Coaches, Consultants, B2B...What Are You Serving Your Prospects?

This was a great lunch! It was a lobster & shrimp roll with freshly made bread in-house at McCormick & Schmick's . The kind of meal that makes you struggle not to smack your lips, do a little dance in your seat and thank God a 2nd time for THIS kind of food.

Suffice it to say, you really enjoy it. I certainly did, but I'm a big seafood lover and fan of M & S.

So, my question is, are you serving your prospective clients what tastes good & makes them happy?

Or forcing them to eat squash because "it's good for them" (I know some of you may love squash - bless your hearts - but I'm convinced you're a minority). What do I mean?

You're forcing squash on them when you use industry lingo or jargon YOU'RE comfortable with, but makes your prospects' eyes glaze over. Like, IT professionals have their own language. Newsflash: it's not a sexy language and should not be used with end users. Trust me on this!

You're forcing squash AND liver on them when you look or sound like everyone else in your industry. They only use black & white in their videos; you only use black and white in your videos. They say "deliverables" 33 times; you say "deliverables" 33 times. They're making or pouring a cup of coffee in their faceless video; you guessed it...you're pouring coffee in yours.

Calgon take me away from all this sameness! Something I never want medication for is being allergic to average. If you haven't already, I encourage you to try it.

You're forcing squash on them when you spend more time highlighting features vs. benefits. When you focus more on offering "resource allocation" "optimization" or "workflows" vs freeing up your client's time to take Fridays off, being able to do as much or more with a team of four vs 14, or the ability for your client to get a massage on a random Tuesday just because she can.

You see your prospects want to take Fridays off, even 1-2 a month off, more than have better workflows. Yes, they may realize how workflows work (see what I did there), but they're not dreaming about workflows.

They don't get turned on by workflows. Few people are getting hot & bothered over a workflow. "Oh baby I love a good workflow" said no one, except maybe a project manager or Director of Operations.

But plenty of people like me have said "I'd love to be able to take Fridays off" or "I live for a good lobster roll." In your offers and your content, are you connecting with what your prospects want (actually often what you think they want), or what they want the most?

A few other examples:

Career Coach - Stop just talking about the need "to update your resume and network" and highlight "how to WOW your dream employer" and "skip the line of traditional job hunting because of the great relationships you've built."

Executive Coach - Perhaps take a break from preaching accountability and how to get more done and pivot to having that leader give himself (as well as his team) more grace, especially while experiencing transition.

Relationship Manager - Focus less on how well or how quickly you do account reviews, and focus more on your ability to be a trusted advisor. Make your prospect/client feel seen and heard, and you'll be rewarded handsomely.

I love lobster. I wouldn't mind knowing the average life span of a lobster, or what most affects a lobster's size. But ultimately, what I want the most, is a great lobster boil or roll. Being able to have that with a friend who I can laugh a lot with is even better.

Until you serve your prospects - and clients - what is most important to them, they'll continue to be hungry - and keep looking for a better meal elsewhere.

#contentstrategy #valueproposition #leadgen

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