Most solopreneurs and small business owners take on one of three roles when marketing their products and services.
- The Salesman – The salesman markets what he has to offer as a commodity. He makes calls or sends mass mailings hoping to get the word out about his services so that someone, somewhere might be interested. His focus is on selling what he has to offer, and he feels the best way he can do that is to tell as many people as possible about his “computer training,” “career consulting,” “web design,” “trademark registration,” or “carpet cleaning” services. He never gets around to asking prospects what they need. He just assumes “everyone” can use his services, especially if he has the chance to pitch them.
- The Technician – The technicians markets what he does for clients, usually in the form of methodologies or processes. He has fancy names for what clients can expect when they work with him like “4D Design Process” or “ABC Method for Career Success” or the “XYZ Extraction Methodology.” Most of his business comes through networking and referrals, but it usually isn’t steady.
- The Academic – The academic markets what he knows. He is brilliant and fantastic at creating theoretical frameworks but bad at putting that conceptual knowledge into practice. If you have ever read a book by a top business school professor and thought, “That was interesting, but I can’t imagine how I would apply it to my business,” you have come across the academic. He usually gets plenty of consulting work through speaking and writing.
Of the three above approaches, the salesman and technician are most common. Unfortunately, they are also the least effective because they do nothing to differentiate their services from everyone else. Academics stand out from the crowd, which is why they usually have lots of business, but it can be difficult to translate their theoretical concepts into practical applications without paying big bucks for their consulting services.
A Better Way To Market Your Services
Rather than focusing on what you have, what you do, or what you know, the best marketing strategy is to become what I call a Maverick Evangelist.
Maverick Evangelists accept that people are inherently selfish and are primarily interested in “what’s in it for me?” They recognize that prospects don’t care what a business offers, does or knows. And they market solutions to reflect that ideology.
Maverick Evangelists combine the expertise of the Academic with the methodologies of the Technician to create practical solutions for their clients. Then, rather than spreading the word about what they offer, they spread the word about how their prospects and clients can solve their problems, overcome frustrations, and eliminate pain.
For instance, they may offer a free report on the top 10 mistakes people make when trying to solve a particular problem. Anyone that requests their free report is then subscribed to their weekly (or monthly) newsletter, so they are always in touch. As prospects become familiar with Maverick Evangelists, they begin to trust them. After receiving such valuable information on a consistent basis, they feel indebted to them and may want to hire them when the time is right.
By giving prospects and clients useful ideas and information through a variety of marketing tactics, Maverick Evangelists reach large numbers of people and build rapport with them. Because they follow up regularly, they always have a full marketing and sales pipeline. And because they are giving away useful, practical information that helps their prospects and subscribers, they view marketing as fun.
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