You're doing the inner & outer work to become clearer about who you are, and what you do to help your ideal audience. Great, congrats! Now it's time to share your new found thoughts in a way that will help your audience understand. This is because the message isn't about you, it's about your ideal clients & customers. People knowing about you & your work is just another business card in a drawer or follower who doesn't engage. People understanding you & your work inspires them to take more action. Remember, reading or knowing is NOT understanding.
Clarity
Last week we talked about the importance of getting clear on who YOU are and what your business is trying to do for it's clients/customers. Clarity is the first step to sales because you can't get sales if you can never get somebody's attention!
Understanding is built on clarity of why and how things work. A lot of people don't like math, not because it's bad, but because they don't understand it. They avoid it, don't talk about, don't share it with their friends...see a pattern?
Marketing talks about people knowing, liking and trusting you before they buy. Knowing you exist is just the first part of that. I know lots of people and I'm pretty sure, as an entrepreneur, you know lots of people too. How many have you referred work/clients to? If not, why? Are one or more of the other elements missing? If so, Wooo! Go you!
"Trust only happens after understanding."
People like people who like them. We also like feeling understood. When you tell me about your business, show interest in me, and respond with thoughtful answers, I feel like you want to be there, that I matter, and that I can trust you. Trust only happens after understanding.
Understanding Understanding encompasses the character, nature, and idea of something. It has meaning, implications, and importance to both the giver & receiver. It means we accept & believe things to be (somebody's) truth, and that we have learned something.
The message that you're crafting must bring your audience past the surface meaning of the words and into clear context. Most people like to start by answering the 5 W's & 1 H...or in my case, 2 H's! The 5 W's are:
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
The H's are:
How?
...and my favourite to pull it all together...Huh?
How are you building understanding with your audience? Look at your word choices, the tone, the emotion behind it, and the ways in which you can connect.
Message
In business, the elevator pitch is one of the first messages we share. It's built on just 3 of the above questions: Why, How, What. This framework is what Simon Sinek teaches leaders to inspire people to take action in his book "Start With Why." You can check out his Ted Talk HERE.
These 3 questions are what draws people into your message:
Why = allows the mind to chill out and open itself up to listening
How = tells people what to expect, the planned path
What = the end goal, outcomes, and intention
A great framework to actually write the elevator pitch comes from Brendon Burchard as part of his "9 Step Create Anything Framework". The first step is this intro statement. He lays it all out in 1 clear & concise sentence:
"I help _______(ideal audience) do _______(topic/message) so that _______(benefit to audience)."
Getting clear on your message & delivering it to the right people will help inspire them to take action. Isn't that what we want as business owners? We don't want to help just anybody, we want to help the right people who are ready for what we have to offer. Working with people who take action & get results is what makes our work so rewarding.
How are you making your message about your ideal client/customer? Share using the hashtag #BEDMASlife.
Learn, Love & keep your Momentum,
Laura Lake <3