Action is great! But without focus?

I wanted to expand upon and provide a spin on Seth Godin’s blog post today, Just Looking. In a nut-shell, he’s encouraging action – “quit looking and buy something already.” Amen brother! But he touches on something else too – focus. He uses the example of someone entering a clothing store and asking for a suit in a specific size and predicts (probably accurately) that this person is more likely to buy than someone who is “just looking.”

“Stop looking and buy” is a great directive, but the suit buyer had to get to that point right? How did he do it? He focused.

I see refusal or inability to focus in marketing and selling professional services all the time – our client base and skill sets tend to be broad and because of increased competition we’re concerned about missing an opportunity due to too narrow a focus. I find myself asking my consultants to “focus” or “target” so often I wonder how they stand me? And the funny thing is, they KNOW a lack of focus won’t bring them business, but they still cast a wide net just in case they catch something instead of investing resources behind a targeted, proven revenue source. Pretty illogical if you ask me.

So, what does this have to do with the suit guy? Well, he needed a suit, he knew where to get one, went there, asked for what he needed, and (probably) bought it. Successful transaction. Well, if you’re a consultant and know there is a group of buyers that need your services, shouldn’t you focus on those buyers? Shouldn’t you try to become their suit store – the place they go when they need something specific?

But Amanda, you just said that our skill set tends to be broad; how can we become the go-to provider of something specific?

By consistently providing and communicating good work. When you’ve proven that you can meet the need of a client consistently over time, they will come to you again. And what’s more, they will also come to you when they’re not sure you do what they need because they trust you. And if they can use the same provider for a number of services who has consistently done good work, why would they go anywhere else? The “something specific” I’m referring to is good work and trust, because those are the things you’re actually selling as a professional service provider.

Focus on those who have purchased from you before and those who fit tightly into your target market, because without focus, action can be very ineffective.