In this series I’ll be sharing the five places where you are losing Clarity, Confidence, Clients and Cash because of the leaks that may be hiding out in your business.

You may have some of them, or just one or two, but plugging these will get you on track to better results.

Let’s start with the leak #1 – The elusive concept of POSITIONING.

Here’s what the dictionary says about this word;

We want you to know what ‘space’ you occupy in the minds of your market.  And in order to do that, you have to be very clear about a few things….

The main thing that you MUST answer for yourself is, “What makes me different?” If there is a room full of others who do what you do, what is THE THING that is unique or would compel them to choose you?

Too often we have a huge blind spot here.  We either 1) take our brilliance for granted, 2) think that everyone already knows this, does this, or should easily be able to figure it out, or 3) can’t see how what we do is special.

Finding the positioning piece is very much like a treasure hunt.  It’s buried deep inside and it almost feels like by Divine Design we are forced to dig for it.  But that’s the very contradictory thing that also adds to the tendency to devalue our gifts. Once we do find them we have the thought of  “It’s so easy for me, so how can I make money off of THIS?”

I think there is just enough of the consciousness of the Puritan WORK ETHIC still running through us that if something is not hard, it doesn’t seem like we can charge for it!  OK, but here’s the deal….the thing that you do naturally, easily, and probably a bit unconsciously is the thing that you are here to do.  Instead of feeling guilty that you are blessed with an ease at whatever the gift is, the goal of positioning is to learn how to identify your brilliance, name it, market it, and leverage it so you can help more people.

But how?  I’m going to cover this on my call next week where I’ll be talking about The 5 Business Leaks but I’ll give you a few places to start.

1.  Client success stories - What are the common things that your clients say that you solve for them?  What do that come to you for?  (Dig deep because what they start out coming to you for may not be the REAL thing they end up with.)

2.  What you do easily - If you have ever heard yourself say, “Doesn’t everyone already know this…..” the answer is NO!  They don’t and that’s why they need you.

3.  Past things in your life – Years ago one of my first coaches had me do what he called a “Wow Project” inventory.  It involved listing all the things that if I told someone they may say “WOW” to.  That showed me two things – that I always developed community where ever I went, and how much of a leader I really was.  Until doing that exercise I had no idea!  Knowing these two things has really helped orient how I set up my business and what I take a stand for.  But for most of us the things that are often the strongest parts of our positioning are often unconscious.

That’s just a start.  Know that this one can be a little tricky to land on, and often takes either a facillitator to draw it out of you, or a process of inquiry.  Give yourself the time and permission to do this work because it’s the foundation for all the rest.

And one last thought….positioning changes! The YOU that you wanted to show to the world a year ago may no longer fit.  If you are an entrepreneur who is all about growth and understands that your business will evolve you, then expect that you will regularly need to revamp and restate who you are and what you are an expert in.  So if you look at your website or marketing copy and don’t fall in love with it again….change it!  Let it reflect the you you are today or you’ll be attracting clients that are “so yesterday’s news.”

Here’s that link again to register for the 5 Business Leaks call where you’ll learn the four other places that you are at risk.

Next blog post will be on Leak #2 – Messaging.

Blessings!