When a Winter Storm Warning was issued in Durham recently I could only envision the ensuing panic as residents rushed to the store to buy water, milk, bread and other essentials. And this was just at the threat of snow! When people think someone is going to run out of something, it doesn’t really matter what it is, they are more motivated to buy that product. You see scarcity marketing all the time. QVC and other home shopping networks are masters at this by showing consumers a countdown clock and the rapidly decreasing number of remaining products.
You can use that same scarcity model when promoting your products and services. Words and phrases like “limited time offer”, “while supplies last”, “only a few spots remaining” are very effective calls to actions that get clients to make a purchase. Always be honest when using this approach.
In my experience as a coach, consultant and trainer I have learned a lot about the differences between coaches who find success easily, and those who tend to struggle.
One of the distinctions is the more successful coaches exude confidence, and they have structure to their coaching; structure that makes it easy for them to talk about the value they provide.
Beyond coaching hundreds of clients and training literally thousands of coaches, the one thing that has helped me exceed a 6-figure income as a coach has been the use of assessments. Not just any ol’ assessments, though. I use scientifically validated, heavily researched assessments.
Remember our couple who wanted the new $15,000 patio and outdoor entertainment area? (See How To Do Transformational Selling, Part One). I promised I would walk you through the steps of successful transformational selling and how it ties in to good customer relationships and collaborative marketing. Here’s what can happen when you are set up to sell this way.
Once you’ve figured out your niche (or you’ve at least narrowed it down significantly), it’s time to figure out what problems they are struggling with, and what they want by way of solutions. Remember, if you will only ask your market, it wants to help you create the products it wants to buy!
How do you find out what your target market wants? There are several ways to get this information and use it to help you create an offering that will solve your niche’s problems and make a profit for you at the same time.
The best way is to do your research. The most critical research to do is to join the conversations that your market is having:
Back when I was young and spry, I spent a semester hiking through the Yosemite back country for college credit (one of the perks of attending UCSC).
Whenever things weren’t going well -like when the bears ate all our food 3 days into a 5-day hike – my friend Terry Chan would say, “We’re not having
fun now, but it’ll make a great story!” (Terry had ample opportunity to use that line during those 3 months.)
As a solo service professional you are probably already clear on who your niche is, i.e. you know who those people are who want and need your services, but are you providing the solution to their problems in the way that they want?
If your products, programs, and/or services are not selling as well as you thought they would it could be there’s a mismatch between what your market wants and what you’re providing them with. In other words, are you providing the solutions based on what YOU think the problems are rather than what your target market wants? And how do you find out?
As a solopreneur, one ingredient you need for a successful online business is traffic… and lots of it! But there are so many websites out there, all competing for the same traffic, that it can be difficult to attract visitors to YOUR website!
Today, I’d like to share with you my top five strategies for attracting highly targeted visitors:
One common mistake I see small business owners and entrepreneurs make time after time is this — relying on one source for leads.
In fact, I can’t tell you how many times I tell someone I’m in marketing and what they say to me is “oh, the only thing I do for marketing is word of mouth.†(I’m going to write an entire article about word of mouth marketing, maybe two, because that is hands down the most misunderstood marketing strategy.)
