It’s easy to get wrapped up in the thing we are creating, at the expense of recognizing its end result in value to our clients, customers, or fans.
So how do we get closer to what our clients really want and need? How do we know what to talk about when speaking with them about our creative service?
It helps to remember this axiom: what sells is not the stuff itself. What people want (and what really sells over and over again) is the desired outcome the stuff gets them.
It’s All About The Holes
In sales circles, they frequently talk about selling drills vs. selling holes. To sell a drill, you don’t talk about the noise it makes, the rechargeable battery, or the heft of its handle. You talk about the hole it makes. Because you’re really not selling a drill… you’re selling holes.
In other words: you’re selling the result, outcome, or benefit that the customer is looking for.
Getting All Emotional About… Business?
This benefits-rich results-oriented outcome is more deeply connected to the emotions of your customers and audience than the features or process are. Which is a good thing, because emotion is the true currency of business, not facts and figures.
Don’t believe me? Then think about this: how do people feel when a business rips them off and doesn’t deliver what they promised? Angry!
On the other hand, how to customers react to a product that stands out above all others, is exceedingly well made, and delivers the result they are looking for? They display an equal measure of positive emotions. This is where the term “raving fan” comes from.
Money may be the mechanical means of making business transactions, but I assure you that the REAL power behind what makes that money flow is EMOTION.
Knowing What To Focus On
Focusing on the outcome takes imagination. Creative people should be better than others at using that special set of muscles in our heads… let’s call them imagination muscles. So that shouldn’t be too much of a problem, right?
Well, that’s easier said than done, isn’t it? Because many of us tend to overthink things. We get wrapped up in things that don’t matter. There are a lot of distractions when we’re the only one working on our own little solo indie business. We might find ourselves endlessly researching the right product to sell, noodling with our logo, or agonizing over which kind of business entity to file for.
Most of the stuff we do in the beginning of our freelance business is a waste of time… because we’re usually inexperienced and we don’t know what to focus on. That’s why I want to call your attention to what you should focus on, which is your client and the outcome, benefit, or result they will get as a result of interacting with you.
Your “Imaginary Client” Can Help
Making a business plan or setting goals for your freelance creative business is all well and good as long as it includes your Very Important Person.
Who is that V.I.P., you might ask? It’s your imaginary ideal client.
Your ideal client, your V.I.P., should be fixed firmly in your head. If you don’t know who they are, that’s okay… make somebody up! But that made-up person should be supportive, glad you create the wonderful thing you create, and superbly conscious of the value of what you’ve given them. They’re your number-one fan. And even if they don’t exist in real life (yet) they can live in your head until you find them in the real world.
You can use your imaginary ideal client to get yourself in gear, encourage yourself, or brainstorm ideas to test.
You want to imagine your ideal client saying things like,
- “I love this logo. It makes me feel like I have a legitimate business.”
- “What you wrote here is fantastic. It really says what I want even better than I can say it!”
- “This art completes my room and is uniquely me.”
- “You really killed it with this video! It really encapsulates what we are about.”
- “This opening music really gets me out of my chair and ready to sign up… now!”
Hey, we all love praise… even if it’s imaginary! Go ahead, use those imagination muscles to think about your very special customer, and how they will feel about your creative services.
Ok, Now Go Get Some REAL Customers.
Now that you’ve used your imagination and psyched yourself up, it’s time to test your theory about who your ideal customer is… against a REAL one.
This is where many aspiring would-be creative entrepreneurs fail… because they don’t follow up and go get a real customer.
Forget about the legions of screaming fans for your service for now… before that happens, you just need to go out and get ONE client.
You start not by telling them how awesome you are, or what you have to offer. You start by simply asking them what they want. Ask them what result they’re looking for, what problem they’re having, or what motivates them.
Doesn’t that sound better than coming up with something YOU want to do or make, and then try to convince people to buy it?
This way you virtually guarantee that people will want what you have to offer… by asking them before you make it.
There are a lot of ways to do this, both offline and online. But the core philosophy is the same regardless of technology or geography.
Sell People What They Really Want… It Just Works.
The whole idea of making good money making stuff people really want isn’t new. Remember the old days as depicted in the westerns? The general store never had to advertise. Neither did the blacksmith. The town doc didn’t have to take out an ad in the paper offering a free first visit to get a client.
People know exactly where to go to get what they wanted. Because they needed it.
Our modern day “wild west” is not all that different. More complicated, sure… we may have first-world problems, but the core idea is the same.
When you sell the results people want, there’s a built-in audience. Your advertising dollar will always stretch farther when people can see the end result that you can bring them.
So , to capitalize on my earlier drill analogy… figure out exactly what kind of hole your customer needs drilled, and then make the drill needed to achieve that result.
You’ll NEVER run out of clients as long as there are enough people who need the specific result or outcome that YOU can deliver.
Mike