Successful Marketing Starts by Identifying Your Ideal Client

I'm sure you can remember a time when you've had a less than ideal client. Spend a moment and get an image of that person in your head - that person who completely drains you; that person you have to "keep selling" to remain involved; that person you're literally dragging and pulling along; and that person who leaves you feeling bad after every interaction.

I've been there many times and I tell you it's awful - there's nothing fun about it. My energy's drained. I start feeling bad about my business and where it's going, and I used to wonder if I had a choice.  The truth is not everyone is your ideal client and you absolutely have a choice with whom you work.

Last week I interviewed Lisa Cherney, the Founder of Conscious Marketing, for my Get It Done Training call and she spoke on how to attract ideal clients. It was fascinating to learn that even though Lisa has a lot of corporate marketing experience, when she started her own business she was initially attracting the wrong clients and started dreading Mondays.

She turned it all around, started enjoying herself AND making a great income working part-time when she became clear on who her ideal client is. So I want to share some of her tips with you.

Your ideal client is not the same as your target market. Your target market is more about demographics - age, gender, location, income etc. This is helpful information to have but you're really just scratching the surface with this information, it's not the "juice" of who your client is.

To  market consciously, Lisa suggests the following basic exercise:

First, focus on yourself and what you want to offer. What makes you unique? What are your talents and gifts? What transformation do you offer to clients? (This is THE most important point to get clear about.)

Then, concentrate on the clients you love to work with and analyze why. Ask yourself, "Why do I enjoy working with this person?" Usually, the answer lies more in this person's interests, qualities and desires, than in their demographic profile.

Finally, think about who benefits most from what you have to offer. Think about which of your clients are seeing results and are enthusiastic about what you're offering. (I've been sharing lately how it important it is to be of service but it's not just about serving everyone. It's about being clear with whom you can provide the MOST benefit and value.)

Becoming crystal clear on who your ideal client is the first step to successfully marketing to them. Without that clarity you're wasting your time because you're not communicating effectively. As motivated entrepreneurs we want to get it done so we can easily focus our attention on the "doing" of marketing - blogging, social networking, systems, etc. However, it can be a waste your time to focus on these marketing strategies if you're not clear about the message you're communicating.

When you're clear on who you want to work with, it's easier to share this  with others - it just rolls off your tongue. This leads to better quality referrals, higher energy (because you interact better) and everyone getting better value.

One more tip! As you evolve and changing as a person your ideal client is probably evolving too! Spend time, at least once a year, going through the exercises to fine-tune who your ideal client is.

Taking the time to go through this exercise in identifying your ideal client will help you avoid building your marketing on a shaky foundation! Instead you'll effectively market what makes you unique and be better equipped to attract the right kind of clients.