Navigation

Searchtime

Featured

Get Clients Online

How to Win Business with your Blog – Part 3: Content

Posted by

Ian Brodie on July 14th, 2011.

OK, so we understand how a blog can build your credibility and establish your personality. And we've figured out what we're going to focus on.

But what on earth do we write about? Where do all the ideas come from?

Well, when you start up your blog, it should be no problem. If you're not initially bursting with ideas in the area you've decided to focus on, then you've picked the wrong area.

That doesn't mean you can just write about anything in that area though. Early on, concentrate on creating your “core content”. Core Content is the central set of ideas, principles, beliefs and insights that you have about your subject area. It's your best stuff that you teach your clients.

Later on, it's OK to do lighter, fluffier posts. Say something controversial. Riff on something off-topic.

But initially you need to establish your reputation with your very best material.

It could be a set of “how to” guides for the key topics in your area of focus. Or it could be a series of posts going into depth in one subect like this series I'm doing on blogs.

But get your good stuff out there quickly.

When those initial ideas dry up – and they will if you blog for any length of time – you need to get more disciplined about creating content.

Keep a notebook or voice recorder with you to capture ideas as they happen. Believe me, if you don't you'll forget them.

Get into the habit of observing life from the viewpoint of your blog. If you write a blog about leadership, for example, then when you're watching sports, or the TV, or kids playing, or a cat stalking a bird or whatever – think about how you could learn something about leadership from that example.

Bring in stories from your daily life, and your history. Your readers will find stories and anecdotes that illustrate a point rather more entertaining and engaging than straight “you should do this” all the time.

Block out time in your calendar to work on content. Set up an editorial calendar (there's a wordpress plugin for that, of course) and stick to it.

The more content you create, the better and faster you'll get at creating it. And don't argue that you're too busy – Chris Brogan and Seth Godin both post almost daily. And they're busy guys too.

The next post in the series is my very best tip on creating content that wins you clients…

Featured

Marketing

How To Become An Authority In Your Field

Posted by

Ian Brodie on July 12th, 2011.

For me, establishing yourself as one of the leading authorities in your field is the most powerful strategy for those in the advisory professions. As the web and the ability to find pretty much anything or anyone online becomes all pervasive, clients are now able to find the “best person for their needs”, rather than just the “best person they can find locally”.

Being a recognised authority in your field doesn't mean you'll win all the work – or even most of it. But it does put you in line for the most interesting and lucrative work.

It's not a strategy that's for everyone. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being “damn good at what you do” – but not necessarily the leader in the field.

Personally though (and for obviously self-interested reasons) I'm fascinated by what it is that these authorities do to establish their market presence. So I set about interviewing them to find out.

I have more interviews planned, but I wanted to share with you some common themes emerging from the research so far and to see what you thought.

What makes an Authority?

The first common factor is that all the authorities in my study so far have made their name in tight niche.

Charlie Green established himself as the go-to guy for becoming a Trusted Advisor. Tom Searcy focused on “whalehunting” – winning big clients. John Seddon is “the systems thinking guy for service businesses”. And so on.

Now, later on, many of the authorities expanded their reach. Charlie is now a recognised leader in Trust generally – not just for advisors, for example.

But they all started out in a relatively tightly defined niche.

Secondly, they all developed deep expertise in their field.

Now you may have heard people saying that you can “fake it 'til you make it”. That you can claim authority first, then develop the expertise.

– Bullshit –

Each of the authorities in my study dedicated themselves to mastery of their field.

Drayton Bird is well into his 70s – yet he's a lifelong student of direct marketing and continues to invest heavily in his own education. The detailed benchmarking that Greg Alexander and his team do gives them insights into sales performance that no other consultants can match. Jane Mason lives and breathes breadmaking and is constantly looking into new techniques, methods and recipes.

Now you don't have to be seen as the #1 expert globally to be an Authority. You just need an audience who values what you do and sees you as the Authority for them. That's where specialisation can help.

And transparency too. Be honest about what you know and what you don't. If you're just a couple of steps ahead of your audience, tell them. Be the guy (or gal) who's a trailblazer for them. Who shows them what's working and what's not right now to achieve the goals they're aiming at.

All of the Authorities I interviewed are passionate about what they do too.

None of them would have dedicated the time and effort they did into becoming leading experts if they didn't have a true passion for their fields.

Sometimes that passion was born of frustration: John Seddon's grew from anger at how badly the UK government was managing improvements in the public sector.

Sometimes it was part of their upbringing: Jane Mason's parents taught her the importance of natural food, good company and living well.

And sometimes it just grew: Drayton Bird fell into direct marketing accidentally when he was desperate for a job. But he fell in love with it and became one of direct marketing's true evangelists.

All of my authorities developed a clear market positioning: they stand for something.

Drayton and John are famous for being outspoken – fierce critics of poor performance in their fields. Tom is the champion of small businesses – helping them win big deals against giant competitors. Greg is on the side of Chief Sales Officers, having been one himself and been frustrated with the poor support he'd been given. Charlie is an advocate of trust based relationships and long term thinking in a world of short term transactions. And Jane promotes social enterprise and community building through bread-making.

We know who they are and what they stand for. There's no ambiguity. No “we do everything” or “we do whatever you want”. We know who to go to if we want what they've got.

Finally, they all have the courage to speak out about what they believe in.

Not everyone likes them. Not everyone agrees with them. But they don't pander. They don't say what they think people want to hear – they say what they believe in and they say it with power and passion. Listen to a presentation by “Entrepreneur's Guru” Robert Craven, for example – he pulls no punches.

To use social media terminology – they've built fans rather than just friends.

How does this apply to you?

Could you do this in your business? Is there something you're passionate enough about and expert enough about to become an authority on?

Do you have the courage to go down this route with your marketing? To stand for something. To risk annoying or alienating potential clients who don't agree with you?

It's worked for the authorities in my study – could it work for you?

I'd love to hear your views – just drop me an email at ian@ianbrodie.com

And if you want to listen to the interviews, they're all here.

Featured

More Clients Memorandum

Lazy marketing rant

Posted by

Ian Brodie on July 3rd, 2011.

I hate lazy marketing.

How many times in the last couple of weeks have you heard about new products, services or even books that are apparently “game changers”?

Or “innovative”? Or “leading edge”?

How many websites have you been to where they promise to teach you “how to quickly and easily…” do something or other? (of course, it's never quick or easy). Or tell you you'll soon be “crushing it” or they'll get you to the “next level” whatever the latest in-phrase is.

Now, the first time you hear these phrases they have impact. Maybe even the third or fourth time too.

But over time, you start to ignore them, or just not believe them. If everything is “game-changing” then nothing is.

How about this gem: “Learn how to harness the power of referrals to get a flood of new clients for your business”.

Sadly, that's one of mine. Written years ago when I released my first ebook on how to get more referrals.

Now I'm still very proud of the content of the ebook – it stands up well today and is a great guide for professionals who want to get more referrals.

But “harness the power” and “a flood of new clients”? What was I thinking?

Lazy marketing comes from two sources.

Sometimes, the marketer really is lazy. They can't be bothered writing decent copy or coming up with a decent idea for how to promote their services. So they copy what everyone else is using.

Unfortunately, that means what they write becomes invisible. If everything looks and sounds the same, it disappears into the background. Especially true if we're talking about something like Google Adwords where 8 ads are shown next to each other. Next time you do a search for something read the ads and see just how similar they often look.

More often though, it happens because the marketer hasn't really understood their target client. They haven't gone beyond the surface to understand what motivates them and why they might want what you have to offer.

As a result, they're forced to use generic descriptions and hype to say how good it is – rather than being able to state precisely the benefit their client actually wants.

In my case, I got as far as knowing that professionals are interested in referrals because they want more clients. But I didn't go deeper than that so I had to use hype like “power” and “flood of clients”.

What I should have done was ask why they wanted more referrals and more clients.

Perhaps their business was struggling and they were in financial difficulties? Or perhaps they were looking to bring in more clients to get promoted to partner? Or maybe the real motivation was because they felt uncomfortable with cold calling and networking and wanted a method they could use that didn't make them cringe?

There's usually no “one right answer”. When you dig a little deeper you often find that different people want your services for different reasons. And that's OK – it means you should market to those different people in different ways.

Perhaps, for example, I could have done a Google Adwords ad asking “Hate Cold Calling? Get More Clients Through Referrals Instead” or similar.

It wouldn't have hooked everyone. But for those in that situation it's a lot more compelling than the myriad of unbelievable ads offering a “flood of new clients”.

Have you been lazy with your marketing?

Take a look at your website, your brochures, your online and offline advertising.

Is it filled with generic phrases, hype and platitudes?

If so, your first step is to think more deeply about your clients and what they really want. Keep asking yourself (or even better, them) the question “why?” until you get to the underlying reason – often a feeling or an emotion.

Focusing on that will get you much more attention than the generic copycat marketing we so often see.

Featured

Marketing

3 Marketing Lessons Stolen From My Local Coffee Shop

Posted by

Ian Brodie on June 22nd, 2011.

About 2 years ago, a new coffee shop called Caffe Latte opened in our local village.

It was a bit of a risk: we had a bypass built a decade ago and since then the village centre has slowly died. And I must admit, I didn't rate its chances of success highly.

But it's worked brilliantly. Not only is it thriving, but it's revitalised the centre of the village. Far more people come into town and use the local shops – and there's a real sense of community returning.

Kathy and I love to take a walk up there a couple of times a week. We often take a book or some work to do and just sit there for a couple of hours.

I've been in there so often I kind of know the business inside out now. And I've picked out three lessons from how Francesca, the owner, has marketed Caffe Latte that I think we consultants and coaches and other professionals can learn from. Particularly if we're a small firm or one-man-band.

Francesca competes against the big chains in other local towns – Starbucks, Costa, Cafe Nero. Just as we might compete against Accenture, KPMG or Linklaters.

Positioning. The first thing Francesca got right was the positioning of the business. It's not just a “like Starbucks but cheaper” – pricing is roughly at the same level. She recognised that we don't choose a coffee shop because it's a few pence cheaper than the alternative. We choose it for taste, atmosphere, food – a whole range of reasons.

Yet so many professionals position themselves as “like X, but cheaper” (substitute the name of a big firm for X – usually the firm the professional used to work for).

The thing is, you're not like Accenture or KPMG or Linklaters. You're not a big name that no one got fired for hiring. You're not a bland but safe bet. You're an individual with a whole load of things to offer that you need to focus on rather than just being a cheap version of a big firm.

Personality. What Caffe Latte has in abundance is personality. It's a reflection of Francesca really. Quirky, fun. You go there and you feel part of the family – like Norm in Cheers. The staff are all like that too.

As solo professionals or small firms that's something we can do too. We don't have to conform to a bland corporate image. We don't have to please everyone. We just need to find a few clients who can love us for life.

If we put our personality and our passion into our business we can stand out a mile compared to our corporate competitors. Yet so few of us do so.

Instead, we hide behind our smart suits and corporate websites. We speak in corporate tongue rather than in the plain English we'd use at home or with our friends. How many solo professional's websites have you seen that say “we” when there's only the one of them in the firm (sadly, mine used to be like that too – though thankfully I've grown out of it).

We shouldn't be trying to copy the corporates – we should be trying to find our own unique personality and voice.

Innovation. That's a big word. Can a coffee shop really innovate? Well, yes in the sense of constantly trying out new things to see what works and abandoning things that don't.

Francesca started up with a big kids area and creche. Didn't work. So she changed it.

She tried hosting themed days and celebrations. Worked brilliantly.

She tried live music. Didn't work. Stopped it.

She tried changing the menu, adding new food and sweets no one else was doing. Worked brilliantly.

She's used Facebook for marketing. Installed free wifi. Worked brilliantly.

The big chains don't have the flexibility or the bravery to allow their stores to try out new stuff like this. They all have to be the same.

And that's a huge advantage you can have over your big competitors too. In the time it would take them to set up a committee to look into doing a feasibility study to develop a business case to maybe think about something new – you can have tried it out and figured out whether it will work or not.

Yet how many of us use that advantage? How many of us are constantly trying out new offers, new services, new marketing tactics?

Caffe Latte has been such a success they're now franchising the model out across the country. Maybe we ought to think about what we can learn and apply to get our own equivalent success.

And, of course, if you're ever in the little town of Handforth just South of Manchester – do pop in to Caffe Latte and you might well see me in there.

Featured

Mindset

It Never Happens to Me…

Posted by

Ian Brodie on June 21st, 2011.

Why Me? If you're like me and you subscribe to a zillion email newsletters and blogs, you probably hear the following type of stories fairly regularly:

“Jane got chatting to the guy sitting next to her in the dentist. The topic got around to business, they exchanged cards, and a few calls later she had a new client.”
“I met Bill at a conference. We got talking and I mentioned an article I'd written on cost reduction. Later I sent it to him and followed up with a call. He was interested and after a brief meeting he hired me to help them reduce their indirect spend by 20%.”
“John was at a party a few weeks ago. The conversation turned to what everyone in the group did for a living. John shared his “elevator pitch” and two of the people there followed up with him later – one becoming a client within a few weeks.”

Now I don't know about you, but whenever I read these stories, or hear similar ones from people talking about their experiences, my immediate reaction is “how come that never happens to me?”

When I go to the dentist, the topic never gets round to business. When I meet people at parties, the conversation usually turns to football, not marketing.

So how come these folks in the stories seem to have so much success turning social situations into business? Is there a secret they're not sharing that they do and we don't? Some amazing technique we've not heard of?

Well, there is a secret. But it's not a clever technique.

You see, what the stories usually omit is that the people they're talking about initiate conversations EVERY time they're at the dentist (or the doctors, or at the hairdressers, or in a queue for tickets, or…). Only one in twenty turns into a business discussion – and that's the one you hear in the story. Of course, one in twenty is one more than you get if you don't initiate any conversations at all.

When they're at parties, the conversation doesn't always turn to business. It's just that they go to more parties than us, and they're the ones bringing up business.

In short, they turn more social situations into business than you or I because they put themselves in more social situations than you or I, they proactively talk to more people than you or I, and they bring up business more than you or I.

The rather simple logic is that all other things being equal, if you want to win more business, you've got to do more business development.

Or to paraphrase the old joke: it's no good just praying to win the lottery – you have to give your deity of choice a fighting chance by actually buying a ticket.

Featured

More Clients Memorandum

What’s the most common marketing problem?

Posted by

Ian Brodie on June 12th, 2011.

I sometimes get asked, “what's the most common marketing problem you see?”.

Out of all the potential issues, not having enough leads is by far the one I see the most frequently amongst professionals – especially sole practitioners. And it's also the most debilitating one.

When I'm having initial discussions with potential clients, almost half of them say something along the lines of “if I can just get in front of the right clients, I can almost always sell”.

Now sometimes they're wrong. They're overestimating their selling skills.

But very often they're right.

You see, selling for consultants, coaches and other professionals is not that far removed from our “day jobs”. It involves talking to clients about their issues, diagnosing what the cause might be, understanding the impact, and proposing solutions.

That's not a lot different from what we do when clients have already hired us.

Some professionals have big psychological hangs up about selling. It's beneath them, It doesn't fit with their self image. But often, when push comes to shove, they're not that bad at it.

And if you've worked for a professional firm for any length of time, you'll inevitably have been involved in a number of initial client meetings. You'll have built up experience in it, even if you don't like it.

Lead generation is a different kettle of fish though.

It involves activities like presentations and “pitches”. Asking for referrals. Writing sales letters or doing email marketing. Stuff that's very different from our day jobs.

And if we've come from a large professional firm background the chances are that those activites were done by someone else. The marketing team or the firm's star rainmakers.

Now suddenly we have to do those things. And many of us struggle.

I know I did initially. Even though I'd learnt how to be pretty darn good at selling when working for big consulting firms, when I went solo, lead generation was new to me. I had to go through a painful learning curve very fast.

The first area most people struggle with is knowing which marketing approaches will work to generate high-quality leads in their specific situation.

But even after they've got this sussed, many professionals then fall into a huge trap.

They just don't fill their pipelines with enough leads.

Because they don't (yet) enjoy lead generation activities, they do what they feel is just enough to get them the business they need. Then they stop and focus on delivery.

But, of course, they overestimate their chances of landing each client in their pipeline. So when they don't all come off, they're left feeding off scraps.

My advice is to always “overfill” your pipeline. Generate at least twice as many leads as you think you need.

Because having an overfull pipeline generates some wonderful side-effects:

-> You can cherry-pick. With a surfeit of opportunities you can choose the best ones to work on. The best clients, the most interesting work, or the most lucrative.

-> You can establish the right peer-level relationships with clients from the start. When you're not desperate for business, when you can take it or leave it, then you immediately elevate your status and can work with senior clients as a peer right from the get-go.

Conversely, if you really need to win a deal you can very easily drift into a subservient relationship that damages your ability to advise and guide your client.

-> You can be highly ethical. You can turn down work you're not perfectly suited for if you don't need to win it to pay the bills.

-> You can negotiate from strength. You don't have to make unfair concessions just because you really need the work.

-> You can relax. You'll be surprised how much better this makes you at selling.

Of course, building an overfull pipeline isn't easy (that's why clients pay me the “big bucks” ;) ).

But it absolutely is possible if you use the right approaches and keep going beyond the point where you think you have “just enough”.

Because, believe me, “just enough” is not enough.

Featured

More Clients Memorandum

So, are you going to do this?

Posted by

Ian Brodie on June 12th, 2011.

One of the things Kathy and I always wanted was a big garden.

When we found our dream home in 1994 that was one of the things we fell in love with.

Sure, it was a little overrun. But it was huge. And it had potential. Three big borders and a woodland area shaded under horse chestnut trees.

And the most exciting bit for me was the prospect of getting my own little vegetable patch at the bottom of the garden.

It was something I'd always dreamed of. I come from a family of gardeners. Back in the mining villages of the North East you pretty much had football and your allotment.

That was life outside of work.

Unfortunately, the spot we'd earmarked had been used as a dumping ground for years by the previous owner. A quick bit of digging around and I discovered an overgrown knee-high wall and a buried climbing frame in there – just for starters.

It looked like a ton of work to sort out, so the vegetable patch plan got shelved for a bit.

And then a bit more.

And then a bit more still.

Pretty soon, I'd settled into thinking it might never get done. The thought of clearing that area was just so overwhelming.

And maybe it was OK like that. Maybe I could grow a few vegetables in the flower borders. or in pots. That would be alright, wouldn't it?

Not what I'd dreamed of, but OK really.

But Kathy hadn't forgotten my dream.

And after a couple of years of me putting things off she asked me the simple question: “are we going to do this or not?”

I knew by the look in her eyes that “no” wasn't an acceptable answer.

So late that summer I got out a spade and began to dig.

I'm not going to tell you it was easy when we got started – it wasn't. It was back-breaking work clearing that plot. Every spare hour every weekend for a month.

I still remember Kathy working away while heavily pregnant with our eldest. I remember us both being shattered every evening.

But I also remember the 20 plus years we've now had that vegetable patch.

The first crops – lettuce, carrots, peas, sweetcorn.

Growing giant onions, and giant parsnips in drainpipes for fun.

Putting up a greenhouse, and getting bumper harvests of tomatoes and peppers.

And most of all just being down there. Working on the garden and having somewhere away from work I could go to relax and think.

None of it possible without that first step of getting a spade and putting it into the ground.

Now you know where this is going, of course.

Sometimes in the last 20 or so years I've had the same feelings of being overwhelmed in my work and business.

Workload so high it seemed like I'd never get anything done.

So much to do to make an impact with so many potential clients. Not knowing where to start really. And nothing happening fast.

I'm betting you've felt like that too, at times.

So easy to put things off and think maybe it's OK.

Maybe things will sort themselves out. Maybe it doesn't really matter if the business doesn't grow this year or I don't bring in all those clients I was dreaming of.

But eventually, you have to ask yourself “am I going to do this or not?”

Because once you decide you are, all it takes is for you to put that first spade in the ground.

Sure, it'll be back-breaking work for a while. Dreams don't come easy.

But when they do come. When it does happen, they're so much better than you'd ever imagined.

So what about you? Are you going to do this or not?

Featured

Selling

My Worst Sales Meeting EVER

Posted by

Ian Brodie on June 3rd, 2011.

fight Back when I first started doing business development as part of my consulting role, I had an absolutely awful experience in a sales meeting.

So bad I still get a knot in my stomach thinking about it.

But I'm going to tell you about it in all its gory detail because I think there are some useful lessons to be learned from it for all of us.

Here's the story…

I'd just finished running a project to improve the marketing capabilities of a manufacturing client based in Paris.

The project had been a huge success and we'd already seen over 10% improvements in sales in every country where we'd implemented the new strategies for them. A really big deal as they were in an ultra competitive market.

I'd closed the deal on the initial project, then run it and sold a couple of extensions over an 18 month period. Somewhere over $5m in total.

The idea was that I'd speak to the head of marketing of a similar business based in the UK to explain to them what we'd done and sell them an equivalent project.

This was my first time opening up a client relationship like this from scratch and it was a big opportunity for me personally to make a name for myself as a “rainmaker”. I really wanted to make this work and saw this as a critical first step to my next promotion.

We got the meeting set up through our telemarketing team – and we knew from our research that this client was struggling and needed the sort of improvements we were capable of delivering for them.

I was pretty nervous before the meeting, but the guy was friendly and pretty soon I was into the flow – explaining the case study and going through all the fantastic benefits and bottom line improvements my client had seen from our work together.

I came to the end of my case study and waited for him to start asking questions.

Nothing.

I waited some more.

Still nothing.

“Let me tell you about some of the other things we did”, I said, and launched into some more examples from the project.

Still no response.

I had absolutely no idea what to do next. The guy was like a stone wall. He showed no emotions. No interest.

“Is there anything you'd like to discuss?” I asked.

“No thank you”.

And that was about it. I can't remember exactly how we closed out the meeting – it's a bit of a blur. But I was so embarrassed and uncomfortable I just wanted to get out of there.

Not surprisingly, nothing came of the meeting, and it didn't result in me instantly becoming a legendary rainmaker.

Now you can probably spot a number of very basic errors I made. As a starter I spent far too much time talking, and not enough time asking questions and listening.

And when he didn't respond – when he stonewalled me – I was far too passive. After all, he agreed to give up an hour of his time to meet with me – there must have been something on his mind that he thought he could get out of the meeting.

But what I think was at the core of my problems in that meeting was my attitude.

I was far too needy, too desperate to make the sale.

So when there was silence, I felt pressured to fill it.

When the potential client wasn't cooperating, I didn't call his bluff. I didn't want to upset him. I played along instead.

As a result, we didn't have a peer-to-peer conversation. It was vendor-to-potential customer.

Me trying to please him.

And that's just not the right tone when you're trying to establish a trusted advisor relationship. The potential client can feel you're trying too hard. That you're desperate to make the sale. And it doesn't feel right to them – they don't feel they can trust someone who's trying to sell them.

Why did I fall into that subservient role?

I put myself under too much pressure to make the sale.

In my case, it was because I wanted to make rapid career progress. I was “on a roll” and I was desperate to make the next leap up. But it backfired.

Today I see the same problem with solo professionals and small businesses who put themselves under far too much pressure in their sales meetings. In their case, the problem is that they need almost every meeting they have to result in a sale. Their pipeline is weak and they have very few sales meetings lined up – so almost every one of them needs to convert.

And it backfires.

As a consultant, coach or other professional, the more you feel you need to make a sale, they less likely you are to exhibit the kind of peer-level trusted advisor behaviours that your clients are actually looking for. And so the less likely you are to make the sale.

It's why very often when clients ask me how to improve their conversion rate of meetings to sales, my answer is often nothing to do with the sales meetings themselves. It's to improve their marketing so they're getting many more meetings with people who are more likely to become clients and so they’re less desperate to sell in each one.

Once they have a steady flow of quality leads and the pressure to sell in each meeting is off, they're much more likely to have an effective meeting. And paradoxically, they're much more likely to sell.

Could this apply to you?

Have a look at your numbers. If you find you need to convert a very high percentage (50%+) of your leads to sales in order to hit your targets then the chances are you don't have enough leads and you're putting yourself under too much pressure.

Rather than trying to polish your sales techniques and get an ultra-high conversion rate, take a look at how you can generate more high-quality leads.

PS – click here for my short video with a step by step approach to becoming a trusted advisor

Featured

Selling

Why "Finding the Pain" is a bad strategy

Posted by

Ian Brodie on May 29th, 2011.

I've been a big fan of Alan Weiss's work for a number of years.

It was probably reading Million Dollar Consulting while on holiday in Hong Kong many years ago that inspired me to go solo.

I don't always agree with everything he says (I suspect Alan would say those are the times when I'm wrong). But his arguments are always well made and based on probably more experience of high level solo consulting than anyone else.

One of the thing's I've heard Alan say on a number of occassions is that “finding the pain” went out with the ark. That it's no way to sell your services.

That had always puzzled me. Finding the pain for me means diagnosing the client's problems and understanding which are the biggest priority (and so motivating them to buy).

I always wondered what he didn't like about it. Perhaps he considered it to be manipulative or something?

Thanks to the power of the web, these days we have a chance to interact with “superstars”, not just read their books. So when Alan repeated this statement on a blog post recently I asked him to elaborate.

His answer was incredibly significant.

His point was not that “finding the pain” was unethical – or even that it didn't work. But that it led to commoditisation. Problem solving to address clear areas of pain is something most organisations have got good at, and that a whole bunch of consultants and coaches can do pretty well.

Or put it this way, lots of car mechanics and engineers can fix a broken engine. But how many can design and build a new one?

Who is it that gets paid the big bucks? Not the guy down your local repair shop.

So by focusing on aspirations and innovation instead you set yourself ahead of the pack. You're not easily copied, and you're not doing work that the client finds difficult to justify paying high fees for because they could probably have done it themselves.

To my mind, this is more important today than it's ever been.

Whether we're talking about decreasing purchasing costs, writing a marketing plan, creating a website or improving your people management skills: 5 years ago if you needed to do it you had a very limited choice of people you could find to help who you were confident would do a good job.

These days you can go online and find decent free guidance, buy a training course, or hire one of a myriad of competent advisors willing to help at highly competitive rates.

So for consultants and coaches, the days of an easy six figure income just because you're skilled in something clients need are over. It's just too easy for clients to find competent help at low cost.

If you do want that six figures and more income then simply solving problems isn't going to be enough. You have to help them innovate. Achieve something they didn't even know was there. Deliver something remarkable the problem-solvers can't match.

Sure, you might have to start by fixing some core problems – find the pain and stop the bleeding in medical terms. But you then have to move on to something much bigger.

If that's making you feal uneasy, it's a good thing. It makes me feel uneasy too because the implications are big.

It means we have to constantly stay at the leading edge of our field. We can't just learn our trade then happily ply it for 20 years.

And it means we have to find the clients that need more than problem solving. That have the appetitie for something bigger.

But it also means we're going to have an interesting and rewarding time doing it.

——
Image by A Strakey

Featured

More Clients Memorandum

Did you know?

Posted by

Ian Brodie on May 29th, 2011.

We've come a long way since I sent you the email Hope is not a Strategy.

We've talked about finding your niche, developing a compelling value proposition, figuring out what marketing approaches will work for you, nurturing relationships, selling and managing clients.

Now I'm sure a lot of times you read some of the emails, thought “I know that” and moved on.

But I'd ask you to consider something for a moment.

Something that applies not just when you read my emails, but whenever you read any hints, tips and guidelines – or when you're on a training course.

“Success in marketing and business development is driven not by what you know – but by what you do.”

I've seen it lots of times in training courses: those I've delivered, and when I've been a student too. I've seen it when people read books or websites.

I do it myself.

The moment I hear something I know already I get a satisfied glow. I nod sagely. I kind of feel validated.

And that warm, validated feeling seems to stop me from asking the killer question:

Not “do I know this?”

But “do I do this?“

Because that's the question that leads to action.

That's the question that leads to improvement.

And that's the question that leads to results.

So next time you read or hear something about marketing or sales (or pretty much anything) and you find yourself thinking “yeah yeah, I know this – nothing new” – catch yourself. Change that thought.
Try:

“Do I do this?”

Then “Should I do this?”

Then “When will I do this? How will I do this?”

And then you'll start progressing in leaps and bounds.

Older Posts Newer Posts