If there’s one group of soloists who’ll definitely have noticed a change in business enquiries in recent months, it’s those in the ‘luxury’ business. If that’s you, it’s time for a necessity makeover.

In a tough market, certain independent professionals risk being set aside in their buyer’s eyes due to a perception of luxury – a service that’s not really needed right now. They face a wall of “Sorry, but I have more important things to spend my money on.”

Struggling for relevance is very painful and often manifests in minor acts of desperation – hurried and ill considered marketing actions; clumsy referral requests; overt self promotion at any opportunity and over zealous blogging, Twittering and the like.

There is another way and it has to with firmly repositioning as a necessity.

If there were a league table of the world’s-most-needed, I suspect that somewhere down the list, amongst the flower arrangers and pet psychologists would be many who could and should be much nearer the top.

I certainly know of quite a few coaches and consultants whose phones are not ringing off the hook right now and yet (happily) my own little coaching business is chugging along quite nicely.
This is simply because I articulate the value of my role and I position myself more towards outcomes and results, than getting lost in methodology and process.

Want more articles like this? Check out the problem solving section.

If you want to grow your business, I can help you do it. Pure and simple. At the outset, why would you worry how I do it?

Am I going to stop using my personal trainer or cut back on my virtual assistant? Not a chance. I totally get how their work contributes to the betterment of my life. It’s never ‘can I afford to keep them’, but always ‘I can’t afford not to’.

Necessity versus luxury. Take a good hard look at the language you’re using and the position you’re adopting. Can you see room for improvement? Post a comment or join my discussion thread on Are you clearly fulfilling a need? in our forums.