Those four words put soulpreneurs into their head and out of their magic faster than you can even finish asking the question.
So let’s play a little game…
There are two people who do the exact same thing, but which one would you rather work with? Which one would you engage with?
Person A: Imagine in one hour, old beliefs that have been holding you back for years are just gone and now you have space to choose the new beliefs that actually work for you, instead of against you. I help people erase old beliefs from their brain by creating new neuropathways, which are the things in your brain that actually create and hold the beliefs you have. After a one-hour session, people often find that they can sleep better, and even things like anxiety and depression decrease along with creating new beliefs that create the amazing life you are seeking.
Person B: I’m an Access Consciousness Bars practitioner, which is a healing modality that applies light touch to pressure points on the head. I do one-hour sessions and you can come to me in my office, or I also do house call visits to make it even easier.
SAME exact thing, but the message is totally different.
Let’s try another one:
Option A: I’m a massage therapist and Reiki practitioner and I love working with women. I believe that everyone can be healed and I love to work with people who are tired of being stressed out and they want inner peace.
Option B: When my clients work with me, they integrate their goals in their body AND mind so they no longer have to rely on willpower alone to push through to reach their goals. Women I work with say that after a massage and energy work session with me, they feel aligned, balanced, whole, empowered and the negative thinking that has been sabotaging their efforts goes away. My clients are reaching their goals faster because of the work we do in just a couple of sessions a month.
SAME THING. Different message.
What I used to say:
I’m a business coach for women who own service-based businesses.
(…yawn…just like thousands of other people…and they all want clients.)
What I say now (and this changes slightly depending on who I talk to.)
I help people make consistent money in their business by teaching people how to align their message and marketing with their soul purpose so reaching your ideal clients is easy. No more income roller coasters and no more doubting your value or pricing, your business just starts working and that money problem you thought you had? It’s not a money problem, it’s a message and marketing problem and I help you solve that once and for all.
Bottom line: You are NOT your modality. Stop trying to use it as your message. And please stop hiding behind it as your identity. You are an infinite being who is pure magic, how can that possibly fit into a title on a business card or a clever title to call yourself?
When you use your modality as your message, you are likely experiencing one or all of these things:
- You find yourself in a pricing war and you don’t even know it. Now your potential customers are looking for other massage therapist, business coach, health coach, or someone to “do what you do” and if they all appear the same, they tend to find the best price and hire them.
- You undervalue yourself and don’t create consistent income.
- You may get stuck in single session pricing instead of packages because people want a session instead of the result or outcome that comes from multiple sessions. No one is hiring you and if they are, it’s for a session or few, but not anything to make consistent money with.
What’s the solution?
Talk about the benefits! Stop talking about your process, the length of sessions, or the specifics of the modality. That stuff comes AFTER you talk about the benefit and what’s possible, and only when people ask.
Tip 1: Think about what’s possible when people work with you. What starts changing for them? What have other clients experienced? If you are working on getting your first client, then consider what transformation you have experienced from the process you are going to take people through.
Tip 2: Answer the “so that.” I help people feel inner peace. Perhaps that’s true, but it doesn’t answer the question that people have running in the background “why should I care?” When you answer the “so that,” THAT is the thing that is connected to their wallet.
Tip 3: Embody Your Value. If you are trying to PROVE your value, it doesn’t matter what you say, none of it will land for people. When you EMBODY your value, you can use fewer words and the words you do use will actually be received by people. That is when people engage.
How do you know if you are in a cycle of “proving”:
You may namedrop like crazy to let people know how cool you are.
You talk about yourself and everything you’ve accomplished to let people know how accomplished you are.
You explain the what and the why until people just say anything to get you to stop talking.
We’ve all done this crazy stuff at some point. And we learn. The key is to talk less, LISTEN MORE.
Tip 4: Go to where your peeps are. If you are going to a networking group with mostly men in the financial services industry, and you are a Reiki practitioner, then you may want to rethink where you are spending your time.
Example for someone like a life coach or an energy healer:
“I help people feel inner peace.”
(And so does watching the sunset – for free, or listening to their child laugh – for free.)
OR, would this engage you more: “I help people feel empowered with life situations that felt impossible to manage, things that have plagued them with anxiety, self doubt, and even depression. What if instead of buckling under the stress and yelling at your kids, or over-reacting to your your spouse or co-workers, you cope with life with ease. You find joy in every-day life, including really challenging times of loss, transition and fear of creating change. When you create life to be this peaceful, everything from your job, to your income, to your health are impacted in a positive way.
In example B, the “so that” was answered. The “why should I take time from my busy life and care about this,” was answered. The “why is this important enough to pay for,” was answered.
Yeah, but Angella… what about:
- I have to identify a narrow niche otherwise people won’t know who I work with.
FALSE – stop telling yourself you have to fit in the niche box. - Your examples you gave are way too wordy and will never fit into a 30-second elevator pitch.
SOLUTION: when do you ONLY have 30 seconds to talk to someone. You can likely take 60 seconds.
AND, narrow down the paragraph to one core sentence when you do just have 30 seconds. - I don’t know what I really do for people.
ANSWER: I know, everyone struggles with this. There are days that I forget what I “do” because I’m busy doing it. This is why a mastermind and/or a coach is great because they remind you of what you do, remind you of the benefits and the value, when you get sidetracked with doubt. It’s going to be okay if you stop trying to figure it out by yourself.
Overall, answering the so-that and getting really clear on your benefits will help you stand out, attract clients and now you have something viable to market.
Free Resource: Soul Message Archetype™
A free resource to help you embody your value, like I recommended in tip #3 earlier is to take the Soul Message Archetype™ Quiz. Once you know this you know the why you do what you do. This is a subtle, and profound thing for you. People who take this can always come back to their Soul Message Archetype™ as a way to remind themselves of the value they bring to the world.
