I’m guessing that you would like to have more referrals in your business. More solid referrals. More effortless referrals. Referrals like these:
Two weeks ago I got sick. Fever, cough, weak. And, I was out of town teaching. My roommate had just had the same sickness a few days earlier. “You know, you need to talk to Isaac, he totally fixed me up.” I called Isaac immediately.
Isaac is an acupuncturist, and he did, he fixed me up. A little more than a day later, I was much better.
I came back home and was talking to good friends who were having some challenging issues with their teenager. Two problems they mentioned: communication, and just having a teenager going through some intense stuff. After listening to the pain and struggle they were going through for awhile, I said:
“You should check up on Nonviolent Communication by Marshal Rosenberg, and you should call Kathy B. She’s totally great at helping families who are having challenging issues with their children.”
Did you notice how these referrals happened?
Somebody mentioned a problem. Fever and cough. Trouble communicating. Challenging teenager. These problems triggered an association for the listener, who made the referral without thinking about it.
Many people in business insist on marketing their solution, and trying to become known for what they do. However, if you notice, none of the referrals mentioned HOW the problem would be solved. The only thing mentioned was that it WOULD solve the problem.
Let’s say you are in a service business, and you provide the best “Super X” solution package. You put a lot of effort into branding this “Super X” solution package, and so everyone who knows you associates you with Super X.
Which is perfect. Whenever someone thinks or hears about “Super X” they will think of you. Except… how often does “Super X” come up in conversation? I’m going to make the wild guess that, unless you are a party to the conversation, it will never come up.
So, what problem do you want your business associated with?
But hey, you might say, “I’m a positive sort of person. I don’t want to be associated with a problem. I don’t want to focus on the negative. And, isn’t it manipulative to highlight people’s problems?”
It’s great to be postive. Manipulation does have a high spiritual price. And, it brings in your least-favorite customers. Lose-lose.
But focusing on solutions is not the answer. Surprisingly, associating with a problem can be a much more rewarding spiritual state than associating with a solution. And, much more effective in your business.
Why? Because when someone runs into a problem in their life, it blocks their view of other things. When I got sick, my positive mental attitude was interrupted by my swooning fever and wracking cough.
If our buddy Isaac had been known for how good he is with needles in acupuncture, it wouldn’t have occurred to me as quickly to contact him, as it did when he was the one who helped my roommate get over his own illness.
By associating your business with a problem, you actually end up being a much bigger help, because you are right *there*, on the tip of the person’s tongue, when someone mentions a problem they are having and they need help. It makes you faster than 911.
Keys to Being a Problem Child
• Defining your business as a “problem child” is just another way to say that you are there to help, and that your focus is 100% on the people you want to help. Two components: Who are you helping, and What are your helping them with. I go into great detail in my book about this, because it’s so critical for your business focus, but simply put, your Who and What has three parts:
Who (2 parts) = psychographic (belief or feeling your ideal customers hold in their self-identity, such as “wants to make a difference” or “loves chocolate”) plus demographic (observable trait or fact about your customers, such as “business owner” or “women baby boomers.)
What (1 part) = The problem they are facing that you help them with, such as “needs to make a profit.” “Tired of cooking, but needs to stay healthy.”
• A problem doesn’t have to be a cataclysmic event. A problem can be: What’s the perfect wine to go with this amazing menu I’m planning? There are so many luxury yachts to choose from, I don’t know which one to buy. How in the heck do I invest the extra milllion dollars I just inherited?
A problem is a situation that stops someone from moving forward, leaves them feeling frustrated, stuck, or unsure.
• The problem has to be from the viewpoint of your prospective customers. If you are used to providing a solution, you see the situation MUCH differently than someone who is facing the problem and doesn’t know the solution. For instance, with Isaac my acupuncturist, my problem was that I felt like crap- fever, cough, etc. But that’s not how Isaac saw the problem- he saw those as symptoms of blocked chi and an imbalance in my overall body system. But, unless I’ve been educated by Isaac, I won’t get that at all.
You have to state the problem in a way that the person facing it recognizes it. “Fever and a cough have you feeling like crap?” is much more understandable than “Health problems from energy imbalances?” What?
Here’s your action step: Talk to, or remember conversations with, your best customers, and pick out key phrases that they used to describe the problem they are having when they come to buy from you. Then, use your marketing to associate yourself with that problem.
