll talk to a lot of people. She'll use her newly created audio logo,
ultimate outcome, etc. She'll get responses or not. If not, no
problem, back to the drawing board.
If she gets a few clients in this niche, she'll soon discover if they are
ideal or not. She'll learn as she goes, and fine tune her message
along the way. After awhile the niche will find her. She'll stumble
upon it. Aaha! that's it! And then the next version of her marketing
message will be right on target.
Let me give you an analogy in another field.
A new music student says: "I can't learn music until I know what
composers I'm going to play. I'm really conflicted. Will I play Mozart
and Bach, or Betthoven and Brahms? Difficult choice. But when I'm
clear on who, then I'll start to learn music.
Wouldn't we roll our eyes if we heard this? Then why do we take the
declaration so seriously that someone can't find their niche? It's nuts.
Sadly, the chance of the above person ever becoming a musician is
pretty slim. And with this approach, the chance of my customer ever
becoming a successful Independent Professional is pretty slim as
well. The good news is she's willing to try.
And starting is easy.
Get a book, manual, or tape program, or attend a course. Start with
the first lesson. Do the homework. Apply it the best you can to your
business.
You won't be a marketing genius in a week or two, but you'll be way
beyond where you are now. So get out of your head, let go of the
need to have things perfect, be willing to fail fast and just do it!
*
The More Clients Bottom Line: You don't figure out all your marketing
strategies first and then start marketing. You start your marketing
with one imperfect message at a time and figure it out as you go.
*
What holds you back from starting your marketing? What could you
do to get started... now? Please share on the More Clients Blog.
http://www.actionplan.blogs
==============================
Marketing Tools to Get Your Marketing Started
==============================
One of the most frequent questions I hear from customers is "What
Action Plan Marketing product or service should I start with first?
The answer is that is depends upon where you are in your business and
marketing. Here are some suggestions:
The InfoGuru Marketing Manual - This is for Independent Professionals
who are starting out, who haven't done much marketing or who
haven't had much success with their marketing.
http://www.actionplan.com
The Web Site ToolKit - This is for any Independent Professional who
wants to create a high quality web site - the first time. I will walk you
through every step of the process of developing your content and
then give you guidelines for getting it designed.
http://www.actionplan.com/wstk
The Action Plan ToolKit - This is for Independent Professionals who
need some support in getting their marketing off the ground. It will
guide you in creating targeted marketing action plans.
http://www.actionplan.com/aptk
The MAPP Program - This is a live teleconference program held over
six weeks and seven sessions. It's for Independent Professionals who
want to accelerate the implementation of their marketing.
http://www.actionplan.com
Audio Programs - These programs are recorded interviews with
marketing experts on specific aspects of marketing your services and
are appropriate for anyone who wants to increase their skills in that
area.
http://www.actionplan.com
All of our products and services are very hands-on and how-to. They
get to the heart of how to attract more clients and how to make
marketing less of a struggle. They all come with a money back
guarantee, so it can't hurt to check them out.
Just click on any of the links above to learn more about these
products and services and to order on our secure shopping cart
system.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
As Radical as We Wanna Be
The Secret to Being as Radical as We Want to Be is to Finance the Revolution Ourselves
If Mohandas Gandhi were a typical North American activist these days, he would probably be wearing a three-piece suit and working in a plush office with his law degree prominently displayed. He would have little time to lead protests, since every other week would be spent meeting with donors – and those power lunches would hardly go well with fasting. He would be careful to avoid salt marches or cotton boycotts, so as not to offend key donors. To sharpen his annual pitch to foundations, he would be constantly dreaming up new one-year projects on narrowly focused topics, perhaps a one-time conference on English human-rights abuses, or a documentary on anti-colonial activities in New Delhi. To ensure that various allies didn’t steal away core funders, he would keep his distance and be inclined to trash talk behind their backs. In short, there’s little doubt that the British would still be running India.
The problem with activism today is that it is largely funded by grants and gifts from rich foundations and individuals. The long-standing assumption that you can take the money with few strings attached, and then run, needs to be fundamentally reexamined.
Building a philanthropic base of support can cripple an organization’s mission and wreck it altogether when the well runs dry. Most nonprofits have engaged in a kind of fundraising arms race in which our best leaders focus more time, energy and resources, not on changing the world, but on improving their panhandling prowess to capture just a little more of a philanthropic pie that actually expands very little from year to year. Armies of “development” staff spend as much as a third of an organization’s resources, not to advance the poor, but to cultivate wealthy donors. Significant numbers of our colleagues create campaigns, direct-mail pitches, telemarketing scripts, newsletters and other products exclusively to “care and feed” prospects and to frame positions that will not offend the rich.
Nonprofit structures dictated by this mode of funding also burden organizers with the heavy regulatory hand of the state. To qualify for tax-deductible contributions, for example, US nonprofits must agree to limit lobbying and not to campaign for political causes of candidates.
We believe it’s time for North American progressives to break free from the philanthropic plantation. Those of us serious about social change increasingly must get down to business, figuratively and literally. Every social change group may not be able to generate all its funding through revenue-generation, but every nonprofit certainly can generate a greater percentage than it is doing now. In other words, we should become our own funders. Once we start generating our own resources, we can invest them politically – as corporations do now – largely without limitation, without wasting our time on fundraising appeals, without worrying about that next grant, without apologies.
To get a sense of the possibilities, check out Cabbages & Condoms, a popular restaurant in Bangkok. As your senses become intoxicated by the aromas of garlic, ginger, basil, galangal and lemongrass, you cannot avoid noticing the origins of the name. On top of each heavy wooden table is a slab of glass, under which are neatly arranged rows of colorful prophylactics. Posters and paintings adorn the half-dozen large rooms, all communicating the restaurant’s central message: the AIDS epidemic afflicting Thailand can be checked only through the unabashed promotion and use of male contraception. With balloon animals made from carefully inflated and twisted condoms and the after-dinner candies replaced with your own take-home “condom-mints,” even teens cannot escape the message prominently framed on the wall: “Sex is fun but don’t be stupid – use protection.”
What makes the five “C&C” restaurants unique, along with an affiliated beach-front resort and numerous gift shops, is that they are all owned by the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), a rural development organization that has been a leader in promoting family planning and fighting aids in Thailand. Seven out of every ten dollars spent by the PDA on such activities as free vasectomies and mobile health clinics are covered by the net revenues from its 16 subsidiary for-profits. Were the PDA dependent on funding from the Thai government, the World Bank or even the Rockefeller Foundation, it no doubt would be told to tone down the message. Jokes on its website – like “the Cabbages and Condoms Restaurants in Thailand don’t only present excellent Thai food, the food is guaranteed not to get you pregnant” – would certainly be discouraged.
The cash flow gives the PDA a measure of confidence and boldness. The founder, Mechai Viravaidya, has no qualms about his decision to employ for-profits: “Unlimited demand is chasing limited supply [of charitable donations]. No longer are gifts, grants or begging enough. From day one, thirty years ago, we have been acutely aware of sustainability and cost-recovery.”
Consider some US examples of social entrepreneurship:
- Housing Works in New York uses its Used Book Caf̩ to generate more than $2 million annually for its work, which prioritizes advocacy for homeless people with HIV. The organization runs clinics, conducts public policy research, lobbies federal and state officials, even leads sit-ins. It is fearless, aggressive and stunningly effective Рand its $30 million of annual work would be impossible were it not for its vast range of real estate, food service, retail and rental companies that help pay the bills.
- Pioneer Human Services is a community development corporation based in Seattle that assists a wide range of at-risk populations, including the unemployed, the homeless, ex-convicts, alcoholics and addicts. The organization serves 6,500 people a year and generates nearly all its $55 million budget through a web of ambitious subsidiary nonprofit businesses: cafes and a central kitchen facility for institutional customers, aerospace and sheet-metal industries, a construction company, food warehouses, a real-estate management group and consulting services for other nonprofits. Most of the jobs in these businesses are awarded to its at-risk clients, allowing it to further its mission to integrate clients back into society.
- The Rocky Mountain Institute, a leading promoter of alternative energy technology in Snowmass, Colorado, created E-Source in 1986 to provide in-depth analysis of services, markets, and technologies relating to energy efficiency and renewable energy production. In 1992 RMI secured a program-related investment from the MacArthur Foundation to move the work into a for-profit subsidiary. By 1998 it was generating about $400,000 for the parent nonprofit, but rmi decided it could do even better under new management, so it sold the company to Pearson plc in Britain for $8 million. Today, RMI assists and benefits from other for-profit spinoffs, such as Hypercar, Inc., which aims to create a lightweight body architecture to improve the efficiency of the entire US automobile fleet.
- Judy Wicks’ White Dog Café in Philadelphia is as much a community organizing center as a restaurant. Radical speakers from around the country provide a steady stream of public lectures. An adjacent store sells fair trade products and will soon be introducing a line of locally made clothing. The White Dog itself embodies principles of social justice and environmental stewardship by paying all employees a living wage, insisting on humanely raised meats and eggs, using locally grown ingredients and running on wind electricity. Twenty percent of profits from the restaurant go to the White Dog Café Foundation, carrying on the café’s mission through nonprofit activities.
These examples embody many possible models. A for-profit subsidiary can generate money for a parent nonprofit. Or, better still, a for-profit can become the change it seeks, by producing and selling socially important goods and services.
While we reject the libertarian argument that every human problem has an economic solution, many social-change issues clearly have economic dimensions that are susceptible to creative business plans. Hate nuclear power? Launch energy-service companies to spread conservation measures, or build local wind farms to take control of your own electricity future. Concerned about the poor, minorities and women having equal access to credit? Create more community banks, credit unions and micro-enterprise funds. Troubled by pharmaceutical prices that make life-saving drugs unattainable for impoverished people across the globe? Start, as several companies based in the developing world did, companies that mass-produce affordable generic versions of high-priced American drugs.
Socially responsible business should be not just a boutique sector of the private economy, but its mainstream. We have been impressed in recent years by the growing number of local businesspeople who not only “walk the walk” of social justice in the small details of their operations and products but also tout the virtues of local ownership. This third generation of entrepreneur-organizers is being led by groups like the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and by the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA). Each promotes local ownership of business, champions social justice and neighborhood revitalization, and pushes for new public policies that remove the tilts in a playing field that favors badly behaved big business.
Sooner or later, the concepts of social-change organization and of social-responsibility business should become indistinguishable. Truly responsible businesses would be owned by all members of a community (rich and poor), hire locally, expand local skills, comport with local labor and environmental standards, produce goods and services that meet urgent local needs and become allies of social justice movements. What better way to help the poor than to transform them into the captains, worker-bees, shareholders and customers of community-friendly business?
If foundations and donors had never existed and professional panhandling had been outlawed, social-change groups would have been forced to turn to creating and running new enterprises or new networks of local businesses, and our movement would be considerably healthier than it is today. Progressives have become the classic 20-something kid still living at home, expecting an allowance from deep-pocket parents for a few basic chores, while agreeing, as a condition for the chump change, to obey someone else’s rules on social change. It’s time to grow up and strike out on our own.
Here’s a challenge to activists (one we take seriously ourselves): let’s try to wean ourselves from the charity habit, say by three percent per year. Think about just one piece of your agenda that could be framed as a revenue generator, dream about it a little, develop a business plan and give it a try. If you lack the skills, skip your next fundraising class and instead attend one of thousands upon thousands of entrepreneurship programs around the world. Or hire someone who might start the entrepreneurial subsidiary of your nonprofit.
Gandhi understood that the key to freeing India was to transform his fellow citizens into economically productive agents by spinning their own cloth and taking their own salt from the sea. Martin Luther King Jr. implored African Americans to form their own credit unions and community development corporations. The secret to being as radical as we want to be – and as radical as we need to be – is to finance the revolution ourselves.
Michael Shuman is the vice president for enterprise development for the Training and Development Corporation. Merrian Fuller is a managing director of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies. This article was adapted from “Profits for Justice,” which first appeared in The Nation.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Admit it, you're scared to death of marketing and selling - Robert Middleton
===================================================
Fearless Marketing
===================================================
It seems I really hit a nerve last week with my eZine on "Ruffling
Some Feathers." The point I made was that those who disparage
marketing and selling tend to be those who most fear marketing and
selling themselves. (Fear of X means X is bad.)
My main point wasn't to make these people wrong.
My real intention with the article was to hold up a mirror to those
who have problems with marketing and selling. Hopefully it was a
wake up call. (Not to "them" - to "YOU!")
If you saw yourself in that mirror, great, that's a first step.
But I'm not done.
The resistance, antipathy and downright fear you have about
marketing and selling yourself is probably hurting your business
more than you realize.
(Note: If this is a non-issue for you, great. Skip this eZine and get
out there! If it is an issue, pay close attention.)
You know the symptoms:
- A tendency to avoid picking up the phone
- staying away from networking activities
- putting off writing a letter or an article
- not closing at the end of a sales interview
- avoiding speaking in public at all costs
- not promoting or selling in your eZine
- neglecting to ask for referrals
When I used to work with clients as a marketing coach, you'd think
their main question would have been, "How do I do these things more
effectively?" But no, the question was, "Why don't I get around to
doing these things, even though I know I should do them?"
A lot of my time was spent working people though their resistance
and fears to marketing and selling themselves. In fact, many of my
clients called me their "marketing shrink!"
A big part of my work consisted of taking my clients slowly, step-
by-step, through the marketing process. I demonstrated that if
they picked up the phone and said the right thing, people would
actually not yell at them. I showed that if they wrote an article,
they would likely receive more praise than scorn.
I called it "jumping off the diving board" marketing: Start with a low
board. Don't worry about getting it perfect, just jump. Then
gradually go higher and improve a little each time.
This approach is actually quite effective. It's how we learn things.
It's how we improve gradually and let go of our irrational fears until
we are fully competent and confident.
In fact, this is the approach I took in the InfoGuru Manual and the
Web Site ToolKit. If you take it one step at a time, and do the action
plans at the end of each chapter or section, you'll begin to
understand the underlying principles and practices of marketing,
and start to get some results.
Many of you have used this approach to become better marketers.
However, being by nature an impatient person, I never felt that this
approach was enough. Sure, many of my clients would take things
step-by-step and ultimately get great results.
But many others would never get past first base. Their built-in
distaste for marketing was stronger than their will to succeed.
So I started to build "belief work" into my marketing coaching. I used
it in my Marketing Action Groups, and integrated it into the Action
Plan ToolKit, which includes exercises for changing beliefs. For
many, this made a huge difference.
The first step is to recognize the limiting beliefs underlying some of
the symptoms I listed earlier. Here are some typical ones I
discovered:
- A tendency to avoid picking up the phone
(People don't want to be bothered. I'm an interruption.)
- staying away from networking activities
(I'm just not a people person who is comfortable meeting strangers)
- putting off writing a letter or an article
(I'm not a good writer. And who would be interested, anyway?)
- not closing at the end of a sales interview
(If they want to buy, they'll let me know. I shouldn't be pushy.)
- avoiding speaking in public at all costs
(I'd probably make a fool of myself. Nobody wants to hear my ideas.)
- not promoting or selling in your eZine
(If I promote myself, people will hate me and unsubscribe in droves.)
- neglecting to ask for referrals
(If they're happy they'll give me referrals when they're ready.)
I'd be willing to bet a buck or two that you hold several of these (or
similar) beliefs very dearly. And if you hold them strongly enough,
you're not even going to take the small steps necessary to improve
in that area of marketing. You'll give up before you start.
So what works best? Taking the small steps or changing beliefs?
Both are equally important. If you don't have any big issues about
writing, for instance, get started now, one step at a time. But if
you're terrified of speaking in front of a group, doing some belief
work first will make the process a whole lot easier.
But no matter what your situation is, make that commitment to
being a fearless marketer, and you'll find a way.
*
The More Clients Bottom Line: Fear of marketing and selling is a big
issue for a large percentage of Independent Professionals. The key is
to recognize that fears are holding you back and then find the
support you need to get past them.
What works for you to get past your fears of marketing and selling
yourself? Please share on the More Clients Blog.
http://www.actionplan.blogs.com
===================================================
Four Fearless Marketing Tools
===================================================
Want to become a better marketer of your services and attract all
the clients you need? These four tools will help you build your skills
and get past the fears that are holding you back:
The InfoGuru Marketing Manual - Build your marketing skills
http://www.actionplan.com/infoguru.html
The Web Site ToolKit - Create a powerful web site
http://www.actionplan.com/wstk.html
The Action Plan ToolKit - Get on track with your marketing
http://www.actionplan.com/aptk.html
The MAPP Program - Build a bulletproof marketing plan
http://www.actionplan.com/mappwkp.html
(Note: Tuition goes up on Sept 1)
P.S. If you have any resistance whatsoever to marketing and selling
yourself, I want you to know that this is a temporary condition that
you can change permanently. The tools above will help you do it.
==============================
It seems I really hit a nerve last week with my eZine on "Ruffling
Some Feathers." The point I made was that those who disparage
marketing and selling tend to be those who most fear marketing and
selling themselves. (Fear of X means X is bad.)
My main point wasn't to make these people wrong.
My real intention with the article was to hold up a mirror to those
who have problems with marketing and selling. Hopefully it was a
wake up call. (Not to "them" - to "YOU!")
If you saw yourself in that mirror, great, that's a first step.
But I'm not done.
The resistance, antipathy and downright fear you have about
marketing and selling yourself is probably hurting your business
more than you realize.
(Note: If this is a non-issue for you, great. Skip this eZine and get
out there! If it is an issue, pay close attention.)
You know the symptoms:
- A tendency to avoid picking up the phone
- staying away from networking activities
- putting off writing a letter or an article
- not closing at the end of a sales interview
- avoiding speaking in public at all costs
- not promoting or selling in your eZine
- neglecting to ask for referrals
When I used to work with clients as a marketing coach, you'd think
their main question would have been, "How do I do these things more
effectively?" But no, the question was, "Why don't I get around to
doing these things, even though I know I should do them?"
A lot of my time was spent working people though their resistance
and fears to marketing and selling themselves. In fact, many of my
clients called me their "marketing shrink!"
A big part of my work consisted of taking my clients slowly, step-
by-step, through the marketing process. I demonstrated that if
they picked up the phone and said the right thing, people would
actually not yell at them. I showed that if they wrote an article,
they would likely receive more praise than scorn.
I called it "jumping off the diving board" marketing: Start with a low
board. Don't worry about getting it perfect, just jump. Then
gradually go higher and improve a little each time.
This approach is actually quite effective. It's how we learn things.
It's how we improve gradually and let go of our irrational fears until
we are fully competent and confident.
In fact, this is the approach I took in the InfoGuru Manual and the
Web Site ToolKit. If you take it one step at a time, and do the action
plans at the end of each chapter or section, you'll begin to
understand the underlying principles and practices of marketing,
and start to get some results.
Many of you have used this approach to become better marketers.
However, being by nature an impatient person, I never felt that this
approach was enough. Sure, many of my clients would take things
step-by-step and ultimately get great results.
But many others would never get past first base. Their built-in
distaste for marketing was stronger than their will to succeed.
So I started to build "belief work" into my marketing coaching. I used
it in my Marketing Action Groups, and integrated it into the Action
Plan ToolKit, which includes exercises for changing beliefs. For
many, this made a huge difference.
The first step is to recognize the limiting beliefs underlying some of
the symptoms I listed earlier. Here are some typical ones I
discovered:
- A tendency to avoid picking up the phone
(People don't want to be bothered. I'm an interruption.)
- staying away from networking activities
(I'm just not a people person who is comfortable meeting strangers)
- putting off writing a letter or an article
(I'm not a good writer. And who would be interested, anyway?)
- not closing at the end of a sales interview
(If they want to buy, they'll let me know. I shouldn't be pushy.)
- avoiding speaking in public at all costs
(I'd probably make a fool of myself. Nobody wants to hear my ideas.)
- not promoting or selling in your eZine
(If I promote myself, people will hate me and unsubscribe in droves.)
- neglecting to ask for referrals
(If they're happy they'll give me referrals when they're ready.)
I'd be willing to bet a buck or two that you hold several of these (or
similar) beliefs very dearly. And if you hold them strongly enough,
you're not even going to take the small steps necessary to improve
in that area of marketing. You'll give up before you start.
So what works best? Taking the small steps or changing beliefs?
Both are equally important. If you don't have any big issues about
writing, for instance, get started now, one step at a time. But if
you're terrified of speaking in front of a group, doing some belief
work first will make the process a whole lot easier.
But no matter what your situation is, make that commitment to
being a fearless marketer, and you'll find a way.
*
The More Clients Bottom Line: Fear of marketing and selling is a big
issue for a large percentage of Independent Professionals. The key is
to recognize that fears are holding you back and then find the
support you need to get past them.
What works for you to get past your fears of marketing and selling
yourself? Please share on the More Clients Blog.
http://www.actionplan.blogs
==============================
Four Fearless Marketing Tools
==============================
Want to become a better marketer of your services and attract all
the clients you need? These four tools will help you build your skills
and get past the fears that are holding you back:
The InfoGuru Marketing Manual - Build your marketing skills
http://www.actionplan.com
The Web Site ToolKit - Create a powerful web site
http://www.actionplan.com/wstk
The Action Plan ToolKit - Get on track with your marketing
http://www.actionplan.com/aptk
The MAPP Program - Build a bulletproof marketing plan
http://www.actionplan.com
(Note: Tuition goes up on Sept 1)
P.S. If you have any resistance whatsoever to marketing and selling
yourself, I want you to know that this is a temporary condition that
you can change permanently. The tools above will help you do it.
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