Lessons

Lesson Info

Moving Towards Value

Values as I mentioned with attracting people with similar values is all about getting people to move towards something getting them to move to towards that vision that they have for themselves getting them to move towards those values that they have for themselves well I have the sponge arrow here okay? So first of all I want to talk about quick fixes and low hanging fruit quick fixes and low hanging fruit are not about moving towards their about running away from fear they're about running away from a problem or a frustration so here's what happens makers artist designers put out a product that product is in line with their vision it's in line with their values it's in line with their aesthetic and what can happen in a business that's not kind of functioning full steam is that in order teo make some sales in order to get the hands of their product in some to some people they end up creating quick fixes where they go after low hanging fruit ah quick fix might be you know, answering ten...

emails from ten different people wanting ten different changes to the handbag that you make here about that all the time how do you run a business creating ah line of handbags when everyone wants something a little bit differently it's possible to do that but most often it happens in the form of quick fixes instead of something that you're bringing intention tio if your goal is to have a custom handbag business that's great, now you're kind of creating a desire for that type of product, but if your goal is to have, you know, just a great handbag line and you start quick fixing each product to match specifications now you're just kind of running after something, or you're running away from the fear of not having any sales of the product as you designed it. That doesn't work, it doesn't attract the right people. It doesn't position your business properly, it just doesn't work low hanging fruit. I often see also on in the online marketplaces. What do I mean by low hanging fruit? You'll see one person create one product, maybe it's a key fob, maybe it's a journal cover and then you'll see thirty one hundred of thousand shops spring up. Yeah, selling the same key fob the same journal cover the same whatever it's not about copycatting here's the thing the product wasn't the right idea to begin with. It was low hanging fruit. You saw a product that you knew people would buy. And so you decided to create that instead of creating something that solved a problem, that creator that filled a desire for someone, yeah. That was of your own original design that with your own original idea. So the problem with all of those shops that are selling the same exact thing and then wondering why they're just not getting any traction if they're going after low hanging fruit, I want all of you guys to go after the the high hanging fruit, which you never hear about you not ever hear about the high hanging fruit. Oh, but that's what? I want you guys to be going after that's, something to aspire thio going after that high hanging fruit, whether that's customers there are customers going after that high hanging for gives people something to move toward, it gives something for people to see as a tool to become the person they want to become. Also find that problem solving attracts problem customers. Now this one might be a bit confusing. We do want our products to solve problems, but we want our products to solve our customer's problems, things that they're you know they're dealing with whether it's they need a new website built or they need a new handbag or they need that little black dress that's going to make them feel fantastic. Those air good problems to solve here's the problems you don't want to solve, I need a new website and I needed to be cheap and I need it next week. Those are the problems you want to be solving those that kind of problem solving comes from problem customers, and so when you position your business around values of problem solving those kind of problems you attract people you don't want to be dealing with, you attract people who philip, you're in inbox and make you hate looking at your email early in the morning. How many does people does that happen? Teo, you attract people who keep you up late at night. You attract just all the wrong customers. It's not that problem solving is bad, but you got to make sure you're solving the right problems. Some problems don't need to be solved. You know what? You don't need a cheap website and you don't need it next week, right? This is not a problem that you want to be solving as a micro business owner and again that happens in the world of custom products all the time as well. If you bring intention to the fact that you are creating a custom product business and you price it appropriately, you position appropriate you bring in the right people to that business back. Khun work great when you see custom as the problem. But when the problem becomes your product in that it needs to be in a different color or I want the neckline to be different or can you haven't three inches, then that's a problem for your customer, not a problem for you. You don't want your product to be the problem makes sense. Instead, we want to create a positive energy and personal desire all of those brands, all of those products that we I said we're aspiring to be using over the neck five years that products and services that we want to shape who were becoming in the next five years. What kind of energy do you associate with those companies? What kind of feelings? What kind of emotion do you associate with those companies? Most likely it's excitement, it's a thrill it's kind of that burning desire you have deep down in your belly. I want that that's for me. I see myself in that customer, and so you want to do the same thing with your business. What kind of energy are you putting out through your products through your marketing through your communication, whether it's on twitter or facebook, are you putting out positive energy that people want to move toward, or you putting out negative energy that attracts all the wrong people and then there's personal desire? What images are you putting out into the marketplace? Are you creating an image of desire? Are you creating something that makes people say, I've got to have that? Are you just putting out the same all same all we don't need that I want you to be creating an image of your product that fills people with desire that makes them have to have that I need that that's the kind of values driven marketing that's going to move people toward your product and get them super excited about it? And then finally as I'm as we've been talking about, you need to know who you're asking your clients to become you need to know who you're asking your customers to become some of this they're feeding to you. I want to become a more confident mom I want to become a more humorous gift giver I want to become a cultivated collector, a curated collector on emotional collector do you know who your customers I want to become? Do you know who you're asking your customers to become there's an example from that book that I mentioned earlier? Who do you want your customers to become? By michael schrage that talks about disney and disney princesses and disney princesses right weren't always a I think we've always had what I've always had disney princesses in my life, but I never grew up wanting to be a disney princess right my daughter, on the other hand, would like to be a disney princess why? Because on executive at disney went teo a disney on ice event back before disney princess was a brand and realized that little girls we're coming to the event dressed up as their favorite disney princess now they didn't have the pre made outfit it's that little girls have now they were doing this all of their own accord there was no organized event dress up event this was happening because these girls saw themselves in this personality they saw themselves as princesses so he said, oh that's a great marketing idea and say what you will about disney princesses you know, I'm not having a conversation about whether that on awesome thing or not but it was an opportunity for that company to say I see my customers wanting to become this image and so they started creating products that allowed little girls to feel like that that allowed little girls look like that and we all know how well those products sell so that company knew who they wanted their customers to become. Who do you want your customers to become? Who are you asking your customers to become for many of you you are asking your customers to become collectors you're asking your customers to become hip you're asking asking your customers to become but kicking fashionistas we're all asking our customers to become something I'm asking my customers to become savvy successful business owners and I hope that you all will become that so what you're what who are you asking your customers to become meghan it's definitely um an individual collector and that you can collect whatever you need the artwork that makes you feel like you awesome yeah I loved your answer to that yesterday I I love it again today linda who are you asking your customers to become reflective and how they interact with the world nice like that sasha self confident thought leader wore no ha ha thoughtful and generous gift givers knife are independent and then a lot of um very much yeah no independent is fantastic we have any inter inter webs responses we do amber kane says that she's asking them to be a collector leader game changer carol wants them to be artistic creative and confident creatives and we may have a couple more rolling for fantastic great so there's some questions in your workbook then on page twenty eight that you can use to kind of finalize your thoughts we'll just run through them really quick and then we're going to run into we're going to take a look at what the values framework is so you you could be really confident in the marketing decisions that you're making so the first question we kind of already tackled these air your values what's important to you what beliefs help you to make decisions what's important to you and what believes to help you to make it decisions that speaks really directly to the purpose behind your business it speaks directly to the values that drive you that inspire you that motivate you in the way you interact with the world what's important to you and what beliefs help you make decisions the next question is why why do you make the way you make why do you create the way you create why do you coach the way you coach why do you write the way you write why do you design the way you design what is it that's motivating the process behind what you d'oh what's at the core what's the foundation of the process that you embark on on a daily basis we get so caught up in that process we get so caught up on so excited often by the actual making of things that we've forgotten to stop and think about why do I do it this way I bet there is a darn good reason why you do things the way you do them there's a really good reason why you do the things that you dio for myself the customer perspective process that we went through yesterday the reason why I used that is because I am driven and motivated by understanding the way people look at the world I'm driven and understand driven and motivated by understanding world views so much so that in college I majored in religion, which is essentially the study of people's world views. And when I sat down and looked at how I was coaching business owners, when I sat down and looked at the role I was playing and how people were understanding their businesses, I realized that's what I was doing to the driving value, the driving belief, the driving. Why behind what I did and how I did it with my curiosity, my desire to understand people's world views. And so it was really easy for me then to say, well, that's, what I need to concentrate on that's what I need to tell people about why I do what I do that's, the product that I need to create the process that I need to codify. And so drawing attention to why you do the things the way you do them can help you lead with that. Why, with that purchase on the flip side, another way to think of this is, why do you shop the way you shop? What motivates you to buy the things that you buy? What gets you excited in a store? The next set of questions is what's important to your customers? What values are they leading with when you talk to them at a craft show when you answer their emails? What are they leading off with? What did they tell you? Is important to them about what you do about the product that you create what's important to your customers? What beliefs helped them make buying decisions? What beliefs? Help them help your customers to make buying decisions. And then finally, why did they shot up the way they shop? Why did they shop the way they shop? Earlier? We talked about spending more money on organic produce. Why? Why do you choose to spend more money on organic produce? A lot of people do it for health reasons. A lot of people do it for environmental reasons. Other people do it for kind of labour and organizational. Ria since there's lots of different reasons to reach that buying decision. Why are your customers reaching the buying decisions that they're reaching on a daily basis? Understanding that allows you to create a framework that helps you make decisions about marketing, whether that's, purpose, people, position or promotion or the whole kit and caboodle. Do you want to do this, or do you want to do that? You want to use this strategy or that strategy, this tactic or that tactic? You can read a hole over the internet about all sorts of tactics to use. To market your wares to promote your wares. Which ones are right for you? The on ly way you can know is if you really focus in on your values and the values you share with your customers. So here's a couple questions to help you make those decisions first is this decision in integrity with my core values, and you can fill this in on your workbook on the one, two, three area on page twenty eight if that's helpful okay, is this decision in integrity with my core values? You know, I talked to people all the time and they say it seems like the new trend is x y z in email marketing, but that just doesn't feel right to me, but I think I was gonna I think I'm going to do it anyhow, and I'll just get over it really, really is that really what you want to put out into the world? Do you really want to try a strategy or not one hundred percent behind? Do you really want to try a tactic that feels uncomfortable too? You know now there's some things that you know you might be uncomfortable because of certain assumptions or certain misconceptions and that's a different story, but if you can identify your values and say, does this afflict with my values or is this an integrity with my valleys you could make a really confident decision about the next tactic the next strategy that you're going to take in regards to promotion the next question is does the strategy communicate at least one of my core values so it's not enough just to embark on a tactic or strategy that's in intend early with your core values you want to focus on tactics that communicate at least one of your core values so if one of my core values is learning a great promotional technique for me is to teach a free tell a seminar or two come on creative live and teach thousands of people for free that's a great strategy for may because learning is one of my core values curiosity is also one of my core values I heard that from you guys as well I can't believe I had forgotten that one and so tactics that allow me to be authentically curious with my audience also works so surveys question sending out an email that's a simple question I've been wondering are you dealing with this can you tell me about your experience with that that's a great tactic for me it pools in my audience and shows them my own curiosity about exactly what they're dealing with plus it's great you know market research but that allows me to actually communicate one of my core values through a piece of marketing and then finally, how can I differentiate my business or product based on my core values? How can I differentiate my business or product based on my core values? As I mentioned earlier, there's a lot of people, especially in the online space that do what I do or do very similar things to what I d'oh I've been lucky to figure this stuff out well, not lucky maybe, but I figure this stuff out and used it to my advantage so that my core values of learning and curiosity and flexibility are the things that I'm leading within my business and differentiating my business with so that while there are other brands that are often spoken in the same breath as my brand people know each of those brands differently based on our core values. So whether those core values air being about being glamorous or about being spiritually or about having a constant sense of learning, there is there's a way to differentiate each of those brands based on those core values, and each of those brands can use those core values to create stronger and stronger and stronger marketing messages that attract all the right people that get all the right people moving toward our solutions because again, as I said earlier, the market is infinite, there is an availability of clients for me who also aligned with the core values of learning and curiosity and flexibility and so I can trust that if I lead with those values, I'm going to attract those customers. Yes, sasha, I'm just wondering, how do you actually lied with them? Like, I mean, would you actually put a list of these? Are my values or making a graphic? With these words? Are my values or I'm getting the feeling that you do it in ways that are subtle? I didn't do it in ways that are subtle, so if you go on my sights, if you go to terra gentilly dot com, you'll see that one of my major brand images classes and what our glass is a symbol of whether rightly or wrongly, glasses are a symbol of learning of knowledge. Being a geek of geeking out on things, things on dso, my glasses, they're actually not only do I love them, but they're away that I reinforce that particular value and a super subtle way. Okay, um, how else do I do that? Well, I, uh, another one that I used to use, although it's not in my head shots anymore, is that I use a lot of head shots where I was wearing a corduroy blazer, because my brand image or the brand image that I try and put out into the world, is like a quirky hip professor. Right, I want to be the hip professor of business strategy in the new economy and so, you know, using that image of me and a corduroy blazer a classic symbol of the ivory tower kind of reinforces that value and I know that and again it's super subtle we were talking about storytelling yesterday and specifically about testimonials and I think testimonials and stories are another way you can reinforce those values without, you know, saying my values are learning curiosity and flexibility and so you know, you could do that in your about paige you khun do that three year product descriptions on sales pages, making sure that the stories that you're telling in the testimonials that you're using are communicating those values as well yeah, so far when your core values change while you're in the middle of it, have you ever it's gone through something where you you know, you were like in the middle of it and you were trying teo get it somewhere and then you realize like like half the way they're whatever that it like the core values actually not that it's actually deeper than that and then like e I think generally our core values don't change I'm not saying that there's no, that there aren't any instances of that happening certainly people wake up to different parts of themselves over the course of their life but in the end, I think our core values are pretty strong and in the eighth innate in us s o but so I liked the way you phrased the very end of that question was what if you realise there's something deeper? So if you've been concentrating on something maybe a little bit more superficial, I would just start having that deeper conversation through your marketing whether it's email marketing or social media or just, you know, even out with your friends when you're discussing your business in your aspirations, start moving the conversation from that superficial level down deeper. I don't think there's anything wrong or anything inconsistent about drilling down into really what that core value is as opposed to something that's, maybe just uninterested that is reflecting that value. Okay, so yeah, just moving that conversation down that what you're saying from everything that I've listened to an understood this is not just for the soft kraft or jewellery or small things. This is for people that cell, maybe the harder craft, the metal makers that people who do love her scale pieces am I right about? Oh, yeah, yeah, especially so if we're talking larger scale if we're talking commission's people who are taking on big projects, maybe from hospitals or corporations or just individuals the way you make connections with those people is through shared values because often we don't have a lot in common with the people or organizations that might be paying us ten or twenty or one hundred thousand dollars to do it a single product, you know, I don't have that kind of money to commission a piece like that, so because we don't have a lot of a lot in common just in terms of our everyday scenario, the place where we can have the conversations with those people are around core values. S oh, yes, definitely. It absolutely has to do with large projects or, you know, all sort every different type of business. Every business I believe in the new economy needs to have a strong foundation in its core values. Okay, great. Great clarification. Thank you. All right, let's, move on to the value piece of the puzzle. Uh, on dh. I'm going to be reiterating some stuff that we hit yesterday, but I think it will be helpful to hear it in terms specifically of marketing as well, because yesterday was all about marketing also. All right, so the first point about communicating value is that you value your process and your craft and your customers don't you value your custom, your process and your craft, your customers, adult now that's not to say that might not be interested. They might be very interested in how you laser cut all those different little things and put them together and get the color in there and oh my gosh that's very interesting but interesting is not the same thing as valued rights we don't just pay money for interesting most of the time we pay money because something means something to us we pay money because of the way we're going to use it we pay money because of what it's going to do for us. Your process doesn't fit that bill your individual craft be it laser cutting beit ceramics beit textile design doesn't fit that bill it's not valuable in and of itself you value your process because of what it means to you because of what it allows you to dio but your customers don't. So if you spend all your time marketing around your process around your product around your craft, you're not going to be hitting those buttons with your customers and that's what I find a lot of people doing that's what I feel ton in product descriptions this is how this was made that's the kind of you know that's the kind of conversations that I hear at the craft show booth I hear this is how this is made and while that is interesting it's not what gets people to buy customers care about the change they can feel or see customers care about the change they can feel or see how they're going to use the product what it means to them that's what customers care about that's what we need to lead product descriptions with which are part of marketing us well that's what we need to lead products photography with which are part of marketing that's what we need to lead subject lines and emails with maybe not all the time but way more than what we dio example of this uh megan's jewelry megan used to talk about how the product was made out of steel well that's great it's made out of steel she used to talk about how it's welded together that's great it's welded together what does that mean to me and so over the years so we're getting better and better it selling it getting better and better about communicating the value of her product she stumbled on the ultimate sales pitch this is megan almond jewelry it's super lightweight and indestructible what does that mean? I can wear it around my toddler and even if she goes like this on it it's not going to break what else does it mean? I could wear a necklace like this on stage all day and feel like I have nothing around my neck all right now those two things both come from the fact that the doory iss steel and welded but it being steel and welded, is not what makes it valuable. What makes it valuable to me is that it's, lightweight and indestructible, I can wear it all day it's not going to get broken. That's what means something to me as a customer. So she switched her sales pitch. She told a different story and she started selling more. People started to get mohr excited about the product. Then it went beyond just the oh, I love this aesthetic and went to wow that's a great product. So your job is to understand the results of your process in your customer's own words. Your job is to understand the results of your process in your customer's own words. And we did this a lot yesterday with the perspective map, right way tried to understand our customers the results they were looking for the ideal that they were looking for in their own words. Often the words that we use are so different than the average customers. And so we need to understand what's really important to our customers. So how do you do that? First of all, I want you to think of the last great piece of feedback you received from a customer what's the last great piece of feedback you received from a client, a customer. Internet. I'm going to come to you in just a minute, but let me get one or two from up here. And what was the last great piece of feedback you got from a customer? The body food I got from my girlfriend was hit at the baby shower and they are they're bringing their child home from the hospital in it. That is pretty great. That is really awesome. Meghan. With last great piece of feedback you got. I actually had someone they bought one, my prince, and they said it. They ended up telling me the story of how they too believed in jack lopes and were put on jackalope patrol so you don't hit them with your car while you're traveling. That is completely awesome. Lenny, what was the last great feats of feedback you got? It was just a recent online purchase, and it was a guy who bought a necklace a one of a wooden necklaces for a five year anniversary, and he said that she loved it. Okay, that was a day. So internet way have one pixel, frau says I paid double my fee because she loved her website so much and recommended me to all of her friends route fantastic from brenda s this sweater is my favorite it's, so soft, cozy and warm. Those cost cozy and warm sounds like a great description yeah and you know what also the favorite piece is an awesome part of that piece of feedback to what if you started marketing your sweaters as you're next favorite piece of clothing this is your next favorite sweater huge yeah so huge I am more sure one more with you on the whirling gene just got this today from a boat most valued customer who bought it six journals for me who said thank you for the wonderful journals they bring such beauty into a life that can be so dark for such long stretches and maybe that maybe they're living in a dark place where they're going through a dark time I think that's really awesome that is really awesome so if you listen to all of those testimonials all of those pieces feedback what you got with your customers own words telling you what's valuable to them what about your product made a difference in their lives whether small or a big and so really listening into feedback looking for the words that your customers are actually using to describe the value of your product in their life is a key way you khun transform your marketing messages and transformed the way you promote your products how you position them the people that you're promoting them tio on the purpose behind your business in a way that spreads easily and rapidly among an entire community so let's quickly go through the value of framework as well these are questions that you've been asked to make sure your marketing whatever it might be is also focused on the value your product is creating is my communication focused on relating my process or describing the value customers are looking for? This is a simple yes or no this is this is a key indicator lights just ask yourself is my communication focused on relating my process how you do what you do or is it describing the value customers are actually looking for next one are these my words or my customers words are these my words or my customers words am I using my geek words trust me I love being a geek but I really try hard not to use my geek words most of the time way all have geek words most of them have to do with you know the way the thread goes in the garment or the way the pen hits the paper or the way the laser hits the wood those air where our geek words come from are we using those words are we using our customers words and then finally am I setting up my promotion marketing collateral product to be you irresistibly share a ble to the right people am I setting up my promotion, marketing collateral or product to be irresistibly share a ble to the right people that what that essentially means is is this product is this message something that people are going to go and turn around and tell everybody about because you've put the words in their mouth? Our customers want to talk about our stuff our customers want to talk about what we're creating and how we're serving them, but often they don't have the words to do it they don't have the the understanding of value to to do it and so when we make an extra effort to communicate that value to put it into words, we can help them do the same thing for us our products are marketing become irresistibly terrible so that's value strip in marketing that's how we use value and values to drive the way we position our products, promote our products, reach people and communicate our purpose and when we follow the value framework and the values framework to make decisions about the marketing we're embarking on we can do wonders for our business we can reach more customers we can impact those customers lives mohr and mohr and mohr and at the same time make more money doing it. I like to put it yeah exclamation point yes, so we're after the break we're going to do a pricing practicum, which means I'm gonna have all of these fantastic students up on stage to talk about how their pricing their work and I know the hot seats were eh big hit yesterday's we're going to have much more of that when we come back, and I'm also going to be taking questions on price because we haven't had a lot of chance for for questions today, so we want to make sure we won't get those questions and as well, absolutely so keep your questions coming. We do have a list that we have been adding teo the whole time, so bring bring him on. This is what I'm going to give to you with a gift, something to snuggle over the over the fifteen minutes quote your favorite new quote on this was on twitter using hashtag tl craft the whirling gene, says another great day with tara jin tilly and creative live busting through my money minutes will do on mtp lisa, I'm tuning in from australia and this is amazing! I haven't met anybody over here that focuses on craft wears the way that terror does while you, khun bring basic business business principles to the table. She takes it that step further and brings specifics. Thank you so much from me, and I'm getting really my thoughts in order how to grow my business and then brian carrion says, thank you so much, helping them to build a business that makes their heart sing and helps them to help others and altered artichoke says life changing stuff so thank you, thank you. I really love that because it is it's life changing staff. If you go ahead and do the work and put it into practice and make it happen, I love how you started off the day today, having people write down a goal, a financial goal in number and change our mind set from this is impossible. Teo. I'm going to write up the steps to this being inevitable when you break it down and you chunk it it's totally inevitable it can be, but you have to do the work. That is the thing. Nobody is going to do it for you. But the tools right here, I love the conversation about putting value talking about your pieces in the way of how is your customer going to value this? How are they going to use it? Not just how it was made here. A creative live we show you how our product has made our product is the course is the videos this free education. We show it to you, but you can choose how you're going to use it.