Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

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Screen Shot 2014-01-08 at 4.12.51 PMI just purchased a gift card off of a website I’ve never been to before.  I received the confirmation email, and 2 minutes later, I received an email confirming I’ve been added to their newsletter. SO SMART.

If I give you ALL of my contact info, and my money, you should sign me up for your newsletter automatically. Yet, somehow this never seems to happen. I won’t rant again, BUT as you are setting up your processes for 2014, make sure to include the newsletter confirmation email. Anyone who hires you, buys from you, asks to know more about you, needs to be on that list.

And the confirmation email? It’s very straightforward and easy to unsubscribe if I don’t want it. And in this case I don’t so I will. But no harm, no fowl.

Your Elevator Pitch: Know Your Target Market

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I was in a meeting this week and we were talking about the elevator pitch. Once you have it down, you’re set. But until then, you fumble and it stresses you out, keeps you up, and can be maddening. Why is the elevator pitch so hard to master for many of us?

I think a big piece of it is because your Target Market is too broad, or you have too many. PICK ONE. I want to have a very clear picture of your ideal client. If I don’t know who they are, I can’t ask questions about similar people that you also probably serve. When I talk about my ideal client I say they are “a solo-prenuer with 0-10 employees who loves what they do but hates the sales and marketing piece of their job.” Does someone come to mind? I bet it does…If I said “I do sales and marketing consulting,” the possibilities are endless!

Financial Planners are easy to harass on this point, but they DO make for a good example. They’re a dime a dozen and there’s too many of them. “Anyone with money is a good referral.” And so I send you no referrals. “I work with women who are suddenly single through death or divorce,” and I have a list of 10 people to send you. This doesn’t mean they don’t serve men or couples, but it means this is the niche that they’re an expert. And so I ask “hey I know a couple who I think would be a good fit, are you interested?” Yes, they can do that. OR, no but I know someone who does…

When you’re working on your elevator pitch, make sure you’re talking about your target market. Paint the picture of the perfect client. The funny thing is: people will ask you for different things. Don’t tell them what you don’t do. Don’t tell them EVERYONE you serve, it’s okay to be more specific, it makes it easier to send referrals. Trust me.