This may surprise you, but your biggest competition isn’t someone who does what you do. In fact, your biggest competition is probably nothing.

Not nothing in that you don’t have competition. Nothing in the sense that t your potential client has a problem that you solve and they’re choosing not to do anything about it.

Inertia is an underestimated competitor. Because as a coach or consultant you offer to help people discover something that will lead to change or actually change. And most people don’t like change.

So with that understanding, what can you do to bring more people into your business?

First, pick a poison ivy problem if you can. If you look across the range of your focus area – a specific person + a significant problem – you can probably break that problem into smaller pieces. So the question to ask yourself is: “Of the challenges my clients face, which ones bother them the most? Which one do they want to get solved most urgently?” Focus your marketing around that.

Second, figure out what not solving the problem means to them on an emotional level. So if you’re a closet organizer they don’t just get a pretty closet. They get more time with their kids in the morning. If you’re a career coach they don’t just get a new job. They get to love going to work every day.

And not just what they get, but what they get to get rid of… The stress of getting out the door in the morning. The feeling of dread everytime they have to talk to their boss.

The PAS Framework

There’s actually a sales copywriting strategy that goes along with this. It’s called the Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS) framework. It involves:

• Problem: Identifying and stating the prospect’s pain point or problem.
• Agitate: Emphasizing the negative consequences of the problem and how it affects the prospect’s life or business.
• Solve: Presenting your product or service as the solution that can alleviate their pain and solve the problem.

It’s something you can try working into your blog copy or your social media posts to help your potential clients understand the benefits of solving their problem sooner rather than later and nicely positions you as the person who can help them do it.

And all without any sales ick. Because all you’re doing is acknowledging they have a problem and the negative emotional impact it has on them and showing them that there is a solution within reach.