By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing
Are you working primarily with Ideal Clients?
Ultimately it took me a few years to discover and implement the approaches that virtually guaranteed great clients every single time - ones who were not only fun and stimulating to work with but who paid me well.
Let me share these with you.
1. Get well known by prospects before the selling process starts.
My silver bullet here has been my eZine and web site. When people are seriously looking at getting my assistance they already know a lot about me - how I think, my values, my approach to marketing. They may have bought the InfoGuru Manual or taken a teleclass or two. They already know, like and trust me.
2. Develop a service or services with clear parameters.
Yes, you have to do customized work for some clients, but more often that not you can create a program or service that is packaged pretty much the same for most of your clients. Whether you're a coach, web developer, financial planner or consultant, you don't have to re-invent the wheel every time.
This doesn't mean your clients get cookie-cutter solutions, it simply means that you approach how you work with clients in the same way. This approach must, above all, provide a desirable outcome for the client, but just as important, must set clear boundaries with some built-in flexibility.
3. Clearly package and brand your services.
Look at the service page of many Independent Professionals and all you have is a laundry list of technical skills and or generic services. We can help you with: web development, search engine optimization, social media, blah, blah, blah, we can do it for you. Just give us a call.
Well, this communicates approximately zero and almost always guarantees prospects will call you looking for generic services that they are comparing in price to other generic services. And that's the formula for getting bad, low-paying clients.
Instead, you want to offer a more comprehensive package of services that is focused. For instance, someone recently referred me to someone who is the "Facebook Marketing Expert." She touted him as the person who could help me dramatically build my list with Facebook. Now that's focused and clear.
4. Provide a ton of value on your web site.
When someone is in search of service provider, this first thing they want is more information. They want to know if you can help them, of course, but they want to know more. Do you have the following on your web site? - A page that's all about the kind of clients you work with and what their issues are. There's nothing about you on this page. It's all about them. You want them to think: "He understand me!"
- A page about your approach to working with clients. You want to talk about the kind of results they can expect, your process of working with clients, your business philosophy, etc. You want them to think: "I cold work with her!"
- A page with very results-oriented case studies. You should have six or more stories of clients you worked with, how you helped them and the kind of results you produced together. You want them to think: "This is impressive!"
- In-depth page(s) on your specific service or services. You want to outline the results, the benefits, the process and structure of working with you. You want them to think: "This sounds great. I hope we can afford this!"
5. Have prospects fill out a questionnaire or application.
Now, this may sound counter-intuitive. Don't you just want to get into the selling conversation as quickly as possible when a prospect calls? My answer is, "most definitely not." I want to talk to them briefly and then screen them to see if they are an ideal client or not.
A questionnaire with several questions to learn more about their business, situation, goals, vision and challenges, will let me know immediately if there is a possible fit or not. I can screen out people this way. The ones that give me one-word answers don't get far: "What is the primary purpose of your business?" Ans: "Profit." "Your biggest challenge?" Ans: "Marketing."
This way you only end up having productive selling conversations with those who are engaged, interested and who want to work with you. They'll also appreciate that you have a deliberate process of working with clients. It will get you respect.
6. Always speak about who your ideal clients are.
If someone asks you who an ideal client is for you, your answer should be more than, "A business who can pay his bills!" Sure, that's a given, but it gives me little to go on. Be prepared to tell them something like this:
"My ideal clients are successful self-employed professionals such as consultants, coaches or trainers who are world-class at what they do. However up to this point they'll gotten most of their clients by word-of-mouth and they can't seem to get past a certain income threshold. They want to grow their business by $100K or more in the next one to two years by adding effective marketing strategies to their business."
So, first start thinking about your ideal clients and then put these five practices into place as soon as possible.
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The More Clients Bottom Line: Ultimately, you get the clients you intend to get. This takes real focus and clarity in communicating what you want and then only accepting clients who fit that criteria. It won't happen overnight, but if you keep communicating this, those ideal clients will be attracted to you naturally and effortlessly.
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What do you do to attract Ideal Clients? Please share your answer on the More Clients Blog by clicking on the Comments link below.
My favorite tool for attracting perfect clients is the website. It's always there, serving my best sales advocate day and night.
Posted by: Account Deleted | November 10, 2010 at 04:15 AM