target

The Shooter & The Target

“It Ain’t The Targets Fault…”

That’s a quote from Adversaries Into Allies by Bob Burg, the book I’ve been reading this week and it quite possibly one of the biggest takeaways from ANY book I’ve read in recent memory.

Let’s analyze this and find out why I think it’s so powerful.

First of all…We are the shooters!

If you are in business, you ‘aim’ is to get new customers and keep the ones you have thrilled with your product or service. We use marketing techniques, social media advertising, create content…All with the hope of providing enough value that our potential customers see us as someone they would like to do business with.

And when things don’t go as planned, we start…Blaming the targets.

The industry you are in sucks!

Your mailing list is filled with dead wood subscribers!

The president is ruining your life!

You need new customers because the ones you have are leaving in droves…

We blame the TARGETS when it’s actually the shooter (you, me and everyone in business) that are missing the bulls eye because of our poor aim.

So the question then becomes, if you have lousy aim, how do we start to ‘shoot’ better?

Simple…Provide more value, ask better questions and communicate with your ‘target market’.

One of the eaiest ways to do this is like I mentioned, ask better questions. What do your customers need help with? What are they stuck on? How can you be of better service to them?

One of the biggest parts of your marketing plan should be to learn the physchopgraphics of your market. What makes them tick? What are their goals and dreams?

And you find this out by again…Asking better questions.

The better our questions are, the better our AIM becomes. Do you see that WE are responsible for becoming a better ‘shot’. It’s not the targets fault when we miss, it’s simply because we are a lousy shot.


4 thoughts to “The Shooter & The Target”

  1. Right, Jon. People want things to be perfect, right away because they are in a hurry. They don’t want to put any effort into their business and hang in there because it takes time. Like you said it’s easier to blame it on someone else. I’m even guilty of that. I try not to though. We get distracted and need refreshers. Thanks for doing your shows again and preaching about the right way to do this business. I really appreciate it and you’re great at this!

    1. Oh we all are Barb. I’m the worst. When things dont go smooth for us, I’m the first to start pointing fingers…Instead of asking myself, how can I be better for my customers.

  2. This has to be one of your better posts, Jon! Definitely on ‘target’ with it.

    It becomes easy to find excuses for our own limitations. Admitting we need to improve our ‘aim’ can be hard. But once we begin to develop new skills to reach what we seek, we may find that we can excel far beyond the target we had.

    Reach out, ask questions, learn how to improve from the people you wish to work with. 🙂

    1. Thanks man, yeah something ‘clicked’ when I read that quote from the book…This is a huge message. Hope people embrace it 🙂

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