One of the fascinating things I enjoy about flying is the ability to see the big picture and view the world in three dimensions. I remember returning to Dyess AFB from a refueling sortie and looking below where I could see San Angelo, Texas on one side of the cockpit, and small cars slowly moving like ants on a trail to our destination city, Abilene, on the other side. It took over an hour to drive by car, but I could easily see the entire distance that separated the two cities in one glance.
As normal, earth-bound beings, we look at a trip in the car as a slow, two-dimensional experience where we have a start, then move slowly from point-to-point along a path until we come to our final destination. On the interstate, we can gauge our progress by looking at the mile markers along the route; yet, while we are driving, we can only see what is directly in front of us, or where we just passed.
Life is somewhat similar, we have a beginning (birth) and an end (death), and between those two points we travel slowly enough through time so that we can only see what is immediately ahead of us, or where we just passed. However, if I could add an additional dimension to your perspective, say a metaphorical view of your life from 30,000 feet, you could easily see that life is a trip marked by specific transitions along your path. These transition points are significant moments in your life that gauge your growth and development, and you often use them as references or markers for all other events you experience.
Between the starting and ending marker, people experience other life transitions such as going to school, getting a job, finding that special someone and getting married, having and raising children, moving to a new location, retiring, and so forth. We often mark our calendars each year to celebrate or remember specific life transitions such as our birth, marriage, or the death of a loved one.
I’m stating what may seem like the obvious because the power of life transitions does not appear to be so obvious to most businesspeople. They tend to take the two-dimensional view of a prospect as someone who does or does not have a need right now for what they’re selling. If they took the 30,000-foot perspective of a person, they would treat everyone differently and realize that even though a person doesn’t have a need for their product at this immediate moment, there will come a point in time as they move along the path of life when that need is heightened and they will be highly qualified. This concept underscores the importance of providing excellent customer service to everyone because a person treated with respect and consideration – even though they aren’t interested in buying from you now – will seek you out when that need arises if you make it easy for them to find you.
For example, when two people are engaged to be married, they have a heightened need for things such as a ring, wedding cake, photographer, caterer, wedding dress, tuxedo, etc. Most businesspeople congregate right at the figurative road marker labeled “engaged” and they clamor for attention like a political road rally gaggle, trying to snag their share of the market as the couple passes by them.
What would happen if, instead, you could grab the attention of the engaged couple even before they met each other, and you could create the desire early enough for them to want what you have when that special moment arrives? I brainstormed with several clients whose main clientele were engaged couples, and we came up with two strategies to not only separate them from their competition, but to also place them in front and position them as the obvious, best choice even before couples needed their services.
One event that we planned was a Summer Bash party for high school and single, college-aged individuals. Our client, a wedding and senior portrait photographer, formed an advisory group of upcoming seniors from different high schools to help plan the party. Shirts were given to everyone with the Summer Bash logo on the front and the names and logos of the sponsoring businesses on the back. It was a huge success with hundreds of people attending, and getting a group photo sent to them to remember the event. It was so popular that it became a recurring annual event that attracted people from many different cities, and our client became THE preferred wedding and senior portrait photographer in the region.
The second event was a bridal fair. Even though there was one held every year, some of my clients complained that it was lame and it needed more pizzazz, so we created our own. It was held at a client’s reception center, and another client, whose daughter was a former state beauty pageant winner, called in some favors to have professional models showcase the bridal gowns and tuxedos to hip music. All of the businesses gave out “bridal bucks” with each purchase to help promote the event and then use during the fair to bid for items at an auction. The bridal fair was so popular that people had to park several blocks away from the reception center, and the police were called to direct traffic. It not only attracted a lot of engaged couples, but also many of their single friends and family who would one day get married. It became THE bridal show to attend each year and it helped to separate my clients from their competition when individuals became engaged.
These are just a couple of ways to keep prospects thinking about you before they need what you have. There are many other methods you can use to position your business in a way that will make you the most obvious choice when they approach a life transition marker and have a need for what you have to sell.
I’ve put together the best of what I’ve studied and done to create something that has the potential to help a business dominate their market. Using the analogy I’ve mentioned throughout this article, your best position is to be invited to become the driver of the vehicle as people approach a life transition marker. Not only will they see you as the best, most obvious choice, but they will respect your professional advice because you’ve become the person or business they know, like and trust, even before they have a need for what you’re selling. If you’d like to place yourself in that position, then stay tuned for some other ways that have a way of putting you in the right place when people need what you have during their life transitions.
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