In this example, the relationship
naturally progresses because your
potential clients are spending more
time, receiving greater value, and
eventually investing in your products, programs or services.
By using education-based communications systematically in your
business, you will touch your prospects in meaningful ways, give
valuable information that enhances
your clients’ and prospects’ lives, and
show that you are the best solution
for their needs.
WHAT DO I SAY?
The idea of touching your prospects
seven to 10 times or more might
seem a bit daunting if you don’t
have seven to 10 touches of valuable information to provide and you
don’t want to be perceived as too
sales-y. Prospects welcome education-based communications because they
give value and inform—they are not
sales-y. Understanding your market’s
greatest interests, needs and wants is
very important when creating your
education-based communications,
because solving these needs is the
basis of the products, services and
programs you create.
How do you determine your target
market’s greatest needs, and the type
of products you need to create to
attract, nurture, convert and serve
your clients? Here is a five-step
process, using an example of a wellness and weight-loss counselor.
Step 1: Identify your target market’s problem.
“They can’t lose weight and keep it off.”
Step 2: Identify the reason for the problem.
• They don’t have a strategy or plan to
lose weight.
• They're not properly educated about
weight loss.
Prospects welcome
education-based
communications
because they give
value and inform—
they are not sales-y.
Step 3: What does the target market need?
• A strategy and a plan
• Weight-loss education
• Accountability
• Proper self-care
Step 4: How can you solve their needs?
• Give tips for immediate improvement.
• Create a five-month, five-step weight
loss system.
• Provide tips on how to eat "whole,"
shop, read labels, etc.
• Suggest ways to create accountability
in their lives.
• Set up an accountability group.
• Explain how they can eliminate the
guilt from making themselves a priority in their lives.
• Teach stress management techniques.
• Give them strategies for work/life
balance.
STEP 5:
CREATE
PRODUCTS
TO SOLVE
THE TARGET
MARKET'S
NEEDS.
DELIVER THE GOODS
Once you have identified your target
market’s greatest problems and determined how you can address their needs,
it’s simply a matter of delivering free and
paid products through various forms,
such as the written word, audio, video
and live training. As a speaker, you
probably have an abundance of information that you can package and deliver.
In the weight-loss counselor example,
you learned how to create a variety of
products and services, including:
• Five tips that will help the audience
realize immediate improvement in a
five-part audio, article or short video
• A five-step, five-month one-on-one
coaching system to help lose weight
and keep it off
• A five-step, 12-week group coaching
program to help them lose weight
• Weekly email tips on how to eat
“whole,” shop, read labels and more
• Weekly online accountability group
• Six-part audio CD program to learn
self-care strategies, stress management
techniques, and create work-life balance.
By implementing relationship
marketing using education-based communications, you will be able to attract more
prospects, nurture relationships over time,
convert prospects to paying clients, and
deliver products, programs and services
that solve your market’s greatest needs.
This gives you tremendous potential to
create income streams beyond the platform for long-term sustainability in your
business and provide you with a solid
income for years to come.
Kim Clausen founded Ready2Go Marketing Solutions to help personal development professionals market their businesses more easily by
providing completely developed workshops,
teleseminars, speeches and more that they brand
as their own. Clausen is a professionally trained
coach who has more than 20 years of marketing
and business development experience. She is an
author, public speaker and teacher, and the
president of the Denver Coach Federation. Visit
www.takeonestepforwardtosuccess.com.
