You’re Good at What You Do? Here's Why That's Not Enough.

It’s usually not enough to just be good at what you do.?This is a belief I’ve held and passed along to clients and audience members since my earliest days as a business coach.?

You have to do the work necessary to connect in a meaningful and personal way with the people who need you and want what you have to offer if you want to start and maintain a successful business.

Otherwise, you’re like the thousands of brilliant writers out there who never get read.?You’re like the sweetest, most perfect gift that doesn’t get opened.

It’s a belief I recently had reinforced by listening to an energy expert, of all people, talking in passing about what has made the subscription services his team offers so incredibly successful … so unbelievably fast.?

He says the key to success in business is to come up with spot-on answers to these four questions:

? Who are our ideal clients?

? Where can we find them?

? How do we entice them?

? How do we delight them?

“Focus like a zealot on these four things.?We spend a lot of time thinking about our ideal client and how we can delight them.?We live, eat, sleep, and dream our ideal client.”

The first question above is of paramount importance.?That’s why it’s pretty much the first thing I do with my business coaching clients.?

We identify their target market by creating a description of their ideal client, specifying who they are in detail … what they want and need … and what benefits they, as a service provider, can bring to them.?

Contrast this to the person trying to start a business who fails to carve out a specific niche in the market.?

And believe me, there are a lot of well-intentioned folks out there who don’t want to get too specific in their appeal, because they don’t want to exclude anybody. That’s an understandable and lovable intention.

But there are two important things to understand.

First, you can’t be all things to all people.?That just makes you a jack of all trades … master of none.?People want to do business with an expert, someone who specializes in a certain area and excels at it.

Second, just because you’ve specified who your ideal client is doesn’t mean you’re excluding anyone who doesn’t fit the description from doing business with you.

No, you’re just getting clear on who your peeps are and zeroing in on a segment of the population, so you can find them … craft a message that will appeal to them … and brainstorm what will make them really happy.

The problem is it’s counterintuitive to think in terms of focusing your appeal narrowly.?The first reaction people often have when I ask them to focus on a specific niche is dismay.?

“What??I can’t bring anybody and everybody along for the ride?”

But when you realize you’re not excluding anybody, just focusing your marketing attention and service offerings on certain ones, everything falls into place.?

Because here’s the thing you don’t see.?Doing this not only makes you more attractive to your ideal clients ... it also makes you more attractive to folks OUTSIDE your target!?It’s ironic and kinda crazy, but it’s true.

So, how do you get to go about painting the picture of your ideal client??How do you get inside their hearts and minds?

Make them real.?Bring them into focus as real-life people in your imagination.?Think through where you would find them and how you would you speak to them in a conversation.?Figure out what it is that you could do for them that would inspire and delight them.

Now, the only reservation we might have with the four questions is with the word ”entice.”

We might say, “How do we capture their interest and inspire them to take action?”?

Entice is a fine word, but it sounds a little manipulative to us, like you entice a mouse with a little cheese.

So, who is this wise energy expert??I can’t say and give him proper attribution, because he prefers to stay anonymous.?

But what he says is both simple and profound.?

Dedicate yourself to rigorously answering those four questions and you’ll be off to a great start … or restart … in hitting the bullseye when it comes to the critical job of attracting new clients or customers.

Because just being good at what you do is usually not enough to bring ‘em in the door.

They need to be identified, found, appealed to, and exceptionally well served.

?

Best Wishes,

Denise

If you'd like to subscribe to my newsletter,?CLICK HERE!

?About the Author: Denise Hedges is a business development coach and speaker coach with over 30 years experience in sales and marketing. Denise has helped thousands of women business owners, nationally and internationally, move past any uncertainty or fear they have about sales and marketing, so they can attract more clients and make more money!

Sign-up for your FREE Speaker Success Kit: “The Top 10 Mistakes Speakers Make ”

Connect with me on:

The Web:?https://www.denisehedges.com/

LinkedIn:?https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/denisehedges

Book Denise ?to speak for your group or event.