Want to be as forgettable as possible?
Try telling someone you’re a “personal trainer” or “life coach” or “marketing specialist.” These are all vague terms that, unfortunately, become forgotten in the sea of other people with the exact same job title. I know because I used to call myself one of them 🙂
So, how can you stand out and distinguish yourself when talking to potential customers?
Through a special technique, I created called The Four Layer Method.
Let’s see how The Four Layer Method works for someone who is a personal trainer.
The 1st Layer: “I’m a personal trainer.”
Most people would introduce themselves with some version of this. The problem is that, if you say this, you’ll be as forgotten as the hundreds of thousands of other personal trainers out there.
The 2nd Layer: “I’m a personal trainer who works with women.”
This is one step in the right direction as you’ve now created cut your potential customer base in half.
The 3rd Layer: “I’m a personal trainer who works with women that want to lose fat.”
This is getting even better! Not only are you stating who you work with, but you’re also stating the type of goals you help them reach (in this case, losing fat instead of something like training for a competition).
The 4th Layer: “I’m a personal trainer who works with women that want to lose fat post-pregnancy.”
This is the best of all! Now, you’ve gotten super specific with the exact subcategory you work with and you have an easy way to tell anyone you meet exactly what you do.
If you use this method to develop your perfect 4th layer (and we’ll get to how you can do just that in part 2 right here), both you and your client will reap a ton of great benefits.
5 Benefits of the Four Layer Method for YOU:
1. You get more referrals.
Every time you introduce yourself with your precise 4th layer, you become that person’s “go-to” solution for anyone they encounter with the specific problems you told them you solve.
Even if that person isn’t within your market, you can bet they’ll remember you because you had a distinct specialization. So, the next time they meet a friend who is complaining about the difficulties of losing fat post-pregnancy, you’re the one who’ll jump into their minds as the solution.
But if you’ve presented yourself as “just a personal trainer,” the chances of them remembering you are slim to none.
2. You get better clients.
By creating your 4th layer, you have the luxury of choosing to work with only the specific type of client that is the best fit for you and your talents (in our example above, that would be women post-pregnancy who want to lose fat).
3. You get to charge more (just because you said it differently!).
This is all about how you position yourself.
Someone who positions themselves as an expert and associates themselves with a specialization will have more value in the minds of the customers (as well as less competition).
That means they can charge a higher price.
For example, the personal trainer who says they specialize in weight loss post-pregnancy can charge more than someone who just calls themselves a “personal trainer.” This is true even if the “personal trainer” actually does the same work or has more qualifications or experience than you do!
4. You only have to become an expert in your chosen specialization.
If you go super-granular to create your 4th layer, the amount of knowledge you need to provide great service is cut significantly. Now, you can devote all your time to this one market you’ve chosen, which lets you become a true expert with less effort.
Sure, you might pride yourself on being a personal trainer who works with anyone….but how much can you really learn about all the different subcategories?
After all, there’s a pretty big difference between women who want to lose fat post-pregnancy and college-aged men who want to build muscle to join a sports team, right?
5. You can really nail your sales pitch & increase conversions.
The way you sell your services to men in their 20s will be very different from the way you sell to women in their 40s.
If you present yourself with your 1st layer as a generalist, not only will you have to have a vast knowledge of skills to work with every single possible type of client, but you’ll also have to be comfortable with the persuasive sales and marketing language for all of them.
You could try to develop the perfect sales pitch for each one of these subgroups, but you’ll never really get good at any of them because you just won’t have the practice.
But by just focusing in on one subcategory, you’ll become great at selling to your exact market.
2 Benefits of the Four Layer Method for Your Clients:
1. Your clients feel like they are getting better results.
The perception of the results your clients have is very much mental.
Expectations can dictate an overall impression of success and, if a client feels that your service caters exactly to what they need (and not just to a generic range of needs), they subconsciously feel they are getting more from it.
2. Your clients have the clarity they need to make the right decision for themselves.
Everyone has a goal and your clients are no exception. The problem is choosing the way there. As your clients look for solutions, they come across you – a seemingly tailor-made solution to their exact problem.
From the presentation of your 4th layer, it’s obvious what you do, and they know longer feel overwhelmed by all the options out there. They appreciate you making the decision simpler for them.
If you’re tired of people never remembering what you actually do, it’s time to change up your elevator pitch.
Try this method as a way to stand out and position yourself. See how I use it and how you can in part 2!