Just a quick little, last minute blog post to let you know that there are 13 spaces left in my six week coaching program, “Marketing 101 for Holistic Practitioners”. If you’re a holistic practitioner, permaculture practitioner or life coach type person who’s not attracting enough of the kinds you’d really, really like I invite you to check this out at the link below.

When I first started traveling around North America doing my workshops for green and conscious businesses I found that half of who came were holistic practitioners. So, eventually, I came up with a weekend workshop just for them. And, over the years, I honed and developed it into something I was really, really proud of.

And I’ve finally taken it and turned it into a six week coaching program when you can get all the content spread out over a month and a half and have a bit of time to integrate it. It’s really affordable and if you don’t like it I’ll send you your money back with no hard feelings. Check it out and see if it’s a fit?

http://sixweek101.eventbrite.com/

The Interview: To help me promote it, my colleague Howie Jacobsen (google adwords guru of www.askhowie.com) interviewed me on Monday. It was supposed to be a 15 minute thing but became 45 minutes. It’s on the topics we’ll be covering in the program.

http://howieconnect.audioacrobat.com/download/tad-hargrave-askhowie-2012-01-16.mp3

And now back to our regular scheduled programming.

Here’s another brilliant post from Chris Kay Fraser about how to bring a bit more self love into your business.

*

Hi again!

It’s me, *Chris Kay Fraser, in the second part of my 3-part series on using writing to create balance, boundary and joy for you, on your self-employed adventure.

If you are reading this blog, chances are that you work for yourself, and that you love your job. It’s awesome, right? But here’s the thing: Love is crazy-ass fuel. No matter how nourishing your businesses may be to others, it only nourishes you when you can approach it with a deep sense of self-compassion.

Today I want to shine the light on our creative lives. As a creative coach and facilitator, I’m constantly seeing how words are funny little animals. They can communicate absolutely nothing, (“How are you?” “Oh, fine. You?” “Oh, fine.”) or they can change the shape of your whole day. They can snooze in the corner or roar off the page. It all depends on how alive your creative senses are.

If you’re in a business where you find yourself using words a lot (who isn’t?) then it’s essential to keep shaking yourself up – to get out of your word-ruts, to let them roar and twinkle. Here are some ways that I like to do this.

~ Cut stuff up. There are weird and illuminating little poems everywhere. Here’s one exercose. As you may know, the popular astrologer *Rob Brezny has an amazing vocabulary. When I’m looking for a quick creative burst I’ll cut our my weekly horoscope and create a poem only using those words. In fact, when my sister was traveling in Europe last year, I made her a “Brezny poem” every week for a few months. It was a beautiful project! * Attach an image

~ Write “Right Now I” at the top of a page, turn on some music (without words works best for me, try this peaceful track by Edgar Meyer and Bela Fleck.) and write to the bottom of the page, no farther.

~ Check out my free audio mini-workshops. These are fun, free tools to help get your pen flying. There’s a new one every month, offered as a gift. Older workshops can be downloaded for a small fee. They take 25 minutes and are guaranteed to shake out some major creative juices.

~ Drop the guilt. I’ve never met anyone who has the full, flowing creative life they want to have. Don’t worry about books you haven’t read or letters you haven’t written. Just write one, today. A small one. Bite-sized.

~ Use tiny bits of time. Ten minutes will do the job. So will two. One writer I know talks about J5M: Just Five Minutes. J5M’s are great tools for busy creative types. Personally, I love writing in the time it takes the subway to get from one stop to the next, or to set myself little challenges: An entire story about that guy’s shoes before we get to Bathurst Station.  These are often far more interesting than the things I write when I carve out an entire evening.

~ Shower yourself with inspiration! We live in the age of resources and creativity is no exception. Some of the things I could not live without are books by SARK and Sabrina Ward Harrison, *The Writers Almanac and *The Sun Magazine. There are also tons of creative e-classes out there which can provide affordable, inspiring juice for your writing path. Jamie Ridler runs an especially-brilliant one called *“Sparkles” which provides participants with a prompt every day for a month for a creative activity that won’t take more than five minutes.

~ “Like” me on facebook! Ha! That one was seriously self-interested, but I do think I can help if this is a path you want to follow. I use my facebook page to send out teeny-tiny creative exercises and ideas. “What’s the word of your day so far?” “If your mood right now had a color, what would it be?” “Describe one of your great life kisses in 50 words or less.”

How about you? Do you have creative resources you love to use, that other people might not have found? How do you keep your creative lights on? What happens when they go out?

Tell me all about it below….

More from me tomorrow! The final post in this series will be about celebrating yourself and your business through love letters.

People crave things.

Like chocolate. Like love. Like relief. Like security.

And, people aren’t buying from you what you might think they’re buying.

They’re not buying the thing you’re selling – they’re buying what they hope it will do for them. They’re buying it because there’s a result that is self serving to them that they want.

And much of marketing is translating what we’re offering (the boat) into a language they can understand (what it might mean for their lives).

Here’s another piece about ‘the journey’.

Imagine a young man on an island (which we’ll call Island A). It’s not that great a place to be. But, it’s all he knows, so he goes about his days. Then he starts hearing that his is not the only island in the world. That there are other islands. At first he doesn’t believe it, but the more he visits the docks and meets these visitors the clearer it becomes. It’s true. And then, one day, he hears about a particular island (which we’ll call Island B). And his heart leaps. He wants to go there.

Of course, he needs to get a boat to go there.

But there are so many boats to hire! Which one to choose?

Your business is a boat. It helps people like this young man get from Island A where they’re struggling with some problem (i.e. set of symptoms they don’t like) to Island B where they have the result they want (i.e. something they’re craving).

So, they’re not buying a ride on your boat because they love boats so much. They’re buying a ride on your boat because they believe it will help them get to Island B.

So, our marketing must laser focus on articulating Island B.

They’re not buying the boat – they’re buying the Island.

Often this result they’re wanting is something very simple: better sleep, a raise at work, a new job, to travel more, to be in better shape, to be more accepting etc. You can usually sum it up in three words.

Which isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Because we keep trying to sell the boat. After all, what if I offer Non Violent Communication (NVC) classes (which I’ve done) and people in Edmonton were looking for classes on NVC (which they were). They’re looking for the boat! So, shouldn’t we just offer up the boat?

In this case, yes. There’s no need to convince them of anything.

But . . . it’s important to remember that the only reason they want a ride on this NVC boat is because they believe it’s going to get them somewhere. In their mind, they have a self serving goal they’re trying to achieve and NVC is just a tool or tactic to get there. If one day they found a new workshop that they thought was better, they’d drop NVC in a New York Minute.

They’re not buying the boat – they’re buying the Island.

But let’s go over a bunch of examples where we can start to untangle the boat from Island B.

Backyard Bounty tried to promote their local ‘microfarming‘ venture. But it was confusing to figure out what they were selling to people because ‘microfarming’ is a bit of jargon. In short, they were trying to sell the boat (you can read a more in depth version of this here – look for #5). So, I rewrote what they were offering, focusing on the benefits and results that I thought might actually mean something to the home owner.

Attention Guelph Homeowners:

do you have a backyard you’re not using?

how your backyard can make you the envy of your neighbours, a hero to your community, provide local jobs and get you free delicious food

 

Marketing is translating.

They’re not buying the boat – they’re buying the Island.

I recall hearing about a public speaking course that first put out an ad saying, ‘Public Speaking 101′ or some such thing and got an okay response. Then they tweaked it to say, ‘How to Speak Confidently in Public’ – that moves a bit closer to Island B and away from the boat – and got a much better response. Their final version was, ‘How to Get Enthusiastic Applause (Even a Standing Ovation!) Every Time You Speak.’ That spoke much more clearly to what people were secretly craving.

As I wrote this, sitting at my new favourite cafe in town, Noorish, a rep from an herbal company was educating the staff about their products. The owner mentioned that there were so many herbal tinctures they had but, too many for the staff to be truly educated on. Which meant that they weren’t able to educate their customers about them. Which meant they weren’t selling them.

The owner observed that they were selling more of the tinctures that were mixed and focused on particular results. That if there was a tincture, elixir or potion focused on the brain and mental clarity, boosting libido, reducing stress, or boosting the immune system, it tended to sell better. People don’t have the time or interest to learn about every single herb and come up with the perfect combo to give them what they want. Save them time and hassle and do it for them.

Marketing is translating.

They’re not buying the boat – they’re buying the Island.

I think people who do Feng Shui are particularly screwed. After all, it’s a funny word and most people don’t know what it is. It’s a boat that no one really understands. And, to make matters worse, if they do understand, it seems frivolous. Like, ‘okay, you’re going to rearrange my furniture and I’m going to pay you how much?’ Because they’re trying to sell the boat.

But they’re not buying the boat – they’re buying the Island.

So, what if instead of leading with the boat of Feng Shui you wrapped that modality and practice around a particular result? What if you said it was about attracting the love of your life? Or attracting financial abundance? Improving your health? Or creating a sanctuary to give you more peace of mind? And what if you packaged in some other elements to help them on the journey, maybe some coaching, some herbs focused on that result, and gave them some daily rituals and maybe even hosted a workshop to help them (perhaps led by someone else). Maybe it was a year long program. You get the idea.

They’re not buying the boat – they’re buying the Island.

FedEx doesn’t bore you trying to educate you on the superiority of their hub system. Instead they make you a solid promise, ‘when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.’

A colleague of mine, Jennifer Pullin from Fibres of Life sells fair trade hand crafted goods (which are quite beautiful). We spoke about why people bought them and one of the things she’d noticed is how much people seem to enjoy the ‘social currency’ they get from having her products. They’re quite attractive and fetching to the eye and they have the most wonderful stories behind them. She’s found that the people who buy the pieces are very interested in knowing the stories of the artists and craft people who made them.

My good friends at Crystal Cradle make incredible jewelry. But people don’t just want jewelry (the boat). They want what they think jewelry will bring them. When I wear their stuff, I get comments and compliments from people. Total strangers sometimes. If you notice that your product often gets comments. We don’t just buy jewelry for the jewelry.

It’s the same with the sweet leather bag (pictured here) I bought from fiveleft.ca. I love it and get comments all the time. I wanted a sturdy bag from them. I wanted something that would last forever. I think this one will but I spent $250 on it because (secretly) I was hoping to get people saying, ‘nice bag!’ And that has happened. I get compliments all the time. Woot.

To quote from the wonderful book Start With Why:

Shackleton’s ad for crew members … did not say what he was looking for. His ad did not say: “Men needed for expedition. Minimum five years’ experience. Must know how to hoist mainsail. Come work for a fantastic captain.”

Rather, Shackleton was looking for those with something more. He was looking for a crew that belonged on such an expedition. His actual ad ran like this: “Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe returns doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.”

The only people who applied for the job were those who read the ad and thought it sounded great. They loved insurmountable odds. The only people who applied for the job were survivors. Shackleton hired only people who believed what he believed. Their ability to survive was guaranteed. When employees belong, they will guarantee your success. And they won’t be working hard and looking for innovative solutions for you, they will be doing it for themselves.

Clearasil sells skin care things. They are aware that you don’t particularly (initially) care about the ingredients. But you do care about the results. And, in seven words, they nail it, ‘visibly clearer skin in three days. guaranteed’. I’m not endorsing them but it’s a fine example.

The website RunKeeper makes tracking your workouts fun, social, and easy to understand so that you can improve the quality of your fitness. Simple. Clear.

A website like CouchSurfing helps people a lot of time and money when finding a place to stay when traveling – and meet cool people locally. The website AirBnB was created for empty nesters with empty bedrooms in their homes to help them earn a bit of extra income on that empty room they have by renting it out to people visiting town who want something a bit more affordable and homey than a hotel or motel but a bit more private than a hostel.

Victoria Laine does a simple thing that most entrepreneurs could do but never think of. She hosts tours. Now, she does tours of grocery stores. But maybe you could host a tour of strawbale homes. Maybe you could host a tour of gluten free options in your neighbourhood. A medicinal plant walk. A pub crawl with a theme related to your work. Maybe you could host a tour of all the strawbale homes in your community (even if you’re not a strawbale expert yourself). So many businesses could do this easily.

Tours get you away from your computer, connect you with potential clients, help build your credibility and might also help the people or businesses you’re taking your tours to.

Natalie Grunberg had an idea for a business. Mail women pretty panties. Once a month. This business is a brilliant example of some many things: niche marketing (panties are for women), having a point of view (it’s about confidence), having a simple, well crafted offer (a pretty panty. mailed monthly), doing something provocative that gets people talking (panties!).

The Therapy Vault gives therapists and totally secure place to share the stories they can’t share anywhere else and get it off their chest. Basically, it’s an online forum. But people don’t crave to be a part of online forums. No one says, ‘Wow. I get to go in this thing called the ‘internet’ and talk to total strangers about random things for no particular reason!’

Within yoga there are many different styles and types of centers depending on the results people want. Some are all about getting into good shape and getting those yoga buns. Some are more about cultivating a spiritual practice. Some are more about community and social change. Depends what you’re into.

Beth Martens offers a special class focused on caregivers who are so overwhelmed in their lives and are craving some respite, rest, sactuary and connections with other people who are going through the same things they are.

Another yoga example: Tiina Veer is a client of mine who’s an amazing example of the power of proper niching in action. Instead of trying to make her yoga class appeal to everyone – she chose a very particular niche.

People who don’t look like Barbie Dolls.

There’s a whole community of people with ’round bodies’ who might feel intimidated to go to a typical yoga class. But, with Tiina, they find an incredibly safe and supportive space. And it’s called Yoga for Round Bodies.

When I asked her how the response had been she said this,

“The response has been incredible.  Even people who aren’t in the “round camp” think it’s a great idea, that it makes so much sense.  And it does.  A lot of round women feel judged, or like the third wheel, in “regular” yoga classes.  It makes sense to create a safe, non-judgmental space for us to practice together, with a teacher who knows how to modify poses to the unique needs of a rounder body.  As women discover these classes, workshops and retreats, I get this comment a lot:  “It’s so great there’s a class JUST FOR ME out there!””

The Samarya Center is an amazing community centered yoga center in Seattle that decided to buck the system and do it all differently (go watch an inspiring video about how they’ve created something entirely different).

Yoga is a boat that can take you to a lot of different islands. But as always . . .

They’re not buying the boat – they’re buying the Island.

I just heard about a spa in Toronto called Sunny Mummy at my “Marketing 101 for Green and Local Businesses” in Toronto last night.

It’s a spa. But with a twist.

Take a look at the room pictured on the right. It’s not a room you’d associate with a spa.

But most spa’s don’t cater to mom’s with young children.

And Sunny Mummy does – for mom’s – with childcare built into the costs.

An aquaintance of mine, Michael Rosmer had this to say, ‘your staffing concerns ended in 90 days. guaranteed.’

I have a three hour workshop and i say, “learn the marketing secrets of North America’s most successful green, holistic, community-minded entrepreneurs attract more of the clients you want (without ever sacrificing your integrity or spending a fortune).”

Even clearer is my colleague Callan Rush who has a workshop called, “How to Fill Your Workshops… With Ease!”

Or Max Simon who had a workshop called, “Sold Out Seminars”. Very clear what he’s teaching.

Nobody goes to a workshop just to go to a workshop. Nobody I know is just super into workshops. Nobody says, ‘I love sitting in chairs and listening to people tell me things while they write them on a flipchart!’

They’re not buying the boat – they’re buying the Island.

Another Lense: The Four Tracks

Here’s something worth considering. Some people would suggest that there are, at the end of the day, only four results people want.

1. better health: physical health, more energy, being more strong, more flexible, better digestion, better sleep etc.
2. more money: this could mean more cash, better money management, ways to save money etc. Can you help them make it or save it? Can you improve their career prospects?
3. peace of mind: a deeper sense of spirituality and meaning etc. Can you help people feel more relaxed, safe and comfortable in their own skin and at home in the world? Can you help them partake in more meaningful work in their life?
4. better relationships: dating, marriage, better sex etc.

Which one of those is the primary one you offer? Can you translate what you do into one of those lenses?

Here’s another lense to consider . . . how could your product save them

#1 – SAVE THEM TIME: help them understand how you can you save them time? Can you synthesize what’s happening in your space and industry for busy people?

Can you act as a filter and curator or relevant and valuable content? If you save them half the time you can often charge them twice as much. What can you do in your process to save them time they might have spent elsewhere? What can you do to make what you offer easier and more convenient for people? how many hours did it take you to create the product or service you have? how many hours of training? how long would it take them to get the same result in their lives if they did it on their own?

Eventbrite is a site that makes it so easy to create an RSVP page for your event. It handles the payments, the reminders and even gives you name tags to print. I could spend the time to figure out how to have an online shopping cart and set up reminders on my site but, frankly, I’d rather just use their service and pay them the 5% from any money earned.

My colleague Alex Baisley worked with a woman who was passionate about strawbale but couldn’t really make money teaching how to build them. So, instead, she arranged a tour of the strawbale homes in the area for people who were thinking about building their own strawbale home. She made something possible that likely wouldn’t have been before and saved people a lot of time in trying to arrange that on their own. And the home owners get to meet nice people and show off their home.

Dee Dussault in Toronto saves time by creating a holistic sampler evening. Once a month, on the Friday nearest the new moon, she hosts her New Moon Parties. She describes it this way . . .

Every month on the Friday nearest the new moon, a group of healing-arts practitioners gather at Follow Your Bliss, and offer 20-minute samples of our services. We’ve had Reiki, Pranic Healing, Reflexology, Chair Massage, Reconnective Healing, Palmistry, Tarot readings, Yoga Nidra, Shiatsu, Hypnotism, and Thai Yoga Massage (to name a few!)

These parties allow new clients a chance to see how this eco-conscious, community healing home is developing, and enjoy socializing and networking with a conscious community over some wine, cheese, and great conversation!

With Child Care provided (upon request), it is a great chance to mingle, network, and share resources, while sampling amazing and affordable healing arts in between!

Can you help people do something more quickly? Get something more quickly? I think this is the benefit of certain VIP clubs – you know you’re being taken care of. That, by being a part of the club, they’re going to do the research you don’t have time to do and bring you the best they find. Phew. It’s a relief. I will glad

#2 – SAVE THEM MONEY: because of the way you’ve packaged things and how convenient you make it, might it just save them a bit of money? Might they spend more money if they went a different route? Also, by not handling their problem, might it cost them more money than if they handled it (e.g. putting off retrofitting their home, putting off moving to a no interest credit card etc.).

#3 – SAVE THEM ENERGY: how much emotional energy might it cost them to not deal with this or to take another approach? How much will it drain them to be living constantly with their fear of Island Z?

I had the pleasure seeing Rochelle Grayson speak at a social media conference a while ago and she spoke brilliantly to the kinds of results that people really want. She broke it down into a bit more detail than these four.

12 Additional Things People Might Want Your Product or Service to Do For Them:

PAMPER THEM – Can you do anything to make the experience of working with you more luxurious, beautiful and pampering for them?  I just led a workshop at a space where they had lots of huge comfy couches and so, instead of sitting at plastic tables in plastic chairs we all nestled into couches.  Comfy! Can you make your physical or virtual space a little more pleasing for their sensibilities? Can you remove clutter? Can you, like the SlowFood movement give them a bit more space and slowness in their hectic lives?

BOOST THEIR SELF ESTEEM – How can you make people feel special? People like to be recognized for their contributions and what makes them unique. Can you do that for them? If you do permaculture, can you find a way that they could let their neighbours and friends know?

Let them brag about the wonderful thing they’ve done? Can you take extra special care of your favourite clients? 

If you’re a nonprofit how can you help them to boast and brag. Can you give them the tools to do it? What if when they donated, you could have the option of sharing on facebook with a click of a button, “Tad just donated $10 to the David Suzuki foundation!”. It might also inspire their friends to give. Can you become such a safe and non judgmental space that people really get to feel wonderful about who they are around you?

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS - Here’s a twist: can you not only teach them how to have better relationships but can you actually facilitate new relationships for them? Think dating websites like POF.com, Match.com, meetup.com, okcupid.com, or Flattr.com that are all based on connecting like minded people.

What can you do to help people form or retain meaningful relationships with others? If you’re a yoga studio – can you host social events? If you’re a restaurant, can you host parties for your best clients and local food providers? If you’re a holistic practitioner, can you host a party for your favourite clients and hubs?

Can you actively play a role in connecting your clients with other people they need? People are deeply grateful for a good connection. Quirky is a website that was created to support folks with ideas for products to actually make them happen by connecting them with people who can help.

GIVE THEM IMMEDIATE HELP – Can you help them find some relief or something they want right now? Think Netflix. Think Kindle. Think iTunes. Easy to search and find exactly what you want. I try to build my blog like this. Easy to search, lots of cross links. Think a mobile application that let’s you know where you can find independent cafes or free wifi. What can you help them get right now.

GIVE THEM A SENSE OF BELONGING - We all want to belong. Can your business foster a sense of community? What a wonderful idea. And, for the clients and hubs your particularly resonate with might you be able to create a circle that has access to things that are just right for them?

In addition to doing things that are free or cheap to foster community (e.g. hosting events, having a free resources page on your site, generally being helpful, having a bulletin board for community events etc.) ask yourself, “What is it that people would pay to have access to?”

Is there an exclusive perspective you have that you only share with certain people? Can you help them get access to things that might be hard to get access to otherwise? And might they be excited to be a part of a group of like minded people who are of a similar calibre to them? I bet they would.

If you want to create this kind of community then you need to get as clear as you can about the journey you help people on, your point of view and your bigger why because that’s what communities are most often built around.

BRING FUN – people will pay a lot of money to be entertained. Can you come up with fun content that people might enjoy and share? Can you add more variety and fun to their lives? Can you mix it up every once in a while? So many people are bored – can you lift them from that? If you can make it more fun to work with you people will come back a lot more often and send their friends.

SHOW CASE THEM -  What tools or structures are you creating to show case what they do? Could you feature your clients? Your students success stories? Could you invite clients to submit blogs, images or videos? Ask yourself, what do your clients want out of your use of social media vs. what do you want? Maybe they’d be really excited to use your page to express themselves and connect with others than receiving constant ‘buy from me’ messages.

GIVE THEM EASY INSTRUCTIONS - Can you give them precise, step by step ‘how to’ instructions on how to do things? Can you tell them how to write their homepage, make the perfect cup of coffee, pin back their plants without killing them etc. What can you teach them how to do that you’re an expert of? Can you put up free videos, offer paid videos, live classes?

HELP THEM SUCCEED: people will pay you if you can help them increase their chances of success in the world. can you help people do what they do better. Look at the success of a website like Indiegogo that helps people crowdsource money for their projects. You create a page and put up a video saying, ‘We need to raise $______ for this project.’ And then people give whatever they can. $5, $10, $100. 

HELP THEM CONTRIBUTE: People have an innate need to give and contribute. We don’t, ultimately, feel fulfilled unless we’re giving to others. And yet, many people walk around feeling like they have no way to make a difference in the world.

So there are two routes here.

First, can you help affirm to people the difference they are already making? Can you remind them of the impact of their current choices? The impact it makes in the world that they’ve decided to work with you or live the kind of lifestyle they’re living?

Second, can you actively give them concrete things that can do to make a difference on an issue they’re passionate about? Maybe that’s hosting a fundraiser, maybe it’s getting a petition going, maybe it’s organizing a river valley clean up or a ‘random acts of kindness’ nice. Maybe you can give a percentage of your profits to a particular cause or sommunity. Maybe you can host an annual party where you connect you restaurant patrons with the growers and producers of their food.

There are so many options.

Tom’s Shoes does this by giving away a pair of shoes to those who really need them for every pair your buy. The contribution is built into the purchase.

HELP THEM GROW: Again, two paths here. First, can you help reflect to the clients all of the ways that they’re already growing? Second, can you give clients opportunities to (safely) risk and step outside of their comfort zone? Can you give them chances to have easy wins? Can you help them track and measure their progress and encourage them along the way? Can you do a thirty day challenge? Can you run a contest where people set a goal and work towards it?

HELP THEM FEEL SECURE: Life is uncertain. It can be scary. Can you be a rock for people? Can you provide a consistent point of view that people can rely on? Can you help give people strategies to feel more safe and secure? Can you offer people protection? Can you be the guardian and shield of your community? It feels so wonderful to know that someone has your back. If you’ve ever been attacked by someone and had another person jump to your defense – you know exactly how incredible it feels. You can do this be reviewing other products and services, by giving people good criteria to make decisions, by giving people heads up on things coming down the pike. Help people feel secure and they will love you forever.

A Few Common Blunders:

BLUNDER #1 -MISTAKING THE CRAVING FOR THE DIAGNOSIS

One of the biggest blunders is to mistake their craving for our diagnosis of their situation.

They’re sitting their craving to meet their soul mate and we’re trying to sell them on opening their heart chakra.

They’re trying to make more money and we’re trying to sell them on getting over their limiting beliefs.

They’re trying to lose weight and we’re trying to sell them on meditation to become mindful of their thoughts.

They’re struggling to not be so stressed and anxious and we’re trying to tell them about the magic of herbalism.

But they’re not buying the boat – they’re buying the Island.

Instead of making people wrong for not ‘getting’ it we need to work hard to translate what we do into their own language and how it’s relevant to them. Don’t lead with your fancy map and diagnosis – lead with their craving. Acknowledge that they want to get to Island B – then they’ll be all sorts of curious about seeing your map.

People often think, but I couldn’t sum it up in three words. And I’d say, ‘No, you can’t sum up your point of view in three words (or can you?) but you can often sum up what they’re craving in three words (seven at the outside).’ Shocking but true.

BLUNDER #2 – JUDGING THEIR CRAVINGS

It’s easy to sit their and judge someone who’s going to a yoga class to get tight buns and tell ourselves that their motives aren’t as spiritual as ours. Or people who buy green things to assuage their guilt about their lifestyle and to be ‘seen’ as green by their friends.

We can sometimes get a bit precious about it and tell ourselves that they must want to buy what we’re offering out of an enlightened space. Good luck with that. Sometimes people get into things for vanity and then open up to more. We’re all walking around with all sorts of wounds. Let’s make it easy for people to take that first step and honour whatever their motivations might be to begin with (if that’s a fit for us).

If we want to reach people, we must at least acknowledge what they want. You might then offer them another point of view on what you think they really need. Once people are in the door, they’re often surprisingly open to this. But start with where they are. My colleague Jessica O’Reilly taught me this with her sex workshops. She found that by leading workshops focused on techniques and ‘quick fix’ she got a lot of people in the door and, from there, she could take them deeper. But, if she tried to start with deep tantra stuff, they never even got in the door.

When people are in pain, they want relief as soon as possible. It’s easy to judge that until you’re in pain and desperate yourself.

Where to Use Island B in Your Marketing:

• Headlines: the first words on your sales page, the headline, should ideally speak very directly to the result they’re craving. Could you sum up the result you’re offering into three words? You might be shocked that you can.

• URL: Man, if your website name can be a statement of the result they want that’s a huge win. Think about the PR consultant who’s website is: http://getknownnow.com/ or the dating coach whose URL is http://www.doubleyourdating.com/.

• Redesign Your Boat: Once you hone in on a particular result there are often plenty of ways to redesigning your boat to give them what they’re really after. You can create packages of things. You can redo your office. Reimagine your workshops. 

The Shadow Side of Island B:

• Over Promising and Under Delivering: If you tell people you can help them lose 50 pounds in a year and your plan doesn’t work they’re going to be pissed. Don’t promise what you can’t deliver.

• Selling a Mirage: All the commercials that pair beer and hot women are selling you a mirage. Drinking that beer will not get you a date. It’s a totally false correlation.

• Green Washing: Trying to convince people that your super harmful product is more green than it is to appeal to people’s craving to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle is lamesville. Read more about that here.

This is a post I’ve wanted to write for a long time.

I think it might be the most important notion there is in marketing.

Let me tell you a story.

A few years ago, I went to a marketing workshop. It was all about how to use the meiers briggs personality types in marketing. Brilliant stuff if you’re ready for it. But I noticed that very few people at the workshop were ready for it. The woman next to me, a massage therapist, hadn’t even thought about the basics of her platform like ‘target market’ yet. She had so much foundation to lay before she could use what they were talking about.

And yet she was at the workshop.

How on earth, I wondered, did somebody show up to a workshop that wasn’t right for them?

To take it even bigger – why is it that so many people end up being sold things that aren’t actually a fit for them?

At the heart of marketing, we’re always asking, ‘who might what I’m offering be a fit for?’

At the heart of a selling conversation, we’re really seeking to figure out if what we’re offering is actually a useful match for the other person.

We’re not trying to push what we have on everyone. We’re not assuming it can help everyone. We’re just trying to share it with people who might dig it.

The goal shouldn’t be, ‘how can I get the most possible people into my workshop’ it should be, ‘how can we fill this workshop with the perfect people for whom it will be the most useful’.

When we try to figure out if it’s a fit, we’re not trying to be first in the market place, better than our competition or even trying to be different (though that might factor in). It’s relevance and resonance. It’s like looking at a garden – some plants grow well together and some will hurt each other. When you look at your potential clients – that’s the question to ask: do you grow well together? is there alignment? do you share important things with them?

At the heart of it, they need to resonate with your platform. And that means you need to be clear about your platform. Which is where people get stuck and resort to ‘trying to sell everyone’. The answer to being pushy in sales and marketing is actually to step back and get crystal clear about who you are and what you’re offering. The clearer you are on your platform the easier everything will get.

The Benefits of Orienting Your Marketing Around ‘Perfect Fit’:

Figuring out who that might be can save us a lot of time and money. Once we know who it is we can know where to find them. We can write lovely marketing materials that speak right to them.

It becomes so easy and fun to share what you have to offer. There’s no more trying to convince anyone of anything. You’re just doing your best to share what you have with as much clarity as possible and then letting them decide. It becomes a genuine process of conversation and curiosity rather than a ‘sales pitch’. How wonderful.

Your clients will come back and spend more money with you because the first time was so perfect and useful for them. It was such a fit. They will trust you so much more when you say something will be ‘just right’ for them.

And we can also dissuade people from buying who might regret it later because it wasn’t quite perfect for them. If someone insists on coming or buying from you, you can make sure they know where you see it’s not a 100% perfect fit so they won’t be surprised down the road.

You’ll also have outrageously good word of mouth because the people coming to you will be perfectly poised to use what you have to offer.

How To Figure Out Fit:

The initial instinct is to try to sort this out with demographics (e.g. age, gender, geography, income etc). But, as I wrote about a while ago, demographics are not enough. They’re an excellent starting point but we don’t want to end there.

Try answering these questions about your clients and filling in the blanks (all related to your platform) and see what you come up with. You’ll notice that there are various clickable links (in purple) where you can read a bunch of blog posts that delve deeper into those topics.

Before you get into it, you might want to read this primer on the elements of your platform.

When you can fill this all in with clarity – you’ll be amazed at what happens to your marketing.

Basic Demographic Info:

• Age Range:

• Gender:

• Location:

• Ethnic Background:

• Profession/Industry:

• Education:

• Marital Status:

• Parental Status:

• Annual Personal Income

• Annual Household Income:

Their Journey:

• Your perfect clients are _______ kind of person struggling with _______ (Island A) and, more than anything, they’re craving _______(Island B). What is the journey they’re on?

• They’ve already tried the following options ________ to solve their problems (Island A)

• They’re secretly ashamed that ___________ (Island A)

• What would happen in their lives  (Island A) to let you know you were needing what you have to offer (your boat)?

• The moments they really notice that they have a problem are __________ (Island A)

• The perfect moment for me to enter their lives is ___________ (Island A)

• The perfect moment for me to leave their lives is ___________ (Island B or C).

• They secretly worry about _______ and at 3am they can’t sleep because they can’t stop thinking about ___________ (Island Z)

• They’re passionate about ________ (the bigger cause).

• They’re deeply committed to ________ (the bigger cause).

• They’re intrigued by the notion that ______ (problem) might really be about ________ (point of view).

• They’re open to _________ (Island C) even if they don’t understand how that might work or be possible.

• Friends often tell them they’re ________ (Qualities)

• They tell themselves, “I could be where I want to be if only it weren’t for _________” (the gap)

• If they found someone who could help you get ______ result they’d be happy to ______ (expectations).

Relative to The Journey – Their Psychographics:

• They real value ________ (e.g. the environment, their faith, their family, locally owned businesses, art)

• They really enjoy ___________ (e.g. farmer’s markets, going to church, potlucks, late night raves, fine wines)

• They’re super into __________ (e.g. Doctor Who (don’tyoujudgeme), recycling, crafting, gardening, social media etc)

• They’re fascinated by __________ (e.g. how shame plays a role in our lives, how to communicate better, be a better lover, raw food diets etc.).

• They’re naturally drawn to __________ (e.g. beautiful vintage clothes, old book shops, pubs and taverns, horses etc.)

• They find themselves talking a lot about ______________ (eg. how to make more money, marketing, folk music, yoga, dating etc.)

• Someone they really respect is ________________ (e.g. Oprah Winfrey, Alex Baisley, Nelson Mandella, Gandhi, John Robbins etc.)

• Someone they really hate/have no respect for is __________ (e.g. Donald Trump, George W. Bush)

• They can’t stand ___________ (e.g. pretentious holistic healers, people being too salesy, seeing mothers not be allowed to breast feed in public, factory farms, seeing local farmer’s struggle)

• They’re suspicious and mistrustful of _________

• In their weaker moments, they feel like a victim of _________

• Something quirky and wonderful about them is _______________ (e.g. they love poetry,

• They’re the kind of person who _______’s daily (e.g. takes out their recycling, helps a stranger, does yoga, meditates, smokes, over drinks etc.)

• Their favourite books they’ve read to help them on their journey might be ____________

• The movies or documentaries they might resonate with most are ___________

Real Life Examples of All This Put Together:

Carrie Klassen’s Pink Elephant Academy (guilt free, do it yourself marketing for nice people).

How to Write a Lovable Homepage is for entrepreneurs who:

• are doing what they love but aren’t quite making a living yet (you’re not alone!)

• don’t have enough clients, or enough “right” clients

• want to surround themselves with only supportive, enthusiastic and loyal customers

• feel stuck or stressed when it comes to figuring out what to write

• aren’t always proud to share their websites

My very favourite part of the Academy is the roster of entrepreneurs who have signed up and shown up. You’ll fit right in if:

• You’re doing what you love for a living and even when it’s scary, wouldn’t choose the alternative

• You buy organic when you can and will take your recyclables home with you if you can’t find a bin

• You notice the smell of lilacs in spring and love the call of wild geese

• You feel a pretty hum in your heart reading Desiderata, which might just be your credo too

My ‘How to Create Your Free Gift‘ Workbook:

“The How to Create Your Free Gift” workbook could be profoundly useful to you if . . .

• You have your own website for your business

• You are excited about growing your email list and, ideally, are using an online service like constantcontact.com or mailchimp.com etc.

• You have a crystal clear idea of who you are trying to reach, the problems they’re struggling with that you can help them solve and the results you’re excited to help them produce (and you can genuinely help them with those things). You’re not trying to reach and please everyone. You have (or are committed to) some level of specialization.

• You are willing to make a one time investment of at least 5 – 10 hours to create something really extraordinary.

• You have know a tech nerd in your life (or can get one or you are one) who can help you with things like: creating ebooks, online quizzes, video, audio or email autoresponders.

NOTE: If all of these five things are not true for you – do not buy this workbook.

It might also be a fit if . . .

• You have a newsletter sign up box – but not many people are taking you up on it.

• You have the capacity to update your own website (or are in the process of setting one up). It could also work if you’ve got a reliable web person who does it for you.

• You think your home page is already pretty swell. It immediately let’s people know if they’re in the right place by naming who the site is for, the problems you will help them solve and the results you’ll offer.

• You have access to a web or graphic designer who can make you a fancy image of your gift.

• You like the idea of being generous with people you’ve never met.

• You’ve got so much to say! You feel like you have so many ideas and insights to share.

• People are visiting your website but you never seem to hear from them. They come and go leaving not a whisper of a trace behind them. Lots of traffic but little business.

An Intriguing Thought:

You might notice this list (once you finish it) is, basically, you. Or has a lot of overlap with who you are. And that’s a good thing. It means you’re on track. It means you’re working with people who are like you – and that makes everything much easier.

Seven Specific Ways to Use What You’ve Come Up With:

• the ‘About Me‘ page on your website: this material could also help you see what’s true about you and share that so that people could read it and say, ‘wow. this person sure is a fit for me! they’re just like me!’

• the ‘About You‘ page on your website: you might not have this kind of page, but having a page that really describes who your perfect fit is as a client can go a long way

• on your homepage: you can give people a taste of who you work with here. Carrie Klassen has written a wonderful workbook to help you do just that.

• piece in sales letters: you can do this exercise for your clients in general but you can also apply many of the same questions to each product or service you create. You can ask yourself, ‘who is this particular thing just perfect for?’

• write out the story of your ideal client: if you can, in story form, tell the story of what it’s like to be your ideal client it makes it so much easier for them to find themselves in your work.

• use this info to figure out your hubs: once you get crystal clear on who you’re trying to reach, it’s much easier to find them. Trust me on this. If you could sum this up into a half a page description and share it with people and ask, ‘where do you think these sorts of people hang out?’ you’d start getting answers.

• when talking about your products and services from the stage: this is, perhaps, my favourite application of all of this. If you’ve had the misfortune of going to a marketing workshop and been pitched and pushed to sign up for a program with manipulative hype and tactics. It feels gross. So, instead of doing this, you can just say, ‘So, I’ve got this thing. Here’s who it’s a fit for, here’s who it’s not a fit for. Here’s the special offer I want to give you today.’ Be clear. Share it. Let people make their own decisions. Everyone walks away feeling like you respected them vs. trying to ‘sell’ them.

by Bill Baren

There are three relationships that I hold sacred in my business.

Without these relationships, the success I have achieved would not be possible. Without these relationships, my reach and my impact would be a fraction of what I’ve been able to
create. Without these relationships, my level of fulfillment and satisfaction would pale in comparison to what I experience every day in my business.

I am grateful every day for what I have been able to create through my three marriages in my business.

So what are my three business marriages?

1. My audience – the people I have committed to serve

I am committed to loving my audience and holding their best interest sacred.

I pledge to do my best to place the interests of my tribe above my own.

I vow to continue to grow personally so that I can be the best messenger I know how.

Do I always do these things? Am I even near perfect here?  A big f**ing NO, but by holding my commitment to this marriage sacred, I can see and feel myself getting better everyday.

2. My peers - the people who have also committed to serve my audience

I am committed to seeing the people who are serving the same audience as my allies.

I do my best to strike the word competition and competitor out of my conscious and unconscious thinking.

I practice abundance consciousness knowing that there is enough business for all of us.

3. My support network – the people who have committed to support me in serving my audience

I am committed to cultivating the best team that allows me to exponentially increase my impact.

I am committed to their growth and the full realization of their gifts.

I do my best to get support in areas where I know I can be better.

I vow to surround myself with people who will call me on my shit and will act as great mirrors for me to see who I am being and how I am acting.

My job is to nurture these relationships and bring as much of my loving self to them as I can.

And with all 3 of these marriages, I set my intentions high and at the same time try to be willing to look at where I’m messing up.

Which marriages are most sacred to you?

What can you do TODAY to nurture this relationship more?

Join the conversation and leave a comment:

Bill Baren Blog

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