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First, you must begin with the end in mind. You know that you want to be found, but have you put enough thought into what it is exactly you want to be found for? What are your visibility goals? What is it specifically that you are trying to accomplish? What is your purpose? This is very important to acknowledge, for without a clear purpose, you have no guidance and without guidance, you cannot control where you are headed. Frankly, almost any road will get you there.

I suggest you take out a notepad or open a new Microsoft Word document and take some time to answer the following questions. These questions will get your mind set in the right direction and assist you in understanding how far on the path of visibility you currently are. Keep in mind, the only difference between where you are now and where you want to be is what you do. You already have a great product or service, or maybe you are the product – you just lack the roadmap to becoming visible. So, let's get those brain juices flowing and structure your end in mind.

What Is Your Product or Service?

Be specific, not generic, and make sure not to spread yourself too thin by trying to push too many services in one shot. By spreading yourself too thin, you risk diluting your relevancy and your potency, and furthermore, you risk taking away from your core competency. Chances are, you've probably heard the disparaging phrase “jack of all trades, master of none.” While I am not implying that just because you are good at multiple things (notice I said “disparaging”), you cannot possibly master one or more of those things, I will say that it is my opinion that spreading your focus can have an adverse effect. Also avoid being too generic or vague. You need to find balance and a niche, and work on solidifying your existence within that niche. A rule of thumb I live by and a concept that will be introduced to you here shortly is “be careful of distractions disguised as opportunities.”

I am going to provide a few examples that may or may not be the line of business you are involved in, but the basic principles may and can apply. In fact, many times you can grab nuggets from other industries and experience major success because you are doing something completely different from your competition. It provides your audience with a fresh perspective. A lot of times I see businesses that are trying to keep up with the big fish and mimic just about everything that they are doing. They are constantly in a state of exhaustion (physically and financially) because they are trying to keep up. It's important to be unique, a leader, a trend setter. Sometimes all it takes is a little risk to try something outside the box, and the payoff can be extremely rewarding.

If you are, for example, one of the following:

● Car salesman. Instead of thinking of yourself as just a car salesman, be specific. Do you sell new or pre-owned vehicles? If you sell new, then what franchises? Do you have the desire to represent a large dealership, small dealership, independent store, or large dealer group? Do you make an effort to work with law enforcement and military members? Or maybe you focus on or would like to become more active with being the go-to person for colleges. What is your personal primary market area (PMA)? If you sell pre-owned cars, what do you stock the most of, or what are the most requested pre-owned vehicles in your market (by brand and model)? Do you have certifications? Over 60 percent of Americans suffer from poor credit – do you specialize in credit needs?

● Singer. Instead of thinking of yourself as just a singer, be specific. What genre of music do you consider yourself? Pop, R&B, hip-hop, rock? It is no secret that there are many different types of singers and voices that range from power vocalist to gangsta rappers. There is obviously a big difference in style with a completely different audience base. The iconic Bruce Lee once stated, “I am all styles, I am no styles.” This point of view may work well for a martial artist, but as a recording artist, you want to stay loyal to what your fans – or audience – are expecting from you and in turn willing to purchase. Too much diversity will only confuse them.

● Speaker. Instead of thinking of yourself as just a speaker, be specific. Are you a trainer? Are you a facilitator of a specific course? Are you a subject matter expert? Do you specialize in workshops, seminars, or webinars? Or maybe you deliver only keynote speeches? What is your niche? Are you a motivational speaker, technology speaker, or a sales expert? Do you utilize a talent to deliver or solidify your message? As a Certified Speaking Professional with the National Speakers Association, I have had the privilege of sharing the same space with some of the world's top speaking professionals. Most recently, I was honored to be introduced to Erik Wahl, a fantastic graffiti artist and the author of Unthink. He utilizes the art of painting to deliver his speeches, awe his audience, and leave behind a real masterpiece. Another amazing speaker, Dan Thurmon, known as a dynamic keynote speaker, peak performance coach, and the author of Off Balance on Purpose, utilizes the art of comedy, coupled with juggling and acrobatics, to deliver his message. He guarantees a flipping good time, literally.

● Restaurant owner. Instead of thinking of yourself as just a person that owns a restaurant, be specific. What type of food do you specialize in? Is there a specific food you are famous or recognized for, or want to be? Do you have a secret recipe? What location are you based out of? Are you in the city or the suburbs? Do you have a single location or several locations? What are your demographics? What type of environment do you want to create – an upscale one or laid-back, cozy one? Either one will work, but it's important to the overall mission of the organization to have clarity. What type of clientele would you like to attract? Are you looking to attract a younger crowd, older crowd, families, or a mixture? Will you hold special events, like karaoke night or “kids eat free” night? How involved in the community are you or would you like to be? Do you have a theme? I recently threw an event in Dallas, Texas, and used Eddie Deen's Ranch as my event location. With its ranch-themed location resembling something out of a Clint Eastwood movie, with bull riding, square dancing, and BBQ-style cuisine, it does a great job of giving you that true Texas experience.

● Martial arts school. Instead of thinking of yourself as someone who just owns a martial arts school, be specific. What style of martial arts do you specialize in – Jiu-Jitsu, karate, judo? What is your specialty? Is it training law enforcement/military, kids' classes, or women's self-defense? What town or city is your school based in and how far can you draw students from? Answering these questions allows you to create a specific focus. I discuss this in later detail as we progress on our visibility journey.

● Real estate agent. Instead of thinking of yourself as just a standard real estate agent trying to sell properties, be specific. What kinds of properties are you trying to sell? Single homes, family homes, condos, apartments? Are you interested in acquiring homes too? Do you or have you considered flipping houses? Are you represented by a major real estate agency? Can you use its brand and credibility to perpetuate your individual credibility and brand? Is your only focus to sell properties, or have you considered selling home warranties as an additional source of income? What type of networking/referral systems have you built? Do you have relationships with home inspection agents or termite inspection agents? Do you focus on building relationships with real estate attorneys or homeowner insurance companies? What about landscapers, carpenters, and home builders? If not, then you are missing out on major opportunities. Think about it. You can build a strong referral business in all of these different areas. To get started, you can search for local companies in your area that fall within the categories of service mentioned earlier. Make a list of them and their addresses, and deliver a box of donuts and a box of joe along with a stack of business cards. Explain to them that you are looking to partner with some local businesses to create win-win solutions in which each refers business to the other. You reap what you sow. Partnering and nurturing relationships with other businesses will plant seeds that reap a great return.

What Is Your Value Package Proposition?

● What is different and better about you? What makes you unique?

● What awards have you won?

● Have you been featured in any media – radio, TV, print, etc.?

● “Best of…”

● If you are a franchise, what awards has your franchise won? You can use that borrowed credibility.

● What about reviews?

● Google reviews

● Yelp

● Better Business Bureau

● Merchantcircle

● Yellow pages

● Client testimonials

● What do you do better and differently from your competitors?

● What special giveaways do you offer?

● Do you have a customer loyalty or rewards program?

● Why should someone buy from you?

● Why should someone come to your event, show, concert, or exhibit?

● Have you invented or patented a process or technology?

● Are you first to do what you are doing?

● Have you been in business a long time? How long?

● Have you been practicing your craft for a long time?

● Have you served a lot of clients, delivered a lot of speeches, or performed a lot of concerts? If so, how many?

● Do you have any celebrity (or reputable) endorsements?

● If you authored a book, did any VIPs, celebrities, or reputable people endorse your book?

● If you are a speaker or trainer, did a Fortune 500 or Fortune 100 publicly traded company, VIP, or reputable entity give you a positive survey or review?

● Has a food critic reviewed your restaurant and given you a positive review?

Who Is Your Audience?

This is such an important question that you need to be able to identify the answer as soon as possible. I am a business owner myself. I know you might feel like saying, “Everyone or anyone,” but that is too broad of a stroke. You should not take a shotgun approach to your business. A precise focus on your targeted audience is very important.

● Who are you trying to attract? This is going to be very different from business to business and situation to situation. But I am going to list a couple of examples with principal questions that can be applied to your specific situation.

● Car salesman (sells Chryslers in Swedesboro, New Jersey)

● What are the demographics in Swedesboro, New Jersey, and the surrounding area (20–30 miles)?

● How large is the population?

● Who buys your cars?

● What is their average income?

● Are they men or women? (Women have over 80 percent of buying power.)

● What kinds of cars are they buying? New or used?

● New? Which model(s)?

● Used? What year, make, and model(s)?

● Are there any large companies in the area for “macro” selling?

● Are there any military bases?

● How far are you from a major city?

● Who spends the most money?

● Who is the best repeat customer?

● Who provides the most referrals?

● Jiu-Jitsu academy (martial art school in Philadelphia)

● Who wants to train in martial arts/karate?

● Hardcore fighters or brawlers

● Fans and enthusiasts of UFC/MMA

● People trying to lose weight and stay healthy

● People interested in self-defense

● Women for rape prevention

● People who love competition and competing

● People trying to be active and social with a group of other like-minded individuals

● Parents who want to put their children in kids' classes because:

● They want them to be able to defend themselves from bullies

● They want their kids to develop discipline and self-control

● They hope their kids will be active and healthy (to get them off of video games)

● They want them to develop self-confidence

● They want them to interact with other kids and develop social skills

● People who are looking for work/life balance

● People who need to vent and need some stress release

● Professional speaker (keynote/workshop):

● What do you speak about?

● What is your niche?

● Are you a motivational speaker?

● Do you speak about leadership and management?

● Do you specialize in digital marketing?

● Do you get bookings from speakers bureaus (or would you like to)?

● What industry are you in?

● Automotive sales

● Real estate

● Education

● Hospitality

● Entertainment

● Medical

Where Is Your Audience?

After you have identified who your audience is, you now need to know where your audience is – whether you want to break it down by:

● Demographics

● Geo-targeting

● Niche

● Industry

● Associations or organizations

● Gender

● Interests

It doesn't really matter. Once you identify who they are, it will then be relatively easy to find out where they are. The question now becomes, do you want to go after them, or have them come to you? You might be confused by this question and tell yourself that this doesn't make much sense, or that it just doesn't seem possible. How can “they,” my potential audience, come to me? That is exactly what this book is going to teach you. I call it reactive selling. Let them come to you. Why exert more energy for minimal return when you can exert minimal energy upfront, for a stronger (more gross) and easier close later.

Cold-calling someone is a much harder close or a much harder sale compared to someone (an individual, company, association, bureau, etc.) coming to you for your product or service. If you are being approached, it says the person is (1) interested, (2) a serious buyer, and (3) looking to purchase relatively soon. Picture yourself going fishing. You've got your fishing gear on, fishing pole in hand, and bait all ready to go. (If you are not the fishing type, humor me. Trust me, there is a point here.) Imagine two ponds in front of you. You can choose to fish in either one. The first pond is empty, but you have the opportunity to draw the fish to you with your selected bait. The second pond is already full of fish. All you need to do is throw your fishing line into the water and boom…you've got your fish. What pond are you choosing? I would bet it is the one full of abundance, possibility, and opportunity. You have access to such a pond, right at your fingertips, literally. This pond is called the Internet.