5 secrets that turn ideas into products that sell

So you had a big brainstorm that is going to be (or already is) a new product. You know that others like you will be so relieved once they see how you have solved that annoying problem. You developed the prototype. You got a maker. Borrowed money to build a website (and it wasn’t easy getting it) Got his dba and opened a merchant account. You even have a lawyer. Better yet, you are first to market, no one has ever done this before. Wow wow!

You are proud of yourself and feel that you have a new future ahead of you. Health!

Suddenly, your email inbox is flooded with salespeople selling you super-expensive infomercials for “only $60,000.” The call from the holdover publisher offering space in a national magazine for just $15,000 was enticing. Have you started to wonder where the hell I’m going to get this kind of money from? Do you know how profitable one option would be over the other?

Can you tell what type of marketing would be the best use of your money? Panic sets in when you realize you didn’t really think about marketing; do you? You may have been dreaming about how different your product is and how it will make you an industry hero, but now the reality of reaching your customer can be overwhelming. I have always said that developing any product or service without knowing who wants it and where it can be found is a terrible waste of money.

Without a doubt, the most important question any entrepreneur can ask is the following: How do I get my client to buy my product? And speaking of my clients, where the hell can I find them? After 20 years in the public relations business launching new products, I’ve seen this trajectory of thinking many times. I’ve met so many excited entrepreneurs, all of whom have really great ideas that solve real problems.

The truly rare entrepreneur, the one with the greatest potential for success, is not the one with the coolest mousetrap, but the one who has figured out how to get their product to the people who need it.
Are you a weird bird — or not so sure?

Do not panic.

You’re not alone.

Many entrepreneurs get to the point of having a product ready for sale and then fall into a debilitating case of overwhelm. He may be saying to himself, “I know my industry. I know why it’s important. My product is great! But I don’t know anything about marketing.”

This is so common.

The author of “The E Myth”, Michael Gerber, predicts that 85% of American businesses are developed by “artisans”; mechanics starting car repair companies or chefs starting restaurants. He says these artisans spend 100% of their time doing the part of the business they know, but ignore the division of their time into business development and creating operating systems.

So, are you spending 100% of your time making your product really cool, the packaging great, or your retail space irresistibly beautiful? When you start thinking about getting the word out to the people who will actually buy your product or visit your store, do you go blank? Is panic taking over your stomach at the very words you just read? Are you blushing thinking about how much money you just spent and realized that you spend 100% of your time only on your product?

Does your mind spin thinking about the time you have committed to this dream?

Well, now that I’ve got you on a waverer. Take it easy. Take a break. Just get to the bottom of this and I promise you will walk away with a renewed sense of joy. The overwhelming will be subsidized; I promise. The good news is that the answers to the above questions are quite simple and will not require a much larger investment of time or money, but simply perform this simple exercise:

The following is a 5-step exercise that will erase any overwhelm you may be feeling, put you in the driver’s seat with a specific road map to the Emerald City of success. This exercise will set the course for your future. Truly, without going through this exercise, there is no way you will succeed, it is that important.

First of all, take a pen and a sheet of paper. Do it now. Please read each of these questions below first. Then go back to the first one, read it again, and start writing the answers as they come to you. Don’t edit your thoughts. Let the ideas enter his skull, flow over his shoulder, flow down his arm, and onto the sheet of paper without judging or changing.

This is important.

Let the ideas come out on paper first, then you can look at them later, change your mind, if you want, but the key is to get them out of your brain first and edit them later; are here:

1.Who is my client?

2. Why is my product so perfect for them?

3. Where does my client meet?

4. What publications, television programs, radio programs do you read/watch/listen to? Where on the Internet does my client congregate?

5. What commonalities do my clients share with each other?

So now let’s see what to do with the answers.

Knowing a profile about your customer, even if you’re making educated guesses, is CRITICAL to giving them what they want and need. Most likely, you developed this product because you needed it. Come on, make some guesses about them:

How old are they?

What business are they in?

What are your interests?

What kind of communities do they live in?

What do they do for fun?

Who are your friends?

What professional associations are you members of?

It must be clearly established why your product is perfect for your customer; especially before you spend another penny. People buy products because they solve a problem for them. Whether it’s a bra that eliminates visible bra lines on a girl who is no longer 18 and svelte, or a clip-on cup holder for cars like my Porsche that were somehow built without that fabulous little amenity, you need to know. And what you need to know now.

Think of this in terms of solving your client’s pain and make a list:

What is killing them right now?

What makes you tremble?

What angers them?

What frustrates them?

What do they complain about with their friends?

How can they save time and money?

What would make them smile with happiness if they only knew about it?

Those attributes become your “unique selling proposition” and the foundation of all your marketing to your customers. Your job as an entrepreneur is to provide a solution to someone else’s problem. Try to get your list under 5 words that you can use on packaging, press releases, and as an “elevator pitch” when someone asks you about your product. So now that you know who your client is, where do you hang out? What do they read/watch/listen to? What associations might they be connected to?

Where do they spend their time and money?

What do they read?

You can be creative here, and you don’t need to know a particular industry to answer this question. Make some informed guesses. For example, I would say that fashion designers probably read Vogue and WWD religiously. They probably subscribe to the Daily Candy online and are alumni of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. They probably shop a lot and can be found at the malls on weekends and at night to see what else is out there. They are passionate about fashion and can most likely be found in any situation that has to do with it.

If you have trouble figuring out where they are, make a list of where they are not.

Using our fashion designer example, I would say that fashion designers probably aren’t skiing in the winter and biking in the summer. They probably spend many hours at the mall and make it a hobby, rather than a chore. They probably aren’t at football games or gardening on the weekends. Chances are they don’t eat at McDonald’s and don’t watch The History Channel.

Makes sense?

So why is it important? Because these are the associations where you can give presentations, the magazines where you request reports on your product, and the organizations whose websites you sponsor. For example, the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising probably has speakers who come to speak to their students. They probably have a magazine aimed at their students. They might even have an internal program. Ready; instant access.

Now the last question really helps dig deeper into who your customer really is. The value of knowing the commonalities your customers share will help you determine where you spend your time and money, and in what order. Knowing the commonalities your customers share will shape the shape of your marketing program. You’ll find out who your real targets are and if you have other customers who are potential buyers, but aren’t worth spending your extra dollars and time on.

Going back to the example of the fashion designer, ask yourself the things you guessed about her, what are the most common things they share? Of the examples we discussed, I’d say the most common thing they’d share is a Vogue subscription. Second, I would say that it is likely that they have graduated from a fashion school like the Fashion Institute of Merchandising or the Fashion Institute of Technology.

So now that you have all these questions answered, make a list of those customers and divide them into groups of those most likely to buy your product.

Sort them into a priority of three categories.

1. The first are the most likely customers;
2. the second are somewhat probable;
3. and the third are one hundred possibilities.

Then match the commonalities with your target customers.

Now make a list of professional associations where your clients might be members. Get your websites. Call them and see if they have internal newsletters. Ask if they sell their mailing lists. Find out if they host special events where you can come talk to their members. List the magazines your customers subscribe to and read. Go buy them. Browse the magazines and find the sections in which they could report on your product. Write down the names of the journalists who wrote those articles.

Make a list of the “loaves” of your customers.

Next to “pains,” list the attributes of your product that soothe your customer’s pain.

Now this is how this all comes together:

Write a sentence about your product that includes customer pain and how your product solves it. Play with it. Write it over and over again. Use different words to say the same thing. Remove all superfluous words. Above all, make it rich and very simple.

The USP for Federal Express was: “When it definitely has to come overnight.”

Domino’s Pizza said, “hot pizza at your doorstep in 30 minutes or less.”

This becomes your “unique selling proposition” and the phrase you start with when you call the professional associations and news outlets you listed above.

There are THOUSANDS of other marketing things you can do to get your product out to your customers, but if you start here, I promise you’ll never feel overwhelmed again. When you know who your customer is, you’ll never be in doubt about how to attract them. Now you know what your customers love, hate, and where they hang out; they will never elude you again.

As time goes on, you’ll refine your customer attributes, where-to-find lists, and continue to diversify your marketing programs, but for now, pat yourself on the back and put one foot in front of the other. You have lists, a road map, just start at the beginning and travel down the road. Success lies in educated effort, not necessarily inborn talent. One of my favorite Winston Churchill quotes says, “Education won’t do it. Privilege won’t do it. Experience may not do it. Tenacity will.”

So how do you feel now?

Has the stomach ache decreased?

Are you excited for Monday?

Good.

Go for them Tiger!