What the Rat in My Garage Taught Me About Marketing!

As you reach out to your target market to share with them about your services, you'll want to connect to their "pain".  Their pain is the area in which they are struggling, and the area where you have the solution to their problem.
 
Here is a really great example of how my pain met up with a service provider's solution ... beautifully.
 
One night a couple of weeks ago, as I was taking some trash to the garbage can which is stored in my garage, I saw a BIG rat crawling above the top of the garage door.  I hurriedly opened the garage door about a foot, and left it open for some time,  praying that the rat would run outside.

EEEEUUUUUWWWW!!! 

Living in South Florida, rats are a part of the lifestyle here, and they get into people's homes all the time.  Who can blame them?  It's warm, safe and a great place to raise their young.  Still, this was MY home!  (My pain, right?)

I immediately looked for info on the internet about what to do, and I discovered that you have to rat-proof your home - there are myriad ways for them to get in.  I called a guy from a website, and he immediately called me back. (Score one for him!)

He gave me more information which intensified my fears (or pain):  maybe I have rats in the attic or walls.  Listen tonight to see if I hear scratching or movement.  Do you think I was listening that night?  HECK YEAH!  (I didn't hear anything, but that didn't necessarily mean that there wasn't anything.)

When he came the next day, he checked our attic (nope, no rats, thank God!).  He then looked at our roof and took pictures of all the places rats could get in, and showed me how the rat had gotten into the garage.  Seriously, there was a 3/4" x 3" gap at the bottom of our garage door.  THAT was how it got in.

My pain had increased significantly!  I was so grossed out, and was now horrified that I could have a whole bunch of rats living in my garage.

Then, he took me through his sales process.  He could fix the places in the attic, set traps in the garage, fix the garage door gap, and as a matter of caution, set traps in the attic - just in case.  (Score two for him!)

Do you think I was ready to hand over my credit card to him?  ABSOLUTELY!  While it was only $600, I would have paid more, believe me, to get out of my pain.

So, here's the point:  My pain met up with his solution, and I readily - even happily - paid.  He set the traps, fixed the open areas in my roof, and now I feel MUCH safer.  (Score three for him!)  My peace of mind was worth that and so much more!

We talked about his business, a little, too.  He said it's pretty much recession-proof, which I can believe.  And he did all the "dirty" work.  I didn't have to do anything.  (Score four for him!) Was he of service to me?  Absolutely!  Will I tell all my neighbors?  Heck, yeah!

You see, pain is not a bad thing.  And for your clients, their pain is not a bad thing.  We all go through pain of various natures, depending upon our situations. 

When I went looking for someone to solve my pain, I was clear that I wanted someone who specialized in this field, someone who could take care of my problem (and even tell me what my problem was, i.e., a gap in my garage door and openings to my attic via the roof), and who would do it quickly. 

When we market ourselves, we truly need to hone in on someone's specific pain, and be clear with them about our solution to it.  Once we do that, we invite them to take the next step in resolving their pain: hiring us.  If your solution meets their pain, I promise you, they will happily work with you.  Your job is to be clear about what you offer, and what your prospective client's pain is, and then ask them for the business.

Score a BIG one for me!  I learned the lesson!