God has given you the vision for your business. He has also chosen your ideal clients. Your responsibility is to get in front of them. You will not resonate with everyone in a general audience but when your ideal client hears your melody, they will be attracted to you and want what you are offering.
Who do you want to serve? Who needs what only you can give? The more you can pinpoint exactly who they are, the more you can speak from your heart and have them lining up for what you offer.
The Problem Story
So, what problem do you solve? Write down as many problems as you can think of when it comes to your product or service. For example, an organizer can revamp a closet, clean out a hoarder’s house, bring order to a kitchen, add efficiency to an office, etc.
Create a list of the types of people who have the problems you solve or who want the products you sell. Everyone is NOT your customer. From our example, an organizer could have men that want to create a more organized closet, a family who must clean up Mom’s mess, a group home that needs kitchen reorganization to help staff, a business who needs to create systems for filing customer information, or even moms who want a technique for putting away toys.
There are many types of people who need organization, the organizer’s job to choose ONE. It is the same for your list of problems and people. Look at your list and narrow your solution to one specific group of people.
How? Think about the people you are comfortable talking to and hanging around. Think about experiences you have had with current clients and the others that could benefit from your products/services. With whom do you really want to share your products/services.
In the organizer example, a choice of working with hoarders would require loads of empathy and being comfortable with older adults (who usually have this problem), while organizing toys could be a natural extension of what the organizer is doing in her own home for her children’s items.
The Client’s Story
Once you have decided who you are targeting with your solution, you need to know more about this person. Step into your Ideal Client’s shoes, see life through their eyes, feel their emotions and write a journal entry as YOUR client (not as you).
Explore what they are saying in their head when they make a purchase of a product or service. What specific words are they using? What story are they telling themselves? Do not filter yourself but get to the deepest part of your Ideal Client.
The other part of this is to figure out where they are hanging out online and offline. The clients in our example are very different. The man who needs a closet redo will be on LinkedIn and at local networking events. The hoarder’s family will be looking for organizations that help with seniors. The mom will be on Instagram or Facebook asking questions to get ideas and referrals.
Where you show up will depend on who you want to serve. The words you use will depend on the work you have done to hear their story.
Your Story
The next question is, Why should they choose you? You need to know who you are and how you are different from everyone else in your industry. This is where your own brand story needs to shine through.
Think about the talents, abilities, and experiences that set you apart. Use those unique qualities to attract your clients. For the organizer who has chosen to work with men and their closets it could be their knack for understanding color for men who are color blind. For the mom who needs help with the overflow of toys it could be your years as a teacher that help you understand the skills for simple organization in a classroom applied to the home.
Only when you allow your unique self to shine through what you are doing will you attract the clients meant to work with you. Take some time to list some of the things that you enjoy doing, find easy to do, and are part of your life experiences. Connect those to the problem you solve and for whom you are solving it.
My Story
In doing this exercise for myself I have had to think through many layers. I started by thinking I was working with Christian Women but have narrowed it down to Christian Businesswomen and Entrepreneurs who want to do more for God.
I began by giving women tools to help them connect to God in their own way. Now, I am helping them understand how to grow their faith and fuel their business while they serve God through their work.
I use many of my teaching skills to create workshops and content BUT I also use my drama background to make the activities fun and interactive. I have a fascination with personality profiling and use that expertise to add layers of discovery so women know how they can serve God in their business in a way that energizes them.
___________________________________________________________
Knowing WHO you serve and HOW you want to serve them requires thought and dedication to the process. I believe the more we know ourselves through what God’s Word says, the more we will attract the clients He has ordained for us to help.
Still figuring out WHO it is you are to serve? Connect with me for a Clarity Conversation and see if you are my Ideal Client.
Be filled to overflowing,
Deneen
Great advice. While reading I pinpointed two specific ways that I need to change my literature: 1) Speak from the prospects needs rather than from the facts regarding who I am and what I do. 2) Rather, relate their needs to enjoyable things.
It’s often the elementary things that get overlooked.
Love love love this! It is so true. We need our marketing to show how we fulfill their problem story. 🙂 Great insight!