{"id":231,"date":"2019-11-23T09:49:50","date_gmt":"2019-11-23T09:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awplife.com\/demo\/wpbusinesspress-premium\/?p=231"},"modified":"2021-05-12T17:06:49","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T17:06:49","slug":"is-your-business-that-annoyingly-self-absorbed-dinner-guest-everyone-is-trying-to-ignore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpfrank.com\/demo\/businessexpo\/2019\/11\/23\/is-your-business-that-annoyingly-self-absorbed-dinner-guest-everyone-is-trying-to-ignore\/","title":{"rendered":"Dinner Guest Everyone Is Trying to Ignore?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even as a self-proclaimed serial introvert, I really enjoy small, intimate dinner parties. When the host has invited the right mix of people, it can make for an extraordinary evening of sharing and learning and growing. It\u2019s fun meeting people I might not have otherwise crossed paths with. And I enjoy hearing their stories, perspectives, and opinions. BUT\u2013all it takes is ONE SELF-ABSORBED guest<\/strong> to reduce the entire gathering to a pile of burning embers and ash. (Well, that might be slightly overstating things. But, you get the point.)<\/p>\n

What does this have to do with your business? Well, pretty much everything. <\/strong>Because if your ideal customer\u2013the avatar you\u2019ve created that represents EXACTLY who you want to do business with\u2013 is feeling like you\u2019re always talking about yourself (a.k.a. your business)\u2013then they\u2019re probably going to kick you out of the party that\u2019s called their \u201cinbox.\u201d Or, at the very least, they\u2019re going to ignore anything and everything you\u2019re saying and hit \u201cDELETE\u201d whenever they see you showing up. To put it rather bluntly, they\u2019re DONE with you.<\/p>\n

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So, here\u2019s my question for you: Is your business the guest your ideal customers have on their \u201cMUST INVITE\u201d list? Or has it made its way \u2014 even unintentionally \u2014 to the \u201cNEVER EVER, EVER<\/em><\/strong> INVITE\u201d list?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Not quite sure what the answer is?<\/strong> Here\u2019s a quick and easy way to find out:<\/strong> Take a look at your marketing materials \u2014 your website, brochures, sales pages, email campaigns, videos, social media content \u2014 and see if they do these things:<\/p>\n

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  • Focus primarily on the features of your product or service.<\/strong> (Things like \u201cOur lawnmower has 5 cutting levels.\u201d \u201cOur law office gives you personalized attention.\u201d \u201cYou\u2019ll learn better time management in this seminar.\u201d)<\/li>\n
  • Loudly tout awards you\u2019ve received or credentials you\u2019ve earned. <\/strong>(\u201cI graduated summa cum laude from ABC University.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019re the #1 choice!!\u201d)<\/li>\n
  • Use words like \u201cwe\u201d, \u201cus\u201d, \u201cme\u201d, \u201cI\u201d, and \u201cour\u201d more than the word \u201cyou.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Selling and telling more than teaching and acknowledging. <\/strong>If you\u2019ve ever signed up for someone\u2019s email list and 95% of the emails you get from them are trying to sell you something, how does that make you feel? And what does it make you do? For me? I\u2019m looking as quickly as I can for the \u201cunsubscribe\u201d link.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    If you\u2019re doing any<\/em> of these things, odds are you\u2019re ending up on the \u201cNEVER EVER, EVER<\/em> INVITE\u201d list of your ideal customer. <\/strong>They simply don\u2019t see how it helps them<\/em> to get to know you<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    So, what can you do to get on (or back<\/em> on) the \u201cMUST INVITE\u201d list?<\/strong> Here are three simple things to start with TODAY:<\/p>\n

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    • Focus on BENEFITS instead of features.<\/strong> People don\u2019t buy a particular toothpaste because it has whitening ingredients. That\u2019s a feature. <\/em>And there are a LOT of toothpaste brands that offer it. So, how do you differentiate yours\u2013even with the <\/strong>headline? By doing a better job of appealing to your ideal customer\u2019s emotions than the other brands do. Your ideal customer buys toothpaste with whitening agents because they want to feel more confident about their smiles. They want to feel more attractive. In other words, they\u2019re buying the benefits <\/em>of the whitening agents in the toothpaste. And that\u2019s what needs to be communicated. You need to clearly explain how your product or service is going to benefit your customers. How is going to make their lives easier or better or more meaningful? If you\u2019re only focusing on features, you\u2019re losing sales.<\/li>\n
    • Show empathy and understanding by putting the customer at the center of all of your communications. <\/strong>If all you\u2019re saying on your website or in your brochures or any other marketing materials are things like \u201cwe can\u201d or \u201cwe are\u201d or \u201cI know\u201d or
      \n\u201cour solution\u201d\u2013you\u2019re a bad dinner guest AND a bad communicator. People don\u2019t care about you. They care about what you can do<\/em> for them.<\/em> So, how do you express empathy in your marketing? Here\u2019s a quick example showing the difference in approaches a divorce attorney might take to market herself to potential clients:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      BAD<\/strong>
      \nI\u2019m an attorney with 15 years of experience in handling divorces. So I know exactly what it takes to help you with matters including property distribution, custody, and spousal support.<\/em><\/p>\n

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      \n
      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

      GOOD<\/strong>
      \nGoing through a divorce is one of the most difficult things you\u2019ve ever done. You have so many questions. How are you going to pay your bills? What will happen to your house? How are your children going to react? And you\u2019re trying to figure all of this out while your entire world seems to be crumbling around you. This is where I come in. Together, we\u2019ll find the solutions you\u2019re looking for.<\/em><\/p>\n

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      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

      See the difference? The first example is completely self-centered, while also being indistinct. There are a LOT of divorce attorneys who have at LEAST 15 years of experience AND that know exactly what to do.<\/p>\n

      But, the second example connects to the emotions a person is feeling when going through a divorce. It shows that the attorney understands and is very empathetic.<\/p>\n

      Which one would you choose to speak with? I know which one I\u2019d <\/em>pick.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Focus on KNOW. LIKE. TRUST. <\/strong>We hear this all of the time. But are you putting it into practice? Have you introduced yourself and clearly expressed an understanding of the challenges your ideal customer faces? Have you connected with them in ways that make them say, \u201cHey! I really like this person (business)!\u201d? And have you put time and effort into providing value to your ideal customer so they\u2019ll trust you and your expertise? All of these things need to happen FIRST before you try to sell anything at all.<\/p>\n

      In the end, it\u2019s important for us to remember every day that we\u2019re not simply reaching out to customers<\/em>. We\u2019re reaching out to human beings<\/em> who have dreams and hopes, as well as fears and concerns.<\/strong> If you want your ideal customer to listen to you \u2014 and, ultimately, buy<\/em> from you \u2014 you have to connect with them. Pure and simple. And to do that, you have to show that you care about them, that you understand and empathize with their problem or challenge, and that you are listening to them. This alone will set you apart from many of your competitors. And it\u2019s SO easy to do if you just think about it<\/em>. When you keep your ideal customer at the center of your communications, you\u2019ll be the dinner party guest they\u2019ll want to invite to the table and sit next to for an evening of dazzling conversation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Even as a self-proclaimed serial introvert, I really enjoy small, intimate dinner parties. When the host has invited the right mix of people, it can make for an extraordinary evening of sharing and learning and growing. It\u2019s fun meeting people I might not have otherwise crossed paths with. And I enjoy hearing their stories, perspectives, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,30],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-corporate","category-wordpress","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpfrank.com\/demo\/businessexpo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpfrank.com\/demo\/businessexpo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpfrank.com\/demo\/businessexpo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpfrank.com\/demo\/businessexpo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpfrank.com\/demo\/businessexpo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wpfrank.com\/demo\/businessexpo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1973,"href":"https:\/\/wpfrank.com\/demo\/businessexpo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231\/revisions\/1973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpfrank.com\/demo\/businessexpo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpfrank.com\/demo\/businessexpo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpfrank.com\/demo\/businessexpo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpfrank.com\/demo\/businessexpo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}