Know Your Ideal Client!

by | Jun 27, 2018 | Branding, Marketing, Strategist, Website

Show your potential customer why your proposal is worth the hassle!

KNOW YOUR CLIENT

Why do I think it is extremely important to Know Your Client (KYC)?

Not only do you need to know and understand your client in order to be able to market to them (and I really do think this is very important), but you also need to understand who they are, how they think and what they need.

Know their objections and have answers for every question and concern!

Most business owners will automatically throw up objection to a new proposal.  In some cases it is just a reflex.  They’ll say no before they say yes.  In other cases, they are simply testing you.  In any case, you need to be prepared explain, in detail, what you can do for their business.  Tell them why they need you.. and how you are the right person to work with.

How can you do that if you don’t know who they are and what their business mission is.  Do some research – do your homework!

“Put yourself in your client’s place”.

RESEARCH

Get to know the person who runs the business you would like to work with.  Who is that person, or group of people?  Besides learning what they sell, coach, offer…  find out what their core values are.   Google is your best friend.  Do some digging!

MARKETING

The most successful businesses understand their client’s mentality.  How do you do this?

The key here is knowing your client, inside and out.  Do Your Research!

Zero in on your target audience and your marketing will become very clear and then it will suddenly become easy to do!

Learn everything you can about them; what makes them tick, their pain points, how they measure their success.

Whether it’s simply knowing what colours appeal to them, or knowing what ‘turns them off’, you will make your life easier if you can figure this stuff out before you put it out there.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY IN MARKETING.

For example,  it’s important to be consistent with the language you use on your website, in social media and in all your marketing.

You need to decide what you are going to sound like in all your communication.  Knowing your client will help you to discover your voice.

For example, if  he or she is an older professional, you might be less inclined to use a lot of slang terms or even a few curse words.  That being said, if you are talking to a hip young audience who aren’t offended by the occasional curse word, then you should consider speaking like they do.

Now that I’ve said that, I believe it’s important to sound like yourself.  If you are the ‘rockstar chic’ type, then is your ideal client going to be an serious, middle-aged business man?  Not likely.   So, why would you go after this client?

Knowing who you are before you figure out who your ideal client is and you’ll come to your ‘sweet spot’.  Where yin meets yang.  Where you are going come together with the person you can help the most!

Do you know who your ideal client is?

Before you should do anything with your business, take that pre-branding journey of discovery.

 

Jen

What To Do When You Don’t Know Where To Start – The Brain Dump

by | Jul 10, 2017 | Getting Started, Strategist

Recently a friend asked what I do to help my clients who are considering starting their own business.  This is what I told her.

So you want to start your own business, but you don’t know what you want to do.  All you really know is that you are done working for “the man” but you don’t know where to begin…

Start with a Brain Dump! It’s my go to exercise for de-cluttering thoughts, organizing my many ideas, and regaining clarity in order to re-focus.

The Brain-Dump:

Grab a few pieces of paper. Yes, you read it right… paper and pencil or a pen. Lined or blank…  just sneak a few sheets from the nearest printer ;-).  There is something quite different about the connection you make to your thoughts when you are actually writing by hand.  It stimulates the brain and helps with creativity and clarity.

Start with making 3 columns. Give each one a header. In the case of our first question, for example… let’s use the following:

 

Column 1 – Things I really hate doing.

 

Column 2 – Things I may not love, but I am very good at.

 

Column 3 – Things I Love to Do!!

 

Now, go to a quiet place or put on your headphones to block the outside world off for a bit… quiet your mind.

I always suggest starting with the things you hate, because these often the things we focus on. Time to let those go.  They say writing them down is a way of releasing them.  For example, I hate math… so for me, that and anything mathematically related, would automatically go in to the first column.

Give it a little time, and before you know it, you’ll be writing away. You don’t need to write sentences, just a word or two.  You can be specific if you like.

You might also find that you begin to move things… cross them off and put them under a different column. You might even start to break things down… micro-sort your thoughts. Whatever it takes, just go for it. There are no right or wrong ‘answers’… the important thing is get it all down on that paper.  Don’t over analyze.

* This is a terrific exercise to use whenever you are faced with unsettling questions or tough decisions.

 

Now, let’s get back to figuring out what you want to do when you grow up.

 

Next Steps:

1. Take the list of all the things you LOVE to do.

2. Now, make a list of what you guess that other people think you are good at?
If you don’t know, why don’t you run a poll. Nothing complicated. Call some of your former or current colleagues.  Let them know you are considering a career change…
Ask a group of friends out for coffee (* My favourite), or send a quick email… (and don’t forget to tell them to check their spam folder).   You get the point!

3. Ask the hard question.  Do you have the skills to support yourself in what you love? 
For example, you may love love love flying, but are you a licensed pilot?

4. Last, do you feel inspired when you do this ‘thing’? This is extremely important! If you are going to put your heart and soul into this endeavour, you need to feel passionate about it… you need to feel alive!  Nothing gives you greater energy than passion!

I’d love to hear from you. Is brain-dumping an exercise you’ve done before? If you have already developed your business, did you know what you wanted to do right away, or did you go through a similar process?

Stay tuned for the next steps…