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In the last few weeks I spoke with 2 business owners with very different skill sets. One was certified to do Human Design with people. Another is a licensed marriage and family therapist. (Human Design is a diagnostic system that helps one understand their innate strengths and weakness so that they may learn how to excel with the tools they have.)

Both have invested time and money into their training (without over training.)
 Both of them are smart women working full time in their businesses.
Both of them have good websites.
 Both of them have been out networking.
They each have a skill that people need.
They each have great client reviews (from the few clients they’ve been able to serve.)

But neither one of them makes the money they she wants to make. Neither one of them consistently attracts the kind of person she wants to help.
 And they both feel like they’ve got something HUGE to give, and can’t figure out how to get in front of more people.

Why?

This is because they are selling a skill instead of selling the branded solution to someone’s problem. And as a result, to their market they look just like every other person certified to do that work

Their next step is to brand their skill.

The best branding will set you apart by showcasing how you solve a problem and create a dream for your target market. People will pay good money to have you help them create their dream. They will pay even better money if you can help them solve a problem. (It’s odd, I know. But as they say in western culture: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. People will pay more for the cure than they are willing to pay for the prevention. You brand both in your business and you become your industry’s unicorn.)

Branding your skill is important because it takes you out of the realm of being an ordinary fill-in-the-blank, competing with everyone else on price. It puts you in the realm of being the only solution to a problem that people want solved.

Are you a therapist or do you help parents empower their children through the divorce process?
 Are you a graphic designer or do you help people get their message in the minds of the right customers online?
 Are you a hiring manager or do you help solo-preneurs find the right team and get them to do the right things?

When someone is meeting you for the first time (whether it’s online or offline) knowing how to say what you do in a way that shows you have the solution to their problem is the first step in getting a new customer.

And that’s just one result of a full branding process.

Here’s your next step:
If you are selling yourself based on your skill, STOP.
 Interview the people you’ve worked with and ask them: what problem have we solved in our work together? What dream has come true as a result of our work?
 Aggregate the results and make sure they are the dreams and solutions and a definitive target market. (This is key: One Market. One Solution.)

Then go an interview people you haven’t worked with but you know you can help. Ask them: What dream come true would you love to have as a result of working with someone like me? What problem would you hope could be solved?

Pay careful attention the exact words they use. And start to play with describing yourself in their words the next time someone asks you what you do.

Have you ever needed to solve this problem in your business?

I’m curious how you’ve handled it? Leave me a comment and let me know!

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March 2014 Issue