How creators, coaches, and consultants benefit from developing a deep understanding of what they sell

A lot of people get started in business by jumping in and selling. Then they look for better techniques. Whenever things get tough, they look for better techniques again. I love bootstrapping and have done more than my fair share of this. What I’ve learned is that most of the “techniques” out there are completely valid --- for someone else. The things you hear about the latest paradigm-shifting revolutionary techniques that sound so appealing, probably don’t apply to you. And if they do, they probably won’t work “out of the box.” I can say this with confidence because people project what works for them onto everyone else.

Only the circumstances and customer preferences are always different. This is partly because for a business to fulfill its potential requires differentiation. You can blindly stumble across your approach to differentiation, or you can strategically develop it. You can’t copy the same techniques as someone else and differentiate at the same time. Not only that, but copying the same techniques as someone else almost guarantees that they will not be optimized for what you are trying to sell and who you want to sell it to.

Here's how this impacts creators, coaches, and consultants.

Creators

Creators might sell craft goods on Etsy with digital marketing. They also might make furniture, with special challenges related to delivery that makes it easier to sell locally. Or they could renovate kitchens and bathrooms, possibly to people who want affordable luxury, people who live in historic homes of a particular period, or maybe in another market. Creators might 3d-print things people need, selling on their own website, and advertising on Google and other platforms. They could be artists, who often struggle to find the right story, platform, and audience to sell. Or they might offer customized, bespoke products where each one is unique, selling to people who want something tailored specifically to their needs.

Every one of these is marketed and sold differently. All creators do not market the same way, or to the same people. All furniture makers and 3d-printers do not market the same way, or to the same people. Etc. Successfully marketing the combination of what you do, what you sell depends on the nature of what you sell and the customers who might purchase it.

Coaches

Those who Coach CEOs must be able to market to reach them, and blindly calling or emailing as a stranger or waiting for them to discover your shiny website has a non-zero but very low chance of success. Coaches who are trainers have to market to those who need the kind of training they provide. Or coaches might focus on health, productivity, finding clarity, or something else. With each area requiring a different style of marketing.

How many different markets are there for coaching? How many different approaches to marketing might a coach take?

Do you see a pattern emerging here? Just like creators, the best way for coaches to market themselves depends on the nature of what they sell and the customers who might purchase it. Are they selling solutions, improvement, success, wellness, or something else? Are they selling to individuals, groups, consumers, businesses, specific demographics, or broader markets? Every single coach is different. It’s kind of the nature of being a coach.

Consultants

Some consultants sell solutions to problems, requiring credibility and proof. Some provide advice to companies who must trust their expertise. Some sell software development or technology support, where how to best market depends on who is doing the buying. Some consultants deliver entire teams and some consultants are solopreneurs.

The same pattern applies to consultants. Perhaps even more.

Takeaways

In each case, who to market to and with what kind of messaging is different. How they fulfill their customers’ expectations is different. And how they close the deal and get paid is different. There is a lot of overlap between creators, coaches, and consultants. And there is even more overlap within each of those categories.

Some creators, coaches, and consultants sell to other creators, coaches, and consultants. Watch out for the ones who treat them all the same. One of many possible examples is the way some digital marketers sell like that’s the only kind of marketing and that it should be everyone’s top priority. That is as demonstrably untrue as is the fact that digital marketing is something important to understand. The lesson to be learned is that marketing techniques don’t apply to everyone equally. And to understand whether the next marketing technique you encounter applies to you, you should first make sure you understand the nature of what you sell and the customers you are targeting to purchase from you.

If you position the wrong way, you will be less successful.

Sometimes what you need to study isn’t marketing or advertising techniques. It’s how to match the nature of your offering to the customer’s buying journey.