I heard a story on the This American Life podcast about a man waiting on a subway platform, and in the crowd was another man walking up to people, saying, “You’re In. You’re Out. You, you can stay. You — gotta go.” The story teller found himself secretly wanting to be picked to stay, which was odd since what the man was doing was completely arbitrary.
The hot topic here in the U.S. this spring of 2021 is getting back to “normal.” But in my view, the more relevant topic is finding a new normal. All across the country, I’m hearing of people whose post-pandemic life includes moving to a new city, changing jobs or careers, retiring, or making remote work a permanent choice.
When talking with a potential client, do you find yourself being too vague when describing your business? Don’t worry! This is a trap that’s easy to fall into.
When it comes to having sales conversations, specificity is king.
As a self-employed professional, have you defined your marketing niche? You may think so, but a closer look might reveal that your chosen niche isn’t as effective as it could be. You may have selected a target market, but have no defined specialty among the services you offer. Or you may be clear on your professional specialty, but vague on who to target as prospective clients.
A clearly defined niche for an independent professional is one that spells out both a target market and a specialty needed by that market.
Do you love your business but hate the selling part? Whether it’s calling prospective clients on the phone or writing persuasive emails and web copy, most self-employed professionals say that selling is the element of their business they dislike the most.
If it was possible to sell without having that feeling of discomfort in your gut, or those sweaty palms and increased heart rate, would you be willing to make a change?
Do you find sales and marketing to often be a struggle? It doesn’t have to be that way. The most successful professionals make it look easy because they have found a way to market themselves that is effortless. Perhaps you have tried to copy what those successful people were doing, and it didn’t work for you. Here’s why.
Marketing is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. You have to find your own unique path, the one that works best for you and your business. To make marketing and selling easy, that path needs to be the one where you will encounter the least resistance — both from the marketplace and from inside yourself.
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