I recently read a super valuable book: The Prosperous Coach by Steve Chandler and Rich Litvin.
Even if you aren’t a coach, the premise is invaluable. It’s about increasing your income and impact for you and your clients. It’s about placing incredible value on yourself and what you have to offer so that you can provide incredible value to your clients and customers.
A couple of great messages are in it that I want to share:
First –
“Clients don’t care about what you have to offer.
They don’t even care what you charge.
They are too busy thinking about their problems or their dreams. Indeed, they only ever care about the answer to one question:
‘CAN YOU HELP ME?’”
It’s easy to get caught up in your offer. But what matters is how you benefit others. Click To TweetThis is a great reminder to step back and look at things from the prospective of your client or customer. You need to fly over the forest to look at the broader landscape.
Especially when you’re starting a business (but then still regularly once you’re up and running), you need to take stock of what your clients need and how you can help them solve their problems. This requires asking them!
Which leads me to. . .
Do market research.
- Find out the language they use to describe what they need.
- Use that exact language when you tell them how you can help.
- Listen more than you talk. Then repeat what they said so they know you heard them.
- Craft solutions to these exact problems and then let other clients and potential clients know how you are able to solve said problem.
Second –
“The best time in life to plan a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time in life to plant a tree is today.”
“Don’t wait. Get your product / service / idea out there.” The world needs what you have to offer. Click To Tweet“Don’t wait. Raise your fees.” You’re worth it and your customers will place high value on higher cost. (But make sure you’re delivering exceptional quality!)
I’ve found that when I pay a premium, especially for coaching, I commit that much more. I want to squeeze every dollar out of that experience.
You can provide that as well. Help your clients squeeze all they can out of what you offer. And then offer more than that to make the choice to come back time and again easy for them.
“Don’t wait. Make bold promises.” Going back to what I just said – promise them exceptional service, exceptional value, exceptional product, exceptional experience. And then deliver!
Don’t be like Wal-Mart where they may offer a cheaper price, but is the product really worth it? And the service is definitely not there. Be like Nordstrom, where you can find exceptional value on exceptional products and always exceptional service. (Note that it’s rare to find someone to help in Walmart but never Nordstrom.) Make your clients want to come back for more. And want to rave to their friends about you and your offerings.
“Bottom line – DON’T WAIT!”
So to summarize, if you’re starting out or thinking of becoming an entrepreneur:Consider your target audience and figure out exactly how you can help them. Then, Don’t Wait! Click To Tweet
People need your help in solving their problems. Be confident and get out there. The world will be better for it.
Let me know in the comments – What are you working on? What are you going to start right now?
Michelle
PS – If this resonates with you, I’d love if you shared it with others. Thanks!
PPS – The quotes are from The Prosperous Coach. Everything else is mine. 🙂
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