Which of the following statements gets more attention?
Someone went over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
Justin Bieber went over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
The second one right?
This is the power of being specific. Leaving too much mystery is actually not very mysterious at all. It doesn’t capture our attention. When we give a vague marketing message we are using this uncurious kind of mystery. But when we give a focused marketing message, people stand up and pay attention.
What is a focused marketing message?
A focused marketing message is one that delivers one idea and uses specifics to do so. Let’s demonstrate with a few messages below.
I help a business grow. Hmmm. Kind of vague.
I help businesses get more leads. Better.
I help coaches get more leads. Even better.
I help coaches get more leads from Facebook. Much better. And far more specific.
With the last one you can immediately start to visualize what the service provider will do and for whom. It’s like knowing the name of the man going over Niagara Falls. Even if the consultant offers to help you get leads from Instagram or Twitter, you might still be more intrigued than “I just help you get leads” from … somewhere.
I’m also far more likely to believe that you can deliver on your offer when you specialize to this degree.
Someone who claims to have the secret to weight loss is easily ignored. But someone who says they know how to help men between 40 and 50 lose weight will get more attention. We wonder “Are the weight-loss strategies for men of those ages different?” So then we might ask our question. They have our attention.
One coach I know specializes in helping female consultants charge much higher fees for their services. When she says that, women who’ve been undercharging take notice. But so do others. Sometimes even men have approached her and said: “I think I know someone who needs to raise their prices.”
This reveals an extra benefit of being specific.
Your specific message targets just one person in their minds so they often think of someone they know who can use your service. As a result, you get far more referrals. And what do they say to others about your business? They probably repeat the specific message you gave them. That’s much harder to do with more general words.
But what if you have multiple offers?
Doesn’t it make sense to say something general like “I help you generate leads” if you can do it with Facebook, Adwords or Youtube?
This makes sense on one level. You may not want people to think you only do one thing when you can do many. That way if they aren’t interested in one offer they may show interest in another. The problem is you’ve failed to get attention with your first words. That first impression has been lost in a sea of generalizations.
Being specific can be a bit gutsy.
It’s hard to put all your eggs in one basket. But fortunately, you aren’t really doing that. You still have your other offers. They are there in the background so that when you get a client and serve them well with one service, you can then offer them the next service and then the next. As long as you make them happy, they’ll keep coming back.
The focused words you use, are a bit like the doorway to a mansion. A mansion has many entrances. You can enter through the front, back and several side doors. You choose the first one a potential customer will see. You invite them in, make them feel comfortable there. You talk to them. You may find out that they need a different service than the one that they initially came to you for. You let them know and show them the room that’s right for them.
But because you invited them through a specific door, they showed up and you had your chance to speak with them. Give them a nonspecific location and they just may get lost and never come around.
Next Step
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