Building Your Online Platform Part 2
There is no better way to get your message heard in a sea of noise than to use your potential patient’s own internal dialogue in your marketing. What do they think? How do they feel? What do they want?
By having a thorough understanding of the above when it comes to your ideal client, you’ll be able to capture their attention like nobody’s business. If you get this right, they will want to hear more about what you have to offer… If you get it wrong, they’ll be clicking you goodbye.
In order to discover your ideal client’s internal dialogue, you will find the answers you seek in your intake forms, interviews, and patient interactions – provided you are asking them the right questions:
- What are their biggest pain points?
- What problems do they have because of their condition?
- What is their condition holding them back from doing? Sleeping? Playing with their kids? Riding a bicycle? Wearing a bathing suit?
Their answers to these questions reveal the plight of the many people out there who you can also help.
Resist the temptation to put any slick marketing spin on their words. Don’t try to make it sound “better.” Use their exact phrases. This is how you will make your message stand out from all the other messages. You will use phrases that your very own patients have confessed to you – their inner most thoughts, problems, fears, and desires.
When your potential client sees this, they think,
“Wow. This person knows exactly what I’m feeling, thinking, and experiencing. Finally, this is the expert I have been looking for.”
If you get this right, you’ve gotten their attention. But in most cases, getting their attention is not enough to get them to take action. To get them to take action, you will need to sell them on the benefits they are going to realize by working with you, otherwise known as…
The Transformation
The transformation is what is really going to sell your offer and inspire your potential clients to action. You want them to envision what their life will be like after working with you. Paint a picture for them of what they are going to get.
Describing the transformation that you provide can be very tricky. Most people don’t get this one right. They are far too vague and use words that miss the mark. Ultimately you want your potential clients to see themselves with the results that your program or process provides.
The better you are able to describe the transformation and make it tangible, the more likely your clients are to click the “buy” button, because people buy on emotion. So…how do you get to those tangible descriptions? Say the transformation you provide is “more peace in your life.” But this is not tangible, not specific enough. What does more peace look like?
Don’t forget to include The Transformation in your offer.
Here is an example of an exercise you can do to help you discover the specific transformation your offer provides:
Q: What is the pain they are experiencing?
A: Their relationships are strained, they are unhappy, and stressed.
Q: What is the result of that stress?
A: They can’t sleep.
Q: What is the result of not sleeping?
A: They are cranky.
Q: What is the result of being cranky?
A: They have a short temper.
Q: What is the result of having a short temper?
A: They yell at their kids and argue with their spouse.
Voila! You have now gotten to the nitty gritty of the pain their problem is causing them – something that they can relate to. Then, you can show them how your process will transform their life:
Q: And if they did not yell at their kids and argue with their spouse?
A: They would have more peace in their life.
Remember, the more concrete your examples are, the better your clients can picture themselves getting the benefits of your specific program. The result? You make the sale.
It’s not easy to get heard these days. Our culture is overexposed to a staggering number of messages each day via email, Facebook, billboards, radio, television, YouTube, yadda, yadda, yadda… we are on sensory overload. The key to creating a successful online platform… and a practice full of patients you love, is getting your ideal client’s attention.
The operative words here are your ideal client. You don’t need to get everyone’s attention. You just need to get the attention of the people who want what you have to offer. Those are the people who will follow your advice, get results, love your program, and refer you tons more people. This is how you grow by attraction.
