All doctors sell health care. But one doctor may really sell relief, while another sells strength. Get clear on what you sell by truly understanding what your clients gain from working with you. When you voice what you really sell and marry that with what the market longs for, you create truly powerful products and services.
The trick is to get down to the essence of what you provide for your clients. It’s most powerful when it’s one word, but two words or a short phrase will do. You want to drill down to an essence of your work that is strongly connected to your why.
For example, on the surface, I sell marketing. Like other marketers, I offer knowledge and experience about how to market—what to say and where to say it to get interest in your business—but there’s something deeper. At this deeper level, I sell growth. My clients come to me in order to grow their businesses via their marketing. But when you hire me, you get more. In our work together, my clients also grow their professional selves, and ultimately their personal selves. The essence of what I sell is transformation, and it’s connected to my why of improving the world through people-healing.
If you don’t know the essence of what you offer, then look! Talk to your clients, friends and colleagues. They see what you give more easily than you do. Or, hire someone to help you. Once you have some insights, try on the words or phrases. Dabble, experiment and be open until the right description settles on you a little more comfortably than the rest. Knowing and articulating your essence makes all the difference. It’s the first step to growing—yourself and your business.