It may not look like much, but even the tiniest piece of knowledge can be invaluable to someone
KEY POINTS:
Imagine you had a handicapped child. And now this child is 20 years old and reasonably self-sufficient. Self-sufficient enough for you to decide you want to get back in the workforce.
But 20 years have passed. What will you do? Your qualifications are worthless. Your experience doesn't count for much. And you're as intimidated as hell.
So let's start with what you know. What you do know is how to care for a handicapped child. You know what that child needs in their first year, their second year, fifth year, seventh year, nineteenth year. You know what it is to be a parent of that child.
What you have is "most wanted" information, which is
simply a tiny slice of information that's of great value to a potential audience. It's not the entire saga of what you know. It's just a tiny, tiny bit.
So let's take an example: Let's say you're in business. What kind of information would be of extreme value to you?
You'd be interested in marketing strategy, sales letters, websites, and blah-dee-blah-dee-blah.
But that's the whole saga. What if I avoided the saga, and gave you just "most wanted" information? Information on a niche of a topic.
Like "pricing", for example.
What if I were to say to you that you could get a document/audio/video or even a bunch of ideas scribbled on a napkin, and those ideas enabled you to: 1) get the prices you want; 2) test if the prices were right for the market; 3) increase the prices of your product/service as often as three times a year, and 4) never lose customers?
Would you be interested?
Sure you would. Because that factor of pricing buzzes around in your brain. And you figure, if you could find a way to increase prices without losing customers, aha, that would be nice.
And the best part of "most wanted" information is that it's unique, because it's a tiny, tiny piece of advice.
So let's take another example: there was a shopkeeper who could tell you if your employees were stealing from you. He put this information on "How to Spot (And Stop) Thieving Employees".
The audio on tape - yes, back in the good ol' days it was tape - was less than 15 minutes long. The text feature was a handy reference card. Yup, that was it. And he sold it for $200. So why would a customer pay $200 for a 15-minute blab, and a reference card?
Thieving employees can not only siphon off more than $200, but can encourage others to do the same. Or at the very least, reduce morale in a store.
So the "most wanted" information became valuable.
As valuable as the mother of the handicapped child telling you how to "bypass medical red tape". Or the person who grows hundreds of tomatoes from just four plants, in a tiny patch in your backyard. Or the "audio guy" who teaches you how to "correctly compress files" and avoid the volume making unwanted leaps and drops.
"Most wanted" information doesn't have to be vast. When we started our business, we had a concept in our head. That concept was the Brain Audit. When I first put it down on paper, it amounted to 16 measly pages.
But it was "most wanted" information. And 16 pages was all I could fill. Today, those 16 pages have grown into a website, blog, and a very detailed book.
But I too was "handicapped" when I started out. I didn't know that much about marketing. All I had was these measly 16 pages.
And all you probably have are nine pages. All that mother of the handicapped child has is probably six pages. But six pages of "wanted information" is what's critical.
And the information you have would be of extreme interest to someone else who has a handicapped child. And just like you, that parent has to deal with a range of emotions and real-life issues.
Do you think that parent would want you to give as much detail as you possibly could, to bring up their child the way you have?
And more importantly, if you were that parent, would you pay $100 a year to get the information you so desperately seek? Across the planet, guess how many handicapped children are born every day. Guess how many of those parents would gladly pay $100 a year to get informed. And guess how much $100 x 1000 is per year.
But you're not confident anyone would buy your information. And heck, there's no way out of this confidence issue other than to simply sell what you know. Selling your information leads people to buying. And buying leads to feedback and experience.
And, of course, confidence. Because confidence can't be bought. Or taught.
There's really no shortage of people who want to write a book, a play, a movie.
The reason they never get started is because they are trying to create a big production.
What you need isn't a production, it's "most wanted" information. It could be 20 minutes of audio. Ten pages of text. Thirty seconds of video.
The "most wanted" information not only creates a stream of income, but also sets you out as the expert. An expert whom clients turn to when they want even more "most wanted" information.
Even if it's scribbled on the back of a napkin.
Sean D'Souza is chief executive of Psychotactics and is an international author and trainer.www.psychotactics.com
