I had a client in Canada who does branding, packaging and management for hockey players.
Now, bear in mind: If you want to be an NHL hockey player, the best thing that can happen to you is to be born in Ontario. Because that’s where all the best players are coming from.
The parents up there are all willing to spend bucket loads of money on elite hockey programs for their kids...
NHL is a viable path to becoming a professional hockey player. It’s the ultimate dream come true for the parent. And even if that doesn’t happen, the worst case scenario (in the parent's mind) is... their kid gets a US scholarship.
In other words, after spending all that money, the worst thing to happen is their kid gets a free education. So the parents look at it as an investment.
But branding, packaging, and social media stuff? All the stuff my client was doing?
In the parents’ eyes, that’s a luxury. It’s not necessary. They aren’t looking for it, it’s not on their radar... and they aren’t willing to pay for it.
So how do you advertise something that nobody’s looking for?
Why, you advertise what they ARE looking for instead!
And so, what we did is… We put together a directory of US hockey scholarship programs - and advertised that.
It was a huge hit.
See, from the parent’s perspective, it was a goldmine. Exactly the thing they wished they had.
But here’s the best part. As soon as they got their hands on this goldmine, a new question entered their mind...
“What do I do now? How do I approach these hockey coaches, and how do I make my kid stand out against all the other kids that are going to do the same?”
And BAM. Now they’re open to my client’s messaging.
Now they’re open to the idea of, “Well, maybe, if your kid looked like a star, and was packaged like a star, and had the stats to match the star… maybe that's going to give him an advantage over all these other kids.”
And so, it starts to make sense to want to polish your kid’s achievements. All the branding, packaging, and social media stuff - all of that is now an investment, too. It’s not a luxury anymore. It’s a necessity.
Anyway. My point is this...
Never overestimate the awareness of your prospects. Instead, try to put yourself in their shoes and see things the way they see them.
If your prospects aren’t looking for the things you offer…
Figure out what it is they ARE looking for. And then give it to them.
If you do this right… I promise you, they’ll feel like they’ve found a goldmine.