Dear Biz Whiz Friend,
You pound the pavement each and every day and I know you’re hurting. You’re hurting real bad. The sole of your business has got no soul. And that’s what I’m going to help you fix today.
I remember the lesson like it was yesterday though it was well over a decade ago. As usual I was pouring over a few select marketing books that I’d stumbled upon. Then all of the sudden the light clicked on and hit me like a ton of bricks.
The question of “why do some businesses struggle and some seem to prosper almost effortlessly?” tormented me for quite some time. I knew the answer was there somewhere but just couldn’t seem to latch on to it… until that fateful day.
A good buddy told me, “Em, you need to adjust your altitude.” It’s true. We as mere mortals oftentimes fly low, do the minimum and just scrape by. Likewise we get minimum rewards and… just scrape by.
And in my humble opinion your attitude sets your altitude. To take it a bit further your attitude towards your prospects can be the fine line between just scraping by to flying high in the lap of prosperity.
Take a serious look at your competitors and peers. Are they really 100 times smarter than everyone else? Probably not. And if you really check the stats, most businesses do not have any significant technical advantages, or special connections nor any other real advantages.
So what’s the difference? What makes some businesses flourish and others flounder?
It’s a small but powerful strategy that’s practically hidden by most business. It involves a simple twist in attitude. It’s what marketing mastermind Jay Abraham calls the “Strategy of Preeminence.” It’s the difference between a customer and a client.
Let’s look at how “customer” and “client” are defined.
Checking in with old man Webster (you know the word guru dude that started the whole definition thang) you’ll find this:
Client: “one that is under the protection of another”
Customer: “someone who buys goods or services from a business”
Can you see the difference?
Pay particular attention to how the word client is defined. What does under the protection of another mean, anyway?
For our purposes here it means to act in your client’s best interest. You learn exactly what her needs, problems, and struggles are and you find the right solution. And if you’re as savvy as I think you are, YOUR business will offer that right solution.
You don’t sell them stuff just to fill up your coffers. Yes, I understand we as biz owners are in business to make a profit. I’m totally cool with that. But in this client relationship our goal is to become their go-to source.
On the other hand, it’s your duty; it’s your obligation to provide your clients with the proper solutions… and nothing less to cure their pain. Even if on rare occasions you are not the right solution, you will refer them to someone who is the right solution. You want to be their trusted advisor.
But in order to do this you must be tuned in to their needs and wants. Top shelf marketers make it a point to find out all they can about their prospects, patients and clients. They look deep for this information out and use it to provide excellent service to their clients.
Get on the phone, go out in the field and talk to your prospects, customers and clients. Get to really know your clients and ask them about their business, their operation and their life.
Act like you really give a damn about your client’s well-being and you’ll soon see a huge shift in your business relationships. This leads to huge profit breakthroughs as well.
Be Different… It Pays
I’m fairly certain that I’ve talked about how you can separate your biz from all your competitors (if not, the shame on me).
But part of bringing your A game to the plate is figuring out what unique advantages or benefits you provide your customers. These should be things that no old else can provide.
What I’m hinting at here is called a unique selling proposition affectionately referred to as a “USP”.
You must figure out what the most powerful benefit or advantage you can offer your clients. A great way to do this is simply finding out what benefit or advantage your clients want most. Then position your product or service as having a unique benefit that they are not getting from your competitors.
Once you nailed your USP down make sure you incorporate into all of your marketing messages so your prospects will know the advantages of doing business with you.
These are just a couple subtle tweaks to ramp up sales and create massive amounts of goodwill. Your clients will love it and you’ll reap the rewards.
Till next time…
Keep on Truckin’
