In early 2015, right after I left my career to pursue entrepreneurship full-time, I was flummoxed by the question, “Who is your ideal client?”
For five years, I had been presenting my signature Art of the Schmooze talk to non-profit boards of directors.
I knew though, as I made this shift, that I no longer wanted to limit my reach to non-profits, yet I didn’t have a clear sense of who my new target audience was going to be.
That first year, I was confronted by this ideal client question multiple times as I signed up for programs that were designed to help me get up and running quickly.
Unfortunately, they skipped over how to figure out this question when I wasn’t currently being paid by anyone other than repeat clients, whom I’d already determined were not ideal clients.
Some programs got really specific about this question asking me “Do they drink Starbucks or Dunkin?” “Do they listen to audiobooks or podcasts? Are they listening in the car or in the shower?”
Grrr. I found this quite frustrating.
Fortunately, I recognized that my passion for designing engaging events and teaching participants how to network was a great fit for associations that host large conferences.
I solidified my expertise in that area by writing my first book, “Croissants vs. Bagels: Strategic, Effective, and Inclusive Networking at Conferences.”
Fast forward to 2018, when I’m trying to sell spots in a new coaching program that I had successfully run as a pilot a few months earlier.
In “Small List, Big Results: Launch a Successful Offer No Matter the Size of Your Email List,” I shared my trials and tribulations as I began to realize that I had an entirely new ideal client for my coaching program.
Turns out they were already coming to me for advice, support, and services – but I hadn’t really taken notice of what all of these people had in common.
The first thing I noticed was that they were all entrepreneurial women in their 50s.
Once I recognized this, it didn’t take much effort to focus my energy on this demographic as they were a large part of my professional network.
Over the last few years, I’ve learned that while defining my ideal client using demographics is helpful, it’s also limiting.
Not all entrepreneurial women in their 50s and beyond are ideal clients, so what else might be going on in their lives?
And how should I think about the entrepreneurial men in their 50s and beyond who have been showing up for my programs recently?
Turns out that psychographics was the nuance I was missing in my ideal client description:
I help inspiring entrepreneurial women and awesome entrepreneurial men in their 50s and beyond, who are looking to grow their impact and income by adding new revenue streams.
They feel like they are starting from scratch and haven’t tapped into the professional network they’ve built over the last 20-30 years, but now realize they should be.
Do you resonate with this description? Let’s chat! Hit reply to say hello.
Your Challenge For This Week
Do you have a hard time defining the demographics and psychographics of your ideal clients?
Perhaps you’re shifting audiences like I was back in 2015 or being oblivious like I was in 2018?
Wouldn’t it be great to discover likely prospects from within your existing network who already know, like, and trust you?
That’s what I help my ideal clients do so they can more easily share their value with prospects who most desire what they have to offer.
I’m hosting another three-part Big Results Training to walk you through key strategies in “Small List, Big Results: Launch a Successful Offer No Matter the Size of Your Email List.”
Bring a notepad to take tons of notes, but also be camera-ready so you can connect with fellow entrepreneurs during the breakout room small group discussions.
We meet 12-2pm ET on January 21-23 (Friday-Sunday).
The replay will be shared with registrants, but you are strongly encouraged to attend live if at all possible since that’s the only way to join the discussion and ask questions.
Register at www.robbiesamuels.com/bigresultstraining.
Try this and let me know how it goes!
Business Growth Strategist & Business Coach
As a relationship-based business growth strategist, I work directly with a limited number of self-employed professionals, aka solopreneurs.
WHO YOU ARE:
You want to have a greater impact and increased income. The problem is that there are so many options for how to build your business that you can feel stuck, overwhelmed, and like you’re running out of time.
The reason options are overwhelming is that you’re looking at them as a series of disconnected steps, when to make the most of your time, you need a strategy that connects only the most important and highest impact ones.
You know that if you try to do everything, you’ll accomplish nothing. This means, to achieve your goal, you have to invest in a strategy to put time on your side.
What’s Included:
As a relationship-based business growth strategist, I will work with you to design a year-long plan that consists of three 12-week sprints, each followed by 4 weeks of reflection/assessment, rejuvenation/vacation, and strategic planning. This will allow you to sequence your goals, create momentum, and leverage your limited time.
We can build your plan through a half-day strategy session, a coaching engagement, or a mastermind program.
These are not right for everyone; they’re personalized offerings and are priced accordingly.
What might you work on?
In my coaching work with entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, we focus on the areas where you’d like to grow, which may include:
- Creating a strong sales conversation framework
- Building your referral network
- Lead generation through a relationships
- Growing your visibility in your industry
- Increasing your ability to attract the right kind of clients
- Identifying and launching a minimally viable offer
- Breaking through whatever bottleneck is holding you back from getting the results you want and deserve
- Becoming a published author and marketing your book successfully
- Improving your virtual presentation skills
Learn more about the different ways we can work together – deep dive 3-hour session, private 1:1 coaching, and masterminds. I’m excited to support you in reaching or exceeding your goals.
Stay Connected:
- Connect with me on LinkedIn to see the content I share.
- New to my website? Start here
- Listen to my On the Schmooze podcast – weekly since July 2016.
