Don’t believe the sales pages (necessarily).
Every season there are more and more “how to make money doing what you love” programs with really compelling sales pages. And while I’ve written before on the subject of what icks me out about The Glorification of More, what I want to talk about here is how hard it is to assess our own business needs and our own abilities in the face of so many confidently-presented program offers.
The sales page script is something like this: I used to have the same problem you have but then I solved it and you can too if you do as I do. Click here to buy.
When we read a powerful sales page, sometimes it’s hard to hear our own voices.
I know I sometimes think “Oh, maybe I need THAT?” when, before hearing about a certain program, I’d been pretty sure I needed something else. Or – ha! – that I hadn’t needed anything.
Because I don’t know enough about the solution, I have to trust that if the “problem” the expert describes having solved sounds a lot like mine, then her solution will work for me. It seems like reasonable logic. And in the absence of other information, it’s really all I have to work with.
But a sales page can’t know what we know (and sometimes, we’re not sure we can either).
What that expert needed to learn (and then teach) may not be what you need to learn or what I need to learn. I wish sales pages wouldn’t presume to know what we need to learn, or speak with such authority on the subject, but I don’t think it’s malevolence – more a case of everything looking like a nail when you’re a hammer.
So what to do about this? Well, I’ve been studying self-employment for several years and have had the privilege of seeing behind the scenes of small businesses that are successful and those that are struggling and, from my vantage point, clear patterns have emerged.
I’ve identified eight specific capabilities necessary for satisfying self-employment and happy small business ownership.
I’ve also identified an order to these skills. Each lays a more solid foundation for the one that follows. (In my case, I had a good handle on clear communication and client empathy but because I was weak in understanding sustainable pricing, I struggled.)
1. Client empathy
Successful small business owners know their clients and feel their clients. Because their understanding is empathetic, they offer the specific services that are needed and communicate them in a way that makes their marketing compassionate (and compelling).
2. A solid understanding of sustainable pricing methods
Successful small business owners know how to price their offerings. They use basic math, taking much of the emotion right out of it.
(This is a core module of The Pink Elephant School of Kind Business™ because it was my own biggest lesson.)
3. Clear communication
Successful small business owners know how to explain what they do clearly, genuinely, and originally so that people understand, remember, and tell others. It’s not about scripts; it’s about clarity and, ultimately, kindness.
(The website writing workbooks in the Pink Elephant Academy Bookstore are designed for exactly this purpose, and How to Write a Lovable Homepage is our best-seller.)
4. Website savvy
Successful small business owners don’t necessarily know how to code their own websites from scratch (although that’s a handy skill if you’ve got the time and interest) but they do know how to do (or delegate) basic maintenance and how to organize the content of their site. The experience and design of their websites reflect the spirit and heart of their businesses. Their websites do a lot of the work for them (and sometimes, all of the work).
5. Community building
There are a lot of sales programs that can teach you “techniques” for closing deals but I find it feels much better and is far more sustainable to be surrounded by people who like and support you. Successful small business owners may or may not have big communities, but the people who like/follow/read them want to be there and are enthusiastic. There are a few different means of reaching out and building community: email marketing, blogging, social media, and public relations are four key ones. Get good at just one (and then layer in another when you’re interested in trying something new).
6. A healthy relationship with money
So many of us have ideas about money that don’t serve us well. We believe people in helping professions shouldn’t make much or that to focus on money is “bad” or “greedy” or we feel unworthy so we over- or under-spend. We can be afraid of financial success and we can be afraid of poverty and sometimes we don’t even know what mental scripts are running that are taking up valuable real estate in our beautiful minds. Successful small business owners recognize and ignore their own scripts, knowing that having a healthy relationship with money is the only way to open ourselves to receiving it and being conscious stewards of it.
7. Productivity
Successful small business owners have systems and/or support people in place so that they can be primarily focused on doing their great work in the world. They know how to optimize their personal rhythms and schedules to create a lot.
8. Personal Resource Management
Successful small business owners know it’s not selfish to take care of themselves – it’s good business sense, and they make it a priority. Their well must be full in order to be of service to their clients, their colleagues, and their families and communities.
Do you know your own strengths?
I think if we know what specific skills are essential (and you’ve read this post so now you do), what our own business strengths and opportunities for growth are, and what trusted programs and experts support the development of each (that suit business owners like us), then we won’t feel so susceptible to the “authority” or allure of a sales page. And we’ll support real experts who are doing good work – not just money-making work.
Sometimes, it’s hard to know objectively what we’re doing well in business when our revenue or client numbers are telling us that something is wrong. Sometimes, it feels like we need every business coaching or marketing program out there – and we don’t.
I’ve developed a neat, little online self-assessment tool I’m super proud of. It takes about five minutes and will tell you how you’re scoring in each of the eight business skill areas listed above. After you’ve got your scores and can see where you’re strong and where the opportunities for development are, I also have a list of experts and programs recommended by the Pink Elephant Community, other small business owners like you and me, so you can choose experts to follow or programs to take based on information and reliable recommendations (no affiliates here!). I hope you find it very helpful.
Click here to take the (really pretty fun) Pink Elephant Business Skills Self-Assessment Quiz.
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Writer Carrie Klassen is a green tea enthusiast, fine point pen aficionado, INFJ Scorpio, and chief creatrix at Pink Elephant Creative, a website writing and design boutique for inspired small business owners and self-employed people in helping professions. She also writes workbooks and leads business workshops at Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs, and is the founder of the Pink Elephant School of Kind Business.™
I am convinced all of humanity is born with more gifts than we know.
