"If You Don't Understand The Problem, You'll Misunderstand The Solution"
"If You Don't Understand The Problem, You'll Misunderstand The Solution"
Jay-Z famously said he has 99 problems, but he understands what those problems are (and, crudely, what they aren't).
Multiple studies show that medical misdiagnosis rates are as high as 15% (and significantly higher for rarer diseases).
These misdiagnoses are estimated to contribute to 100,000 deaths each year and around $20 billion in medical spending.
I don't know where you learned math, but that's pretty significant from where I sit.
The cost of misdiagnosing something is high, and it's not just in the medical world. Successfully diagnosing your challenges is critical if you're trying to build a business.
Your Situation
You're struggling to sell. No one is interested in your offer. You’re not attracting followers, subscribers, listeners, leads, opportunities.
What's the problem?
Let’s look at some potential scenarios.
Scenario 1: It's a Sales Problem
You’ve got an offer (solution), you’ve got a great name, you’ve got the landing page, you’ve got industry researched price-points, you know the benefits, you know what they’re dealing with, they are your ideal client: but you’re struggling to close sales.
So you think, I need a sales coach.
Granted, you might; but if you’ve done the work, put the pieces together and you’re still not closing sales, it’s likely there’s a deeper issue.
Sales aren’t built on convincing or manipulating, it’s built on trust and trust has a foundation.
The foundation?
First, let's consider another scenario:
Scenario 2: It's a Marketing Problem
You’ve got market saturation, good reach, a buyer persona that is well-defined, CTR is good, but no one is clicking that “buy/book/schedule” button.
So you think, I need better marketing.
Well, you might need better marketing, but marketing is based on something foundational. If the foundation is shaky, it doesn’t matter what kind of house you put on it.
The foundation?
Ok, one more scenario:
Scenario 3: It's a Content Problem
You’ve got a website, a blog, social media accounts, a podcast, an email list, a YouTube channel, a book, a talk, a message: but no one is listening.
So you think: I need better content.
You might need better content, but content flows from something much more foundational. If the foundation isn’t there, you won’t have meaningful, impacting content.
The foundation?
Scenario 3: It's a Content Problem
Ok, you already know what the foundation is - I don’t really have to say it, do I?
The foundation is your branding (and your brand).
Content, marketing, sales all stem from your brand.
A strong brand speaks, markets, and sells for you.
It does this by creating:
Clarity about who you are and what you offer;
Empathy with your audience’s challenges and goals;
Trust that you can be the solution they need
These 3 things attract ready buyers.
Now, establishing your brand:
Positions your content as a signal instead of noise
Transforms marketing from selling to raising awareness
Changes sales from convincing and proving to provide a solution to an aligned challenge