In this blog post, written by Scott Lippitt, a marketing strategist and rainmaker specialist, he explores how many small businesses, especially professional service firms, still hold the mistaken belief that the only way to generate leads is through referrals and networking. And while these two tactics are indeed solid options, they should not be your “sole” tactics.
Scott Lippitt notes that no tactic will work without first creating a disruptive, market-dominating message. This forms the foundation for how you wish to be perceived and will amplify the results from any of your lead-generation efforts. Your market-dominating message needs to focus on the single-minded benefit that separates you from your competitors. It cannot be a nuance, but a real, demonstrable difference that your prospects value; one that immediately generates interest and a preference to want to work with you.
If you cannot currently identify that benefit, then consider what changes you need to make to your business to create a benefit that is believable and that you can consistently deliver. Remember, people won’t ever hire you (heck, they won’t even want to meet with you) if they don’t even understand why they should pay attention to you. And they will notice you only if you have a strong, compelling, differentiating value proposition. The way to ensure that your message is differentiating is to explain your edge and advantage in the form of “Unlike other (your category), we…”. Here is an example using myself and my firm. “Unlike general business coaches who try to be all things to all people, Scott Lippitt and The Next Level Business Coaching specializes in all the aspects of lead generation and new business development. In other words, rainmaking.”
Another way to think about creating a market-dominating message is to think about it as a one-two punch. First, articulate the problem the prospect has that they don’t want. And second, detail the solution they want that they don’t have. A great example of this approach is M&Ms; a brand Scott Lippitt competed against in the 1980s as an advertising executive at Ogilvy NYC on Hershey’s chocolate bar. Their message of “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands” could have easily been stated as “Unlike a Hershey’s chocolate bar that is messy to eat, M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hands”.
Now, it is your turn…spend the time and mental energy creating your own market-dominating message. It will amplify the results of the rest of your marketing tactics.