A new Christmas-tree scented Brooklyn Candle and a TikTok-inspired dog binkie.

That’s what I have bought so far with the bonus $100 I got for participating in a short & sweet market research study.

Getting paid to talk about my workday as a solopreneur and get the inside scoop on how billion dollar companies are running their research?

That’s a win-win-win. Plus, this theme of Market Research came up in my Modern MBA cohort and in a client session. I’m not one to balk when the universe sends her signals?.

That’s how I found myself hanging out with Greg for 45 minutes on Zoom last week.

He says he learned a lot from our session, and I learned a lot from being a part of his process. Before I tell you about it, though, let’s back this thing up a bit.

This week on social, most of you didn’t seem all that ? jazzed ?about this topic. But you should be.

I know resistance comes up, sounding like…

? “But I don’t have time”

?“But I don’t have anyone to ask”

?“But it’s embarrassing to go it alone and then immediately ask people for their help in researching this”

Being an entrepreneur is uncomfy. I get it. But here’s the thing.

We don’t know what we don’t know. Which, by the way, is a lot. And if you think you’re solving for one thing, but never find out for sure, you’ll waste a lot of your money, energy, and time.

As human beings, we are generally thinking about ourselves. This bias can lead to a fallacy in our research process. We simply use the clue…“I want this so I know others want this,” to conclude our research.

But if the popular advice is true ?‍♀️ – the advice being: your ideal client is you 1-3 years ago – then wouldn’t your ideal clients simply follow the same path you took to get to where you are now?

 

Let’s look at your health journey, as it relates to your marketing assumptions.

When you first found your craft – acupuncture, a superfood product, Ayurveda, or holistic nutrition ? – what type of investments did you make? And why?

Usually, people fall into 1-2 buckets:

• You dove into the learning. Ex →  You found Ayurveda through your YTT or signed up for your life coaching certification because of your intuitive knowing that it was the right thing for you (even if you had never had a coach before).
• You invested in support first. Ex → You invested in a health coach or program first, and then got so excited by your results that you pursued your own certification.

Many of you that I’ve spoken to actually fall into the first bucket, but your offering is a health coaching package. And you tell me that you struggle to come up with ideas when it comes to the client’s objections or reasons they come looking for support.

In this case…unless you’re selling back an education (aka an Ayurvedic course or you train new yogis)…you’re probably not your own target market.

When you’re selling something that you’ve never emotionally experienced investing in yourself, here are some things that can happen…

• You lose confidence in your pricing and don’t communicate your value clearly
• You avoid saying the price at all because it makes you feel icky? and then potential clients pick up on that sense of ick
• You sell to your past self instead of your ideal audience, and they may have totally different desires

The solutions for these blocks are simple – research ? to confirm there’s an unfulfilled need people are willing to pay for.

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Start Researching your Customer

Find out the answer to their question, what’s in it for me?

? 1. Who do you looooove working with? Make a list of at least 10 people you know or know of, and make a mental note of some things they have in common.

? 2. Ask at least 3-5 of them if they’ll participate in an interview. I’ve found that most people are willing and eager to help you. However, if it’s someone you don’t have a previous relationship with, it’s thoughtful to offer them some incentive in exchange for spending time with you (psst. this is how I got $100 in exchange for rambling about my biz ops).

? 3. Ask very open-ended questions, and let them paint you a vivid picture of their reality. You’ll get answers to questions you never even thought to ask. (It was through this practice that Greg and I worked our way into a rabbit hole of a frustration that he said his company had never thought of before and could now solve).

? 4. Write down / record their answers and use them in your own copy! That’ll give your audience that “oh $hit she’s really in my head” feeling when they read your sales page copy or skim your captions. That feeling builds rapport, trust, and excitement to work with you.

I did this when I first started Rooted to get clarity around what I should offer, and I aim to update it as your needs evolve. So take the pressure off yourself too! It’s okay if this changes.