I think you’re going to be mad at me today, because I’m here to BUST UP some myths. I’ve said before that you can’t help everyone, or be everything to everyone. It’s not effective marketing. Today I’m going to bust through four myths about who you help, how you help them, and what you can really do. It’s going to sound like some tough love, but we all need a little tough love sometimes.
Let’s jump right in. Here’s the first myth: I can help everyone. The truth is, you cannot help every single person on the planet. You really can’t help everyone. Not everyone has a pain point that your solution is the answer to. You don’t vibe with everyone. You don’t even speak the same language as everyone. So to say, and to convince yourself that I can help everyone, it’s just not true. At some level, there’s more specificity that you can lend to your marketing, messaging and your packaging of what you do. Instead of saying, “I can help everyone”, get clear on who you help and how you help them. That’s a layer of specificity. You can continue to see who you’re the best fit for. That’s looking at what you do, how you do it, and who you can help.
Here’s an example: I went to visit my parents a while back, and I helped my dad declutter some rooms. My dad had a stack of PC World Magazines as high as the ceiling. He loves that magazine — he loves technology and has ever since I was born. It’s his jam. For me though, there’s nothing in that magazine that I’m interested in. I don’t want to read a magazine about computers. If someone, let’s say you, advertised in that magazine as a potential hire, I wouldn’t ever see it because I’m not attracted to that magazine.
You have to know that everything is not for everyone, and that’s the good news! That’s actually the great news because it gives you the chance to get really specific with who your peeps are.
Here’s the second myth: I can reach everyone as long as I show up authentically — then everyone will be attracted to me. Of course that’s not true, especially in this online world we’re living in. You have got to be specific. Specificity will cut down on all of the noise out there, so that you can effectively market to your niche.
People have to know through your language that you’re speaking directly to them. Even if you can think of brands that speak to many different people, the truth is they have multiple departments, each one assigned to its own niche or demographic. When I worked for a Fortune 500 company, there were many different products. On the inside, I could see that for a particular product, there was an entire organizational chart showing everyone from the sales reps to the VP. All for one specific product.
Now for us small and micro-business owners, we may not have the resources to devote huge teams to one specific product. It behooves you to focus on the one that you really serve, especially from a marketing perspective. You want to get specific so that you can effectively market to your favorite kind of soulmate clients.
Next, you’ve got to consider that you don’t want to be everything to everyone in a more general sense. I’ve known many life coaches, who have taken on anyone who likes them, then they discover they’re not well-equipped to answer their issues. They stay up all night researching, burning themselves out in the meantime. You got into this business for freedom, fulfillment, fun and happiness. Not to feel burnt out, tired, and inadequate because you’re working outside of your zone of genius.
The point I want to make is that being specific with your brand messaging takes integrity. If you’re saying you can help someone and you’re not the most equipped, you’re taking a client away from someone that would have been a better fit. You’re robbing the potential client of getting the best transformation for them. The coaching and professional development industry is so saturdated, that you can get specialized and specific and really good at what YOU do.
Get really clear on what you’re great at and wave that flag. Start talking about it! Let people know what you do really well, how you can help them, and you’re off to the races! Get clear on who you help and how you’re going to announce it to your market and the world. If you need support with that, connect with me! I can get you some great resources to get you moving right away. So go out there, get clear on who you help and shine on, sista!
