From Passion to Profit: Heart Centered Strategies for FitPros

019 The Power of Problem-Solution Fit

• Nichola Page • Season 1 • Episode 19

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Welcome to another episode of "From Passion to Profit" with Nichola Page. In today's session, Nichola delves into three key principles crucial for attracting more paying clients to your health and fitness business.

Key Principles: Problem Solution Fit:
Nichola emphasises the importance of the Problem Solution Fit. To successfully attract clients, there must be a clear understanding and alignment of three elements:

  1. Identifying the client's problem.
  2. Offering a solution that solves the problem.
  3. Ensuring an emotional fit, making the client feel your solution is the best for them.

Understanding the Problem:
Nichola advises ensuring a genuine demand for your offerings. Even if your solution addresses a problem, it's crucial to confirm that clients want it in the way you're offering it. For example, in a Pilates business, do clients prefer online classes or in-person sessions?

Effective Marketing:
Highlighting the significance of marketing, Nichola encourages clear communication of the problems your services solve. She stresses the importance of understanding your clients' language and crafting marketing content that resonates with their needs and desires.

Solution Presentation:
Nichola provides insights into presenting the solution. She categorises potential clients into three levels of awareness and discusses tailoring marketing strategies accordingly. This includes raising awareness of the problem, educating on potential solutions, and clearly presenting your offering as the ideal solution.

Ensuring Fit:
Nichola introduces a unique perspective on pricing as part of the fit. She suggests aligning pricing with the type of clients you want to attract. A mismatch between high-quality offerings and low fees, for example, can create a subconscious disconnect. Additionally, she cautions against overwhelming clients with too many features that may not align with their lifestyle.

Thank you for joining us on this episode of "From Passion to Profit." Don't forget to share, subscribe, and leave a review. Stay tuned for more insights on turning your passion into a successful business. Until next time, goodbye!

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Nichola Page:

Today's episode is going to be really short, sharp straight to the point session, because I want to reinforce three key principles when it comes to getting more paying clients into your health and fitness business. And it's the principles of problem solution fit. Now, they're not rocket science. But they're also often overlooked and very much often overcomplicated. Now, the premise of these principles is this in order for someone to buy, or sign up to whatever it is that you're offering, whether it's your classes, your personal training sessions, maybe you've got, you've got a membership, there needs to be three things in place. Firstly, they need to have a problem that you can help them with. Secondly, they need to know that you have the solution that's going to help them solve the problem. And thirdly, they need to feel so emotionally feel that your solution is the best fit for them. Hence, the problem solution fit. Now oftentimes, when I'm speaking to small business owners, there's an element of that which is either missing or is not clear enough. So if you want you have to be able to do is put yourself into the shoes of those you are trying to attract. And be clear that this is the problem. This is how I help you solve it. And this is why what I'm offering you is the perfect fit. So let's delve into a bit more deeper dive into what these three factors are. So the problem first of all, you want to make sure that there is actually a demand for what you're offering. Now that might sound like Well, of course, there's a demand I, I work with people and help them to exercise and improve their back pain course I'm offering, you know, there is a problem, there is a demand for it. But sometimes it might, there's little nuances that you have to check in on. So for example, do they want what you're offering in the way that you're offering it? So let's let's stick with the example there of maybe you're a Pilates, business, you do classes, you help people with back pain, and you run classes online, right? So maybe you're trying to grow an online business side of it, do the people that you want to attract, do they actually want to do it online, I know that when we were we were forced online in COVID, that was the way forward. But generally, a trend that I'm seeing at the moment is people actually want to be around other people. So that's what I mean by do they want it in the way that you are offering it, the way that you're offering it right now may be working really well for you. But if you are struggling to attract people into that business, it might be that what you're proposing is just not what they want. So I'm not saying that it is for you, it's just something to check in. So they may have the problem with the back pain, but they may not want to do what you're offering because it doesn't suit them. Be clear on what the now problems are you're actually solving, it's probably obvious to you. But if you don't communicate very clearly to people that you help solve X, Y and Zed problems, they may not necessarily connect the dots. Now, depending upon where you are putting your marketing, you do have to be mindful about the types of wording that you use. But here's the thing. 80% of people on average, are motivated to make a change. So whether it's to exercise more, eat better, etc. They're motivated to make a change because of something they don't want any more because of what they want to move away from aka their problem. Now your marketing must talk to that the challenge you might have on things like on social media is that some of your posts might be they might be blocked, you might they may be removed, if you are going at it from too much of a negative perspective. Facebook police don't like that. Nonetheless, somehow you need to be able to get across in your marketing, that you understand the problems that people are having. So you might you need to get across in your marketing that you know what they don't want anymore. And that's why you're offering the solution. You are the bridge to the gap. So I've done previous podcast episodes on on marketing and how to do your word in how to position the sale so you can listen to those. I'm not going to delve into that in any great detail here other than to reinforce the fact that whatever you're doing, you need to make sure you are super clear of the problem. And who whoever is seen your marketing and in whatever format that might be online offline, you are clearly communicating that you understand the problem that they have got what it is they want to move away from. So do a check in on the marketing that you are currently doing, or you are planning to doing to kind of like the three, three pronged approach here. Is this marketing, clearly identifying the problem that people have in their language, if it is great, you've got a tick in the box, and that you can move to the next part, which is all about the solution. So what is it? If you know people have got this problem? Who is it that you're trying to attract? And what is the solution that you are offering to you, it might be really clear, and obvious how you help these people, but to them, the it may not be, so you need to be able to join the dots up for them. And think about it in this way in terms of positioning the solution to out there into the masses. As an example on social media. There, people fall into three categories. They either they category number one is that they know what their problem is, they're very aware that they've got back pain, or they want to lose weight, or whatever the thing is, so they know it. But they may not know yet that you are the right solution to help them move away from that. So they they're aware of what their problem is, but they don't know that you're the perfect fit. That's category number one. You've also got people who they know they, they need to get rid of their problem, but they have no idea about the best way to even go about it. So they're kind of aware of this problem. But it's it's not really front and in front of their mind in terms of for example, I need to get rid of my back pain. So therefore I want to go to Pilates classes. So they may not even know that the thing that you offer is even a potential solution, let alone who you are. So category number one is they know they've got a problem, they might know they need to find a nutritionist, they just don't know that you are the best nutritionist for them. Category number two is they've got this bit of a problem, but they don't really know who to go to, to get the help with a problem, let alone who you are. And then you've got people who don't even know they've got a real problem. So they're not even really aware of the fact. So at some point with your marketing, you've got to, you've got to kind of get to all of those three levels of people, which is why your marketing needs to be consistent, and it needs to talk their language. So part of your marketing might be about raising awareness to people that you've potentially got an issue here. So there may be experiencing some symptoms, they may be finding things a little bit more challenging, but they may not know what's causing that you can raise their awareness of that, which is now informing them that they need to get this sorted. Ah, this is my problem. This is what's going on. Okay. Let me investigate this business here. That's telling me that's clarified to me what my actual problem is, let me look at them a bit more. So you can do some marketing that's around that. The other thing is to market to people who are very clear what the problem is and what they want, they are looking for a Pilates class, a nutritionist a personal trainer. So now you marketing can be about what they need to look for in a Pilates class or a Pilates teacher, what they need to think about. If they're looking for a nutritionist, not all nutritionists are equal, what they need to be looking for in a personal trainer, all of which you happen to tick all those boxes. So you can you can start to sow the seeds of if you're looking for a Pilates class, you want to make sure that they do X, Y and Zed. Now you're joining the dots, but they know that this is what they're looking for. And now they know all the nuances about finding the best class or the best trainer. And that just happens to be you. And then the other piece of marketing is really joining the dots write up it's like this is the problem that you've got. This is what you need to look for. And here's how I can help or how we can help and this is what you need to do to get the help that you need. So now you're clearly ticking the boxes with the solution. So we we've got to connect with the problem. We might need to do some marketing about raising their awareness that they even have this problem And we might need to do some marketing about the fact that what they need to look for in the right solution that's going to help them. And we need to raise their awareness about the fact that they've got the problem, they need a solution, and you are the best person to come to. So that's problem, solution. TIG, the third part is all about the fit, this is the fit for them. So something you may not have thought about is your fees what you charge. And this is taking a different stance on it. So if you at the moment are, let's say you are more on the budget ends, so your fees are quite low, you can your your your charge less than what your competitors charge, for example. But your marketing is talking about high quality, you're talking about gearing to get in the best excetera, there is a mismatch between what you're suggesting that they look for versus what you are charging. Now, what you're charging could be very much a mindset issue, different subject altogether. But we want to make sure that there is the right fit. If you're talking about quick fixes, you know, doing things on a on a budget, and you're trying to get masses of people through the doors, then you can go at the on the low cost low fee. And if you're trying to attract higher end people into your business, who would normally their buying habits would be that they will always buy the best brands, then you need to make sure that your fees reflect that because there is a subconscious mismatch. If not, therefore, it's not a fit. So that's one angle of looking at, are you the best fit, have you really thought about your pricing? Does it match the types of people that you're trying to attract. But then you need to come to when you're presenting how you help them is talking about not just what what they get from you. i They you know, maybe they get to come to two sessions a week or they get a recipe book or whatever they're what we call your the features of what's included. But you really need to talk about why these, what you're suggesting they do helps them how this recipe book is the best way for them to prepare quick, simple, easy meals that are going to help them to lose weight. So you wouldn't just talk about the fact that what you get is a recipe but you say how that helps them get from where they are to where they want to be. And when it comes to what you are including in your service, you also need to consider Have you put too much in it. Now often people like to justify the price for you, let's say you are charging a more than what your competitors are charging, or you're you're uncomfortable with how much your your suggesting people pay you, there is a tendency for some people to go right I'll just put more things in it. If you are positioning something to someone who's very time poor, that will massively put them off. So if like, for me, personally, I'm super busy. If somebody was to give me a solution to my problem that involves a lot of time and energy, even even though I know the kind of logical part of my brain are going well, I can see why I need to do all of that. But I'm never going to do I'm never going to fit all of that in I don't have time to do all of that, then my response to the offer will be no. I'll do it later or think about it. Because it wasn't a fit for me. So whatever the Fit element of it is that it's something is not adding up with your pricing strategy to who you are trying to attract. And, and they're like, this seems like this is too good to be true. How many times have you ever said that? If something is like really, on the cheap, anything on must be too good to be true? That's an alert in your brand. Again, no. Something is not right. So have you positioned your pricing right? Are you falling into that trap? But equally, what somebody's now committed a needies needs to commit to in exchange for that money? Is it too much for them? Do they feel like well, I won't make use of that. So therefore that's it's not worth the investment or I'm never going to find the time to do that. I don't have the energy to do that. That doesn't fit in with my lifestyle. My Family Life my commitments, they weren't by it. So the key to this, and I said it was going to be a short sharp session is, you're going to make sure that you're clear on the problems, you communicate the problems in your marketing, you raise awareness of people's problems. So they now are seeking a solution, you make sure that the solution that you are offering is very clear how you get them from A to B. And that you make sure that what it is that you are offering is a good fit for the type of client that you are trying to attract, whether it's pricing, whether it's the commitment that they've got to well commit to that how much time and energy do they need to commit to if their time poor, it's not going to happen. So do the problem, solution, fit, check. And make sure that what you're putting out there, you can tick all of those boxes. So my intention for this session was to really get you thinking about how what you are offering does tick those boxes when it comes to attracting new people into you from your marketing and then getting them to sign on the dotted line and pay you money and become a paying client. If you have if you've fallen short in one of those problem solution fit areas. That might be why you are finding it really hard to get more new paying clients for the doors. So as always, if you have enjoyed listening to this episode, please don't forget to share to subscribe and I'd love you to leave a review. If you can find the chance to do that. That will be amazing. But until the next episode, bye for now.