Just a few months ago I was helping an entrepreneur who has many talents take a look at her business to figure out why she wasn’t making the income she wanted to make. As we talked, I realized that she had the same problem many solo professional entrepreneurs have. She wasn’t clear about what she offered her customers. She knew she added value for them but she was having a hard time explaining who she was and what she did to me. I knew, then, that she was not clear to potential customers (prospects) either. And more than likely, her copy (the words on her website or in any brochure she had) were not compelling, not pulling in the people she could serve the very best.
As an entrepreneur, you have certain experiences, expertise, and wisdom to offer your customers. What tends to happen over time is that we forget what we are really good at, because it is second nature to us. Here’s a half-hour exercise for you that will help you make sure you are putting all your goodies on the table for prospects to see.
1. Answer these questions (write down your answers):
A. What are your life and work experiences that you draw from when you work with your customers?
B. What is your expertise, and what is your proof of that expertise?
C. What wisdom do you bring to the table from your life experiences, your own personal growth, your spiritual development?
2. Ask yourself “are these what I am known for?”
A. Would current or former clients agree that you are known for these?
B. Does your website’s copy (or copy in brochures) reflect these?
When I asked my client what she is known for, we came up with these attributes:
* Building successful businesses Looking at a client’s ground, the place from which they operate and make decisions.
* Challenging clients to change where they are stuck and hurting their business or personal success.
* Being supportive and offering encouragement.
* Seeing the possible, often before clients see it.
* Taking people from a job to their own work.
* Wisdom
* Intuitiveness
* Instilling confidence in others.
* Fearless stepping out.
* Solid experience and training in guiding and mentoring others.
* Creative and low-cost marketing strategies.
Some of her copy reflects these, for sure. But we needed to sharpen her “who and do what” statement and add in things she had not even realized she offers.
There’s a third part to this exercise, which is to ask current and former clients what they think you are known for. It’s a good test, to see if what they see is the same thing as what you see. You can do a quick survey on Survey Monkey (it’s free). You can then blend their comments in with your own list, and build your “who and do what” statement from that. Being positive about what you are known for as an entrepreneur gives you solid ground and attracts the people you work with best.
Now, I’d like to offer you a way to get more articles like these in your e-mail box twice a month. Go to http://www.confidentmarketer.com and you’ll see how to subscribe to my e-zine, and get many other free resources you can use to build your business. Try following me at http://www.twitter.com/suepainter1 , too.