I must tell you, it is an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous
early summer day here in Boulder. And I’ll be out in it
soon after I send this to you. (-:
Well ’nuff said about that, let’s get down to
business…
With the end of the second quarter – midpoint in the
year – it’s always a good time to reflect on the past
six months and revision and refocus on trajectory for
the next six.
A trajectory, as opposed to a set of specific goals
refers to one particular direction you’d like to go. In
other words, if you were certain that at the end of the
next six months you’d be very glad you traveled in that
direction, where would you go, what would you do?
So let’s look at it through the lens of Dan Kennedy’s
“Results Triangle”.
Now I offer this as a tool to “reboot your mindset”
twice a year, and I happen to like the calendar cycle,
July 1 and January 1, partly because my birthday is in
mid-June, and partly because it’s easy to remember, but
you can “reboot” at any time.
In the Kennedy Results Triangle, you have Message, Media
and Market. Let’s look first at your message.
This is where you ask yourself who are you in relation
to your ideal customer. You can go from mission to
purpose to unique selling proposition – in other words
you have to answer the following question for your ideal
customer: “Why should I do business with you rather than
any other alternative?”
Especially in today’s internet-based “level playing
field”, it’s imperative that you stand out.
So that means more that just “great service at
reasonable prices”.
For instance an accountant might offer to not only
complete your tax return but run a complete insurance
audit once a year for you, evaluating all your
alternatives and seeking ways to save you money and
cover risks you might not have been aware of.
To be continued…
Next week we’ll look at your market, i.e. your ideal
customer. But for now… let the summer begin!