Whoa there... me talking about fitting in? Have a I lost my Thinging marbles?!
Of course, I am not talking about editing and adapting your Thing to fit in. I am absolutely not suggesting that you try and squeeze your square peg Thing into a round hole. And I am definitely not talking about making your Thing smaller or quieter so it's not noticed.
What I am talking about is you being clear where you 'fit in' to your prospect's thought string and solution process to their problem(s).
It might be that you're the person that they need AFTER they've worked with someone else. It might be that you're the person they need FIRST or LAST, with different work needing to happen after or before. And you need to tell them that. You need to make it VERY clear where you fit in as the answer to their problem.
This works on so many levels but it looks like honesty and transparency. If you can be very honest about not being a jack-of-all-trades—and not pretend to be THE 1 solution to absolutely everything—you're going to be very clear on what you do and don't do. Now if you're already hyperventilating that this is going to 'cost you sales', think about this instead—if you try and 'be everything' to a prospect, are they really going to get the best result? Are they going to be the person who totally gets what you do and gives you all their focus for just that and get amazing results? Or are you going to try and do everything for them and perhaps get some of it right and some of it not so much...
Don't pretend
I don't ever pretend to be the answer to everything for anyone... in fact, I am pretty direct that I'll get you clear on your Thing and help you map out a plan of how to get Famous, but for all the details and expertise on whatever media Thing you choose it's likely there's someone who's Thing that is who I will recommend to you.
I fit at the beginning if you've not found your Thing yet, as that comes FIRST before you start to launch a new product, or program, or get a new website, or change your branding ,or make videos, or write your book, etc. Finding your Thing will create you a perfect brief for all the branding, production and marketing you'll do in your business. If you don't find your Thing first, chances are you might need to edit or even discard work you've already done. I don't like saying it to clients (as it usually means they have wasted time, money or both already), but I've often had to reply with a "Yes" to someone who says to me "I should have come to you first, shouldn't I?". And I have to agree.
But that said, I come AFTER people who have already found their Thing and have been working away for a while... then, I can do the 'get Famous' part. I don't need to come first then if they already know their Thing. So I need to be clear about where I do and don't fit in and for me that's actually 2 places. BT (Before Thing) and ATAW (After Thing a While)! :)
What's your point?
Work out the point at where YOU fit. Think about where you come in the solution process... where are people before they need you and where are they after? Also, know where they might go INSTEAD of you by mistake... if they skip out the step of you, what happens? Do they end up expensively backtracking, or will it mean they build without foundations? Or are they not seeing the real issue that needs to be fixed first.
Once you know where you fit, then you also have a perfect plan for your Joint Venture marketing too. Because you'll now want to set up partnerships with people who come before and after where you fit in. 'Before people' as partners will mean you'll get qualified clients who know you are their next step, and 'After people' will be excited you'll be handing over people who know the value of what's next.
For me, it's perfect to collaborate with 'After' service providers who can send people back a step—for example: branding consultants, designers, web companies, social media, videographers who all love to get clients who come brandishing a brief that's 100% them doing their Thing, as they can get on and do their Thing knowing it's going to be exactly right.
Draw a flow chart or a line of service and see where you fit... then, use that in your messages and marketing, and set up partnerships that sandwich you either side.
Want to talk more about this?
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