of Unthink. He utilizes the art of painting to deliver his speeches, awe his audience, and leave behind a real masterpiece. Another amazing speaker, Dan Thurmon, known as a dynamic keynote speaker, peak performance coach, and the author of Off Balance on Purpose, utilizes the art of comedy, coupled with juggling and acrobatics, to deliver his message. He guarantees a flipping good time, literally.
● Restaurant owner. Instead of thinking of yourself as just a person that owns a restaurant, be specific. What type of food do you specialize in? Is there a specific food you are famous or recognized for, or want to be? Do you have a secret recipe? What location are you based out of? Are you in the city or the suburbs? Do you have a single location or several locations? What are your demographics? What type of environment do you want to create – an upscale one or laid-back, cozy one? Either one will work, but it's important to the overall mission of the organization to have clarity. What type of clientele would you like to attract? Are you looking to attract a younger crowd, older crowd, families, or a mixture? Will you hold special events, like karaoke night or “kids eat free” night? How involved in the community are you or would you like to be? Do you have a theme? I recently threw an event in Dallas, Texas, and used Eddie Deen's Ranch as my event location. With its ranch-themed location resembling something out of a Clint Eastwood movie, with bull riding, square dancing, and BBQ-style cuisine, it does a great job of giving you that true Texas experience.
● Martial arts school. Instead of thinking of yourself as someone who just owns a martial arts school, be specific. What style of martial arts do you specialize in – Jiu-Jitsu, karate, judo? What is your specialty? Is it training law enforcement/military, kids' classes, or women's self-defense? What town or city is your school based in and how far can you draw students from? Answering these questions allows you to create a specific focus. I discuss this in later detail as we progress on our visibility journey.
● Real estate agent. Instead of thinking of yourself as just a standard real estate agent trying to sell properties, be specific. What kinds of properties are you trying to sell? Single homes, family homes, condos, apartments? Are you interested in acquiring homes too? Do you or have you considered flipping houses? Are you represented by a major real estate agency? Can you use its brand and credibility to perpetuate your individual credibility and brand? Is your only focus to sell properties, or have you considered selling home warranties as an additional source of income? What type of networking/referral systems have you built? Do you have relationships with home inspection agents or termite inspection agents? Do you focus on building relationships with real estate attorneys or homeowner insurance companies? What about landscapers, carpenters, and home builders? If not, then you are missing out on major opportunities. Think about it. You can build a strong referral business in all of these different areas. To get started, you can search for local companies in your area that fall within the categories of service mentioned earlier. Make a list of them and their addresses, and deliver a box of donuts and a box of joe along with a stack of business cards. Explain to them that you are looking to partner with some local businesses to create win-win solutions in which each refers business to the other. You reap what you sow. Partnering and nurturing relationships with other businesses will plant seeds that reap a great return.
● What is different and better about you? What makes you unique?
● What awards have you won?
● Have you been featured in any media – radio, TV, print, etc.?
● “Best of…”
● If you are a franchise, what awards has your franchise won? You can use that borrowed credibility.
● What about reviews?
● Google reviews
● Yelp
● Better Business Bureau
● Merchantcircle
● Yellow pages
● Client testimonials
● What do you do better and differently from your competitors?
● What special giveaways do you offer?
● Do you have a customer loyalty or rewards program?
● Why should someone buy from you?
● Why should someone come to your event, show, concert, or exhibit?
● Have you invented or patented a process or technology?
● Are you first to do what you are doing?
● Have you been in business a long time? How long?
● Have you been practicing your craft for a long time?
● Have you served a lot of clients, delivered a lot of speeches, or performed a lot of concerts? If so, how many?
● Do you have any celebrity (or reputable) endorsements?
● If you authored a book, did any VIPs, celebrities, or reputable people endorse your book?
● If you are a speaker or trainer, did a Fortune 500 or Fortune 100 publicly traded company, VIP, or reputable entity give you a positive survey or review?
● Has a food critic reviewed your restaurant and given you a positive review?
This is such an important question that you need to be able to identify the answer as soon as possible. I am a business owner myself. I know you might feel like saying, “Everyone or anyone,” but that is too broad of a stroke. You should not take a shotgun approach to your business. A precise focus on your targeted audience is very important.
● Who are you trying to attract? This is going to be very different from business to business and situation to situation. But I am going to list a couple of examples with principal questions that can be applied to your specific situation.
● Car salesman (sells Chryslers in Swedesboro, New Jersey)
● What are the demographics in Swedesboro, New Jersey, and the surrounding area (20–30 miles)?
● How large is the population?
● Who buys your cars?
● What is their average income?
● Are they men or women? (Women have over 80 percent of buying power.)
● What kinds of cars are they buying? New or used?
● New? Which model(s)?
● Used? What year, make, and model(s)?
● Are there any large companies in the area for “macro” selling?
● Are there any military bases?
● How far are you from a major city?
● Who spends the most money?
● Who is the best repeat customer?
● Who provides the most referrals?
● Jiu-Jitsu academy (martial art school in Philadelphia)
● Who
