(It’s also why I couldn’t do cataloguing in Library School – I saw too many possibilities).

What’s good for the business itself (I see more possibilities than my clients do) is bad for bringing business to me (I can’t narrow down enough).
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s latest blog… Actively Involved in Change Mentoring vs Coaching

‘Tis true, I do aim for irresistible.

And I’m a sucker for compliments. Thanks!

Later…

Easy? Nah. You should have seen how long it took me to help the octopus shop out.

A slightly more real example: I worked on a project recently for a web designer. (Talk about something generic that everyone does!!)

He was launching a new business, with one wildly successful, reasonably-niched business under his belt already.

He wanted to work with—you guessed it—everyone. And specialize, naturally, in everything. Because he knew he was capable of anything. But he had a special soft spot in his heart for people who might need him, but would never open their wallets to him, ever. Do Nothing in all caps written on these potential clients’ faces.

So with a ton of research and sweat, we narrowed the everyone and the everything until we’d arrived at what he could really be The Only of. You should have heard the whoops of surprise and understanding when we presented to him. “Yes! This is it!”

And the funny thing is, like at Wendi’s church, the business will still welcome the person he originally thought he should talk to, should she ever see the value in his services. But the real Ideal—he will hear the message. My client knows what’s plaguing this guy, so the message can hit him at all the right spots. He knows the value already and only has to be encouraged to make small movements to pass by Do Nothing.

A lot of hand-wringing and hair-pulling up front, maybe. But a lot less down the line. If a web designer can do it, with your beautiful work, you definitely can too.

Later,

Kelly

I know, I just gave away the positioning for every octopus pet shop that wants to make it big, eh?

Hooray for a church that gets this—that has got to be one of the biggest realms where Do Nothing is creeping in more and more. And you’re absolutely right. Knowing the Ideal doesn’t mean that you can’t continue to be welcoming to all. It means the message never wavers and the methods that will work are clearer. In the long run that’s good for all customers, whether they’re exactly your Ideal or just able to relate to the way you talk to the Ideal Customer.

I’m glad to hear it’s succeeding so well for you!

Regards,

Kelly

Actually, we just did this at/for our church. Which may seem to be an odd place to be re-defining your target market but the place had become such an “all things to all people” that is was becoming luke warm and bland, the message off point. So the core group of us sat down and pounded out the key focus of who we were as a congregation, what our strengths and weaknesses were, our key unchangable values and then fine tuned our target market so clearly that by the time we were finished we were able to describe her- yes – her and give her a name. That isn’t to say we didn’t want other people in our church or that we weren’t planning on welcoming everyone through the door. We just realized that if we focused our effort on building the kind of place SHE would want to worship in, that she would bring her husband, kids, extended family (parents and grandparents) and refer her friends. SHE was the kingpin.

OH by the way–it’s working. Amazingly.