In the realm of business, products or services can be categorised into two types: vitamins and painkillers. Vitamins are nice to have – they supplement our lives and often cater to our wants. Painkillers, on the other hand, are essential. They solve a problem, alleviate a pain point, and are a necessity. When we talk about creating a learning program, the difference between a vitamin and a painkiller becomes apparent. You want your program to be a painkiller, a solution that your target audience cannot do without.
Consider the following two coaches:
John is a seasoned business coach. He has a wealth of knowledge to share, but he’s not getting the traction he wants with his online course. Despite the quality content, his course is more like a vitamin. His audience sees it as a “good to have” rather than a “must-have”.
On the other hand, there’s Sarah, who has just launched her leadership consultancy. She has less experience than John but has successfully created an online program that addresses a specific pain point for new managers – how to give effective feedback. Her course feels like a painkiller. It’s a “must-have” because it solves a pressing problem for her target audience.
This difference in approach is crucial. Being ruthlessly relevant to your target audience means understanding their needs and challenges so well that your solution becomes indispensable.
But how do you create a program that is a painkiller and ruthlessly relevant? Here are the steps:
- Understand Your Audience: Deeply understand who your audience is and what they struggle with. Use surveys, interviews, and social listening to gather insights about their challenges.
- Identify the Pain Point: Once you understand your audience, identify a pressing problem that they are struggling to solve. This should be a problem that, if left unsolved, will have significant negative consequences for them.
- Develop the Solution: Develop a solution that directly addresses this pain point. Your solution should be practical, applicable, and leads to a clear outcome that alleviates the identified problem.
- Test and Refine: Test your solution with a small group from your target audience. Gather feedback and use it to refine your program until it fits like a key in a lock.
- Deliver with Excellence: Finally, deliver your solution with a commitment to excellence. Provide support, follow up, and demonstrate genuine concern for your client’s success.
It’s important to note that creating a painkiller solution isn’t a one-time activity. It requires continuous effort, refinement, and adaptation to the evolving needs of your target audience.
There may be objections or hesitations on this journey. You might question whether your solution is ‘enough’ or whether you understand your audience well enough. These are natural concerns and part of the process. The key is to start, take action, gather feedback, and refine.
As a coach or consultant aiming to make an impact, the creation of a painkiller solution is not just beneficial – it is essential. It is the difference between being an option and becoming a necessity for your audience.
Always keep this concept at the forefront of your mind. It’s not just about delivering information; it’s about solving problems. It’s about being so ruthlessly relevant that you become indispensable to your audience. That is the path to true impact and success.
To conclude, your call to action is to identify one pain point your target audience is facing. Once you’ve identified it, commit to creating a solution that directly addresses it. Remember, be a painkiller, not a vitamin. Be ruthlessly relevant, and your audience will thank you.
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