Why Everyone Goes to the Bathroom During Commercials: Permission Marketing for the Win

I don’t watch a lot of television. It’s not that I don’t enjoy watching television, my schedule just doesn’t allow for it. When I do find a spare moment to chill on the couch, however, I am either watching Netflix or one of the million shows on my DVR.

If you’re anything like me, when you watch what’s on your DVR you fast forward through the commercials. What’s funny is I can’t remember the last commercial I actually watched on television. The research suggests 9 out of 10 of you reading this are exactly like me.

A few years back, Deloitte conducted a study to better understand viewer behaviors specific to watching time shifted shows (stuff you DVR to watch later). Based on the responses they received, nearly 9 out of every 10 people who completed the survey stated they fast forwarded through the commercials when enjoying a recorded television show.

One can speculate as to why nearly 90% of respondents stated they don’t watch commercials. I would imagine the chief reason being they don’t want to waste time. Not caring has be pretty high on that list, too.

But I postulate something a little different.

You see, I believe people fast forward through commercials because they simply don’t care (I know I don’t). Taking it one step further, people don’t care to sit through a myriad of commercials because they simply aren’t relevant to them. They aren’t relevant to what they’re dealing with. They aren’t relevant to what they need.

So they fast forward.

The Power of Permission Marketing

There’s a shift happening in the field of selling. The hard close is becoming less and less potent as more and more people become savvy online researchers and shoppers. Consumers have learned the way of closers and have become immune to, and turned off by, the “you must act now” close.

So what’s replacing the hard close as the wave of the selling future?

Asking for permission.

Meaning, you don’t get marketed to without first giving marketers your permission. And you don’t get sold to without first giving sellers permission to do so.

And this new shift is powerful.

Permission Marketing is the Coach’s New (and Powerful) Best Friend

Permission marketing allows coaches to quickly qualify their leads. Most commercials are ineffective because they aren’t relevant to those who are watching them.

This shift to permission marketing is powerful because it saves you time, resources, and energy. It gives you the platform to market only to those who are open to hearing what you have to say, need what you have to sell, and want the solution only you can provide.

Gone are the days of shotgun marketing that relies on spreading your message as far and wide as you can. Permission marketing zeroes in on your ideal market and allows you to speak directly to those who are ready and willing to buy.

Once you’re able to get to that first first yes, the door is open to furthering your relationship and to building even stronger rapport.

What This Looks Like in Your Practice

Permission marketing starts with your Social Media presence. When your profile speaks specifically to whom you serve and how you help, it automatically draws in those who need what you have. But more importantly, it turns away those who aren’t interested in you or in your services.

Creating a Social Media profile that magnetically attracts your ideal client is powerful as it allows you to add value directly to those you serve. It builds a platform from which your expertise can be displayed and your knowledge can be shared.

Once your expertise and knowledge gets you in front of your target market, the value you provide becomes a springboard for more in depth conversations. These conversations turn into intentional breakthrough sessions, and the intentional breakthrough sessions turn into selling conversations.

The power is found in the smaller yeses, and here’s how it works:

1)     Does your profile magnetically attract your ideal client? If yes, then go to Step 2.

2)     Can your ideal client find massive amounts of value through your profile? If yes, then go to Step 3.

3)     Is it easy for your ideal client to schedule time on your calendar? If yes, then go to Step 4.

4)     Do you have a process in place that gives you a better understanding of the challenges your ideal client is facing? If yes, then go to Step 5.

5)     Do you have a structure to follow that turns a conversation into a new client? If yes, then the process worked.

Each step in the process outlined above is predicated on your ability to get your first small yes. The first yes builds onto the next yes, which builds onto the next, and so on. This is what permission marketing looks like and based on the 5-step process outlined above, you can see why it is so powerful.

Stop Wasting Your Time

Permission marketing is all about you not wasting time marketing to those who don’t need or want what you have. So stop wasting what precious time you do have on people who aren’t your target market, who don’t care about what you’re offering, and who won’t buy from you no matter how good your solution is.

Will you find haters who tell you to leave them alone? Absolutely. But using this process filters through those who aren’t your ideal client leaving you only with those who are.

I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather spend my time speaking to and helping those who want my help, rather than wasting my precious time on those who aren’t even willing to listen.

About the Author

President and Co-Founder of K2 Development Systems, Dr. Stephen Kalaluhi is the creator of the Waiting List Method for Coaches. Dr. Kalaluhi is passionate about helping coaches flourish and thrive, and focuses his energy on teaching coaches how to generate more qualified leads, land more ideal clients, and earn more money.

If you’d like more information regarding what permission marketing looks like in your coaching practice, or would like to schedule a complimentary Breakthrough Session with Dr. Stephen Kalaluhi, click HERE.