I’ve heard it a thousand times – “Malla, my service is perfect for E.V.E.R.Y.B.O.D.Y”.
No it’s not. You can’t sell to everyone.
But I get it. You need cash flow. You want to establish your business name. So you’ll sell to anyone who is willing to buy.
Let me recommend you try it this way: Pick one market. That you know and enjoy working with. And serve them well.
Now don’t get it twisted. I didn’t say you couldn’t sell to anyone you wanted.
I’m just want you to STOP believing you can market to everyone. You are spending your too precious time and resources to prove it is possible.
But, it’s craziness! People buy for what they want. Not always what they need. And you, my friend might be too logical on this one and fall into the need category.
Let’s look an example of how this works. Why does a family buy a SUV over a min-van? Logic suggests the mini van would allow the average family to save more money AND provide them more space.
Why the SUV? Because it’s cool.
- It has nothing to do with income. Because the family could buy both.
- It has nothing to do with the bells and whistles. Because both vehicles usually have many amenities.
- It has to do with how the SUV makes them FEEL.
And it’s not about judgments here. I drive a SUV so I am outing my own importance of the cool factor.
But it emphasizes the point – understand what your market wants before you start selling.
Tweet: Understand what your market wants before you start selling http://ctt.ec/a682e+
For example, if you want the mid management corporate market, you need to attend $200 networking events and national conferences. Why? Because that’s where they hang out and will spend time and resources.
You can’t get away with going to the free happy hour and $5 admission and hope to meet people in this market.
You would also need to have visuals to attract this client that are in line with their interests. Going after corporate attorneys? Your marketing better have a traditional rather than modern/trendy look if you want them to give you a second glance.
So before you think you can serve everyone, I encourage you to pick the market that best represents your strengths. Who loves you most? Who are you most interested in? Once you’ve narrowed it down, you can think about the places you’ll need to visit to market to them. Your online and print marketing campaigns will be much easier to develop.
And you’ll save a ton of time and money in the long run!
