When my client Ann (not her real name) kept crashing her head against the wall, telling people they needed her coaching to ‘bust through their patterns’ and nobody was buying, she was miserable. That’s when I started to think about this phenomenon where people need but don’t want something.
So if you’re a small business owner and you’re having this trouble, ask yourself these 3 questions:
1. What is it that most people THINK they need?
When Ann and I made a list of different pain points her clients could potentially have (financial pain, health pain, inability to lose weight etc.) she went and showed people in her networks and new people she’d meet this list. She would then ask them “for which of these issues would you most likely hire a coach? Most people in her networks chose weight loss. Keyword search stats backed her up. Ann was uneasy about the results of her survey because her program participants often got so much more out of the curriculum than just weight loss. In fact, they would often exclaim to her upon completion “that wasn’t a weight loss program; my entire life has changed in the best way!” Ann took this to mean that the program should be sold as something else but time and time again, she found that clients were initially attracted to her for the weight loss.
2. Am I assuming?
Each time you try to sell something and it doesn’t work, ask yourself what assumptions you’re making. If like most small businesses you’ve fallen into your niche it may not be a pretty picture. It could be that you’re spending all your time trying your best to convince people that they need your product or service. That is a tough battle and your energies are best spent on helping people with something they already believe that they have a need for. If your business has been stalled and never really hit the ground running, take another look at what assumptions you might be making. I guarantee they’re at the root of your problems.
3. Am I speaking their language?
I’m actually not a marketing coach. I’m a repositioning and re-niching coach. This means that when a client’s business has stalled and is no longer growing, I help them re-structure their target market or re-package their services for faster growth. However, most small business owners don’t know or understand the language around niching and positioning. Their pain language is around how exhausted they feel by the hundreds of hours they’re working and the limited money they’re making. They express frustration about the business revenue being at a standstill for years or even declining margins.
Takeaway: When you base your marketing around their language and not yours, light bulbs go on in people’s eyes and magic happens in your bank account.
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