Re-positioning for success!

Even if you've been in the speaking or consulting business for a long time, be aware that you may need to take a new look at your business.

You should revisit how you are positioned in the marketplace from time to time. I recently worked with a very successful speaker. He hired me to help him speak less and raise his fee. This is a constant request from experienced speakers.

One of the major things he needed to do was create/update his positioning statement. The current statement he was using wasn't as effective any more. Why? He had changed his marketing to a highly niche market. He needed to make sure that his statement reflected that.

The reality of positioning is this. If you niche market, let your prospects know it! The people in our business who target are the ones who are making the most money right now.

This doesn't mean you must market to only one market segment. Pick two industries, and a few markets within that industry. You'll have enough prospects to wallpaper your office doing that.

Any buisness that comes to you, by a bureau or a referral, is terrific! You can work with anyone who comes to you and who you believe is a good fit. However, in the finite amount of time you have to do your outbound marketing, practice targeting. You'll like the results!

Comments

[Shep Hyken]

Lois, your insights are always on target. I'm glad you have found another way to share your information. Great ideas!

[Deb Potter, PhD, CMC]

Lois -
You are right on target. We took the advice you gave us 3 years ago about niching our business into one primary industry. Our business has grown at least 30% since them, our marketing is much more straightforward, and our fees have increased annually. This is the BEST advice we ever received.