Expectations didn’t kill the cat
But they can kill your audio products
A business mentor of mine was talking about how business owners often have to “date” various banks before finding the right match to finance an expansion.
She then said something that made me laugh out loud.
“Those of you who know me, know when I met my husband it was a hole-in-one!”
What a great analogy!
And unfortunately, its an expectation many fledgling product creators have about their audio. That their first product will be a hit. And that every product they create MUST be a hit for products to be worth their while.
And nothing could be further from the truth.
An example from the news illustrates this: Walmart recently announced they were pulling out of Germany. Closing or selling off 80+ stores. Over a billion dollars lost. Ouch! However it does tell us a few things:
- Even Walmart, with all their resources, lays an egg every now and then.
- Even with this fiasco, Walmart will still be profitable.
- The knowledge gained from the failure may actually help Walmart to make all that money back in a relatively short time.
You can say the exact same things about your own audio products. You will not have a hit with every effort. The idea is to keep from getting discouraged, and get right back out there with your next effort.
One of the biggest challenges I have mentoring clients along the path to profitable audio products is convincing them not to get discouraged if their first effort doesn’t land them a spot on Oprah.
Because all it takes is one truly great product idea that hits the mark to make a massive impact on your business that can trickle down to everything else you do and everything else you offer. You don’t need all the ‘great ideas’ you are currently using to overwhelm yourself. All you need is one great idea. Really.
So, what can you do to insure your products satisfy a strong desire of your market? And how can you get back in the saddle if, despite your best efforts, a product misses the mark?
- Ask what your customers want. They will tell you. Really. In fact if you’re listening now, they probably already are. At networking events, in online forums, in emails, they’re giving you some great free market research.
The problem is, you’re so in love with your own ideas, you’re not hearing them.
So my advice is to put all your ‘great ideas’ on hold – just for a little while. And instead simply craft your next product to satisfy what your customers are telling you they’d buy. If only you’d create it. - Get specific about your target markets. And list a lot of them. Not simply people who “want to live the life of their dreams . . .” Ugh! But something very specific, like “Single mothers who want to live the life of their dreams by leveraging their current job – whatever it is – to start their own small business and retire in 8 years.”
Do you hear how much more compelling the 2nd market definition is?
By developing several very specific target market groups, you can target the products you deliver so that your sales conversion rate will soar, and you’ll be able to identify specific groups to target your marketing to, so its extremely effective. - If for some reason your products tank (it happens to the best of us) put the energy you usually invest in beating yourself up into discovering why they failed. Chances are there is a reason. You just have to open (and humble) enough to recognize it. And have the strength to get RIGHT BACK OUT THERE with your new found knowledge to begin creating a successful effort.
Not many of us are as lucky as my business mentor in finding our mate.
Yet it doesn’t stop us from trying. And sooner or later many of us find what we’re looking for.
So if your very first product is not a “hole-in-one”, stay in the game. Learn from your mistakes. Listen to your customers. And realize it only takes one terrific idea to completely transform your business and your life.
Many professional golfers make a ton of money without EVER getting a hole-in-one. And so can you.
