Somewhere between a wonderful consultation with a client where I couldn’t wait to get started and being knee deep in emails, strategy calls and delivering the services I promised it became clear. This was the wrong client for me. How did I let this happen?
There was something about getting my first few paying clients that made me lose my mind. It was a mixture of excitement and nerves. I made it through the consult, got that signed proposal and sent out the invoice. Getting that notification from PayPal – there’s nothing like it.
If you’re like me, there’s a point you realize that all the money in the world, isn’t worth hating what you do. It’s not worth the money (or the experience that comes by discounting your services) if you hate doing the work.
You don’t let every person you meet into your home. Your business should be no different. Do you do (or plan to do) business with every person who fits your target market profile? Does your answer to “Who is your target market?” start with “Anybody who” or “Everyone who”?
Having a bad experience with a client can leave you reeling. With the fear of attracting the wrong people into your business (and not knowing what to up in place to stop it) can hold you back from putting yourself out there.
What Your Ideal Client Profile is Missing
Looking back I realized there was one part of the target market puzzle that wasn’t on any questionnaire or Ideal Client Avatar (ICA) exercise I ever completed. They were all about who I wanted to work with. No where had I put thought into who I didn’t want to work with? Who wouldn’t get great results? Who I didn’t do my best work with. And the reasons why!
The focus is on who you want to attract and work with. What about who you don’t want to work with? It is just as important to be just as thoughtful and intentional about who doesn’t make a good client.
No thought about how taking on the wrong clients would affect the health of the business. No thought was put into what kind of person who would leave me feeling drained, mentally worn out or reaching for the bottle of chardonnay well before “happy hour”! Good thing it’s always happy hour somewhere!
There’s always that one experience that makes you draw that proverbial line in the sand and say “I am never working with clients who (fill in the blank) ever again.”
It’s time, my friend, to see the lifetime value of working with the right client for your business.
In sports, at the end of the season, they choose the MVP (Most Valuable Player). And it’s not just the player who scores the most points. It’s also about who has done the most for the team.
In your business, it’s not always about the client who can pay for your services. It’s about the ones who benefit your overall business.
How to Determine How Your (MVP) Most Valuable Person/Prospect/Purchaser Is:
- Testimonials – when used strategically in marketing it can turn a prospect who wasn’t sure if they could trust you into a paying client.
- Referrals – asking a satisfied customer after you’ve over-delivered if they know of anyone else who can use your services
- Repeat business – What’s the (LTV) lifetime value of your customer. As your business grows and your offer more services,
- Brand ambassador – They will sing your praises to their friends and family. If you’re promoting something they will be the first to share it with their mastermind partners, business besties and social media followers
- Early Adopters – A satisfied client will be more ready and willing to beta test your newest product or service.
- Peace and flow – Who do you feel energized after working with? Who respects you? Trusts you? Do feel like you’re in “the zone”?
Imagine all that goodness (tangible and intangible) – the energy, income, profit, goodwill, and momentum that are possible when you work with your MVP, aka dream client. Talk about working smarter and not harder.
You can choose to either invest or throw away your precious time, money and energy from one paying client or you can get a return on your investment with a client who adds value to you as an individual and to your business
1) As a business owner, you must be intentional and strategic about who you conduct business with. This is especially for you as a service-based business owner who creates your own products and services. There’s something about being a coach, consultant, therapist, website designers working online as well as caterers, personal chefs, interior designers and others where you provide services face to face with your clients.
2) Let’s build on what you already know about the demographics (gender, age, religion, family size) and psychographics (what they eat, wear, shop and drive) of your target market. No need to start over. Study the people you’ve worked already with. Knowing your customer inside out is the foundation of a thriving business.
3) Get it out of your head and onto paper (and take the list with you). I get it. You already know who you want to work with and an idea of who you don’t want to work with. Having this information “in your head” is like going to Target or the supermarket without the list and staring at the shelves trying to remember exactly which one you came for.
You’re either coming back home without 14 things, except the one item you went for, or the wrong brand or size you just knew you would remember once you got there. Having a written list of what makes an ideal client and what makes a nightmare client experience is the only way you can create a growing business that is good for both parties.
4 ) Now that you have some ideas about what to include in your MVP profile of your ideal client, spend some time thinking about (and making notes) about any clients you’ve had that are your MVP’s. If you’ve ever had a client and thought to yourself ” I wish every client was like her/him”? that’s your MVP.
In the next blog post, we’re going to starting putting pen to paper and fleshing this out.
You will get to walk through the questions (some you might not have thought of) to help round out your “ideal client’ avatar and come up with your MVP. Once we do that, the last blog post will show you ways you can be a good gatekeeper for your business – let the MVP’s in and keep the others out.
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