Big Thinking
“When it rains, it pours.”
— Liz Lemon
There’s an episode of 30 Rock–my go-to television show–where Liz Lemon attracts quite a lot of male attention because, according to blonde & beautiful Jenna, she finally has a boyfriend.
Liz is radiating. And it’s attracting attention.
Business is no different. I believe in the power of small wins because even a small win puts a sparkle in your eye and a hop in your step.
When your business is radiating, it’s much more attractive. It’s not forced, it’s not desperate, it’s not even stretching.
And small wins can add up to big wins. Too often, entrepreneurs make the mistake of stretching for big wins without building a foundation of small wins below it. You see, I’m not suggesting in the least that you throw away your big dreams.
Instead, I’m suggesting that it’s a heckuva lot easier to attain those dreams when you’re radiating with the results of small wins.
Last week, I talked about the power of filling living rooms on the way to filling stadiums. That’s the kind of strategy that can set you up for big wins. Each living room concert you preform will make you more confident, more attractive, and more compelling when you step on stage in the stadium.
Which means you’ll put on a better show.
See, the extra great part of this is that when you’re achieving small wins and radiating with results, your customers will have a better experience and getter better results, too. And that in turn, will make you even more radiant.
Beautiful cycle, isn’t?
Let me introduce you to a business owner who is radiating brightly right now: Melissa McCreery, founder of TooMuchOnHerPlate.com. Melissa came to 10ThousandFeet because she didn’t want to hold her own business back anymore. While things were growing, she wasn’t seeing the kind of consistent results she wanted to see.
So we created a plan to do just that. We tweaked her business model, adjusted the positioning on a few of her programs, and developed a message that resonated with her right people.
Her wins (big & small) are piling on now. Her clients are thrilled. And her business is radiant.
Here’s her story in her words:
Melissa McCreery’s Story, TooMuchOnHerPlate.com
I joined 10ThousandFeet because my business was growing and I was rapidly becoming the bottleneck.
TooMuchonHerPlate.com was established and doing well, but things had reached the point where growth was limited because there wasn’t enough of me to go around. I wanted to serve more people and continue to grow my profitability without sacrificing the life balance I value so highly (and teach my clients to create).
I knew what I wanted was possible, and that I needed someone smart and savvy who could provide the structure and the direction to give me the perspective and strategy I was looking for.
I’ve worked with a fair number of coaches and business building mentors and Tara offered me both a perspective and a path that was unique, refreshing and so helpful. I am in awe of all that I accomplished in 16 short weeks and all the little and big changes that are now underway in my business.
Key for me was the clarity I got from Tara on my message and how to communicate it. I thought I was doing a pretty good job, but with some simple adjustments, I’m seeing a noticeable difference in the effectiveness of my marketing and I’m now attracting more of the clients that I work best with.
Tara also helped me take a program that just hadn’t caught on, and reposition it in a way that made marketing (and enrolling) easy. Running that program (which I launched in less than a month), has been one of the highlights of my year.
Clarity has helped me simplify a lot of what I do and focus on what’s really going to serve my business and my clients. I now have a big picture view of how all the parts of my business and each program and product fit together. I have a plan for the next 18 months (and beyond) that feels solid, do-able, and that I am confident will allow me to continue to grow my business AND my peace of mind.
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“Running that program has been of the highlights of my year.” Filling a living room not only brought in great revenue but created an amazing experience for both Melissa and her tribe.
What small wins could you go after & achieve in the next week or two? You might be surprised just how much you can accomplish and how radiant you could become.
For more on Melissa, visit TooMuchOnHerPlate.com or check out Where Thin Begins and see that kind of radiance in action.
Customer Perspective Process
“Pain points” are a key way we get people to pay attention to us as marketers. But when was the last time you spent time or energy developing “pleasure points?”
Pain points serve a purpose. They allow us as product designers to focus on needs and opportunities. They allow us as marketers to grab a prospect’s attention. They allow us as leaders & visionaries to show we can empathize with our prospect’s current situation.
Pain points have often been used to manipulate or shame. But they don’t have to be. And your marketing, sales, and product development will suffer if you don’t spend time identifying and communicating that you understand your customers’ pain points.
Pleasure points, on the other hand, are an underutilized reversal of the this old standby. Sure, you see plenty of “Make More Money,” “10lbs Thinner,” and “More Inner Peace Now” sprinkled around. But is this really painting the picture of pleasure that your prospects are looking for?
Pleasure points are a key way to get attention from your Most Valued Customers, especially in the You Economy, especially in a “saturated” market. And we’re all in the You Economy and most of us are in saturated markets. So how do you pin down your customers’ most important pleasure points?
Often, I ask my clients, “What does that look like?” or “What does that mean for your customer?”
Pleasure points are all about painting the full picture of success. Click to tweet! When you’re 10lbs thinner, you might get to shop at a trendier store for clothes that are a different size. When you’ve got more inner peace, it might look like a cleaner house or a less frazzled schedule.
But it’s also about searching for the deeper meaning of success. When you’re 10lbs thinner, you might be more inclined rekindle the fire in your romance or go looking for romance in the first place. It might mean that you spend less time at the doctor’s and more time in the great outdoors.
Just as Danielle LaPorte talks about using core desires as metrics of success, we can use pleasure points to name those desires, paint a vivid picture of them, and dive further into what those desires mean for our prospects so that we can help them create the “success” they’re after through using our product or service.
The key here is specificity. You’re not aiming to paint a Rothko. You want to aim for something more like photorealism. You must get clear on your customers’ core desires, the unique circumstances those lead to, and what deeper meaning those circumstances hold for your customer.
Art of Earning, Customer Perspective Process
People aren’t looking for your service (or your product, or your program). They’re looking for results.
Your customers want to change the way they feel. They want to adjust the way they act. They have goals, they have desires, they have dreams.
All too often, businesses position their offers around the “what” of what they’re offering instead of the “why” people would actually go looking for it in the first place. Further compounding this problem, is that business models are built around “whats” instead of “whys.”
Instead of considering the best ways to achieve the desired end result for you and your customer, many business owners build models that are based on how a particular service or product has always been delivered. There’s a status quo web design model, a status quo life coach model, a status quo jewelry model.
When was the last time status quo got you the results you wanted?
You can build a business model that is focused on results, different from the rest of the marketplace, and more effective for your customers. But to do that, you need to start by making sure your core product or service is positioned function-first.
Here are 3 easy ways to reposition your offers around why your customers are actually looking to buy in the first place.
1) Lead with value, not the name of your product or service.
Your product isn’t the selling point, so why make it your headline?
If your service helps people feel better about their bodies, lead with that. If your product helps make a brand more memorable, put that front & center. If your program, helps people feel more confident about the business decisions they make and, consequently make more money, make that the star.
2) Make good use of “before & after.”
Just because you’re not Extreme Makeover doesn’t mean your product can’t benefit from some before & after swagger.
It might be as simple as listing a feature that implies the “before,” as this Bang Buster headband from Lululemon does. Or it might involve turning your customers’ before into a bullet point list that exudes empathy and an equally empathetic list of bullets that describe the “after” your customers have in mind.
3) Use visuals that allow your customers to see themselves getting the results they want.
Great visual merchandising helps customers see themselves actually owning, using, and loving a product. That’s why you prefer flipping through an Ikea catalog to browsing Amazon. While this might be standard practice for physical products, it’s also extremely useful for services and programs.
Maybe you use beautiful photos of happy mamas. Or images of curvy bodies successfully practicing yoga.
Instead of just focusing on you, let your customers see themselves achieving the results they want.
Side note: Stocksy has become my go-to source of non-stocky stock images.
I mostly pointed to sales page examples in this post (click the links above to see the examples) but positioning must be woven through all parts of your business–from the Most Valued Customer you seek to engage to your brand identity to your regular email communication. Dive deeper into the businesses I highlighted here and you’ll see a results-centered culture at the heart of everything they do.
Remember, your product is important to you but it’s results your customers are after. Click to tweet. Make how life will be different–whether in big ways or small–the focus of how your engage your customers and you’re sure to get bigger, better results for yourself.
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You’re ready to lead your business instead of follow the jet stream. You’re ready for more confidence, more revenue, and a greater impact in the world. It’s time for 10ThousandFeet.
Work with me over the next 4 months to create a business model that serves you & your customers, a conversation that nourishes your goals, and a plan to leverage your skills, strengths, and passions. Registration is now open.
“The clarity I now have around the business I want to build, not just this year but over the next five, is a bigger, fancier diamond than I even imagined uncovering.”
— Laura Whitman, co-founder, Red Balloon Relations
Art of Earning
I love pricing for value. In other words, the value I provide you is so much greater than the value of the money you have to shell out to get it.
Pricing for value works because it leaves both parties feeling richer. I sell my service and receive the money I want. You receive my service and receive the information/ideas/action items you want. The “pain” it causes me to deliver the service is much less than the money I receive. The “pain” it causes you to pay the invoice is much less than the information you receive.
We both receive what’s valuable to us. And we’re both extremely happy people at the end of it all. And we’re likely to do business again.
But value is only half the equation. When pricing, you also have to consider how to get results.
A fresh life coach sets her rates at $50 per hour. That’s more than she’s ever made in her life per hour so she feels pretty good about it. She also knows that she can deliver loads of value for that $50. And, she’ll be $50 richer every time she sees a client.
That all sounds good, right?
But, “You’d be a fool not to buy this at this price” pricing can work against you. If your product or service requires some work from your clients or customers – and really, who’s doesn’t? – your pricing might be enabling complacency & inaction.
So that life coach might get some clients at that rate. But do those clients feel invested – both literally & figuratively – in the work? Or are they patting themselves on the back for just taking a step in the right direction?
On the flip side, the people who are most ready to do the work, the people who are the best clients for this coach, will look at the number and believe that this coach isn’t well-equipped to help them take the actions they need to take.
Fair? Nope, not at all. But just like I remind my toddler on a daily basis, “Reality isn’t fair.”
Whenever I price a new offer, for instance, my new Insight Intensives, I’m not only considering the value I’m offering, the time it takes me to prepare, my position in the market, or the benefit of my experience, but I’m also considering what price will create allow my clients to create the best results.
- What price will allow you to take this seriously?
- What price will ensure that you’re a success story?
- What price will push you past “comfortable” and into the discomfort of action?
If you’re a painter, what price will put your piece of art over the sofa? Or even get it hung at all?
If you’re a copywriter, what price will force your client out of cliche language & into what’s true to them?
If you’re a jewelry designer, what price will ensure your pieces get paired with fabulous outfits?
Sure, there’s quite a bit more that goes into those decisions. But don’t fool yourself that price isn’t a big factor in personal investment on all levels.
Start by pricing for value and then check yourself by pricing for results.
Business Brainstorm
Results. I love ’em.
Results often seem elusive. Despite the promises of info products, programs, courses, and blog posts, we are often left resultless. Maybe we don’t have all the same questions but we have plenty of new ones in their place.
Results are key. They help us meet our goals. They buoy our spirit when things get tough. They prove to others we’re not insane.
Results are becoming uncommon. “Daily grinding” often doesn’t produce results. Daily grinding produces distraction, complacency, and circular productivity. Are you really working towards an end? Or are you just working towards tomorrow?
Check.
Feeling stuck comes from ingesting. Creating a result comes from digesting.
Consider how you feel after you indulge in a lovely carb binge. Sedentary. Lazy. Heavy. Bloated.
Consider instead how you feel after you indulge in a delicious spinach salad with oil, lemon juice & all your favorite fixings. Buoyant. Energized. Ready.
Carb binging is ingesting – the focus is what’s going into your mouth and not what’s coming out the proverbial other end. It’s all or nothing on the intake and just nothing on the output. The pleasure comes from stuffing yourself more.
Eating fresh, clean food allows you to digest. You experience both the pleasure of every bite and the pleasure of feeling ready for what the world will throw at you. You are fueled.
When you truly digest your research, your work, and your analysis, you are able to create results.
What results are you creating right now? What results do you need to be creating?
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Accelerate your results. Accelerate your success. I invite you to join me in the lab for my FREE Prototype Challenge. Results everyday, guaranteed. Click here to get started.
