Summary: WHO is buying from you matters more than WHAT they’re buying.<br> This insight was a game changer for me. It shaped the way I do marketing and how I onboard my own clients. Fortunately, I learned this important marketing lesson early on thus enabling me to focus on building strong pillars for future growth and <a style="color: #3366ff;" href="http://www.strengthinbusiness.com/seth-godin-marketing-mistakes-avoid/" target="_blank">not fall into the many traps</a> that are easily encountered.<br> A lot of businesses get trapped into all kinds of fancy marketing strategies… They pour a ton of money into advertising, waste numerous hours on different social media channels, attend workshops and seminars to learn new marketing techniques and acquire further skills but they seldom put time aside to sit down and really think about the needs, wants, desires, fears and frustrations of their clients and prospects.<br> And then, they wonder why all their efforts lead to little AKA poor, or no results at all.<br> Isn’t that kind of insane?<br> Here are three tips to help you find and get in front of the right prospects, and more importantly, to stop marketing insanity once and for all.<br> Get In Touch With The Right Prospects At The Right Time<br> 1. Uncover their deepest fears and secret desires.<br> First, you have to KNOW whom you’re dealing with. Before you create your marketing campaign or hop on to Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media to share your message, you have to “make friends” with your avatar. Better yet, you have to get into the hearts and minds of your perfect audience. How can you accomplish that?<br> Answer the following two questions:<br> <br> * DEEPEST FEAR: What keeps my prospect awake at night?<br> * SECRET DESIRE: What does my prospect secretly desire most?<br> <br> Here’s an example to help you get the most out of this exercise and ultimately, understand the psychology of marketing to the right prospects AKA group of people.<br> Example #Deepest Fear:<br> If I fail to close the next five deals, I’ll be forced to close my business. I see no way out. And as a result of that, my family will be devastated and all those naysayers will prove right. I won’t be able to send my oldest daughter to college and my wife will probably leave me as this is the second time I’m not delivering on my promises.<br> Example #Secret Desire:<br> I want to prove all those naysayers and above all, my two poker-buddies Tom and Nick who didn’t believe in me, that I can do it. I can be successful. I want to make my wife and children proud of me. I want Martha to tell me, she’s proud of me and happy to be married to me.<br> I made the examples sound a bit dramatic, however, don’t let the above portrayed keep you from answering the questions. Often times “reality” is not what it appears to be.<br> 2. Learn to reach top decision makers quickly and connect with them on a deeper level.<br> This task can be pretty daunting especially when you’re dealing with corporates and bigger organizations. It’s not so much of a challenge when you’re targeting small businesses.<br> So, what techniques can you apply to reach key decision makers?<br> If you have a blog or podcast show for example, you can invite them to do a short 15 minutes interview and share their valuable message with your community. This is a fantastic way to establish a direct connection, see whether they’re open for a business opportunity and sell your expertise without being salesy.<br> Ever thought of leveraging your network? When a relevant person (keyword: relevant!) introduces you to a key decision maker, your chances of getting attention are very high. Therefore, build a strong network of relevant people.<br> Are you bold enough to reach out directly? You should. If you keep it simple,
