Originally published in Energy Magazine: The official Publication of the Healing Touch Program April issue. Biggest Secret For Marketing Your Energy Therapy Practice by Greg Pitstick
Would you like to have a successful energy therapy practice? A fulfilling practice that enables you to help other people while meeting your financial needs?
You can do it, but it may require you to think a little differently than you have been thinking in the past. My name is Greg Pitstick, and I have been helping businesses make more money for over 20 years. My clients have included really big companies like Proctor & Gamble and professionals like Healing Touch practitioners.
There are a lot of things you have to worry about to successfully market your products and services, but over the years I have found one secret that all successful businesses understand. If you don’t get this secret right, then you won’t have much of a business to worry about!
Number One Secret – Know Thy Customer/Client and Give Them What They Want
There is an old saying: You can be a millionaire if you just figure out what people want and give it to them. Sounds easy enough, right?
The mistake most businesses make (big and small) is thinking up a new product or service and then trying to sell it. In fact, this may be the quickest way to fail in business. You see, it does not matter how much you like your products or services, it only matters what your target customer wants and is willing to pay for.
In the developed world almost everyone has all the food and shelter they need. Very few people have any true needs – most people only have wants, desires and fears. People buy services based on emotion, not fact. They want to eliminate pain, avoid fear or create an easier world for themselves. So your job is to determine what they want and give it to them.
It is important to understand that you need to determine what they want, not what they need. There is a difference. You know what they need, but they will only pay for what they want. An overweight person needs to eat less and exercise more – but they will not buy an eat less, work more program. They want a quick fix, a program that is easy to follow, or prepared foods that make the process easy.
For example, if you offer Healing Touch services and you notice most of your client base has cancer; you should craft your services around “Relieving Cancer Pain” or “How to regain control when you have cancer”. All you are doing is offering the result your target client really wants.
We are hit with over 3,000 marketing messages every day. It is the job of our subconscious mind to block out the ads that do nothing for us. Your subconscious mind is tuned into the radio station WIFM (What’s In It For Me). The subconscious blocks the marketing messages in which it is not interested and it calls your attention to those things it thinks you need to know.
For example, have you ever noticed that when you buy a new car suddenly you see that exact same car everywhere? Your new car is important to you so your subconscious mind is “tuned” into picking out your car and bringing it to your attention.
To grow your business, you need to attract clients. To attract new clients, you need to “tune” your services and your marketing messages into the WIFM station to which your clients are listening. To do this, you’re going to have to define some things.
First, you need to understand who your target clients are and what they really want. Second, you’re going to have to market your services in a way that gets attention and makes people say “WOW”.
Who is your target client and what do they really want?
You want to connect your marketing messages with the conversation going on in your target client’s mind. The only way you can do this is to really understand who your target client is in great depth, all the way to their feelings and desires, how they dress, and how they want others to see them.
At this point, it’s best if you try to describe a single person that you can picture in your mind. You can even name them. Some find it helpful to picture a particular character from a TV show or movie, or from someone they have known in the past that has the exact characteristics for which they are looking.
Having a well defined target client will enable you to:
• Position yourself as the expert for their problems
• Easily justify the price you charge
• Focus more on the needs and interests of your clients
• Maintain a concentrated marketing focus instead of diluting
your efforts to meet every need of every client and, in the
end, satisfying no one
Initially, you may worry that you will lose business because you are defining your target too narrowly. However, if you focus on catering to a specific type of client, and if you place all your marketing efforts there, you will soon reap the rewards of the clients who flock to you because you have what they want. In addition, you will be able to do so at a much lower cost than trying to cater to a broader customer base.
Over time you will also find your client’s will recommend you to the people they know. “Birds of a feather flock together” — your customer will know others who also need your services.
Defining your target customer isn’t always easy – but take a stab at, and then build on your results.
Second, What Is Your “Wow” Factor
When you meet someone for the first time, what do you say when they ask what you do? Do you say “I practice Healing Touch” or do you say “I help cancer patients recover faster”?
You need a good short introduction that makes your target client ask, “Wow – how do you do that?” Building a good short introduction takes some effort, but it is absolutely worth it because of the added advantage you will have in the market. You are going to use your short introduction throughout all your marketing — on Facebook, LinkedIn, in your blog, and of course, when networking with others.
It is the wow factor that cuts through the clutter and gets noticed in the vast sea of Internet advertising and marketing messages. A good short introduction is:
• Ten or fewer words
• Not confusing—it stands alone
• Does not require someone to be an expert in your field to
understand it
• Makes your target client ask, “Wow, how do you do that?”
Once you have developed your short introduction, you need to create a short story or elevator speech to follow it up.
Imagine getting in an elevator and someone asks what you do, and you respond with your short introduction. They say, “How do you do that?” Now what do you say?
Think of a short story you can quickly tell someone in about 30 to 60 seconds—the length of an elevator ride. This is a short story about you, as well as, how you help your clients. The story should be easy to remember and repeat. It can be a story about one of your clients who you helped or it can be a personal story about why you do what you do. You want your short story to be genuine and from the heart. Tell your story to some of your friends and get their input. They may bring up points about you that you may have overlooked.
Use your short story to complete your bio on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites. Add your short story to your brochure and other marketing material.
Now you know the biggest secret for growing a successful practice. One word of caution, don’t expect to get your target client and marketing messages done in an hour. You will need to “try them out” and refine them over time. Once you get it right, you will find it easy to connect with your target client and to grow your practice.
Every Monday I produce a short marketing tip for the small business owner. If you want to grow your practice, go towww.SmartGuideToMarketing.com and signup for our free weekly Success Tip.
About the author:
During a career spanning 16 years and 4 contentents, Greg Pitstick brought the best, money making ideas to companies around the world. Ideas on how to trounce the competition using the best of technology combined with the best business ideas.
”After being a globe trotting idea entrepreneur for 16 years, I hung it up in 2004 to spend time with my growing family – four kids and a fantastic wife. But the lure of developing and sharing new money making ideas could not be put to rest. The growth of social networking and the internet called me back to help professionals learn how to harness the new wave of technology. Working with Bill, we created the Smart Entrepreneur’s Guide To Social Networking. It is a complete strategy on how to get more customers without spending a ton of cash”
Greg’s irreverent, somewhat crazy style brings excitement into LGM3. Never boring, Greg is committed to bringing the best training and goal oriented development to other professionals. As a professional speaker, Greg not only provides excellent training, but he also motivates others to get up and change their world.