🗣️Transcript
Welcome to this lesson, which is called “Choosing the Right Destination”. And in this one we’re going to bring the result your course delivers into sharper focus.
So here’s what you’ll learn:
- 3 steps for choosing your course destination
- An example of how it works in practice
- How to do a quick reality check before moving on
Before we get into that, let’s quickly recap.
So we just looked at the four main types of results your course can deliver: a new asset, a new ability, a new status and a new reality.
And we learned how looking into your student’s future using these different “lenses” will help you narrow in on the result your course should deliver.
Since people’s goals can be vague and distant, we need a result that’s clear and specific so they can easily project themselves into that exciting future.
So let’s see how you do it, how you get from a high-level goal to a specific destination. And as you’ll discover, it’s part-art and part-science.
First, based on the target market’s goal, you brainstorm results your course could deliver, using as many of the result types or “lenses” as you can.
Now, depending on your topic area, some result types may feel like a stretch, and others may not work at all, but the point is to try them all.
Next, you want to just notice which results are genuinely different (and would affect the course you actually build) and which are really just different ways of looking at essentially the same thing.
Finally, you’ll use your gut instinct (and maybe a little informal market research) to decide which result, or combination of results, not only satisfies your market’s goal, but are likely to be the most appealing version of that goal.
So let’s say for example that your target market is middle-aged men who want to improve their fitness but struggle to stick to a regular exercise routine.
To keep things simple, we’ll just call the goal “improved fitness”.
Peering through the asset lens means asking: what will students have after completing your course?
In this case, the answer could be that they will have a lean and muscular physique.
Is that technically an asset? Well, maybe it’s a little bit of a stretch, but like I said, some lenses will work better than others.
Switching to the Ability lens means asking: what will students be able to do after completing your course?
And one answer could be they’re able to actually enjoy regular, high-intensity workouts. Exercise is no longer a chore because they’ve learned to enjoy them.
Using the Status lens, we’d ask the question: what new position or label will they have earned by the time they’ve completed your course?
And the answer could be that they can legitimately claim they’re in the “best shape of their life”.
Finally, using the Reality lens, we’d ask: what will their daily experience be like after completing your course?
And we might say that they’ll feel fitter, stronger, and full of energy. That’s their positive daily experience compared to now.
All of these results satisfy the high-level goal of “improved fitness” but add specificity in different ways. Some results are two sides of the same coin, while others are pushing in different directions.
To help you get to grips with this, I’ve included a few more examples in a resource below lesson, which breaks several high-level goals into specific types of results.
Once you’ve generated some result options, you can pick one or two as your course’s destination.
So for the improved fitness example I might decide to focus on the asset lens, and build a course that offers middle-aged men the destination of a lean and muscular physique.
Or I might combine what we saw through the status and reality lenses and build a course that offers middle-aged men the destination of being in the “best shape of their lives” while at the same time feeling fitter, stronger and more energetic.
Just note that these two examples would mean building slightly different courses.
The one that’s focused on physique would most likely have different training and eating regimes than the one focused on overall fitness and energy.
I recommend identifying a primary result, then adding one secondary one if it helps to make the destination even more appealing without diluting or confusing the main result.
Once you have a destination that you’re happy with, we need to do a quick reality check before moving on.
And we can start by answering the following question:
“Are you confident?”
In other words, based on your current knowledge and experience, do you feel reasonably confident about guiding your target market to this destination?b
You may not know exactly how to break it down and present it yet – we’ll talk about that in upcoming modules – but you feel like you’ve got this.
Also ask yourself:
“Is it realistic?”
In other words, is it realistic for people to reach this destination via the type of course you’ve decided to build?
A short mini-course can only get people so far. A do-it-yourself course is most effective when the same basic steps work for everyone.
If it’s not realistic, you’ll need to change the destination. Or the course type.
Ultimately, you’re trying to get your market as close as possible to their goal, keeping within the constraints of your knowledge, and the type of course you’re aiming to build.
And sometimes, it’s not practical to take people all the way to their final destination.
So in the next lesson we’ll see how you can scale your results down a little while still ensuring your destination is attractive to potential buyers.
See you then!