It seems like Spring has finally sprung here in Missouri! The last few weeks we’ve had a lot of snow and sleet and ice. I am really hopeful that in the next few weeks, we’ll see some of the trees start to bud and some new flowers pop up through the ground. It really makes me so happy to witness this change in seasons.
I love change. I once had a friend tell me that change is the only constant in this world. You can rely on this – your life, your business, the weather – it is all going to change. So, when you get comfortable being uncomfortable, it really does make change exciting instead of scary. I look forward to change every day, every season, every year. I like to see what’s new and what’s going to be different today from yesterday.
Personal Growth and NLP
I’ve spent the past several years on a personal growth path. You could say that I’ve become a personal growth junkie. It’s one of the many reasons I love working in the coaching industry and having coaches as clients. I get to see the change they bring about in their audience and with their clients and it’s so inspiring to watch.
This personal growth path has actually led me to become an NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) master coach and trainer. It’s all about understanding language, communication, and how different people process that language and communication. Once you understand that, you’re better able to talk to someone from their perspective. The most beneficial thing I’ve learned from all of this training is that it is so important to understand where others are coming from.
Applying it to Business
In business, I see it so often, when people only look at things from their own perspective. Especially when they are trying to sell a product, service, or solution. Most people sell from their map of reality. What they would want or need in order to buy.
Here’s an example: Recently I was speaking with a colleague in a mastermind. She was relaying that she has trouble closing sales. She stated that most of her prospects need a beat before buying. Then, I asked her, “Do your prospects need a beat before buying or do you?”
You see, I think she was selling from her own map of reality. By assuming that her prospective clients needed a beat before buying, she may have been denying some prospective clients the opportunity they needed to buy from her. Everybody needs something different. Understanding that will make you more able to connect with and communicate with your ideal client.
That understanding takes me even farther when it comes to my clients. I like to help my clients get a clear understanding of their audience. Who is it that wants or needs to buy from them and what is it that they struggle with the most.
When a new client on boards with us, we ask them a lot of questions. The reason is that it can better help us to develop a marketing strategy that will appeal to their ideal client down to a microcosm perspective.
I like to call it their micro-problems. Your audience has micro-problems. These are problems that they’re not even fully aware that they have but they trigger within them certain actions. Because of these things, they’re not doing certain things, which triggers a cascade of other problems.
Sometimes, we create lead magnets or opt-ins or mini-courses for our clients that they’re not ready for yet. So my BIG question is this…
What is it that your ideal client needs to see, hear, know, understand, or accomplish before they’re ready to buy from you?
Let’s be honest, if you’re a weight loss coach and you want people to hire you to help them lose weight, they have to be at a certain point in order to be ready to buy. What point is that and how do you get them there?
Having that kind of information allows your marketing to support your sales. Marketing and sales are two different things, however, marketing supports sales. If you are not marketing effectively, your sales process becomes much harder. Then, you’re having to validate why prospects should buy from you rather than them coming in ready to purchase. That is why really good, effective marketing can make growing and scaling so much easier.
When you understand where people are, you can take them where they want to go.
In addition to understanding your ideal clients’ micro-problems, you also need to understand their why. Why would they purchase? There is always a why! There is always a reason people buy. Do they need to fit in? Are they looking for community? Are they looking for transformation?
Emotion plays a huge role when it comes to the buying process. Really understanding what emotional piece needs to be filled in order for them to be ready to take the next step in the buying process is so important!
Your marketing should support your sales process. And, if you find your sales calls are more about teaching or persuading your marketing isn’t effective. All of those questions should be answered before they ever get on a sales call with you.
That is the power of really good marketing