If you ever worked on creating a business you know one of the essential elements needed is to identify your ideal avatar, aka your one perfect customer.
This vision of your ideal client guides everything you do. From pricing, to pain points and even the color of your logo.
My business and yours may be alike but when we peel back that onion my clients may pay different price points for my services verses yours because our background, business model, geography and/or experience may constitute different rates.
You may work specifically with Mompreneurs that are just starting their own businesses where I may work with emerging businesses that are making over $100,000 a year.
As you can see figuring out this part of your business is essential to moving forward on your business planning because you need to know who you’re marketing to.
So, take some time to consider your ideal avatars by pondering:
- Age group
- Income
- Family status
- Education
- Lifestyle goals
- Location
Maybe you could even come up with a story about your ideal client? You could give her a name, a couple of kids, a husband who just doesn’t get it, and a load of student loans and so forth.
But you don’t want to stop there, you may be missing a huge piece of the puzzle—and losing out on the best clients because of it.
Personality Matters
Here’s something that’s rarely considered in the “ideal client” equation, and it’s arguably the most important part: personality.
If you’re snarky, sarcastic, fun-loving and loud as a coach, then a quiet, shy, person who is easily insulted will probably not be a good fit for you. Sure, she might need your help, and she might love your products, but for one-on-one coaching, this match-up could turn up disastrous. Either she will be uncomfortable with your style, or you’ll be miserable trying to reign in your natural exuberance.
Better to pass this personality type to a coach who is a better suited to her and can be more sensitive and patient.
Success is a Collaborative Process
This one can be difficult to calculate from the start, but once you recognize it (or the lack thereof) it’s worth paying attention to. The client without the drive to succeed will—more often than not—only end up frustrating you both.
Better to end your relationship as soon as you see the signs of this than to waste your time going over the same material and exercises again and again with someone who simply won’t do the work.
Coaching needs to be a collaborative process. Two people working together towards the same goal. Making your client successful!
If you look at your current and past clients, you’ll begin to see patterns. You can easily look back and see what made some clients a joy to work with, while others were a struggle. Think about what those differences are and add them to your ideal client profile. Then compare any new potential clients to this ideal profile, and you’ll never again sign on with a less-than-perfect client.
If you are new and you don’t have that history to glean from then maybe adding an assessment tool or personality profile test to your intake process could be beneficial.
Finding Your Ideal Avatar
So once this information is compiled and you have a really good idea of who to market to we need to find out where they hang out.
Let’s look at some potential places:
- Social Media – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Don’t forget the groups on these platforms answering questions and showing your expertise might get you business.
- Meetups – Hosting one of these yourself can be beneficial.
- Conferences or Expo – Find out whose attending before you go and make sure to connect in-person once you arrive.
- Radio Show or Podcasting – Being an expert or an expert guest can be another resource.
- Networking Groups – Chambers, Clubs and Associations might be another goldmine for your business.
- Your own webinars or Livestreams – Have a show or educate your potential clients.
- Your own business events or presenting at someone else’s – When you’re on the stage you are the expert.
In this post, we looked at how to define your ideal client, what to look for in an ideal client and places that they may be hanging out at. Hopefully, you can see why this process is necessary for you to grow your business and save yourself some time.
If you’re still having challenges with this, please reach out to me. I offer coaching and consulting to help you to define your ideal audience and create a successful business.