When I first launched Magic Words Marketing in 2020, I knew I wanted to work with purpose-driven businesses.

I’d been the editor of a magazine on the topic.

My network was full of meaning-driven entrepreneurs, and I had credibility in the space.

It made lots of sense.

But I had never tried to be a messaging consultant before.

I hadn’t launched any of my offers publicly, and I wasn’t sure how to get my first clients.

Luckily, I wandered my way into the orbit of the fabulous Chanti Zak, queen of quizzes, and enrolled in one of her courses.

The first assignment: Go talk to your prospective clients.

This ended up being one the smartest business moves I made, and I have recommended it to many people since then.

Because in the end, with very little investment on anyone’s part, I started to decipher the landscape.

Before I talked to all these people, I’d been looking in a direction I wanted to head, seeing a whole category of people I might label as my ideal clients.

It was like staring at a field in the distance and seeing a bunch of green blobs.

But I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

Once I started talking to people, it was as if I was focusing my binoculars.

That amorphous field of green began to differentiate itself.

👉 THIS person needs to get in front of Fortune 500 CEOs in order to sell maybe 10 new consulting engagements a year.

👉 THIS person is selling ice cream at farmers’ markets and needs a better way to fulfill orders before they can even think about more customers.

👉 THIS person feels like they’re putting thought-leadership content into the void and no one’s listening.

It was all different.

In retrospect, it might be obvious that “marketing for purpose-driven businesses” might look like a LOT of different things.

But the truth is, I really didn’t get that until I had real people telling me about their real experiences.

I looked in a direction.

Then I spoke to people to focus my binoculars.

Once I did that, I had a much better idea of who would really be a fit for what I could offer.

How could you focus your binoculars this month?

Clearly yours,

Rachel

PS – Here’s exactly how I did it: I went through my rolodex (ok, my Google contacts and LinkedIn connections) and made a spreadsheet of potential people to reach out to. (43, to be exact). Then I emailed a LOT of them (probably about 20). In the end, I spoke to 12 people over the course of about a month. I recorded the calls and took notes. I digested the calls into a few lists of: Words/Phrases; Problems (fears/struggles); and Dreamstates (desires). From there, I had the clarity to begin another type of outreach, which I’ll cover another day.

PPS – Interested in doing this but want to save time? I made you a Google Doc swipe file of the email I used for outreach and the exact questions I asked. Click here to snag it.

This post was originally sent as an email to the Magic Words of the Week newsletter list. Every week, I share reflections on a word, quote, or phrase I think will help you thrive in your life’s work.