Creating the Right Product

One of the things I see so often is speakers, coaches and consultants creating products without a roadmap. They create products because someone said that's the one to create, or that's the one that will sell the best. They devote time, money and energy developing products. And they're left with products that don't sell.

Here are some things you can do so you don't find yourself in this situation, with products that don't sell.

Review your business Vision and goals. If you haven't written them down or reviewed them in the last month, do it now. Be sure they're S-M-A-R-T Goals: Specific - Measurable - Achievable - Realistic (accomplishable so you see the results and celebrate, yet a stretch to reach, too) and Time-based (put a By-When Date after each goal on your list).

Take a good look at your Expertise - what you love to do, do easily and naturally. That is, your Brilliance. And who do you love to work with? You've worked with hundreds if not thousands of people. Which ones gave you energy? Encouragement? Challenged you in a good sense? Made progress and got results and loved working with you.

Look at people who are doing the same thing you do - your competitors. What exactly are they doing? How is what you do different from that? What differentiates you and makes your products, your service and your approach different from theirs? How are yours unique?

See where your expertise fits in the marketplace. Who is already looking for the solution you provide? Are there people in groups who are looking for that solution, such as chiropractors, dentists, coaches, corporate managers who want to be executives, people who are not happy with their jobs?

These are all clues to the right product for you to develop. You're matching your expertise to groups of people who are looking for your solution. So you create the product they're looking for. It's that matchmaking that makes your products and services sell.

Action Steps:

* Start a folder called My Expertise. Put it in a place where it's handy and you can look at it and add to it over the next few weeks. Take 3 sheets of paper, and put these headings on each:

1) My Expertise -- What I know

2) What I love to do

3) Who I love to work with.

Start making your lists, and write everything you can think of that goes on each one.

* Take another sheet of paper, and put the heading "Who I love to work with" on it. And start writing down the people you love to work with and be with. Include people from previous work, social, school - everywhere you can think of. Write their names AND what qualities or characteristics you liked about them. For example, "bright, fun-loving, a go-getter, calm, thorough, takes initiative" and so on.

* Put all these pages in your folder "My Expertise". Add to them as you think of new things and people. Review your folder often.