08.01.06
How I Got This Gig
I decided to ask the other dogs in my pack who they thought obedience classes were for — the humans or the dogs.
“Why do you get a column and I don’t?” asked Maddie. Maddie was a stray out of Sedona. Michele found her as a half-starved puppy at the Humane Society.
“Because I offered to do one,” I said. “I wanted a job. You didn’t want a job.”
Maddie sniffed. “I could do a column too, you know.”
I sighed. “I already told you that you could do a guest column.”
Maddie looked out the window. “Humph.”
Roxie had her head on her chewing bone. A stuffed toy and a tennis ball also surrounded her. “I don’t know why you want to write a column when there’s sheep to be herded,” she
said. Roxie was older when Michele brought her home from the Humane Society. She’d been abused and still wasn’t quite right.
“Do you see any sheep?” I asked. “No, no sheep. Not one to be found. Michele is a writer, not a shepherdess. My job is to help her with her job, so I’m helping her with writing.”
Then why are you asking questions about obedience classes?” asked Maddie. “What does knowing who’s learning to be more obedient have to do with marketing or copywriting?”
“Because it’s confusing,” I said. “I think lots of business owners don’t communicate their product or service correctly to their target market. A confused mind doesn’t buy. And if
I’m confused who obedience classes are for, maybe other dogs are confused too. Maybe more dogs would bring their owners to obedience class if they knew their owner would learn to be better behaved.”
Maddie shook her head. “That’s silly. People bring dogs to obedience class, not the other way around.”
“Well, it could go the other way,” I insisted. “Dogs can make it clear they want obedience classes especially if they think it’s benefiting the owner. But if they’re confused as to who’s getting trained, they won’t do it. And think of all the money those obedience classes are losing.”
“What if obedience classes are for the dogs and not the people?” Maddie asked. “Then would the dogs still want to come?”
I thought about this. “It depends. It would have to be positioned right. But I still think it’s for the people so I think the reason why obedience classes don’t fill up is because they aren’t explained properly. If dogs understood the true value of what they were getting, obedience classes would be a best seller!”
Maddie got to her feet and stretched. “If you’re so smart, maybe you should start your own obedience class,” she said as she strolled away.
I thought about it. Maybe she has a point.
What about your business? Are you losing customers because they don’t fully understand your product or service? Or you aren’t explaining it properly? Or you haven’t positioned it properly? Try asking your customers about your product or service and see what answers you get. You may be surprised at what you hear.
Wuff,
Nick, the border collie
Michele PW (Pariza Wacek) is the author of 5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make That Kill Their Sales…And How To Prevent Them. Ready to turn lookers into buyers and watch your business skyrocket? Click here to learn more about this special report, free for a limited time.