When I work with top producing entrepreneurs they have very well established opinions and philosophies around their market driven by direct experience that make them irresistible to a large portion of their market.
On the other hand, the mistake I see so many aspiring entrepreneurs is trying to please everyone or trying NOT to upset anyone.
Don’t get me wrong, it is not JUST having an opinion…but having an INFORMED opinion that comes from actively participating, studying, listening and being completely in tune with your marketplace.
So in reality, there are 3 key steps to rising to the next level as an entrepreneur (or whatever it is you aspire to be or do in your life)
LISTEN, HEAR and EMPATHY
All success in a given market starts with really hearing what your market is struggling with and who they want to be, have or do.
If there was one single skill that would allow you to dominate your niche market it would be learning to have empathy for the people in your market…meaning that you not only listen and hear your market but that you UNDERSTAND what drives them.
Empathy means getting as close to walking in the shoes of others as possible so that you can know exactly what they want and why they want it…the thoughts, beliefs and emotions behind their behaviour. It’s a big ask…but critical to being successful in a market these days.
BUILD RAPPORT, RELATIONSHIPS AND VALUE
So understanding exactly what it feels like to be a participant in your market is ONLY as powerful as you are willing to stay true to that very powerful, trusted relationship.
This is where some entrepreneurs completely take the wrong road.
Instead of treating their newfound understanding and empathy with the trust and attention required to build a strong relationship over time they immediately jump into sales mode which ends up being a very unethical way to use this new power you have learned in step #1.
Your market will see right through you and treat you even more harshly than those who misread them in the first place.
Now this takes discipline, trust and confidence in your ability to eventually monetise your market…if you are desperate to pay the next bill it is very tempting to abuse the trust you have built with your market and go for the short-term play…but that is exactly what limits your medium-term potential and will kill you in your market.
HOW CAN YOU DELIVER VALUE
This one is tricky…how can you now evolve your relationship with your market into a long-term monetization strategy that scales?
Most entrepreneurs we work with through InfoMarketer’sZone have a really hard time with #2 and then an even harder time understanding how to execute on #3.
When is the right time to put an offer in front of your trusted market?
How can you evolve from giving away information, advice and content to charging?
How do you discover what they want AND know what you can provide them that they will be willing to pay for?
The good news is that when you spend the time on #1 and #2 it will become more obvious to you where you can add extra value, charge for additional advice, leverage your trusted relationship with your market to help improve their lives to an extent where what you would charge is TINY compared to the improvement they will realize.
See, the vast majority of entrepreneurs never get this right…they never get to the ROOT of what it is their market wants and WHY they want it so bad…they miss the mark on the timing and offer they put in front of their customers and they leave HUGE money as well as goodwill on the table as a result.
This “greyspace” between entering a niche market and TRULY becoming a dominate force in that market is where we spend 90% of our time with our Information Makreter’sZone members…the reason is simple…when we get this right the rewards are MASSIVE.
