Asking the right question makes all the difference. I have such a question to share with you, but before I present that question to you, I’d like to ask you another question, first. See if any of the points below describe you:
Are you experiencing any of these warning signs?
- You’re having trouble coming up with topics to write about on your business blog.
- Your fortunes fluctuate with the economy.
- Your posts are hit-or-miss with traffic and comments.
- You go through boom-and-bust cycles.
- Your subscriptions have plateaued.
These are all indicators the focus of your business needs to change. They all stem from one problem, which you will know you have if you cannot answer one single very important question.
We think of a business as selling products or services, and that’s a big mistake.
If you are in the product- or services-selling business, you will have trouble creating compelling content for your blog, because there is only so much you can say about your products and services. That gets old real fast.
If your fortunes rise and fall with the economy, what you sell isn’t necessary to people. People will always buy what is necessary, no matter what.
If your posts are hit-or-miss, it’s likely you’re not really connecting with people, and that’s because they don’t really care about what you’re saying.
If you go through boom-and-bust cycles, it’s probably because you’re an “opportunity chaser,” as internet marketer Rich Schefren puts it. Everything you do should point like a laser to a focused long-term strategy.
If your subscriptions have plateaued, it’s probably because you’re not giving anyone stuff that they can’t live without and that they want to pass around to their friends, which would grow your subscriber base. In other words, they feel their friends need to have this vital information, too.
But asking one simple question can turn all of this around, because the very act of asking the question forces the mind to begin solving it. So even by exposing you to this question, your mind will begin working on it subconsciously, causing new possibilities to open up for you.
Without further ado, here is the question:
What is the painful and protracted problem you solve?
Open a word processor (or grab a pen & paper) and write down what you think is the answer to that question. Do it quickly! Now! Don’t him and haw over it, just write it.
Got it? Okay, good. Save it and set it aside for now. Put it out of your conscious mind. Let your subconscious mind work on it “in the background” for a while.
Tomorrow, I’m going to write a post explaining exactly what the question means and why it helps (although some of you will know immediately how it helps you–you will feel that “light bulb” flashing on brightly in your mind).
If you haven’t yet subscribed, now is the time. You don’t want to miss this.
Great article, Michael. I see you’ve been doing your “homework.”
This is a good point. I normally start by trying to think about benefits, but before you get to that you have to think about the problem you solve. And I like the “painful and protracted” idea – that is what helps provide ongoing activity.
[...] in Don’t Just Save Your Business, But Make it THRIVE by Asking This Simple Question, I said that answering one simple question could make your business thrive. The question was [...]
“If your fortunes rise and fall with the economy, what you sell isn’t necessary to people. People will always buy what is necessary, no matter what.” Geesh. I told my team this exact thing this morning at our sales meeting, but you said it way better. You should run my meetings. Do you make house calls?
Good post, I was taught that one of the best marketing techniques is by telling prospective customers what problems you can take away from their equasion.