The Rules Just Changed . . . Forever

Searching for direction and answers?

You are not alone.

There's a big trend toward "What does it all mean?" and never before have so many "experts" claimed to be able to help you . . . for a fee.

Have you noticed them?

Some are parrots, regurgitating (plagiarizing) something they read in another blog, on another Website or from an obscure book written ten years ago no one bothered to read . . . or worse yet, from a book just released that was poorly researched and based on what might have worked two years ago.

Others have jumped on a trendy wave of twitter/facebook/linkedIn . . . it all sounds good and if applied the right way can be very powerful, but they are asking for your money, claiming to be "experts" who will show you the right way. It's hard to know just who to trust and buy into.

Still others are loudly proclaiming the "same old same old" from twenty years ago, broadcasting their lengthy experience in the field and hooking a segment of baby boomers who want to believe there's no need to change.

I'm here to tell you,
the rules HAVE changed . . . forever!

In fact, they changed many years ago, but business was great, people were buying, everyone was too busy to notice.

The change has been gradual but never hidden and it's called . . .
women.

Before you click away from my blog, I assure you I love men dearly. I wish I had their ability to focus on one thing at a time and move in for the kill. I wish I clicked with the "Take no prisoners" attitude. But I don't. I never have.

Neither have the other women who are now making 85% of the buying decisions in North America.

Yes, you heard me right. 85%!

How did that happen?

Well, there's no one single factor. There's several:

• The single income family is a dream long gone. More women than ever before in North American history have to work. Notice I say "family". I'm implying kids in that mix. Kids need daycare. Women either work in high-level positions that pay very well, work shifts opposite their spouses or create work arrangements or businesses that fit their life. In all these situations, women no longer need to consult the other bread winner on key buying decisions. They feel quite entitled and qualified to call the shots.

• Divorce is now normal. When I went to school, it was rare to find a child in a one-parent family. When my kids went to school, it was rare to find a kid in a two parent family, especially one that contained his or her original parents. Sad, but true. Women have had to shoulder a lot of responsibility and make all decisions . . . and juggle raising a child alone with making enough money.

• Fewer women bother to marry at all. Many of us just keep working. We waited for the right relationship and it never quite happened . . . or we were just too busy to look for it.
  

With women making:

• the majority of business starts in North America
• the majority of family buying decisions
• the majority of buying recommendations and decisions within businesses
• all their own buying decisions in their divorced or never-wed lives

women have become THE target market.

Who has most of sales copy been geared toward for the past 80 years?

MEN!

• Picture the last car commercials you've seen.
• Think of the last fax you received for some great speaker guru coming to town.
• Consider the realty ads that appeal to you and those that don't.

I've recently hooked into Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero's "She-Factor Copywriting Bootcamp". She latched onto this concept a few years ago when she rightly realized that the sales copy she was writing was repelling women and yet, most of the decision makers she knew were women.

The light bulb flashed to life and her research began.

Even ME, as a woman in sales and marketing, have been afraid to "exclude" men by writing toward ... well, myself! Lorrie's research showed that
female oriented sales copy still works on men!

Who knew?

So, by marketing toward men, you lose your woman audience
BUT
By writing to women, you gain the attention of 85% of buyers, PLUS you don't lose your men.

It doesn't take any marketing guru or trend expert to tell you what you need to do here:

• We know that people will buy from those they know, like and trust.
• Look at your website and all your marketing. Does it build trust with women?
• What can you do to speak directly to the concerns of the women in your target market?
• What benefits will women gain from using your product or service . . . that women truly care about?

If you do a lot of sales writing and want targeted tips, I highly recommend Lorrie's help.

Simply looking for help on a specific project? I'm happy to give you a hand. Leave a comment on this blog and I will respond ASAP.

Swimming Through Information

Someone mentions the word "Laminin" to you over the phone and you can instantly Google search it to see pictures, gain insightful and provocative information, gathering your sources to verify credibility. Excellent! Saves a trip to the library, calling all the friends you know in the scientific or medical field and gives you yet another piece of trivia that may be useful in a board game at some point.

Now try sitting at your computer to research "Entrepreneurial Growth Tips" ... Good luck with that! Every coach, trainer, publisher, reseller and anyone who has been paying attention to the "How to brand yourself" people ... myself included ... has a blog, website, article, etc that they have tried to optimize on the Internet, hoping people will randomly find them through all the other noise.

How do you swim through this sea of information to get to the pearls you need and can best use? How do you know what is credible and what is regurgitated, trendy fluff? It seems whoever yells the loudest attracts the most fish, but is that the right direction for you?

I am not a big name dropper. People ask me if I know some great name and I say "yes" but I usually know some deeper, negative side to their story of fame. Usually that's the information that sticks. If reputation is based on number of website hits, what THEY say about themselves, frequency of mentions and Googleability, those who are up on the latest tech-trends win.

I prefer a reputation built on what you've actually done, how you've impacted people, what those people know to be true about you.

I want people to say "Carol Carter is authentic, caring and creative. This is what she did for me ..." . I want to be known for how I help others using my inherent strengths and how I remain true to my top core values while honouring others. If I'm only known for the number of times people see my name, my reputation has no substance and can easily be destroyed.

So what is the answer for wading through the quagmire of sheer volume of information on the World Wide Web? Well ... what do you NEED to know? If you need to know how to be successful in a certain area, talk to someone who is doing it!! Network. Seek them out and ask them questions, including where to source the information they found that helped them and what reading they would recommend. Sure, take half an hour and browse the web for the latest buzz and trends, but then ASK someone in the know what they think of those trends and how valid they are. Examine them together and test their validity.

Whatever you do, when on the net, ask yourself every ten minutes "Is this the best use of my time right now?". Chances are you already know the answer.


Recommendations for the rest of the summer:

1) Make a list of questions you want answers to.
2) Do a small amount of prep research on the Internet, not only writing down potential answers, but also listing your sources.
3) Seek out successful professionals (more than one) and ask them for their valued opinions on your findings, as well as their answers to the same questions. You may just develop some very lucrative connections and/or mentors through this process!
4) Ask what books and articles the professionals recommend.
5) READ the recommended articles and books, touching base with the recommender during and upon completion of your reading.
6) USE the new found knowledge and advice!
6) Share your new found knowledge with people like you.

Enjoy! Learn! Grow! Reach out to grow others!

-Carol Carter-