Have you seen the movie "Taken", starring Liam Neeson?
Neeson plays former government operative Bryan Mills, whose daughter is kidnapped by some bad guys.
In a memorable speech in the movie, Mills is speaking with his daughter's captives on the phone, and he warns them about his "particular set of skills".
That's an understatement - the guy is a mix between Superman, James Bond
and Macgyver!
I don't think the bad guys landed even one punch in the first Taken film, and I can't recall him being hurt in the other movies in the franchise either.
We coaches can learn something from Neeson's character (in addition to being a lethal killing machine, he's a business coach too!):
The more particular, or specific, skill set that you have - the better off you'll be.
When people are looking to hire a coach, they do so because they have a specific need.
So for example, I had to hire someone a few months back to help me prepare for the launch of some online programs this
spring.
I went out and found a great person to help me with them, someone who has coordinated over 150 launches and knows his stuff (big shout-out to David Vox!)
David
was hired, and we were off to the races ...
Now what if David approached me, and gave me a vague answer about what he does? If he said he could make me happier, help me enjoy life, give me more success, etc, I wouldn't have hired him.
It's not that I don't want those things, it's that it's too vague to be effective.
In "Think and Grow Rich", Napoleon Hill wrote about the need for "specialized knowledge". General knowledge is less valuable, but specialized will always be
in demand.
Do you fill a specific need in the marketplace?
If not, get to work on finding one.
Thanks for "taken" the time to read this,
Marc
Marc Mawhinney
Coach, Host of "Natural Born Coaches"
Passionate About Helping Coaches GROW Their Businesses!