Let’s take a walk down the produce aisle
I love grocery stores. They’re not just a metaphor for life, they
actually have something to say about it. As in life, there are a
wide variety of choices to be made, and those choices have
consequences. In one aisle, the potential for nourishment is
bountiful. In another aisle, it’s so tempting to reach for the
cheesecake instead of the broccoli.
In my town we have a grocery store chain called Big Y. Let’s
look at this in relationship to your business. Because your
“Big Why” will be your greatest source of nourishment. ☺
And just what is your Big Why? Simple. It’s the reason you do
what you do in your business. No, not the money part. That’s
too easy. And that won’t change the world. What will change
the world is a Big Why that clicks with your audience.
So why is the Big Why so important to have? Well, in addition
to just inspiring you to jump out of bed in the morning, it will also
inspire those around you. People will respond instantly to a Big
Why, whereas they may never respond at all to a more reasoned
and logical approach, like:
You: “Buy my stuff. It’s great. It works.”
Them: “Who cares?”
We could talk about how you find your Big Why. But I’d like to
cut right to the chase and talk about where to find the people
who will respond to your Big Why.
So let’s start with a simple question. Do you love your clients?
Do you know where your lovable clients come from? Whether
you do or do not, I think it’s always a good idea to put our greatest
effort into learning where these lovable clients can be found so
we can bring them home with us. And why is this important?
I mean, besides the fact that love is a pretty nourishing factor
in and of itself?
Is your Big Why nourishing you?
Because you may love your work but not so much your clients.
If that’s the case I need you to consider a scary thought:
What if you’re attracting the wrong kind of client in the first place?
If so, then everything you do for them runs up against a brick wall
of resistance. This wall is one you will never be able to break through.
Consider that the wrong client is usually with you for the wrong
reasons. He or she got to you, maybe through a referral from
another strange client. So your very reason for coaching or consulting
with them is not the one they think they came to you for. Does this
sound crazy?
Unfortunately it isn’t.
The one-second twist of fate
You know how we make decisions at the emotional level, then
justify them logically, even if it’s only 1 second later? In the case
of your difficult client, that one second can change your life permanently.
That one second of accepting the wrong client could determine
whether or not you have a wonderful year full of joy and profits,
or a terrible year full of angst, poverty and fighting for a paycheck.
The problem is that you may be attracting these inappropriate
clients because your Big Why is unknown to you, so they’re attaching
their Big Why to you. How’s that for a frightening thought?
Now recall that birds of a feather flock together. And herein lies
my cautionary tale.
The tale of Sarah
I have a friend. She does very well financially in her business,
but her life is a stress-filled purgatory filled to the brim with terrible
clients. Her problem? The money is too good to pass up. So she’s
sacrificed her personal life to deal with a large number of dodgy
clients, all of whom are in the same market space and have clearly
talked to each other about how she would be the perfect choice for
their businesses.
Each month she gets one more of these types of clients and so
hates every minute of her working life. I don’t have to lecture you
on the implications for her health and her relationships. And it
probably won’t come as a surprise to learn that she has more
frequent illnesses than Job.
I believe that having the right kind of client is absolutely necessary
to your health, happiness and yes, your bank account. Coaches
call it work/life balance.
The right partnership isn’t optional
So you see, it shouldn’t be optional, this “attracting the right people”
phase. You’ll need that treasure-trove of “right” clients. The ones
who will respond the most to your coaching and get the best results
from it. The ones who will gladly pay you what you’re worth. The
ones who keep coming back. The ones who may even become
friends. But where will these special, loveable clients come from?
Well, you attract them. You can’t really find them. They have to find
you. And when they do you need to approach them in a way that
speaks their language.
One way of accomplishing this is to present yourself in a way that
bypasses rational, logical thought and drives right to the heart of
their decision-making process in their emotions. And how do you
do that? Well, you could sit and meet with them. You could speak
to them in a public forum. That’s the basis of all sales programs.
Or you could send a video.
But isn’t this what we’ve been talking about for so many months?
Sure, but we’ve talked about video as a way to get in front of your
clients only at the most superficial level.
A new way to think about video
For instance, what about prospecting with your Big Why?
You know it’s important to gather as many prospects as possible,
but it’s equally important to gather the right ones. And if your video
marketing is haphazard, unfocused and lacks the critical elements
of your core philosophy, you’ll be in danger of attracting the wrong
clientele.
You may not think this is important if you don’t have long-term clients,
like a coach or consultant, but that isn’t really true. Even if you sell
a product, wouldn’t you rather have evangelists out selling for you
rather than a one-time customer?
So having your Big Why appear in all of your videos is probably
the most important thing you can do for your marketing. It will
attract the right clients and customers, give you the opportunity
to build relationships, and in the end, make the world a better place
to live in.
And right about now, the world could really use a heaping helping of
“better”. So why not visit your “Big Why” and make your business the
change we all need?