Try and picture your ideal customer. What age group are they? What books/magazines do they read? What are their typical likes and dislikes? What do they respect and admire?
Have a think about it.
You might be wondering why you need to mentally picture your ideal customer. The truth is, when you can clearly identify your ideal client, you will attract the right clients for the right price and the right reasons.
Get it wrong and you end up selling to a bunch of customers who demand low prices, resulting in you being forced to do business with people you may not like, and you end up with no actual revenue for the business. So how do you get it right?
Let’s look at three things which will guide you to knowing and attracting your ideal customer.
1. Study your current and previous clients
The best way to find what your ideal customer looks like is to study your current and previous clients. Get a list of all their details (what ever you have on file for them) and study it. Are there common industries? A common age group? A common turnover?
You can even look beyond the data you already have by searching online. Look at their social media profiles. See what their hobbies are, their favourite books, who they prefer to do business with.
Once you start collecting all this data, you’ll soon realise that most of you clients have one or more things in common. You’ll discover a face for your ideal customer.
2. Uncover their problems
Your next goal is to identify your ideal customer’s problems. Fact: people buy because they have a problem.
For example, if you have the flu but your immune system is doing a great job, there’s no severity here. People will not dedicate time, money or effort to resolve these symptoms.
Now imagine a crushing headache, sore joints, a racking cough, sleepless nights; you can’t lift your head off the pillow. You’d do just about anything to be free of those symptoms. Really think about what really bugs your target customers, to the point of acute frustration.
What really frustrates them?, What do they wish they had more of? Or less of? What do they wish they could do but can’t?
You need to get “a PHD in your customers problems” as it will lead you to understand what is stopping them from getting what they really want.
3. Provide the ultimate solution
And this ultimate solution is not your core product or service. We call it product for prospects. It’s your free products. It’s your ideas.
Not generic ideas, not old ideas, not small ideas. Share your big, unique and transformational ideas with your prospects. Get your idea out in masses to your ideal customers. Ideas are cheap these days; make your money on the implementation of the ideas.
The more you get out to your market, the more trusted and valued you become. And when it comes down to holding the sales conversation, your customer will already know your ideas and typically be pre-sold into buying your core product or service.