Shazam! You’re lying in bed awake at 1:45 a.m. and it hits you — the idea.

It starts with an itty-bitty seed of a thought and sprouts at lightning speed. Before you know it, you’re mentally planning the tropical retreat, the book deal, and how you’ll answer when Oprah asks you, “How did this all begin?”

That’s it. You’re going to be a millionaire. It’s decided.

This, o’course, is the fun part — the dreamy enthusiastic part of entrepreneurship that hooks you like a drug. Ideas, dontcha know, are the most addictive substance on earth.

You jot down your idea in your iPhone “notes” and decide to start working on it first thing in the morning.

The next day, before you can say “coffee”, you jump out of bed and attempt to outline the plan for your big, big dream. Aaaand that’s when it hits you: There are infinity plus one ways that you can extract your this-could-change-everything idea out from your head and give it physical form. You’re paralyzed with possibilities.

How on earth are you supposed to turn your dreamy visions into features + benefits?

How can you possibly find words that will express the essence of how totally AWESOME this thing is? Nothing you write down seems to do it justice.

 

Almost every week I work with a new entrepreneur on something called Sales Page CPR. My clients are coaches, consultants, artists, healers, creatives, and status-quo questioners. And they always come to me with a dream beyond words.

Want to know the easiest, most soulful, (and, uh, logical) way to make your million-dollar idea super easy to sell?

Give people what they already want.

Think about a real person in your target market (say, a past client?). Let’s call her Suzie Sunbeam.

What does Suzie Sunbeam really, really want right now? (By the way, there’s a monumental difference between what people want and what they need. Give ‘em both.)

Does she want another eCourse?

A VIP service?

Does she want a template?

A quick one-hour session?

Basically, what does Suzie Sunbeam want and does it have anything to do with your idea?

(Hint: Not sure what your target client wants? Hyper focused 3-question surveys, personal emails, and quick Skype calls go a long way.)

For two years I offered full-blown website copywriting services. As in, if you needed to write copy for your entire site, I was your gal.

I had clients, sure. Sold some pretty pricey packages. But the services never booked out months in advance like I wanted. I was a copywriter and I assumed people wanted web copy.

Well… as it turns out… they don’t. Most people don’t want all of their web copy done all at once.

How do I know this? I asked ‘em.

How did I figure out what my audience wanted? I started paying attention.

I kept getting emails from readers asking me if I could review their sales pages. At first I said “no”. But the emails kept coming.

Eventually, I got the hint. I took down the full web copy services and launched a new service called Sales Page CPR.

This service booked in record time. Finally, I’ve got that consistent client flow I’ve always wanted. When I hop on the phone with prospects for a sales call, they interrupt my spiel about how the service works to say, “Courtney this sounds great. When can you fit us in?”.

Easy.

Easy selling is that magical sweet spot between what you love and what your clients want.

Your million-dollar, middle-of-the-night idea is the best place to start because that’s where you’re inspired. The next step? Ask the people what they want.