The ‘Holy Trinity’ and the very foundation on what great strategies are built on!
1 – Clarity
Dust off your crystal balls, because it all starts with clarity. If you have not done so already, you need to get very clear on a few things. Who are you serving and how are you serving them? What does your ideal client look like and what do they do? Do not get scared to narrow down, you cannot be everything to everyone.
The issue is that people know more about celebrities like the Kardashians than they do about their ideal client, but you can bet on your life that the Kardashians know about their ideal client and what makes them tick! That is why they are so popular!
Get very clear around HOW you intend to serve your ideal client and get congruency around it, meaning it has to make sense! You cannot serve a high-street butcher with the finest silk stockings and expect him to use it for his trade, for example. Do not confuse or overwhelm the client with so many offerings in a bid to please. Just know what they want and give it to them by the bucket load!
When you are talking to your audience you want to be explicitly clear to them and speak in a language they understand. Cut the crap of your industry jargon or using buzzwords around your niche!
It’s all very well having a chat with one of your peers about the latest algorithm or SEO technique, but does your ideal client give a flying fig about that? No. They want to know how they can get to number 1 ranking, not the boring detail behind it. The buzz words need to go, and that does for any industry.
Look at your messages; your text, how you talk to clients. Would someone learning English from a foreign country understand what you are saying? If not, you are making it too complicated and do not have enough clarity around your message. Instead in your message focus on how it makes them feel. They are real people after all
2 – Confidence
You need to be confident in your message! Confidence comes with believing in what you are saying, being ‘authentic’, meaning you are not a fraud and do have genuine experience in your craft and also being YOURSELF!
The problem with the industry is that there are too many copycats. People see things that may have worked for 1 person and flock to it like pigeons in a feeding frenzy hoping that if they replicate they will emulate that success. What you then get is a sea of sameness and your poor client has no way of differentiating your offer from the next one.
This is the jolt: Why should they buy from you? What makes you unique and different? What are they going to get from you that they can’t get elsewhere? It’s tough out there and you need to be confident enough in yourself and your message so that your ideal client feels confident enough in you and begin to invest their time, their trust and then their money with you.
With confidence comes the resilience to rough out the hard times. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be all giggles and rainbows. Some things fail before they succeed; you need to break a few eggs along the way to make the world class omelette right? When the proverbial hits the fan, have the mind-set to remain confident and unwavering in your messages.
3 – Consistency
Newsflash – We all have 24 hours in a day!
Now that we have got over this groundbreaking revelation let’s talk about being consistent.
The Oxford definition of consistency is “Consistent behaviour or treatment”.
Consistency builds trust. For example, Mary is known to show up on time and pay her bills on a set date. Through this consistency, EVEN banks trust her because she always pays her mortgage on time. She is dependable at work and with friends. She is an all-round great person
This is how your ideal clients view you. If you are consistently showing up with your message, evangelising and providing value, and it does not matter which platform you choose, you are building know-like-trust. Something to look forward to.
“But how do I do that Sheryl?” The reality is that you have to create that consistency and commit to it, just as you commit to waking at a certain time, having lunch, watching your favourite soaps…
Show up consistently where your ideal clients are. Connect with them, give them value, even if it feels like they are not listening at first (trust me they are, and you will give them no choice but to listen if you are damn well showing up every day!)
Start small, dedicate your time to get at least ONE thing done every single day, then when you have created consistency with that, add on another goal. Remember if you commit to getting 1 thing done each day, this is 365 things done by the end of the year, miles ahead then when you first started. Double that and the outcome is therefore doubled.
Over to you. The message is simple. Start today!