pigeonhole yourself

P I G E O N H O L E Y O U R S E L F

@ J O N A T H A N S TA R K

No one likes the idea of being pigeonholed by others. Pigeonholing yourself, on the other hand, is one of the best things you can do for your business. Follow along as Jonathan teaches attendees how to create a laser-focused positioning statement and how to use that statement to attract better clients, close more deals, and ultimately make more money.

Attendee takeaways:

How to pick a target market that is the perfect size for your businessHow to uncover the real reasons why a client needs your helpHow to decrease your labor intensity while increasing your profitsHow to get paid for your smarts, not your labor

Show of hands

"how many people got a lead last week? more than 1? more than 10? more than 100?"

Most developers, when they first come to me they don't get 100 leads in a year.

Lead: a known person (i.e., not anonymous) who has expressed an interest in your products or services.

P O S I T I O N I N GS T E P O N E

Positioning: A marketing technique used to make a product, service, or business more memorable.

I’m a _______ who helps _______ with _______. Unlike my competitors, _______.

Got a minute? Let’s do step one right now...

Grab a pencil and paper and write this down:

I’m a _______ who helps _______ with _______. Unlike my competitors, _______.

Now, fill in the blanks to create your laser focused positioning statement.

If you’re having trouble, don’t feel bad - almost everyone does. It’s brutal. I’ve had people actually start crying during this exercise.

I’m a software consultant who helps businesses with elegant solutions to complex problems. Unlike my competitors, I have a passion for

building high quality systems.

If you DID NOT have trouble with this exercise, you probably wrote something soggy.

This is not a laser focused positioning statement; it’s just clever wordsmithing that encompasses your vision of yourself, to yourself; it doesn’t communicate any value to anyone.

I’m a construction consultant who helps people with elegant solutions to complex problems. Unlike my competitors, I have a passion for

building high quality structures.

Who you hire this guy to redo your bathroom? Put a second floor on your garage? Subdivide your office?

More importantly, would you remember him six months later when considering such a project?

If you met this person at a BBQ, who would you refer him to?

I’m a Rails developer who helps dentists with patients not showing up for their appointments. Unlike my competitors, I use SMS reminders which work on both smart phones and dumb phones.

This is a pretty solid.

I’m a Web designer who helps online retailers with high cart abandonment rates. Unlike my competitors, I use A/B tests to focus on the bottom line instead of wasting time with

arbitrary design changes.

This is a pretty solid.

I’m a DISCIPLINE who helps TARGET MARKET with EXPENSIVE PROBLEM. Unlike my competitors, UNIQUE DIFFERENCE.

See the pattern?

I’m a DISCIPLINE who helps TARGET MARKET with EXPENSIVE PROBLEM. Unlike my competitors, UNIQUE DIFFERENCE.

Nailing your laser focused positioning statement is the single best thing you can do to grow your business. It’s the foundation of everything.

T H E F E A R ™S A Y H E L L O T O

Working through a positioning exercise for the first time almost always triggers what positioning guru Philip Morgan calls "The Positioning Fear Reflex":

https://philipmorganconsulting.com/the-fear/

Here are three of the biggest fears...

I W O N ’ T B E A B L E T O F I N D E N O U G H C L I E N T S

I ' M A F R A I D T H A T

1. "I won't be able to find enough clients."

Yes, you probably will. Almost nobody over specializes on their first try. To allay your fears, do some research.

PRO TIP: If there's at least one successful conference for your ideal buyers, then there's a good chance that there's plenty of work to keep you busy for a long time.

I ’ L L G E T B O R E D D O I N G T H E S A M E T H I N G A L L T H E T I M E


2. "I'm afraid I'll get bored doing the same thing all the time."

This is your mind messing with you. It doesn't even pass the sniff test.

"Generalist vs specialist" is not "big vs small", it's "wide vs deep" Same surface area, different angle of approach.

Virtually everyone who's ever given a TED talk is a specialist. Do they seem bored?

I M I G H T P I C K T H E W R O N G T H I N G


3. "I'm afraid I might pick the wrong niche."

This is the least irrational of the three fears that I mention because it is technically possible. However, you can validate your niche before committing to it.

Also, you can (and probably should) refocus or shift gears every 18-24 months anyway.

Also also, if it turns out you picked the wrong niche, you can pick a new one.

BOTTOM LINE: Picking the wrong niche is better than not picking one at all.

W O R D O F M O U T HS U P E R C H A R G E D

Benefit #1:

Having a clear, concise, conversational positioning statement makes it easy for people who know people in your target market to refer you. People like connecting other people - if you make it easy for them, they happily do it.

Cocktail party version of LFPS. Private college counselors story.Pet rescue story.

W AT E R I N G H O L E SO B V I O U S

Benefit #2:

If you know who you're ideal customers are, it's trivial to find places where your buyers hang out online and in real life. The conferences they attend, the podcasts they listen to, the magazines they subscribe to, the blogs they read, and so on. You can literally make a list of the 20 people - not companies but actual humans - who you should try to get in front of with your message.

C O N T E N TE V E R G R E E N

Benefit #3:

Picking a niche allows you to create a body of work.Having a body of work allows you to spend less time on marketing.Spending less time on marketing gives you more time to add to your body of work.Wash, rinse, repeat.

– J O N AT H A N S TA R K

“Don’t waste another year moving one inch in every direction.”

Without a laser focused positioning statement, you’re wasting your time with marketing efforts like advertising, outreach, blogging, vlogging, podcasting, social media, webinars, etc.

Don't waste another year moving one inch in every direction.

https://expensiveproblem.com/devcon

E X P E N S I V E P R O B L E M . C O M / D E V C O N

https://expensiveproblem.com/devcon

pigeonhole yourself

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