Shared from JT DeBolt

No matter your industry, product, or service…

ALL target markets share five common traits.

And by target market, I’m referring to the super-specific group of consumers your product or service is aimed towards.

It’s vitally important to understand these ideal prospects, because you simply cannot afford to market to everyone.

In fact, the ONLY way to compete in today’s age is to hone in on your specific market!

And to do that you need to clearly understand and be able to communicate these 5 universal traits (which apply regardless of age, gender, location, social position, or education level).

Internalizing these common trait will help you laser-focus your marketing, advertising, and social media messaging so you can reach directly into the hearts and minds of your target audience.

Ready to dive in?

Alrighty then, let’s begin with…

Quick story…

I recently tweaked my knee from working out a little too strenuously.

My knee pain has been following me around for almost two and a half weeks, and seems to bother me no matter what I’m doing.

I’ve tried all kinds of different things to make it go away.

At a recent workshop, a friend of mine (who happens to be in MLM) came up to me and said…

“I’ve got a product I think would really help your knee.”

Now understand, I was interested in what she had—not her opportunity.

All she did was recognize that I was in pain, reach out to me, and offer to show me a product that helps with joint pain.

I didn’t wake up that particular morning and think…

“Boy, I really wish somebody in an MLM would pitch me on a product to relieve my knee pain.”

All I wanted was RELIEF from my pain.

Here’s the point…

Everyone is experiencing some kind of pain—right now!

It could be physical, emotional, or psychological.

Maybe it’s just a deep-seated insecurity that everyone feels at one time or another in life.

What they’re looking for is relief from their pain.

Sometimes I hear marketers say…

“Hey, I don’t want to lead with negativity. I want to be that person that gives people a sense of hope. I want to give people a sense of feeling good about their lives.”

Nothing wrong with that!

You may be cheerful, excited, and living a great life full of time and financial freedom.

Things might be rolling along great for you.

If so, that’s awesome!

But to be an effective marketer…

You have to meet people where they are, NOT where you are!

Most people don’t wake up thinking to themselves…

“Man, I sure wish somebody with an MLM business would call me, so I could get rid of my money today.”

They’re not looking for your business, your product, or your service.

What they are looking for is a SOLUTION to their pain.

That’s one of the most important distinctions entrepreneurs and business leaders must understand.

So when you’re marketing, you must offer solutions.

When you’re doing a Facebook Live or talking to somebody face-to-face, remember: even if they’re putting on a happy face and pretending that life is grand and everything is perfect, they are still facing challenges.

They are in pain.

Even though we live in that Facebook world where everybody posts 5-second snippets of their lives that are dramatically awesome, most people are living mundane, humdrum lives.

What they’re looking for is a solution to their pain.

Does that mean that you need to be overly negative or full of doom and gloom?

Not necessarily, no.

But if all you talk about is how great things are, or how wonderful life would be living on the beach working only two hours a day, you’re NOT going to connect with your target people!

Even though they might think the idea is really cool, most people can’t imagine that kind of life for themselves.

What they want to know is…

“What’s in it for me—right now? I’m experiencing pain and I want to get past it!”

When you address their pain in your marketing, your goal isn’t to make them feel worse about their situation.

But it is about waking them up.

Remind them of what brought them to you, what their pain is, and what relieving that pain might look like for them.

Most people have been inundated with marketing message, after marketing message, after marketing message, all their lives.

They’ve heard it all – inflated promises, broken promises, etc.

And they’re jaded. Skeptical.

Who wouldn’t be with all the stuff we are pounded over the head with, day in and day out?

You have to meet people where they are.

You have to understand how to influence people, not coerce them or manipulate them or beat them over the head.

You have to use influence with them, while being 100% truthful.

Operate with integrity, from a place of true empathy, where you really do care about them.

Show them the way through and out of their pain.

That’s what they come to you for.

The most influential way to break through someone’s skepticism…

…is to ask questions…a LOT of questions!

Ask questions in all your messages—your ads, your blog posts, your conversations, your live videos.

Isn’t it interesting that if you lead with a question, it engages people?

Right now, we’re operating in an age of abundant information.

We have more than enough information. More than we’ll ever use in our lifetimes.

Because of that constant bombardment, we have very short attention spans—as low as five to eight seconds, according to some studies.

That’s shorter than the attention span of the average goldfish!

To that end, we must understand that the best way to get people to pay close attention is to ask them questions.

The most powerful question occupying most people’s mind is this…

What’s in it for me?

When you ask questions coming from a place of genuine curiosity, people open up, lower their guard, and become more open to possibilities about solutions for their pain.

Even though people are clear about their pain…

They’re skeptical of information, and they’re not clear about what they need to relieve their pain.

Back to my own knee problem, I got tons of helpful advice from lots of people…

• “Make sure you take an Epsom salt bath.”
• “Don’t forget to stretch it out.”
• “Make sure you ice it.”
• “Use a heating pad.”
• “Elevate your leg when you sleep.” (That does not work for me, because…I’m trying to sleep!)
• “Oh, take this (pain reliever…supplement…whatever).”

When tons of people offer tons of conflicting information, what happens?

People get overwhelmed. They get confused.

They shut down.

So offer them clarity.

Give them one or two key pieces of information – not 92 details.

When most people are learning about your product or service for the first time, they’re probably not very sophisticated.

It doesn’t mean they’re not intelligent.

It just means that they don’t know much yet.

Meet them where they’re at!

Remember, they’re in search of information.

And “more information” does not equal “more value.”

When people are overloaded, they get stuck.

If you overwhelm them with information, you’re essentially keeping them stuck.

So don’t give them 92 steps to build a business…101 questions to ask new prospects…the top 50 objections your customers have.

That’s too much to process!

They might like or even love you.

They may be grateful to you for giving them all that information.

But at the end of the day, it won’t move them forward.

You want them to start taking forward steps to relieve their pain

So provide them with clarity.

Keep it simple. Keep it short. Address their pain directly.

Give them one or two key pieces of information. And ask questions.

When they arrive at a place of clarity, they’ll start moving closer toward a buying decision

To create influence, show people exactly what they’re looking for.

They’re not looking for a guru.

They’re not even looking for an expert.

They’re just looking for somebody with a CLEAR answer.

Often in our workshops, people will say…

“Hey. I don’t have a lot of experience and I’m not making a ton of money.”

Or…

“I don’t have the big results like (this big guru or that top earner) does.”

Or…

“Who am I to lead these people?”

Guess what?

YOU are a person who can lead.

Plus, if you’re just two steps ahead of them, it’s easier for them to relate to and follow you.

Does wanting to be led make people weak, meek, or blind sheep?

Absolutely not!

People are just looking for guidance.

They might be future leaders in the making.

They might be people who are currently leading somewhere else in their lives, but if they’re coming to you, if they have somehow opted into your site, if they’re following you on your blog, or if they’re showing up to your Facebook Lives, there’s something about you that is compelling to them.

Own your position as a leader.

You have to say to yourself…

“Listen. I’m here to lead. I genuinely care about these people. I believe in what I’ve got. I understand that what I have actually has value to people. It’s my job to show up every single day with that passion, with that concern for people, and share it with them openly.”

Remember, people want to be led.

It doesn’t mean that someday they won’t step into a leadership role of their own.

In fact, people who honestly show up wanting to be led generally make better leaders themselves.

After all…

Leaders are good followers

They’re good students.

They know how to model the leaders in front of them, and understand how to apply what they learn to their business.

I’m not just saying this as the Director of Leadership Development here at EMP.

I truly believe that YOU are a leader.

Embody that attitude and posture in everything you do, whether it’s writing ad copy, recording a video, meeting somebody face-to-face, conducting a webinar or Facebook live—conduct yourself as a leader every single day in your business and in your life.

When you start looking at ad metrics or talking about click-through rates, it’s easy to dehumanize your market.

You’ll think and talk about your market as nothing more than numbers—as possibilities to make money.

But remember: on the other side of every email address, opt-in, or click on your website or link is a living, breathing human being.

The people who are looking at what you have, interacting with you on your Facebook Live, leaving comments on your blogs or News Feeds, or sending emails or private messages, are REAL human beings.

Yes, they may have insecurities that can come off as ego, fear, or self-defense.

That’s okay.

Meet them and interact with them where they are.

These are human beings with real fears, hopes, dreams, and desires

Take a step back and remember what it is that brought you to this industry.

Was it just the money?

Or was it more about helping other people and creating a beautiful life for yourself by helping other people create the same thing for themselves?

Your role is to help them build a bridge between the pain of where they are now to the kind of life they truly want.

Remember this!

These are just five characteristics that all target markets share.

Your own target market might have 125 key traits, but to keep it simple, I wanted to explain these basics and encourage you to incorporate these key traits in your messages.

Whether it’s marketing, advertising, video, blog posts, status updates, webinars, or Facebook Lives…

Whether it’s a face-to-face conversation, or a phone, Skype, or Zoom call…

Remember it’s essential for you to OWN your role as a leader and help people get where they want to be by showing up and being authentic in what you have to offer.

Now, recall how I told you that…

You simply cannot afford to target EVERYONE!

Yet, isn’t this what most network marketers do?

All too often, network marketers chase down absolutely everyone, without first qualifying them or even seeing if they are serious about working the business.

The result?

Most networkers end up prospecting and recruiting the people who are most likely to waste their time and never do anything.

Boo!

Luckily there’s a solution, which is to realize that everyone is NOT your prospect, and to use the tools available today to identify, target, and qualify your prospects—automatically, 24/7, using the Internet.

Using the principle of “attraction marketing,” you can attract people who are already interested in what you have to offer—instead of having to chase them down.

So if you haven’t done so already, get access to Elite Marketing Pro’s FREE Online Recruiting Bootcamp and discover how to build your business online.

We’ll help you discover who to talk to, show you how to talk to them, and what to say—using the language they know.

You’ll discover the exact same system entrepreneurs just like you are using to passively generate dozens of prospects, leads and sales every single day, and see firsthand the process my bud—and Chief Marketing Officer of EMP—Ferny Ceballos uses to passively generate 300–500 leads per day, 30–50 customers per day, and onboard 70–100 new serious business builders each month – while drastically reducing rejection.

It’s going to transform the way you do your business.

And guess what?

It just might help you help a lot more people.

So if you’re ready to get started…

Click here to access our 10-Day Online Recruiting Bootcamp.

 

CECELIA MORRIS

Cecelia wanted to Take Charge of her own destiny so she incorporated herself as a business in 2003.  She knew that network marketing was the right business for her because it offered low startup costs, played to her strengths; and it is portable and highly profitable if done right. With each company she tried she always struggled with business building – finding leads/prospects and creating the automation her upline talked about.  That’s when in 2008 after getting laid off from her job she put her Masters Degree in Marketing and Information Systems to work. Through her search efforts she found a company that taught her how to leverage the Internet and the power of Social Media to consistently build an endless list of qualified leads and prospects that are interested in what she has to say and what she has to offer. She learned how to make people come to her using the Attraction Marketing Formula.  Now a home business owner Cecelia’s mission is to empower her customers, clients, members, partners and friends with the opportunity to Take Charge of their own lives and create their own financial futures.