December 24, 2019
Thanks!
May your Christmas be merry and bright.
I’ll see you in the New Year.
Thank you!
Kirsten
Month: December 2019
December 23, 2019
Signing Up
About 20 years ago, when I bought my first mobile phone, it was compulsory to take out an insurance policy alongside.
I signed up of course.
15 years later, I was digging around, looking at direct debits going out of my bank account. It turned out I was still paying a monthly fee to insure a phone I’d long since ceased to own.
Unlike normal insurance, I got no reminders, no renewal letters, the direct debit never referenced what it was for. In fact when I checked with the bank, the company taking payment had ceased to trade (which did make me wonder where the money was going).
Being in it for the long run is a great mindset to have when signing up a client, but only when the value goes both ways.
The people you serve want to be enrolled, not press-ganged.
December 20, 2019
Free Samples
A free sample is a tester, a test drive, a small taste of what I might expect to get if I enroll with you to experience your Promise of Value more fully.
That means your sample, whatever it is, must demonstrate at least one key benefit I will only get by working with you, rather than someone else.
For services, that kind of sample is not as easy to create as opening a pot of jam or giving away a spoonful of Thai green curry, but it pays to persist in looking for the right way to demonstrate the unique value you offer.
You may even charge for it. The point is to make it low-risk for both sides.
The important thing about a free sample is not that it’s free, but that it’s a true sample.
December 19, 2019
Trust your gut
The person in front of you is saying all the right things, but something feels wrong. Something jars. You don’t quite believe that they share your core values or your vision.
You have a feeling that you should say no to this prospect.
An initial consultation, sales meeting or discovery meeting is there to help both sides decide whether they really want to work together. It is perfectly OK for the prospective client to say no at this point. It’s also perfectly OK for you to say no too, especially early on in your business.
You don’t have to agree with the people you serve on everything, but a misalignment on core values spells trouble. Both sides will end up dissatisfied and resentful.
That means that the time and positive energy you gain to spend on your business by saying no to the wrong kind of client far outweighs the money they may pay.
Trust your gut and say no.
December 18, 2019
Show up and listen
It’s tempting to think that showing up where your prospects are is all about you. That it’s about promotion, raising awareness, getting their attention.
Showing up is really about showing that you care, and one of the best ways to do that is to use the time you spend with the people you wish to serve to listen to what’s really important to them. Then create products and services that help.
The surest way to gain the kind of attention that matters is to give it first.
December 17, 2019
Community
I spent Sunday with some of my family. My sister and I both read Seth Godin’s daily blog and were trying to explain why to her daughter.
At one point we both said, almost in unison “Some days its just like he’s got inside your head.”
I’m sure many of Seth’s readers say this every single day.
You can only do this if you know a) who it is you are trying to talk to; b) what’s likely to be going in inside their heads and c) where they are likely to go for inspiration, and the simple pleasure of being with ‘people like us’.
And the best way to know where the people you want to serve are at any one time, is to create a space and a community that does all these things just for them.
December 16, 2019
Not necessarily in that order
Where choosing from many options is unavoidable, you can help people choose (and keep them engaged in the process of choosing) with hierarchy.
Start with a few big options to select from, then gradually increase the granularity of choice until your client is happy to deal with 57 varieties.
That way you’ve educated them in how selection works, and you’ve made them interested in what comes next.
That makes them much more likely to stick with it to the end.
December 12, 2019
Make it vivid
Another way to help the people you serve choose what they need from you, is to make the options concrete.
Instead of simply listing options, show your potential client what a particular combination actually looks like as a ‘finished dish’.
Then go further and put together combinations around what your target client needs, not just what you have to sell.
December 11, 2019
Narrow down
One way to help the people you serve to choose what they need from you is to categorise your offerings.
We’re used to this of course, in libraries, on menus, on well-organised magazine counters, on campuses.
The category gives us a very quick way in, a guide to where to start our more detailed search.
A caveat though, to be truly helpful, the categories need to be meaningful to your client.
December 10, 2019
Less is more
Have you ever stood in front of sweet counter full of chocolate bars? Or a wall-full of 500 pizza choices. And walked away empty-handed after a few min
