As Is, Should Be, Barriers, & Payoff

You know where you are (as is) and you know where you want to be (should be). Next step is to identify the barriers and come up with a proper action plan (barriers, gap) that can be implemented to get you from where you are to where you want to be, and at all times keeping in mind how different your life will be when you arrive to that destination in your mind (payoff).

This is something learned from a Dale Carnegie sales training course years ago:

"As Is, Should Be, Barriers, & Payoff."

From assessing a potential client to assessing my own life or a project, use those 6 words to assist you in getting from idea to implementation.

Next, ask this key question: Who is your ideal target market?

I mean down to the nitty gritty! Where do they surf online? What business are they in? What car do they drive? What size house do they own? What magazines do they subscribe to? What online newsletters do they subscribe to? What memberships do they have (gym, golf club, online communities, etc)? Who are the key leverage people they listen to?

Then, how can you get your irresistible message and call to action in front of them?

Let's back up a step...

Knowing who your ideal target market is, what are their hot buttons, problems, worries, fears? Their aspirations, dreams, goals?

From answering that, what is your absolute best attempt at helping them overcome their fears and at the same time assist them in reaching their goals through your amazingly irresistible offer? (Which would grab their attention just as much as if Hulk Hogan reached across the table and grabbed their throat.)

Some people call that a USP. What is your USP (Unique Selling Proposition/Point)? What separates you from your competition?

Those are the basics of business. (Repetition is never a bad thing, and sometimes stuff you already know being restated brings an A-Ha moment.)

So, the next step is what to do in your marketing to get your message in front of your prospective client or as Jeffrey Gitomer and the creator of NCR (National Cash Register), John Patterson, calls them, "Probable Purchasers."