Would you like to earn more for each hour you work?
So you can have more free time?
And ditch difficult clients?
Growing your business online might feel like you’re muddling through.
Too much to do. Too little time.
Too many things you don’t know how to do.
That’s certainly how I often feel.
But how can you keep your business on track? How can you move ahead without getting frustrated?
The pole vaulter’s method for business acceleration helps translate your energy and passion into serious business growth.
A reader recently emailed me
“You have great products. Do you have any advice how I can develop my product offer?”
My first reaction was:
“Me??? A great product offer? Really?”
I still see myself as a beginner.
When I quit my job in September 2012, I didn’t know much:
- I didn’t know how I was going to earn a living
- I didn’t know what to write about on my soon-to-be-launched blog
- I didn’t know what to do with my email list
- I didn’t know what ebook to offer as a “bribe” for people to sign up
- I didn’t know who my readers would be
So how did I grow my email list to over 3,700 in 18 months? How did I launch two popular ebooks? How did I get people to pay $690 for my first online course?
I followed the pole vaulter’s method for growing my business.
A pole vaulter leaps more than twice as high as a high jumper:
- The World Record for a high jump is 2.45m (source)
- The World Record for a pole vault is 6.16m (source)
What’s the difference?
The pole, of course.
But what’s the pole in your business? How can you go from high jumping to pole-vaulting?
This is simple: Get to know your audience.
When I set up Enchanting Marketing, I was committed to learn as much as possible about small business owners. I had only worked for large and medium-sized businesses, so I didn’t know how I could help small business owners like you.
I read comments on popular blogs. I asked questions in my e-newsletter. I offered free coaching lessons. And each time I publish a blog post, I learn from your comments and questions. You tell me what works and what doesn’t, and what gaps exist in the information I supply.
The biggest mistake you can make is to start thinking about a product before understanding your audience. Build an audience first, and ideas for products will come.
Understand what your audience is looking for, and you can offer more value. Offer more value, and you can charge more. It’s a simple process, that starts with getting to know the people you’re selling to. Understand their dreams, their secret wishes, and their frustrations.
Each sliver of knowledge about your audience helps you improve your product or service offer.
A pole-vaulter practices his skills
He knows exactly how many steps to take, how high his grip should be, and in which position his body should be when the pole bends to sweep him over ever-higher bars.
When running a business, you need to master many skills. From understanding financials to marketing your business. From purchasing products to fine-tuning your services.
Do you feel like you’re drowning in things you must learn? Do you look at others and see what they do better than you?
Others grow their Google Plus audience quicker. Others write better than you. Others have better-looking blog designs.
Does it make you feel you’re never good enough? Do you feel you need to work harder to do more and more? Get more likes on Facebook. Become popular on Google Plus. Write better web copy. Design a nicer logo. Learn how to network offline.
Trying to master all these skills is a sure-fire route to keep your business at a so-so level.
The pole-vaulter focuses on three things: improving speed, strength, and technique.
Which three skills can you pick to master? Which three skills suit your own strengths? Which three skills will accelerate you business most?
A few examples:
- When you’re a web designer, you may want to get better at user interface design, or you might want to improve your Google Plus skills
- When you’re a copywriter, you may want to improve your writing skills, or you might want to learn how to use LinkedIn more effectively
- When you’re an e-commerce coach, you may want to improve your PPC skills, or learn how to negotiate higher fees
You have a choice of tens, perhaps hundreds of skills you can fine-tune and improve. But which will make a real difference?
The key to revving up your business, is to do a limited number of things incredibly well. Get better at serving your audience, and you can charge higher fees.
Take the first step
Whether you start a new venture or want to grow an existing business, you may feel you need to have a Soviet-style master plan. A 5-year product plan. A detailed marketing plan.
But planning ahead without knowing your audience is a sure-fire path to failure.
Take it one step at a time.
Focus on your audience. Learn to listen well.
That’s how you grow your authority. That’s how you grow your business. And that’s how you have more fun.
Thanks for the stellar advice.
Especially this line: “The biggest mistake you can make is to start thinking about a product before understanding your audience. Build an audience first, and ideas for products will come.”
I’ve heard SO many great marketers (in particular Joe Polish and Perry Marshall) stress this point as the essential step one in building a real (read: profitable) business.
It’s the same principle you stress regarding developing skills: “Take it one step at a time.”
You might tweak that a bit and just as insightfully say: Take it one audience as a time.
I struggle with this on my own copywriting site (I try talking to everyone and end up talking to no one), but have really had great success applying it to clients.
Thanks again!
Yes, good point. It’s often easier (and more profitable) to focus on one audience and develop more products for the same audience rather than adapt a product for multiple audiences.
Building a focused and engaged audience often takes more time than developing a new product.
Thank you for stopping by again, Aaron.
Hi Henneke,
“The key to revving up your business, is to do a limited number of things incredibly well. Get better at serving your audience, and you can charge higher fees.”
That’s true.
Gaining audience’s trust is important. One way is to share what you know. This will gain you audience’s trust. Whether you’ve 1000 or 10,000 readers, what matters is their trust. Once they trust you fully, they will want to give back and so will wait for your products/ services eagerly.
This is my experience:)
Yes, that’s true. Trust is so important. Try to delay the sales moment as long as possible, so you have more time to build up trust (and anticipation!).
Good point, Avadhut. And nice to see you again 🙂
Henneke – you make it sound so easy, but the I guess I mean simple. And it is. But you’ve expressed it so simply so we can all grasp the idea.
Well, the theory IS simple, but implementation can sometimes be tricky. It’s hard to stay focused isn’t it?
Always good to see you, Caroline!
Which three skills are you focusing on right now?
For the past year, it has been copywriting, blog writing, and drawing cartoons. I feel ready for a change – perhaps less focus on improving my writing skills, and more focus on improving my social media skills. But that’s still too generic. Any advice?
What skills do you focus on most?
I don’t think your writing needs anymore improving 😉
Why not branch out into online marketing? You know loads about it.
For me, it’s always marketing.
But online marketing is such a wide topic. I feel I need more focus to be able to master something well.
You’ll think of something. It can be any part of online marketing.
Great post as always Henneke. I forever fall into the trap of thinking I need to be a master of everything (and end up being the master of none).
I agree you have to pick a few things that suit your skills. But it also occurred to me recently that the few things you pick have to be strategically selected. So, for example, unless you are a social media consultant, there is little point being an expert in facebook, twitter and pinterest at the expense of blogging.
One of the hardest things for an entrepreneur is to see the bigger picture and understand how all the pieces (SEO, blogging, social media, email) fit together. Because once you see that, then you can leverage what you do and really save time and effort.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts in your blog. It’s always worth a read.
Feeling overwhelmed and being unsure what to focus on is probably one of the biggest challenges for (online) entrepreneurs. I have to think about an easy blueprint to move through the various stages of developing an online presence.
Good to “see” you again, Kerstin.
“Build an audience first, and ideas for products will come”.
Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs do the opposite. Building an audience is the way to go!
Excellent Article, Henneke!
Thank you, Bandela. And yep, I agree – many people start with a product idea and then realize they don’t know who to sell it to.
Great advice. I see this issue with my experienced and not so experienced clients. If you cannot answer this question, do you really have a business?
I think it’s really easy to fall into the trap of thinking about products or services before considering a target audience. Once you know what problems you can solve for your audience, it becomes so much easier to develop services or products.
Thank you for stopping by, Anita.