A couple of years ago I ran my StandOut Strategies workshop for a CEO group in the UK. A great group of business owners who come together on a regular basis, to talk business and to support each other. They share their business challenges and help each other to find the best solution to whatever they’re struggling with. Together, they all grow their businesses.

At the workshop I invited every member to Take the Test – a simple test I’ve put together that shows you which of the five StandOut Strategies is the best one for promoting your business. I do this at all the workshops I run. It’s an easy test, which involves thinking about how your clients feel when they work with you. You can Take the Test for free on my website. The leader of the group also took the test and was surprised by the results.

“My members come here because they want to grow their businesses,” they told me. “They come for inspiration, motivation and to be challenged.”

As with all these groups I work with, I had spent some time checking out the members. I look at their LinkedIn profiles and websites, so that I have a bit of an understanding about their businesses, before I turn up to run a workshop. This event was no different and I had also checked out the leader of the group’s business. The marketing they used was all about Growth – how to grow your business by being a member of this group.

However, when the group leader took the test, their results showed Connection. On the test they had ticked words and feelings like belonging, being part of something bigger and reciprocity. These are just some of the ways that clients want to feel, when they’re looking for Connection.

“This can’t be right,” the group leader told me. “We’re all about Growth. That’s what my members want.”

“Why don’t we ask them?” I suggested. The best way to find out how your clients want to feel, when they work with you, is by asking them. That day we had a room full of the group leader’s clients sitting around a table, experiencing the service. What better way to find out how they felt about being part of the group, than by asking them, as they were taking part in the group session.

We went round the table and everyone told us the same. “We come here because we want to feel a sense of belonging. We want to feel part of something bigger. We want to feel respected, recognised and valued. We want to meet the other people and businesses that can support us.”

It was all about Connection! Without fail, every challenge that members of the group raised that day, was solved by someone else saying “I can help you with that,” or “I can introduce you to the person who can solve that issue for you.” That is at the heart of the Connection strategy!

“Time to change your marketing message and easily recruit a lot more members to your group?” I suggested!

Connection might not be the strategy that makes your business stand out. To find out, Take the Test here for a free report.

How NOT to do Connection

If Connection is the strategy that will make your business stand out – by connecting your clients to the other people and businesses they need to support them – here’s what NOT to say in your marketing and what not to do, to get new clients:

• Disconnection – connect all your marketing, integrating the different elements you use. Different messages on different platforms will confuse potential clients
• Negativity – be friendly and positive in all your marketing communications. There will be potential clients who are not right for your business, but that’s not a good reason to be rude to them. If they’re not looking for Connection, they’ll look for someone else to work with, without you having to actively turn them away. Don’t allow personal, negative feelings to be expressed in your business marketing.
• Trying to do it all – show your prospects that your business is on their side, supporting them along their journey. Be generous in your referrals, rather than trying to do everything for your clients. If your business can’t help them with a particular issue or service, connect them to another business that can.
• Don’t be a stranger – make friends with your prospects if they’re looking for Connection. Show them exactly how your business can support them and connect them to the people they want to meet.

When you’re promoting your business on Connection, potential clients want to see how it can connect them to other businesses. They’re not looking for one supplier to solve all their problems. Help them to build their own network and they will see how important it is to have your business as part of that network.

Next month – how NOT to do Contribution.