I would like to talk about yet another nifty business philosophy acronym, referred to as KLT. Not quite TLC, although we all need some of that.

NO, KLT is KNOW, LIKE and TRUST.  It applies to content and it applies to US, as individuals and as professionals.

The intention is to position yourself as the person to turn to – as the expert in your area, but also as the person who can facilitate finding the expert needed in another area, that will allow to solve a problem, attain a goal or transform a situation.  It is about being accessible, dare I say likeable, and reliable. This starts with your 60 seconds here and continues into your day, with every interaction you share.

Now, how do we generate this optimum result of KLT with the people around us? First of all, it is important to note it is NOT about selling anything: you are rather creating, and building a bond between you and your interlocutor.  And every exchange you have, with us and with them, confirms you in their mind as the go-to expert. It is about your addressing specific problems or pain points your niche audience is dealing with and opening the conversation towards the solution or solutions you can offer to allow to reach their desired outcome.

Consistency is key here and it means that it is essential that you do not try to be everything to everyone.  Pick a speciality and that will give your business and your discourse the focus, direction and by extension target customer base that correspond to it. It is impossible to be perceived as an expert in anything if that anything is not defined and your content constantly oscillates between several possible avenues.  Customers are easily confused and are also very self-centred – if you are not answering their need, clearly, unequivocally and confidently, they will walk away.  They want what they want.

So a few key points to address, to target your message and therefore your right audience:

• Define a compelling message, a headline if you will. It needs to be clear, concise, not vague or complicated.
• Your message should be easy to digest: whether in copy or in conversation, make it punchy, make it memorable, use simple, clear words, no jargon, no waffling and no novels. It will suggest, rightly, that this is how you work and deliver: dealing with you is efficient, straightforward and smooth.
• It is still important to mix it up and keep it fresh: your message can work just as well illustrated by an anecdote, through a presentation of strengths you have implemented within your method or team, it can also take the form of a targeted brainstorm on possible solutions for a specific issue at hand or projecting into what your ideal case scenario is where you know you can shine your best.
• Make your offer enticing, or rather irresistible.  In what you do and how you do it, outline the little bonuses, the clever perks, the added value and icing on the cake: offer your clients, potential and existing, the extra something that seals the deal and makes your exchanges special.
• And finally, Why are you the bees knees? What is your USP? Modestly but quietly confidently make sure to clearly outline that your offering truly is unique, targeted and tried and tested through a rich and varied path of successful ventures and deliverables. Present your content, give it exposure, reach out as far and wide as you can.  Your clients, suppliers, peers and colleagues obviously are essential to toot your horn and be your mouthpieces but you yourself also need to exude the reality of your awesomeness in your own words, with your own tools and vehicles, you cannot solely depend on others.

To conclude, I would reiterate how essential it is that you choose the niche and speciality you put forward carefully, with your business head but also definitely and perhaps foremost with your passionate heart – it is not just about ROI and balance sheets.  We love what we do and we cannot lie when we are talking about it, presenting it and engaging others in discovering it with us. Taking the time to define what makes you be fully animated and inspired makes the time and energy invested in packaging it and delivering it a labour of love and fun and passion.  It is infectious and can only reap rich results.

As Malcolm Forbes said: “The foremost quality – there’s no success without it – is really loving what you do. If you love it, you do it well, and there’s no success if you don’t do well what you’re working at.”