Last week I talked about the importance of knowing who your clients are and finding a niche that people actually need to have filled.

If you want to have a successful business, it is critical that you:

1) figure out who your ideal client is and

2) that you provide a product or service people are willing to spend money on.

In that post, I identified the five categories of things people are willing to spend money on, and I will spend the next few weeks outlining each of them in detail (starting today!).

They are: money, health, relationships, time, and identity.

So, let’s start with money.

Almost everyone struggles with the concept of money at some point or another in their lives.

Let’s start with the negative side of this issue – if you have a lack of it and need to find a way to get more (this is the most common).

I’m sure you have heard the saying, “It takes money to make money.” And this rings true for many.

People are willing to spend money on things that will allow them to make more money.

Does your business help people earn more money? Or do you help them save money? Or do you help them manage their time better so they can make more money? If so – share it!

There is another side of money that can cause people to wake up in the middle of the night (which means they would be willing to pay for a solution to their problem).

This is the “what should I do with my money” question.

Once people have money, it is common to have concerns about what to do with it, and a fear that they will mismanage their money.

Does your business help people feel secure about their financial plans? Do you provide a solution that makes money management or investment simple to understand? Can your business help people donate their money in a way that can help them feel good without having to look at the numbers all the time?

If your business offers a product or service that can help people solve their money problems – that’s great! You likely are offering something that people are willing to pay for.

Now, you need to make sure you present it to them in a way that makes them want to take action.

How do you do that?

Make it easy for someone to self-select you.

When talking about your business in a way that your current and potential clients will relate to (in order to make a sale) it is important to present your offering in a way that addresses what they think they need.

As much as you may want to tell people what you think they need – don’t.

Why?

Because when that person wakes up at 4:00 a.m. panicked about not being able to pay their bills, your super logical words aren’t the ones they are thinking of. They are thinking, “Oh my god, they’re going to foreclose on my house.” Or “I’m going to lose my car.”

Unless you speak to that fear – that exact fear of what they are freaking out about at 4:00 in the morning – it will not resonate with them.

Marketing is all about self-selection. You don’t choose your clients, they choose you. And they will only choose you if you speak their language.

So, when it comes to money, what results do you produce for your clients? What do these results help your clients achieve? How can you articulate this in a way that will make them choose you? Please share your thoughts in the comments, I can’t wait to read them.

Until then… stay passionate!