We’ve all done this: found ourselves trying to be what we thought the customer, prospective employer, or even potential date wanted us to be. The trouble is, our real selves have a tendency to sneak out.
Take a look at this trailer from the movie “Tootsie” starring Dustin Hoffman who can’t get a job. He finally disguises himself as a woman in order to land a job on a soap opera. Wackiness ensues!
I’ve always loved this movie. It’s one of the funniest pictures I’ve ever seen. The movie opens with a long sequence of Hoffman’s character auditioning for different roles. Each time the director wants something other than what Hoffman is selling.
“We want somebody younger.”
“I can be younger!” says the actor.
“We want somebody older.”
“I can be older!”
Finally the last director in the sequence says, “We want somebody else.”
That’s really what most people are saying when they say no to us. And that’s not really so bad. Yes, it hurts a bit. But small business owners and authors can try so hard to appeal to everyone that we end up appealing to no one. The lesson here? Pick your strengths and lead with them in your marketing strategy. You won’t appeal to everyone, that’s true. But you will appeal to the niche where you can do your best work.
And that’s really what we want, isn’t it?
