What Is Your Gap?

[tltfaas]

Do you know what your gap is? Why do you need to know what your gap is? What happens if there is no gap?

Your gap is what your business is all about. Your gap is effectively what you do for your clients: the results you achieve and the problems you solve. Let me use an example to explain this further.

Imagine a river. And someone - let's call her Sarah - is standing on one side of the river. Sarah wants to get to the other side of the river and is looking for someone to help her do this. Effectively, Sarah wants to cross the "gap" from A to B.

If you can offer Sarah a service to cross the "gap" from A to B then she might become your client.

Just suppose though that you don't know what your gap is. Then what? If you don't have any idea where someone is going to end up when they work with you (the B destination) then you are going to have to convince them to pay you for a mystery destination or result which may or may not benefit them. Doesn't sound likely does it?

You need to know what your gap is as "crossing" this gap and reaching the destination is what people are buying from you. People are buying the result, the "B" destination from you. It's as simple as that. Your gap is your business. If you have no gap, you have no business.

You need to not only know what your gap is but you also need to be able to clearly explain it to people. If you leave people to guess where they are going to end up with you (the B destination), chances are they will find it too difficult and move on to someone else.

Also, if you can clearly and simply explain to people what your gap is, they will be able to explain it to others and you will get referrals. If people aren't clear on what your gap is, they won't be able to let others know, therefore you won't get referrals. Simple really.

So how do you work out your gap? The first step is to work out the "A" destination. This is where your potential clients are currently - this is the specific problem people have which you can solve. The second step is to work out the "B" destination - where someone will be after working with you on these problems. A good way to get clear on the "B" destination is to ask your clients what results and benefits they have had from working with you on specific problems.

Now just suppose that the person you are talking to has no desire to go from A to B - they have no gap. Then what? Obviously the chances of this person becoming your client are virtually zero, and the sooner you can both find this out the better. This is a crucial step when qualifying a potential client.

I hope you can see how important it is for you to know your gap. If you know what your gap is, and you can clearly explain it to people, your chances of attracting clients and referrals is dramatically increased.

So what is your gap? What is your "A"? What is your "B" destination? What is your business all about?

(c) 2007, Tessa Stowe, Sales Conversation. WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE? Yes, you can, provided you make all links live and include this copyright and by-line below.

Tessa Stowe teaches small business owners and recovering salespeople 10 simple steps to turn conversations into clients without being sales-y or pushy. Sign-up for her FREE monthly newsletter that is full of tips on how to sell your services by just being yourself at http://www.salesconversation.com