Behind the scenes: I Used This Simple Test And Found Out How To Make My Business Stronger

Ever since I left the corporate world, I’ve been helping entrepreneurs and small business owners build their businesses. I help them by writing direct-response sales copy, developing lead-gen webinar funnels, or helping them create a Unique Marketing Advantage™ to attract and engage more of their ideal client.

And one of the things I noticed is that many of my clients aren’t sure what changes they should make to help build their business faster.

So to help them pinpoint the weak links, I created The CORE Branding Method Scorecard™. It’s a quick way for people to see what areas need to be improved. It takes about 10 minutes to run their website through the scorecard to get their CORE Score™.

Well when I decided to update my own website, I thought I’d run my current site through the scorecard to get my own CORE Score™. And I have to admit, I’m a little embarrassed by the results. To find out how it all went down, keep on reading this Behind the Scenes!

Behind the scenes: I Used This Simple Test And Found Out How To Make My Business Stronger

Let’s just say my CORE Score™ is lower than I’d like it to be … A LOT lower.

That’s when the value of this scorecard really hit home. I could see right away the weak spots in how I presented my own business. That’s when I realized I hadn’t been practicing what I preach, even though I know the difference it makes for my clients.

It was time for me to do my own work. And the experience has revealed some surprises.

So today, I’d like to tell you about a few of the ways my CORE Score™ has made a difference to my business.

3 Surprising Ways My CORE Score Changed My Business

1. It forced me to put a stake in the ground about who I serve

When I combined my skills in branding, direct marketing, and copywriting into The CORE Branding Method™, I did it with the intention of helping any kind of small business. So I considered my ideal client to be “small business owners and entrepreneurs.” I didn’t want to get more specific because (I reasoned), because I certainly didn’t want to limit myself.

And most of my clients have the same fear … they don’t want to limit themselves, either. This is especially true for the natural health coaches I work with. After all, they can improve so many different types of health problems!

And while that may be true, the first thing I have them do is get more specific about who they serve. It’s one of the most important steps when it comes to building their business because it makes their messaging, and their marketing, much stronger.

So I decided I had to be more specific about who I serve, too. I had already decided to focus my copywriting services on natural health & wellness businesses. So it made perfect sense to stay with the same ideal client. So going forward, I’ll only offer my CORE Branding Method™ to Natural Health Entrepreneurs.

And as soon as I made that decision, my next step became crystal clear …

2. I found ways to connect with “my people”

As soon as I knew who I wanted to serve, I wanted to get to know them even better. I wanted to find out more about what they were struggling with and how I could help them.

So I found Facebook groups where natural health experts hang out. I read their posts, I ask them questions, and I offer any kind of helpful feedback I can.

And I see that marketing their business is one of their biggest struggles. After all, they’re not marketers … but I am. And that’s what makes us a good fit.

And there’s another benefit I noticed about this, too.

Now that I know exactly who I want to talk to, I feel much more guided about they types of things to post. I also have more direction about what kind of article topics to write for my blog, LinkedIn, and Medium. It feels like I make decisions with much more intention now. And that brings me to the 3rd thing that’s changed … and this one’s a biggie!

3. It’s brought a new level of intention to my overall business

I had no idea this would make such an impact on how I approach my business. Since I’m very focused now on who I want to serve, I know right away which opportunities I want to pursue. I know who I want to say “yes” to.

And that empowers me to say “no,” too. For me, that’s been HUGE.

Before this, I’d get excited about almost any opportunity where I knew I could do a good job. But I realize now that this approach made me feel scattered. I was more anxious because it felt like there were so many opportunities and I didn’t want to let any of them slip by.

But now that I’m super-focused on who I serve, I don’t feel that way anymore. I won’t even consider an opportunity unless it involves a natural health business.

Now, I want to add a special note about this …

It doesn’t mean I’ll never work outside the natural health space. It just means I won’t for now. At some point I may want to evolve my business and help people in other areas. And that’s perfectly fine.

But for now, I want to put my efforts into helping natural health professionals. And that helps me make my messaging and my marketing much more focused.

As far as I’m concerned, if a natural health professional is looking for someone to help them with their brand, their webinar funnel, or their sales copy, I want them to see me as the BEST option … not one of many possible options.

Think about it … If you’re a natural health entrepreneur and want to hire someone to help you, would you prefer a person who works with clients in the survival, travel, SAAS, financial, and natural health niches … or would you prefer someone who specializes in natural health & wellness?

And the same is true for your clients, too. Pick who you want to help for now. It may be easier to think of it in terms of the next 12 months. Then when your business has scaled some, you can consider branching out if you want to.

At the time of this writing, my website hasn’t been updated. When it is, I’ll post a “before and after” comparison so you can see the difference.

And if you want to get your own CORE Score™, I’m about to make the CORE Branding Method Scorecard™ available (free). If you’d like to receive it, please send me an email to nicole@pipermarketingsolutions.com with CORE Scorecard in the subject line. I’ll send it to you next week.