Critical Marketing Question
Today we’re answering the question, “What is THE critical marketing question you need to think about in order to market your services well?”
I'm Adele Michal. I work with women entrepreneurs who have a service-based business and who would like to have more clients, more money, and more influence and impact in their work.
Watch the video or read the article below to discover the essential question you must answer for your marketing to draw to you the clients you want.
The question that we need to ask is: “What will my prospects buy?”
The answer is, they will buy what they want, not what they need.
This is a common mistake I see a lot of business owners make. I know I’ve made it myself, and it’s kind of embarrassing because it just doesn’t lead to conversations that lead to sales.
The mistake service-based entrepreneurs make every day is trying to sell people something they need instead of something they want.
I might need a ride. I might need another car, but what I want is a red Jetta.
A really good salesperson would find out that I need a car, but what I really want is something a little sporty, a little zesty, a little sassy - a little red Jetta, which is a Volkswagen. It would get me the same place as a clunker would probably, but I want a red Jetta.
It’s the Destination, Not the Journey
Another example is food. I’ve been thinking about that a lot. I’ve been on a cleanse. It’s not been that pleasant. I know it’s working so that’s good.
I would prefer to drink coffee and eat chocolate croissants. I love bread, food.
It doesn’t love me.
Instead, I typically, for breakfast will drink a smoothie that is very nutrient-rich. Honestly, it’s not that tasty, and it’s kind of ugly, too. I don’t do a lot of fruit right now, and because that’s part of the cleanse.
It’s not one of that beautiful mango pineapple, yummy tropical smoothies.
It’s a functional, utilitarian smoothie.
It works, but it’s not tasty.
I don’t really want that smoothie, but what I do want is what it gives me - greater health, more energy, and feeling good in my body, which the croissant and the coffee definitely don’t do!
Coffee and Chocolate Croissant are great on the taste buds, not so good in the body. Maybe you know what I'm talking about. That’s what I want. I want to feel good, and the way to get there is to drink this smoothie.
Selling What Your Prospect Wants
Maybe you’re a health coach, and you know that people need to eat better, avoid sugar, and move more. Pretty simple. But people don’t really want to do any of that.
People want to feel good, they want to look good, and they want to lose weight. As a health coach, you know how to help them do that – but you can’t sell the moving, the eating better, and the avoiding sugar because people don’t really like any of that. They want it to be easy, painless, and fast.
To sell your services in an authentic way, you have to:
· Think about the future your prospect really wants
· Paint the picture of the future so graphically that she can actually step into that future
· Have her think, “Oh, my gosh. What would it be like to be 30 pounds lighter, to feel great in my body, and to have the energy I did 20 years ago?”
Do you see the difference?
If you’re trying to sell exercise, eating better, and avoiding sugar, not many people are going to buy it. They may know they need it, but they don’t want it.
They do want to feel better, they want to look better, and they want to feel healthy in their body.
That’s the critical marketing question that you have to ask: “What do they want?” NOT “What do they need?”
Your Opportunity to Paint the Picture of What They Want
Painting that picture really happens well when you’re interacting with other people because you can get their feedback on what does and doesn’t land for them.
You want immediate feedback of “Yeah, that makes sense to me and I want to know more”. Or, “Can you explain that in a different way?”
Marketing is all about engaging in conversation and beginning a relationship.
In October 2018, I am offering a two-day program called Choosing Abundance. In this program, a very small group of women service-based entrepreneurs will come together to paint the picture of what your ideal client wants. You’ll get very graphic and very specific on what you are offering so that your marketing gets much crisper and much more attractive to your prospects.
If you’re a woman service-provider and you want to grow your business with more ideal clients and more income, I would love to talk to you.
The event is October 19th and 20th in Durham, North Carolina – a live, in-person event from 9-5 for two days. I would love to tell you more about it and see if it might be a fit for you.
Go to AdeleMichal.com and look up in the right-hand corner, for the button that says “free consultation.”
Click that button and set a time for us to talk. We’ll talk on Zoom Video Chat or on the phone.
We’ll see if you’re getting to paint the picture of what your prospects and ideal clients really want – instead of what they need – would move your business forward, would get you more clients, and make you more money and let you serve the people you really want to serve.
I will talk to you next time. In prosperity, have a great week.
PS Want more information about the two-day Choosing Abundance event in October before we talk? You can find everything you need to know here.
If this speaks to you, you can sign up on that page for a complimentary session to see if this event is a fit for you. I look forward to speaking with you soon!