From great service to authentic offer
You know that so many people in the world out there NEED what you do. So why aren’t they signing up to work with you?? Why won’t they let you help them?
Closing the gap between YOUR understanding of the value of what you offer, and your future customers’ understanding of that value, is your no. 1 business priority if you’re serious about fulfilling your true potential and creating your maximum impact in the world.
You started your business because you KNOW you have something great to offer.
You believed that deeply enough to take the plunge and build a business around it.
But somehow, your message – ‘I can help you! I’ve got what you need!’ – keeps getting lost in translation.
It gets frustrating: every day, you meet people who you KNOW could use your help … but it’s as though you’re invisible to them. They don’t recognise you as the solution to their problem, and they (metaphorically) walk on by.
The very worst part of this, is not knowing exactly where you’re going wrong.
Here’s your answer:
You’ve got a great service: but you haven’t – YET – got a saleable offer.
So, what’s the difference? To answer that question, consider these 4 things:
Milk, eggs, flour, oil
A bowl of batter
A plate of pancakes
A tray of Yorkshire puddings.
They’re all essentially the same. The batter is the sum of the ingredients; the pancakes and puddings can both be made from that very same batter – the only difference is how you prepare & present them. But the perception – not to mention the value and perceived relevance to any given person at any given time – of the raw ingredients changes, depending on how they are presented.
Your valuable service is the bowl of batter:
It’s the combination of your proven mix of ingredients (skills, experience, process, insight) that you bring together to consistently deliver the results you KNOW your clients need. You’re the chef in this analogy: you’ve learned to select only the very best ingredients; you’ve honed your skill so you can mix them together to perfection; you may even have your own secret sauce to add.
This is the work you’re passionate about.
But no-one is in the market for a bowl of batter – and this is where it gets complicated:
Some people want pancakes.
Some want them with maple syrup & whipped cream.
Some would rather have a Yorkshire pudding with gravy.
None of these choices are ‘wrong’.
And as the expert ‘chef’, you’ve got what it takes to deliver all these things and more.
But until you find the clarity and courage to stop talking about your bowl of batter, and start talking with credibility and conviction about the lovely pancakes (or puddings) that get your customers’ mouths watering – your message will keep on getting lost in translation.
Put simply: in order to successfully transform the ingredients of your valuable service into your irresistible and authentic offer, you need to switch your perspective.
Your client doesn’t want to buy your process. They want to buy the RESULT of that process.
Your challenge – and also, your great opportunity – is to decide what result you most want to create right now, and to present that with conviction and clarity so that your future customer can recognise it as the thing they need in their life.
There is no definitive right answer, in terms of what ‘result’ you should present. (Pancakes or puddings – there is no moral choice). But there is a definitive set of ‘right’ questions you can ask yourself, to figure out what result you WANT to present - with passion and authenticity:
What work do you find most rewarding? Think about the delivery format and style that suits you best: the way of working, that allows you to deliver the very greatest value in the way that is most enjoyable and satisfying for you.
What kind of future customer is the best fit for that work? Who is best-placed to benefit from - and pay for - the type of work that you would most love to deliver? What makes that person a great fit for you? Dig deeply until you reach an answer that feels precise and credible.
What are the biggest desires or challenges that your future customer is facing right now – what keeps them up at night? This is where you flip your perspective: step into the shoes of your future customer and imagine the world through their eyes – the world of their ‘problem’, before they encounter your ‘solution’.
Now, step back into your own shoes, carrying with you the insight you found when you looked at the world through your customer’s eyes. As the expert you are: how can you slice, package and present the work that you most love to do, so that your ideal future customer can recognise that YES! - this is the solution they were looking for.
With these insights to guide you, you are ready to reframe the way you present your work to the world: with the primary focus firmly on the tasty outcome (offer) – not the process of making it (service).
Having the right ingredients in your mix is the entry-level qualification for an authentically successful business: if your ingredients are sub-standard, or mixed in the wrong proportions, or stale, then the end result will always be disappointing – to all parties.
But the ability to deliver a great service is not enough, to create a great business. Until and unless you learn to present your great service in the form of an authentic offer that resonates with burning desires of the individuals your business exists to serve, your passion will continue to get lost in translation.
Work through those four questions in order, and you will set yourself on track to transform the great service you already deliver, into the authentic and irresistible offer that your world is waiting for.