You’ve probably heard the question: How do you know what your ideal client needs? Well, I’d rephrase it to ask: How do you know what your ideal client THINKS they need?
As an expert, it’s easy to look at someone’s business and tell them what they need from you. But, that’s not always going to be the most effective way to have that conversation. Because oftentimes, the client thinks they need something entirely different. If you simply tell them they’re wrong and go into what you think they need, you run the risk of alienating them and shutting down the conversation.
So instead, I want you to spend some time thinking about what your ideal client thinks they need. Some ideas to ponder:
- What do they come to you asking about?
- What fears keep them up at night?
- What blog posts or articles that you’ve written get the most attention?
- What opt-in pages or headlines seem the most effective?
Then, think about how you can utilize these ideas better in your marketing and sales conversations. This will help you attract your ideal clients because you’re speaking to what they think they need.
Now I know, some you may be thinking, “But Michele, what they think they need isn’t what they really need!” And my answer would be, this may be true but it is still important for you to focus on what they think they need first.
After you build the relationship and establish yourself as an expert, you can steer the conversation towards what it is they really need. But, if you don’t focus too much on what they think they need then you’ll never even get to that point!
Remember, people want to be heard and understood so if your conversations accomplish that you’ll be much more successful at building that relationship. Once you have the relationship, it makes it much easier for them to make a buying decision to work with you.
Plus, what they think they need may not be entirely wrong. They probably do need that piece from you, they probably just need more too! So if you start with what they’re looking for and then move to what’s even more important, you’ll be able to wow them with your brilliance beyond what they anticipated.
© Copyright 2013 Michele A Scism
Just an additional thought. What the consultant thinks the client needs might not be entirely correct. The client may be aware of aspects of the business or its history that the consultant is unaware of. Consulting with the client on what they think they need may reveal those aspects and provide information the consultant can use to revise their picture of what the client needs.
Will