Don’t Shoot the Messenger, Just
Change the Message
By Lisa Cherney
What is your message for today? When I sit in my office and I’m feeling tired and asking what this is all for, I need to connect
with my personal message. What message am I bringing to the world? After all, why else do we do what we do? Why else do we get
up in the morning? It’s to carry our personal message. Now, in business some people call this your mission or purpose. Those
words seem a bit too lofty to me at times. So, as I sat down to write this article
I just asked the Universe, “What is my message for today?” It keeps
it simple, it feels doable, and I can decide just for today to carry that message.
Changing Your Message
Sometimes I feel like my message is a burden. It could be because it’s not a mainstream message so it’s not popular with the masses. Or it could be because changing the world can sometimes feel like a drag. When that happens my ego often turns on me and says things like, “What the heck are you doing? People want to do it the old way! Just
give up. Are you sure you have what it takes?” I am essentially shooting the messenger (me) but it’s really the message that’s the source
of the challenge. Those are the days when maybe I need to take a break from the
core message and focus on something that feels simpler. That is what is so great
about taking your message one day at a time.
For example, my core (or most common) message is, “You
have all you need inside you to create a business you love and the income you want.”
However, for today my message is, “To keep moving forward, make a choice to renew your message each day.” They are related, but the 2nd one feels more doable to me in this moment
and therefore kept me from wanting to go back to bed and pulling the covers over my head.
Everyone trying to make a difference in this world has those days. Remember, just focus on today’s message
Attracting Listeners (a.k.a. Marketing)
Our clients are merely folks who want to listen to our message. Folks who want to invest their time and money to hear what we have to say, take it
home and have their lives changed. It doesn’t matter if we provide a service
or sell a product; our clients are listeners of our message. So, if that’s
the case, what do we need to say to get them to hear it? This is where that scary
word “marketing” comes in. However, maybe it’s not as scary
when we just look at it as our message and we look at our clients as listeners. Here
are some questions to ask yourself that will help you connect with the language your listeners need to hear in order to “get”
that your message is what they need. They reveal your client’s inner dialog:
- What
do people say to themselves when they realize they need what you provide? In other words, if you are a Life Coach,
what do your clients say to themselves that if you overheard it you would know they are a match for your message?
For example, they might say, “You know,
I just want to be happy, but I don’t know where to begin to make changes,” or “My life is too overwhelming
I just want to run away!”
- What
do people think they need when they really need your product or service instead?
In other words, if you are a Chiropractor, what do your clients think they need when they may be better off calling
you instead?
For example, they may think they need back surgery
or a new bed when they could really benefit from your service (or message) instead.
Questions of Attraction
Once you thoroughly explore these questions, you can immediately
apply the answers to your marketing. One way is by using Questions of Attraction
at the top of your flyer, on the home page of your website or even in your 30-second introduction. A Life Coach could say, “Do you feel like running away from your life?” or “Would you
like to be happier, but don’t know how?” A Chiropractor might say,
“Do you want to avoid back surgery?” or “Have you tried buying a new bed, only to continue to have back
pain?
You see, by answering the inner dialog questions you connected
with your clients as listeners to your message. You’ve put yourself in
their shoes (or head) and connected with language that they will relate to. If
your words sound familiar or touch on an internal conversation they’ve had, they will quickly realize they need what
you provide.
Step 1 – Identify today’s message
Step 2 – Identify your listener’s inner dialog
Step 3 – Integrate inner dialog into Questions of Attraction
And Step 4 is - Always be open to changing your message instead
of shooting the messenger. This is what will keep you going. This is what will ensure you touch more lives and change the world like you are meant to.
