The 'three foot rule' is an old school MLM strategy of prospecting new customers. It entails discussing your business with anyone that basically comes in contact with you. Whether it's a waitress at your favorite restaurant or your Aunt Betty EVERYONE is a prospect. Stop right there...its 2010, Attraction Marketing has opened the door to opportunities for the average person to connect with their potential customers and create income in a new way. For an online entrepreneur, business on the Internet creates huge opportunities. Back in the 80's your Aunt Betty may have been receptive to your discussion about your products, now your Aunt will tell you straight out 'I'm not interested, sweetie'. A serious entrepreneur needs to catch the new wave of presenting their products to the world and there has never been a better time to start promoting your product/service on the internet.
What does leveraging from the Internet really mean? Why is it an advantage to promote my product/service on the Internet? Where do I start?It's easy to be overwhelmed when you start an Internet business. How do I connect with all the millions of people online? How can I get them to buy my products? Slow down there for a second.
"People who try to be everything to everybody wind up meaning nothing special to anyone." (Ann Sieg, The Renegade Network Marketer)
This is why the basis of the 'Three Foot Rule' is incorrect; your product can't be all things to all people. (Even chocolate caters to different niches, well I'm probably in every niche but that's a different story!)
You need to find your product's niche. Who wants to buy your product? How do the features and benefits of your product/service help your customers? Defining who your customers are helps you to define your marketing message for your niche. You want to grab their attention and choose you comfortably to buy from and become a loyal customer. Defining the right message helps you to build your brand (aka You Inc).
Marketing is defined as "the commercial processes involved in promoting and selling and distributing a product or service."
You can create a marketing campaign targeted to a key group and measure your results. We will cover what content later on in this series. The key group of people you are focusing on is called a niche.
A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing; therefore the market niche defines the specific product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that is intended to impact.
Here's an example of how you can break down a large niche into a sub section. Money is one of the mega niches. You can create marketing campaigns for all the smaller niches over time. Let's not get to far ahead of ourselves for now, lets focus on one. (I like your way of thinking though).
3 Mega Niches-
1.Money;
1a.Retirement
1b.Starting a business
1c.Marketing Online
1d.Real Estate.
2.Relationships
3. Health & Well Being
To gain potential customers trust you need to provide value, the way you can achieve this is by understanding what they need, provide them with the information in an appropriate format and that's how you start to create a relationship with potential customers. The 'information' age aka Attraction Marketing is all about adding value, assisting others by solving their problems and concerns by providing them valuable information for free. This is your way of establishing your expertise and attracting your customer to you instead of chasing your customer down like a stalker.
How to Select a Niche.
1. You need paper and pen and a quiet space to brainstorm your ideas.
2. Write down all the different types of people that would want to start a small business...
a. Mothers that want to work from home.
b. People wanting to leave the Corporate environment
c. Creators of new products i.e. a new clothes range
d. People that want to turn some form of their hobby into a small business i.e. a person that loves fishing may create their own custom fishing rods.
3. Select one of the options from your list. (Don't throw this list away). Create a profile of your ideal customer based on one of these points. If its mothers who want to earn an income from home; What are their likes, dislikes, how much money are they willing to commit to a business? Where do they live? What type of products would they want to represent? What previous business experience do they have? What sort of training would you they need? At this stage you should have a profile of your ideal customer/team member.
4. People purchase when they are in a heightened emotional state. (Another reason why the 'Three foot rule' isn't doing anyone any favours). Create a list of concerns your customer has right now? What is it that really troubles them? Is it their families' debt? Is it guilt for not spending time with the kids? Are they finding it hard to manage their time? Are they concerned about their weight after having their last child? Do they find it hard to find 100% cotton made clothes for their children with skin allergies? I've been a bit broad to provide you some examples.
5. What do they need to help them? How can your product help them? What could help them resolve their concerns in the form of information? What's the format of this information?
Please note: A lot of information on the Internet about niches is based on the format of your message i.e. creation of an article, blog post, squidoo lens etc. Don't let this confuse you; a niche is a group of people not the format of the message.
How do I know I am on the right track with my profile?
Create your profile in a format that you can refer to. Identify key industry leaders in your field and be abreast of what is happening and to look out for changing trends in the type of content and format you're potential customers are looking for.
Summary
· The 'Three Foot Rule' is outdated; only approach your warm market if they fall into the niche you have selected.
· Define the ideal person you would want on your team and as a customer.
· Learn as much as you can about their concerns and needs. Focus your message around how you can help them with the information you provide for free to help build rapport and draw them to you instead of chasing.
What's next;
Join me on my website for part 2 of the series- How to generate leads with Attraction Marketing- "How do I become a lean mean marketing machine?" Part 2 of a 5 part series
Alison Bova
Live Beyond Nine to Five mission is to empower people who want to excel personally and become their own boss and live the life they choose.
"In each of us are places where we have never gone. Only by pressing the limits do we ever find them." Dr Joyce Brother
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