Most of the time we don’t buy to meet a simple need. We buy to get a job done. We don’t buy a drill, or even a hole in the wall, we buy ‘putting a picture up’, ‘fixing that broken chair’.
Even then, this isn’t what we really buy. There’s a bigger job behind the immediate job to be done, the job of becoming a better version of ourselves, in a way that others will notice.
That means that at the heart of every Promise of Value is an unspoken promise. A promise of transformation, that goes something like this:
“Working with us will enable you to become who you want to be, in a way that is congruent with your values, beliefs and style, so you can join the tribe that feels like home for you, with the status you seek.”
It’s clear from this that it is not just what you do that matters, but how you do it. And if you are to be congruent with your client’s values, beliefs and style, they must in turn be congruent with at least some of yours.
It’s well worth identifying what the minimum level of congruence must be, in order to make working together satisfying for both you and your clients. What values must your clients espouse with you? What behaviours must they share? What must they believe that you also believe?
Once you know this, you know what kind of people you are a good option for. Therefore what language you need to use to speak to them so they feel seen.
Now you just need to know where to find them.