April Ludgate, one of the characters from Parks and Recreation, is one of my favs from the series. She always presents weird rebellion first and wisdom second.
This is one of those wise moments ...
It is true in life but is also so true in business. Just picture every networking event you've ever been to. Everyone is faking it 'till they make it ... 🎩 wearing their Sunday best 🏖 displaying a digital background on Zoom 📣 using the best words they can find to describe what they do We are all becoming the next best version of ourselves. We don't start out successful. We start out with a hope and a dream. The dream becomes a vision. The vision becomes a mission. Before we know it, we are Acting As If that mission has become a reality. And then it does. Faking is part of becoming. It can absolutely be healthy to fake it until you make it. The key🔑 is knowing what you want, in as much detail as you can muster. Imagine it, visualize it, pretend it's real ... because the more you focus on what you want, the more likely you are to actually get it. It's the law of attraction, my friends. Before Michael Phelps won an Olympic medal, he faked the win in his mind. That's why great brands aren't just colors and a logo. They are detailed documents that describe your company so vividly that the brand becomes a blueprint for success. By success, I don't just mean money and status. I mean the impact you have on your clients, your industry and even the world. Are you clear on the impact your company will have on the world? On how and who it serves? When you are clear about this, like really really clear, your marketing and conversations call your clients like gold to a Leprechaun. ☘ Let's practice. Go back to that networking event. Linda comes up to you and asks what you do. You say, "I am in the flooring business." In order for her to connect you with a hot lead, she needs to ask like 12 follow up questions. 👉 Like, residential flooring? 👉 How does that work? 👉 What kinds of flooring? 👉 There are a lot of flooring companies, what's different about yours? 👉 Have you ever done (enter unique flooring situation)? 👉 How does anyone know if it's the right time for your services? If she's tenacious, Linda can get to the bottom of the ultimate networking question: why should I refer you and to whom? You should never leave your message up to someone else's interpretation. What if you said, "We help commercial designers create breathtaking showrooms with sustainable flooring so that they can wow their customers and reduce their impact on the environment at the same time." Now you're naming WHO, WHAT, and HOW in almost the same breath. This conversation becomes a great use of your time because Linda knows why you're important and she immediately thinks of someone you need to meet. Thanks, Linda! 🔥 What you just laid upon her is often referred to as a Value Proposition or an Impact Statement. They help us GET TO THE POINT of who and how we serve. But they can be a bit tricky to pin down.
This is the start of your positioning strategy, which is why such a simple statement can feel so complicated to create! Here's the break down: Audience: Don't look for everyone with money (ie. everyone with a floor). Aim to replicate your favorite client. Be/Do/Have/Experience: What is the goal that you want to help your client achieve? Don't talk about yourself. Talk about what your audience wants to accomplish. Impact: This is the Why behind your audience's goal. Why is it important to them that they accomplish their goal? Note: still not really talking about you. Are you clear on the impact your company will have on the world ... on how and who it serves? +++ What if we practiced being direct about who and how we serve the world? What if we stopped trying to look like everyone else so that we could fit better into our favorite client's Cool Kid Club? What's the cost if we don't? +++ 64% of US adults say a company's "primary purpose" should be "making the world a better place". (New Paradigm Strategy Group & Fortune 2019) Practice Makes Perfect Do you have an Impact Statement? Share it with us in the comments!
