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Pick a fight

Posted byIan Brodie on February 21st, 2016.

Do you disagree vehemently with an idea, practice or person in your field? Or as my kids would put it, do you “have a beef” with them?

If there's nothing you strongly disagree with, then maybe you're not that different to everyone else in your field? 

We all like to think we're different. But sometimes we see minor shades of difference as big, whereas our clients ignore those minor shades and see us as largely the same.

That's why thinking about who or what we disagree with can help us to see where we're really different.

Personally, I think it's a better idea to disagree with an idea or a practice than with an individual. And if you do particularly disagree with an individual it's often better to talk about the practices they espouse that you disagree with rather than them personally.

And make sure you're not just disagreeing with something that every else disagrees with! 

In my field, for example, it's become a bit of a cliché to say you'll teach people how to get more clients without pushy, aggressive selling. I don't see any courses for sale or any trainers who promise to teach people “how to get clients using pushy, aggressive selling”. So what are we really fighting against here?

If you want to get noticed by starting a fight, pick one with the big, popular kid; not the little weedy one no one likes anyway.

My current “beef” is with the new trend of marketing that's complex and takes a ton of time. You'll see it under the guise of “funnels” and “product launches” and “marketing automation”.

There's nothing wrong with what's being taught per se, provided you're a full-time marketer or have a big team to support you.

But for the majority of us who have something like a day a week to spend on our marketing, it's not helpful to try to implement something so complex that we never get anywhere with it.

Especially as we can do so much with simple principles and techniques that are much easier to implement. 

So what do you have a beef with? What do you stand for and against?

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Are you in a satisfied or sceptical market?

Posted byIan Brodie on February 14th, 2016.

Most of us operate in fairly mature markets.

Perhaps our specific services or products are relatively new, but the end-results we get for clients are typically end-results that have been promised to clients for aeons: more sales, lower costs, higher productivity, better leadership, etc.

In a mature market it's especially important to be different somehow as there will be lots of competitors promising the same end-results as you. 

If the only thing you tell your potential clients is the same “I can get you X” message as your competitors then they'll pick the one who promises X at the lowest cost.

But how to best differentiate? I've found that there are two different types of mature market, each with different opportunities.

In a Satisfied Market, the majority of products and services on the market do what they say and deliver the core benefit clients are looking for.

Toothpaste is a good example of this. Pretty much every modern toothpaste on the market cleans your teeth and reduces cavities. 

So given that customers are largely satisfied with the ability of toothpaste to clean their teeth, you need to focus on additional benefits and on niches that value those additional benefits.

That's why today we see so many variations of toothpaste. Toothpaste for whiter teeth, for fresher breath, toothpaste for kids, toothpaste for people with sensitive teeth.

In the car market, every car will get you from A to B. So the focus is on other benefits, often emotional ones. Safety, prestige, economy, environmental impact, image.

Are you in a largely satisfied market where clients believe that most service providers do a good job and meet their core needs? If so, you need to focus on the additional benefits your services can bring and find a niche that really values them.

The second type of mature market is a Skeptical Market.

In a skeptical market, clients have bought products and services before yet haven't got the results they've been looking for. This might not be due to any failure of the products or service provider – just that what they're looking for is tough to achieve. 

Anti-wrinkle cream is a good example. I'm sure they work to some degree, but fighting ageing is a tough battle. Similarly, in many service markets it's often tough to help clients get the improvements they're looking for. Improving leadership, teamwork, presentation skills, time management, sales, costs – all of these have multiple contributing factors and sometimes despite the best efforts of service providers, clients just don't get the results they were hoping for.

That means that when clients are looking for help in the future, they're often highly skeptical of the claims of potential suppliers.

Rather than the problem in a Satisfied Market of clients choosing competitors because they believe everyone can do a good job, in a Skeptical Market clients often choose no-one – because they don't believe anyone can help.

So your main challenge in a Skeptical Market is to get clients to believe that you can actually deliver. That's often done with testimonials and examples. But often you also have to show clients that your “method” is different to everyone elses and that's whey you can get results when everyone else has failed.

In the world of anti-wrinkle cream you'll notice that adverts tend to focus on the new ingredients the creams have. Whether it's “Q10” or “Trylagen PCB” or “Palmitoyl Oligopeptide” – the purpose of focusing on new ingredients is to give potential buyers a reason to believe that this cream might work when others have failed.

Are you in a skeptical market where many clients have struggled before to get the results that you're promising them? If so, you need to focus your marketing on proving you can succeed where others have failed.

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Better advice than Woody Allen gives

Posted byIan Brodie on February 7th, 2016.

Woody Allen famously once said “90% of success is showing up”.

(Except he didn't. The closest he came seems to be a 1971 New York Times quote where he says “Showing up is eighty percent of life” and then the quote seems to have morphed and taken on a life of it's own).

Historical accuracy aside, there's a lot to the saying. So many people just don't manage to keep going with their blog. Or keep out on the road presenting. Or keep contacting people and trying to add value.

Most people give up too soon.

But I think there's a more powerful rule than “90% of success is showing up”.

In my experience, the real rule is:

90% of success is following up.

Not scuzzy “are you ready yet?” follow up. Not ineffective “just touching base” follow up.

But regular “adding value” follow up.

Thinking through what will be useful for your high potential prospects and clients on a regular basis and giving it to them. Making connections for them. Sending them useful information. Inviting them to useful events.

Or like me, sending them useful tips and ideas in emails like this.

Back when I did live training and consulting I'd regularly end up working with clients where I'd been building a relationship with them for six month, 12 months, 18 months or more.

I'm sure you've had similar experiences.

In many cases your first interactions come to nothing – other things like reorganisations, changes of priority and budgets get in the way.

But if you continue to communicate and add value – like with my regular emails – then eventually something will click. You'll be top of mind when they need you.

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A powerful way to reinvigorate yourself

Posted byIan Brodie on January 31st, 2016.

I know what it's like.

It's easy to become jaded with the day to day.

I'm super privileged to do something I truly enjoy and I know just how lucky I am to be in that position.

But every now and then, pouring your heart and soul into everything you do can be just a little bit wearing. And sometimes you feel like you just don't have anything left to give.

I hear something similar from a lot of people. Sometimes the joy just goes out of what they're doing. 

Here's what I've found helps a lot: talk to your clients.

Ask them what results they're getting with the things you've helped them with. Ask them if they've found working with you valuable.

There's nothing reinvigorates me more than hearing about how the hard work I've done has made a real difference for my clients. I bet you'll feel the same way too when you hear from yours.

Most of us aren't just in it for the money. Hearing directly how our efforts have done some good in the world makes a huge difference. So ask :) 

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This could be what it takes to succeed

Posted byIan Brodie on January 24th, 2016.

As I write this email late on a Saturday evening I'm sitting next to our youngest, Robert, who's decided at the age of 16 that he's going to be a global tycoon selling on Amazon.

Right now he's looking at a bunch of websites to find products he can ship in from China in bulk to sell on. He's been at it solid for about 5 hours now. 

In total he's probably spent about 30 hours researching in the last week. A couple of hours ago he had no idea how to make a spreadsheet. Now he's doing a basic P&L for the products he's identifying.

It's hard work. There's a ton of to-ing and fro-ing and dead ends as he finds something that looks viable, but then it turns out it's got the wrong plug or the shipping is too much or whatever.

But he's got the bit between his teeth, so I reckon he'll find something.

As I look over at him tapping away at the keyboard on his hand-me-down macbook I'm struck by just how much work he's putting into this.

He's basically starting from scratch with no assets,  no contacts, no knowledge. But he's making up for it with hard work and learning fast.

I wonder how much better those of us who already have assets, contacts and knowledge would do if we applied the same level of hard work and learning to our businesses.

My guess is a lot.

Frankly, I see a lot of people give up at the first hurdle when they try something with their marketing and it doesn't work first time out. Or if they don't know how to do something they won't invest the time in learning how.

No matter what advantages you start out with, if you aren't prepared to work and learn then someone who is will catch you up and overtake you. Even if they start out way behind.

Building a successful business doesn't take genius or luck or a rolodex to kill for (though all of those will help). What ot really takes is hard work and continuous learning.