Back in high school (many, many moons ago), I was a popular kid.
Maybe not the most popular kid in the school. I wasn’t the quarterback of the football team or captain of the basketball team or anything like that.
(Though the girl from my high school class who ended up being my wife was the captain of the cheerleading squad–go me!)
Anyway, I think I was popular because I was smart but didn’t try to get straight A’s, because I was mischievous but didn’t cause any serious trouble, and because I never tried to pick a fight with anyone (live and let live is my motto).
But I think I was popular mostly because I never tried to be popular.
I mean, I really couldn’t care less if I was popular or not. I had a few close friends I hung out with, but I was totally happy being by myself, too.
In fact, the people who turned me off the most way back then (and still do today) are people who stake their whole self-worth on how popular they are (lookin’ at you, Kardashians and all the other “influencers” out there).
I mean, to me it’s pretty weak-minded to care more about what everybody else thinks about you than what you think about yourself.
Anyway, you’re probably wondering where I’m going with this. Fair enough…
In my last post, I introduced you to something called the Know Like Trust Factor and shared how crucial it is to employ it when you’re trying to become the go-to option in your niche. I also dug a little bit into the “Know” aspect of KLT in that post and talked about the role of content consistency in building trust with clients.
Today, I want to talk about the “L” in KLT–Like–and share the counter-intuitive approach you need to take to create a whole posse of raving fans for your educational consulting business.
First of all, if you’re trying to grow your consulting business, you obviously DO need to be popular with a certain percentage of your target audience. You can’t be totally indifferent, like I was in school, and attract buyers for your services.
But here’s the thing…
You don’t need, nor should you want, everybody to like you. In fact…
Trying to please everybody is the surest way I know to end up with an audience of people who aren’t necessarily turned off by you, but aren’t exactly excited to do business with you, either.
And a lukewarm audience is the kiss of death in consulting.
Why?
Because, for an educator, a school administrator, or a conference planner to pull out their checkbook to hire you, they need to find you and your work more interesting than any of your close competitors.
After all, there are a thousand consultants out there for any niche you could imagine. For them to pick you, you have to stand out.
In other words, they need to like you. No, let me rephrase that: they need to LOVE you!
And how do you generate this love in your ideal clients?
By letting them in and sharing a lot of specific details about your life…including your passions, your hobbies, your superpowers and your character flaws, your pet peeves, details about your family life, your favorite foods, and on and on.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Why should I share all of that stuff? Most of it isn’t relevant to what I do in my consulting work.”
And you’re right…it’s not relevant. Except, remember what I said in my last post: people buy emotionally, then justify their purchase logically.
And is your ideal client going to be more emotionally attracted to someone who they feel they know a lot about or someone who “keeps it professional” and doesn’t share anything about themselves beyond what they do in their work?
The one who they feel they know…hands down.
But there’s also an apparent downside to sharing so openly, and I bet you’ve spotted it…
What if some of the things you share turn some people off?
My answer?
Good! You want to turn some people off.
Now, I know you’re probably confused right now. First, I said you need to be popular with a percentage of your target audience; then I said that you want to turn some people off. So, I understand your confusion.
I think the best way to clear up this confusion is to use myself as an example.
If you opt-in to my email list, you’ll received a series of emails from me that explain who I am, what I do, and introduced some of my services to you, like ghostwriting and business coaching.
But through those emails and subsequent ones, you’ll also learned a lot about me. For example, you’d learned that…
- I taught English, literature, and writing courses for 14 years at the high school and university levels, spent five years as my state’s Language Arts Consultant at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and spent 18 years as an independent educational consultant.
- I’m a top 1% introvert (which is why I usually hide behind my computer and write instead of putting myself out there on video)
- I love blues, classic rock, R & B, and jazz.
- My favorite book is Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere.
- I’m an amateur chef.
- I have two big gardens of perennial flowers that I spend a lot of time working in.
- I’m a sports fan, especially of my hometown Missouri Tigers sports teams (go Mizzou!)
- My wife and I have three boys–all adults out on their own–and we’re now doting golden doodle parents (you’d meet our current golden doodle, Scully, in my emails).
- And on and on…
Why do I share all of this stuff?
Because people who have similar hobbies, passions, and pastimes are drawn to me like iron to a magnet.
It’s human nature–We’re naturally attracted to and “vibe” with those with similar interests.
And yes, people who don’t vibe with the personal details I share are repelled. Which is totally cool, because they probably weren’t ever going to hire me, anyway.
So, here’s the takeaway from today’s post…
Don’t be afraid to share yourself (not your whole self–there are certainly some things you should keep private) with your audience.
Those who are attracted to you personally will also be most likely to want to do business with you. Because by sharing openly, you give them a chance to get to know you and come to like you (if they resonate with you)–and that’s two-thirds of the Know-Like-Trust Factor triad.
In my next post, we’ll take a look at the third part of the formula: Trust.
Till then…
To Your Success,
Willy
P.S.--One of the biggest mistakes consultants make when crafting their marketing messages is “keeping it professional”–which is simply a fancy term for BORING.
If your marketing messages sound like everyone else in your niche, it’s time for you to break free of the same ol’, same ‘ol corporate robo-speak and learn how to stand out.
If you’d like help in creating unique positioning for your business and crafting a magnetic marketing message, we can help you with that.
Just hit the link below and schedule a call. Let’s talk about how you can establish yourself as a “category of one.”
