Every time you successfully help somebody, there’s a question you should ask:
Who else is just like them?
Let’s say you’re a real estate agent and you help a young couple move from an apartment into their first home.
They’ve got twin boys.
The boys are getting older, and Mom and Dad really want a backyard where they can play.
They’ve dreamed about owning a home, but they don’t think they can afford it.
You show them some down payment assistance programs.
You find a mortgage they can afford.
And suddenly they’re living in their own home for only a couple hundred dollars more than they were paying in rent.
Great.
You helped them.
Now what?
Most people move on to finding the next customer.
But I’d ask:
Who else is just like them?
Because there’s probably another young couple in that same apartment building.
Maybe 20 of them.
Maybe 50.
They’re paying similar rent.
They’re at a similar stage of life.
Their kids are getting older.
They’re having the same conversations at the dinner table.
And they probably have the same mistaken belief:
“We’d love to own a house, but we can’t afford it.”
Now your happy customer becomes the bridge.
Not by saying:
“Dean is amazing! Five stars!”
But by telling their story.
Six months ago, we were exactly where you are.
That’s powerful.
Because people believe people who are like them.
And this applies to almost every business.
Every successful customer is evidence that there are probably other people in the same situation who want the same outcome.
So don’t just celebrate the result.
Study it.
Who were they before they met you?
What were they worried about?
What did they want?
What did they believe was stopping them?
And most importantly…
Who else is just like them?
That’s where your next customers may already be hiding.
One successful customer isn’t just one successful customer.
They’re a clue to an entire group of people you may be able to help.
Dean