I am NOT going to talk about membership, discount offering or affiliate marketing.
What I am about to show you is something more fundamental, which once you get right, you will have loyal customers and be a real business operating with passion.
If you think, oh I know all of that, I am a real business and I do solve my client’s problems, then you need to give that attitude a break and read on anyway.
First of all, you must be a differentiator, you must.
Hopefully you know that you have something truly unique to offer, whether it is service or product, or combination of them, that only you can offer. You don’t have to be an expert to start with, but you must know yourself, your own unique vision.
Don’t fall into the usual price trap – “I can’t be bothered thinking of these questions, they are tough, so I’ll just do everything, I’ll serve everyone, and I’ll just do it cheaper”.
As an indie artist/freelancer/solopreneur, you can’t afford the price war – you don’t have the resource, you don’t have the investment for the initial volume, what’s more, you will be wasting your potential by not digging your service offering deeper. You will be resentful later on.
Ask yourself the question, what are problems that I can solve for my clients in a way that I’ll do it quicker, rounder and deeper than thousands of others?
Then you need to get into your customers’ hearts
What frustrates them? What bothers them? What excites them? How can you make their lives easier?
You can either ask them directly, send out them survey, or seek feedback from a focus group.
However, from my experience and observations, quite often people don’t know how to articulate their problems. Or they just feel un-easy but can’t put a finger on it.
Therefore, YOU have to invest time in thinking like your customers and really getting to know their pain points even better than they know them themselves.
There are a lot exercises available out there to assist you with this process.
To give you an example, I have heard a few dance teachers complaining it is difficult to retain students, especially the beginners.
They either think it is because those beginners aren’t committed enough to come back, or they believe the economy downturn is the sole reason for people cutting out expenses.
There is probably some truth in it, however they rarely think about whether they are making the whole experience worthwhile and special for their students.
I saw this a few years ago, one teacher kept telling the beginner students how many awards they had won in the past.
Do the beginners care?
Hell no!
Think about it, it was their first time learning dancing, they are stressed about work, they just want to let their hair down and have a good laugh.
This is the first time you meet, they don’t care about you as a teacher nor any techniques (save them for the advanced ones), they just want to escape from the usual crap and enjoy themselves.
Ask yourself the question, are you throwing yourself into it and making it fun for beginners? If not, they won’t be emotionally hooked up with your class, no matter what.
There was another time when I saw a teacher picking on a guy. He was incredibly shy and off the beat, despite trying his best. Do you think he will ever go back to that class? (Again, save this tough love for the advanced students.)
Did the teacher ever think about the reason that guy came to the dance class, given he was so shy and without a sense of rhythm to back him up? Maybe he just wanted to improve his confidence, so that he wouldn’t act awkward on a date again.
The teacher clearly didn’t think about this possibility when she was slapping his confidence down.
Instead she could have quickly shared a story to help him to relax, maybe saying that she was just as nervous during her first class, but gradually she really gained her confidence.
As for advanced students, they are hungry for new techniques and perhaps would like to do a performance at some point.
As a teacher, ask yourself the question, are you giving 100% to support their desires?
If you hold back in your teaching, it won’t work in the long run. Or if you keep doing performances yourself in front of the class, your students might get inspired at the beginning, but they soon will be tired of them and looking for other teachers.
Are you prepared to run a workshop on how to turn them from good dancers to great? How to improvise fluently on the dance floor?
Are you willing to spend time observing their strengths and helping them to develop their own skills? Even if the students haven’t thought about it consciously, they will be drawn to these workshops.
Why? Because it is natural for them to want to move to the next stage.
I have heard that some teachers and other so called experts are afraid that if they teach everything they know, the students or audience won’t need them anymore. If this thought has crossed your mind, stop thinking like a survivor.
As a teacher/coach/consultant etc, your job is to bring out the best in the student/customer/clients—if you are not even willing to do that, then you have failed.
There is so much information available today; if you don’t teach your students or your audience, they can and will learn the skills elsewhere.
And believe me, you really want them to learn from you and bond with you. Givers are the ones who will grow sustainable businesses and enjoy doing it.
If you turn your skills into a service and want to succeed, then you will have to step aside and put your customers first.
Of course, there is a fine balance between being a service and self-expression. You might want to run your class your own way and not put your students’ development first. If this is actually one of your non-negotiables, then you should be a performer or a choreographer, or teach a particular type of students only. Don’t try to bill yourself as a good fit for everyone and then fail to deliver.
On the contrary, I have seen a couple of teachers who have got the concept and executed it so beautifully.
Their testimonials are not written in technical terms, or describe what a wonderful performer s/he is, but also include examples of how students increase their confidence and how the class is such an opportunity for people to enjoy themselves and live in the moment, how they lost weight, stories of friendship and relationships formed as a result of attending the class.
This is the language that will speak to your potential customers and trigger them to sign up for a class or buy your product.
The same principle applies to job interviews too.
Of course you will be asked about your strengths, and you’ll hear all those competence-based questions packaged in a flowery way. However, you need to shift your focus to this: how can I solve their problems?
You must spend a considerable amount of time asking them what their challenges are at the moment, actively listen, and show that you really care about how you can contribute to resolve them.
If you do this right, you’ll get that job regardless of the economic conditions and the number of candidates in the process. Get it right and you will also be in a much stronger position for any negotiating you need to do.
Twisting this principle to your relationships or friendships will deepen your connection with others too. We often say: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Yes, it’s a very nice thing to do.
However, there is also a trap in it: What if the other person is just very different? When you treat others exactly the way you want to be treated, you also throw some judgments onto them. She wants a pear, but you give her an apple instead—just because you love apples yourself and believe that apples are better than pears.
Have you ever spent time observing how your partner or friends want to be loved?
In conclusion, there is a spiritual meaning behind all the examples above: Non-judgemental attitude that is!
When you tame judging another human being: customer, student, friend or spouse, they will be naturally drawn to your presence. When they feel safe with you, you’ve gained their trust!
I believe this is a really beautiful thing to do. And this is one of the many wonderful reasons that your business can be a sacred channel to express who you are.
Over to you
1. Sharpen your listening skills. When your friends, partner or customers speak to you, don’t interrupt every two sentences and say, “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean”. No, you don’t, because you are not them. Let the other person finish first before offering your opinion.
2. From my observations, a good listener is also good at listening to their own inner voice. If you don’t know how to quiet your mind and listen to what others say, you won’t have the skills to hear your own inner wisdom either, which is a lot quieter and more subtle.
3. If you are setting up a business and want to serve your customers better, I encourage you to connect with them deeper at the core.
Enjoy!
All my love
Yiye
(Excerpt from my book Express the Master Within, you can get it from your Inner-Master Bundle from my online shop)
Book your Intuitive Soul Session with me, I help you simplify your path to your authentic prosperity.
You have a great talent getting your message across clearly and calling to action. I love the dance teacher examples. It’s exactly what happened to me when I started a beginner’s salsa dance class. I went to have fun and deep down I wanted to gain some confidence dancing and the teachers there took salsa way too serious constantly correcting, not allowing us to be a bit social and easygoing, and reminding us that salsa is a tough dance to learn. So half way through I dropped out.
Thank you Brigitte! I am sorry to hear that the salsa class wasn’t fun…
Good luck with the coaching and hope you enjoy the exploring!