What Is Solution First Marketing? (part 2)

Last week we began our series with Solution First Marketing (part 1) and how most web designers actually use Solution LAST Marketing.

When the solution is the LAST thing you do, you end up having to base all of your marketing around your services. That means you end up blending into the noise sounding exactly like everyone else who offers the same services as you do.

This is how we ended up in the price race to the bottom where everyone expects websites to be both cheap and ineffective.

Now let's look at how Solution First Marketing actually works with examples.

This will enable you to:

• Attract clients with a larger budget
• Build your authority through leadership
• Maximize your earning potential through value pricing

Get this right and you can more than double your revenue!

Here's how it works.

High-Risk Means Low Price

Clients are looking for a solution, not an adventure. Adventures are risky. People don't invest heavily in high-risk situations. To win high-paying clients the client needs to feel confident that their investment is going to have a positive return on investment with as little risk as possible.

But, most web designers have an incredibly high-risk business model for interacting with their clients. First, they accept leads from all sources even though it is obviously impossible to be a marketing expert in all markets. Then they ask the client (who has very little technical or marketing knowledge) what they want. This foundation could not be more high-risk for the client. So, the client feels uncertain and scared which then leads to endless change requests.

It makes sense though, right? When you're about ready to launch, they see what's about to go live and they second-guess themselves and start nit-picking the site. It's not that they don't like your design. The problem is they don't know if they're going to get the results. So, they run you through the wringer while they have access to you because once you officially “launch” everything is on them from that point forward.

Why Develop The Solution First

The core concept of Solution First Marketing is to develop the solution before interacting with the client. Developing the solution first is literally the opposite of solution last marketing and fundamentally changes everything. By starting with a solution first, you've got something that you feel confident will bring the results your clients are counting on. It's a combination of your best skills and services so it builds your authority and sets you apart from the crowd. Since it's your best stuff, it's what you can charge the most for. You also know exactly where to go and who to talk to with all of your marketing.

• Confidence (for both you and your client)
• Collection of your strongest skills/services
• The best results you can create
• Delivers the most value to the client
• What you can charge the most for

Marketing Authority

With Solution LAST Marketing, you're stuck marketing the same exact services as everyone else (web design, branding, SEO, social media management, etc.) With global freelance platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, you're literally competing against the whole world.

With Solution FIRST Marketing you talk about the outcomes your solution delivers NOT the individual services.

By talking about the outcomes instead of the services you are rising above the noise of all the people shouting for clients who want “affordable” websites. You have something new and authoritative to say. You're talking about what your clients actually want which makes you much more attractive and valuable in the eyes of your clients.

Why Would Someone Hire You?

Ok, so let's look at an example of how this works and what you actually say in your marketing.

Start by having a serious talk with yourself. Ask yourself, “Why would someone hire me?”

Pull out a notebook (or note-taking app) and jot down some reasons. Seriously, do this. You'll get a ton of clarity.

Your Perspective vs. Your Client's Perspective

Divide your notes into two sections (top/bottom). In the top section write a list of reasons for why YOU want your clients to hire you.

In the bottom section, write a list of reasons for why your CLIENTS think they are hiring you.

If you're like me, you want people to hire you because they need more leads, more customers, more revenue, etc. You'll probably have similar reasons in your “top list.” But, in your “bottom list” you might have reasons like affordable website, one-stop-shop for all the services I need, good customer service, etc.

Are You Setting Yourself Up To Be Micromanaged?

On the surface, those sound like decent reasons for hiring you. But, be careful. Are you setting yourself up to be micromanaged? You probably do NOT want people to hire you so they tell you how to do your own job, right?

You want people to hire you because they believe in your leadership and your strategy. Then you want them to leave you alone so you can do your thing to bring their goals to life.

A Quick Solution First Example For Authors and Speakers

For example, suppose you've got a really cool lead generation strategy for helping authors and speakers build their audiences while also developing additional revenue streams through online group coaching.

To pull this together you could create a package that includes:

• Developing a website
• Building an email list
• Lead nurturing through drip campaigns
• Launching a podcast
• Developing an online community
• Creating an online course
• Implementing a paid membership area on their website
• Facilitating an online group coaching program

What To Say On Your Website

Now, on your website, do NOT list out all the technical services you plan to deliver. Instead, talk about the RESULTS your system can create. For example, you might drop an awesome headline on your homepage that says something like…

How the top authors and speakers are building their own 6-figure income streams
(while everyone else is stuck hustling for $9.00 eBook sales)

Now that you have the Solution FIRST, you sound unique and authoritative because you've become a leader in a specific space. People will hire you because that's the result they want and they believe your system will get you there. Now you can charge based on the value of these results so you're no longer limited to pricing based on what people think an “affordable” website costs. This is how you shift into value pricing.

Check out my value pricing calculator for web design if you want to run some real numbers to see what your projects could be worth.

What's Next

The next question on most people's minds has to do with proof. How do you get your first client? If you say you know how to build 6-figure income streams for authors and speakers, what if someone asks you to show them an example of an author or speaker you've helped?

I'll give you a pattern to answer that question in our next session.

Want To Start Finding High-Ticket Clients Right Now?

There's more to come, but if this is already making sense and you want to start putting all of this in practice right now, schedule a one-on-one call with me and together we'll figure out what this looks like specifically for you and the types of clients you'd like to be working with.

We'll get on the phone for about 45-minutes (for free) and you'll come away knowing exactly what you need to do to shift into Solution First Marketing.

The best part of all is that by making this shift everyone ends up far better off. You will have a repeatable system where you don't have to undervalue yourself to get work. You'll probably at least double or triple your rates. And your clients will be getting the results they are counting on you for!

Click here and schedule your call ➤

Coming Up Next: How To Get Your First Clients

So far so good, right? But how do you get your first few clients? Join me for Solution First Marketing (part 3), and discover how to solve the problem of social proof when you are just getting started?

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