Why transformational businesses struggle to get new clients – and ONE tip that can change everything
Our topic today is about the number one marketing challenge for transformational service providers. If you’re a coach, consultant, counsellor or trainer, this one is for you! Video below, scroll for the text.
Highlights
- The frustration of being able to help – and not having people “get” it
- Are you talking to your potential clients in Swahili?
- One tip that can change everything
If you’re in a transformational business – if your primary service is about helping people or organizations change – marketing can be really challenging.
The biggest reason why these businesses struggle to attract new clients?
They can’t talk about what they do in a way that people “get” what they’re selling or why they should buy it.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”If you can’t describe what you so that people ‘get it’ and understand why they should buy it, no marketing tactic will work.” quote=”If you can’t describe what you so that people ‘get it’ and understand why they should buy it, no marketing tactic will work.”]
When you don’t have the right words, no marketing tactic will work
Maybe this would work better if I did it by webinar instead of in person! Or if I changed the colour of my tie.
You can spend thousands of dollars on advertising, but no one will call you
You can post on social media all day long. All the platforms. You can blog, write articles and make videos. People might like stuff….or even share it…but it won’t get you any business.
You can attend 12 networking events per day and get that glazed over deer-in-the-headlights response.
You can build the most beautiful website and no one contacts you from it (or worse: it actively works against you.)
You can meet with people who match your ideal client profile and talk to them in depth – and still not have them understand and buy from you.
You can stand on stage in front of 1,000 of your perfect, ideal clients – every last one of them needing your services – and if you don’t get the words right, afterwards, instead of saying “wow. that’s amazing! I need to work with that person!”
They’ll look at each other, shrug and say: “Yeah…I don’t get it either.”
The problem isn’t the marketing activity – it’s the words you’re using
The question isn’t whether linkedin is a better platform than facebook – or whether you do a live presentation or an online webinar.
And it sure as hell doesn’t come down to having the right logo.
It’s all about the words you actually say.
Are you speaking to people in Swahili?
If you don’t have the right words, you might as well be speaking in a language your potential clients don’t understand.
Get the words right and people will be interested, they’ll understand how you can help them and they’ll buy from you.
Get the words wrong and what you say will go flying right over their heads, not connecting – just like you were speaking Swahili.
Getting the words right is something that SEEMS like it should be easy.
You do the thing you do day in and day out.
You know your business and your service intimately.
In your mind, you have crystal clarity about how you can help people or organizations overcome their problems and become better versions of themselves.
In practice, it’s challenging to get this part right.
If it were easy, everyone would be doing it!
Getting the words right is the core thing I help my clients with – and it’s a bigger challenge with more nuances than I can possibly go into here.
But I’m going to leave you with my very best number one – this can change EVERYTHING for you – piece of advice.
Talk about the results clients GET from working with you instead of the details of what you do
A few of these each day to change my life? I’m in!
Effective marketing is client-centered.
It respects their buying process and speaks to their problems, their desired results, their questions.
Transformational businesses often get tripped up on the very first question: “so what do you do?”
The big mistake they make?
They answer the question!
They provide the details of their modality or methodology – telling people exactly what they do and how they do it.
They’ll explain how coaching works – or tell people the history of the healing modality they’re using – or start explaining their 7 step TLA methodology.
People aren’t interested in hearing anything about your process or how you do things until they have some idea that you can help them.
They often really don’t care at ALL about HOW you get the results.
If you could offer your transformation in the form of a “magic pill” that gives them the results they seek instantly, they’d take it!
If you can distill what you do down to a simple statement of “I help [these people] get [this thing that they want]” – you’ll be 80% of the way to getting your marketing challenges solved.