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Marketing expert and author, Geoffrey Moore, has a useful fill-in-the-blank method for creating a theme and positioning statement for your business. I prefer to use his same system for creating clarity for myself in what I'm selling, creating an elevator or introduction speech, and also material for my website, brochures and business card.

Using this same method for each niche I have also keeps me focused and on target for where I am going and what comes first. I know it will do the same for you. As a public speaker, I also like to use the same exercise to create a one-line message for each workshop or engagement. This way the participants and I start from the same page. I like to say it provides the tree trunk that all the branches stem from.

This exercise is designed to be simple and achievable in 15 minutes. However, if this seems somewhat daunting, see if your beliefs are still in the clouds of wanting to deliver too much to too many to soon. If this is the case, there is a great book I recommend that will support you in narrowing down: Niche and Grow Rich, by Jennifer and Peter Sander. This book will support you understanding the market place you want to enter and in narrowing your thoughts.

Exercise

For ___________________________
(Hints: Who is your target customer, your niche? Is therea geographic relevance? If so, add it. Examples: Seniors,women business owners, teens between 13 and 18. If aspecific geographic area: Writers in the Washington DCmetro area.)

Who ___________________________
(Hints: This is where you qualify your target customer andtime of need. Examples: Who are obese. Who are 62 andolder. Who own a business. Who are in high school and takemusic.)

Our product/service is ____________________________
(Hints: What is your product or the service? Our productis a line of workshops. Our service is training. Ourservice is executive coaching. Our service is training orengineering or accounting.)

That provides ______________________________
(Hints: What are your key features of this product/service?What are the major benefits of this product or service?What are the tradeoffs? That provides shortcuts (softwaretraining) at a discount/premium price. That contains nochemicals. That contains no hidden costs. That containsno markups. That contains life support.)

Unlike ____________________________________
(Hints: Who are your competitors? What are the productsnot serving the needs of this particular niche? Unlikeother retail sellers, which have.... Unlike store-boughtgoods, these.... Unlike other coaches.... Unlike otherworkshops....)

Our product/service _______________________________
(Hints: Your product/service serves this niche by doingwhat? Our product/service helps this group increase theirpersonal leadership skills. Our product/service helps thisgroup overcome.... Our product/service helps this groupreap the rewards of....

Taking This Forward

Once you have completed this exercise, whether it is foryour overall business theme or better yet a narrower one,you can move this information forward into all yourmarketing information.

Create a paragraph with this information, then edit andrefine the language so that it fits your customer's readingstyle. This is especially important if your style isdifferent. Each word you use has an energy attached to it.This energy either detracts or attracts customers.