February 1, 2017
What about clients who don’t fit your new target market?
Before I get to today’s message, I have to say:
Wow, y’all are great! Thanks so much to everyone who sent in feedback about the video series I described yesterday 😀
I got a TON of great feedback that will be super helpful in making a more valuable product.
There were a few common questions that I’d like to quickly address before I get to today’s email:
1) Will there be a Slack room (or similar) where people can discuss the videos?
Yes, there will be some sort of discussion option available. It might be group office hours, it might be a Slack room, it might be a video-specific chat log. I haven’t decided yet, but your suggestions are welcome!
2) How in-depth with the videos be?
This is a good question, but I’m not sure how to answer it. IMHO, they’ll be very in-depth, in the sense that you’re going to actually see me - warts and all - executing various steps, wrestling with decisions, and heading down the occasional dead end. That said, these things might not be directly applicable to someone’s situation, and therefore might seem shallow? I’m planning to release some example videos once I have a few recorded... do you think that would suffice?
3) Will the videos be useful to folks outside of the US?
Assuming you can understand my spoken English - which you can confirm by listening to my podcast at Ditching Hourly - the majority of videos will be of use.
If your spoken English is not great and you’re planning to sell to English speakers, the videos on podcasting, webinars, and conferences will probably not be useful.
4) (and, of course) How much will it cost?!
I’ve settled on a launch price for the base tier. I’m not ready to announce it yet but I can tell you that it’ll be than $1,000.00 USD.
Okay, enough about the video series... on to today’s email:
The first thing I’m doing in my relaunch of jonathanstark.com is to fill in the blanks on my laser-focused positioning statement (LFPS):
I’m a DISCIPLINE who helps TARGET MARKET with EXPENSIVE PROBLEM. Unlike my competitors, UNIQUE DIFFERENCE.
For my target market, I’ve selected credit unions.
Which raises the question:
> “What about prospects who come along who AREN’T credit unions?”
From time to time, you might take on a client that is outside of your target market. The most common reason to do so is that you need the money for cash flow reasons.
This is fine if you recognize it for what it is:
A survival tactic that doesn’t directly contribute to the growth of your business.
i.e., It’s not the end of the world, but not ideal either.
Regarding existing clients who don’t fit your new LFPS, that falls under the heading of “you should be firing the bottom 20% of your clients every year” anyway.
Of course, letting clients go is a delicate situation and should be handled with empathy, but at the end of the day it’s healthy for both parties.
If you’re not a good fit anymore, it’s perfectly reasonable to part ways. Hand them off to someone better suited to serve them and you’ll both be better off.
Yours,
—J