“Everyone is not your customer.” ~ Seth Godin
Attracting the right clients for your business isn’t just a good idea – it’s essential for the long-term growth of your business.
Please read the Seth Godin 5-word quote above…
You may think that “everyone…” (every mother, every IT company, every man who is overweight…) is your target client. But… trying to attract “everyone” is not only a waste of your time, energy, and money, but it also weakens your brand and your business’s core values.
So how do you attract clients that you will actually love working with?
Here are 10 ideas how to attract those ideal clients:
It starts with the most important step…
1. Know Who They Are
Let’s get one thing out of the way, “they have tons of money they love spending on my product/service” is NOT the best description for your ideal clients. If you don’t know who your ideal client is (what makes them tick, what winning looks like for them, or what their budget is) – it will be nearly impossible to attract them.
2. Find Out What They Want
You probably have already a few clients that love what you offer and you love working with them. Talk to them. Ask them about their goals and aspirations, challenges and pain points, possible objections, and anything else that will get you inside their heads.
3. Identify Their Pain Points
While understanding your target market’s wants and needs is a great step, your goal is to recognize their biggest problems and challenges, and provide a product or service that helps them solve their pain points. What keeps your customers from reaching their goals? What keeps them up at night? Which problems do they face that your competitors don’t address?
4. Be Where They Are
Figure out where your ideal clients are, and make sure you’re there too. Discover where your ideal clients spend their time, and use that platform (or platforms) to reach them repeatedly. Consider social media, trade magazines, networking events, conferences, radio, online ads…
5. Offer Them Exactly What They Want
Instead of thinking what you want to offer, think what your ideal clients need help with and create your offerings around this. For example, my ideal clients do not look for “feed me with a spoon” type of information – but they want to learn to think and act like master entrepreneurs. They’re not looking for advice or coaching – but for real-life mentoring…
6. Engage on a Personal Level
Ideal clients are highly valuable to your business. So make them feel personally valued. You can do this by giving them personal attention and opening your channels of communication with them.
7. Position Yourself as Their Ultimate Guide
Your client doesn’t care about your product/service (harsh, but true). They care about what your product/service can do for them. Don’t sell your product, sell the transformation (from where they are, to where they want to be).
Create a one sentence value proposition unique to you, like… “I help smart entrepreneurs double their income, double their impact, and double their free time – so they can fulfill their greatest potential and make a difference.”
8. Give Them a Remarkable Experience
You want to attract your ideal client and make them fall in love with you. Think about all the touch points your prospects and clients have with your business and how you can make their experience as remarkable as possible.
9. Prove Your Worth
You need to give yourself an opportunity to prove your worth to your client. The best way to do that is by asking for a micro-commitment and over performing. Lead Magnets are a great way to offer tons of value to your customer with little-to-no risk on their end. By asking a little, and over-delivering, your client realizes you’re aware of their problems, and you’re serious about delivering results that help them overcome these problems.
10. Start a Referral System
A referral system is a great way to attract more ideal clients. Existing ideal customers are likely to have friends and acquaintances that also fit your ideal client profile. Make it easy and rewarding for them to refer to you.
For 10 simple, super effective referral systems – check out this referral systems course.
Now It’s YOUR Turn
For five minutes… come up with as many ideas as you can… how can YOU attract more ideal clients?
Let's Brainstorm
Please share your ideas (all of them or just one) in the comment box below… and let’s get WOWing.
Live fully, stay awesome,
Nisandeh Neta
Top Commenters – last 30 Days
Let's Brainstorm
Please share your ideas (all of them or just one) in the comment box below… and let’s get WOWing.
Live fully, stay awesome,
Nisandeh Neta
94 comments
Listen to their feedback and understand their needs. For example we test every size for each product to make sure if it is suitable per size. We don't create small sizes and then scale them up to bigger sizes. We only use plus size models and influencers for our designs. We use reviews from different sources to showcase more happy customers. But as always we can't please everyone 🙂
160 comments
It took me a while to get crystal clear on my TA. Still, it's hard to attract clients who are overwhelmed and not knowing they need help.
I had a hard time to see myself as an expert because I am a medical doctor and had lots of life experiences. Since I have this "why me" clear, I get the rest clearer as well.
Note that I started with Open Circles Academy because I had a dance school and grew to the biggest salsa dance school in Limburg, I never saw myself as an expert: i was "just a dancer, just a doctor". So maybe the best answer for me is: get your mindset right!
112 comments
Already from the start I have my ideal client in my mind. Children with a learning challenge and as the parents will contact and pay you, they are the clients. My challenge is how to find out where they are, which platforms etc.
When my kids went to primary school, the school organized once a year an information evening with a specific topic. My goal for next school year is to approach the primary schools in my town and offer them the topic Brain Gym for their information evening.
And I am going to brainstorm where else I can go.
People buy what they want not what they need; It is different wording for what most people already commented here. So, you sell them what they want and give them what they need.
47 comments
Most of the things in your 10-points list I recognize, Nisandeh. However, attracting people with low investment and overperforming, did not appear to be a good idea for me. Ask low prices seemed to make the impression that what I offered could not be of that much value. And indeed, when asking serious money attracted people that appreciate my work more. Difficult, anyway, to find a good balance in what to ask and what to give.
Another thing that comes in my mind is, that knowing some persons that really love what I am doing, while I proved that it works for them in a very good way, still lead to questions like: are these really the ideal clients for me, or do I miss out other groups of ideal clients? For example, I know that some coaches aim mainly at a high-value audience, like dentists. And from there, they focus more and more on clients that can spend a lot of money. That makes it easy not to have too many discussions on the price, but also it excludes maybe other ideal clients as well.
576 comments
here's another great example on how to attract your ideal customer.
I would love to work with Mammoet. I am fascinated by big monster vehicles- boats, trucks, things with huge wheels. I always said that I would love to work with them. They're hard to get into though! It's a family company.
But... because I have this so clear, in the past weeks I put more effort on it, and instead of asking people if they knew someone who'd be interested, I asked if they knew someone working at Mammoet.
I now have 2 meetings with 2 different people within Mammoet.
The more specific you are, the easier it gets to actually get them to work with you.
276 comments
I will flip the switch on this one 🙂 Pivot.
There are multiple types of ideal clients out there. So dare to change and look for idealer clients.
When you have a group in mind. Ask!
Ask anyone you meet if they know someone like that. Or if they know someone who knows someone.
175 comments
1. Position yourself as a PERSON your ideal prospects want to do business with - So with your unique personality. In my case I think it works, because my ideal clients desire an individually designed monument, not something prefab. But I'm not sure if this works for bigger companies. I recently watched an inspiring video with Steve Jobs presenting Apple's new slogan. He had Nike as his inspiration, a shoe company that doesn't sell shoes. They sell a philosophy. No persons involved, but very successful.
2. Provide your ideal clients with the information they need - I'm not talking about a product here! When you offer them valuable information, your ideal clients stick with you and don't look further. Plus it strengthens your expert position.
3. Choose a visual language your ideal clients 'understand' and like
4. Find out what surprises your ideal clients - Everyone likes surprises and giving surprises is fun. It can be a small gift, a sentence in your email that makes them smile, overdelivery of course, a tip (check this artist, watch this video), cookies from the local bakery to cheer up the meeting....
576 comments
1. Dare to be specific. I am writing a book now. I decided to write it for men in technical companies. Yes- women can read it too- but the mistakes they make in meetings are different from men. They have different needs and different pains. Writing it for men makes it more specific. (Thanks Aramik for confronting me on this one)
2. Test, test and test. I asked what they wanted and thought I offered it to them and they didn’t take it. Then I offered them something else. They took that. Keep on trying until they react.
3. Find out what they want. You know very well what they need but that’s not gonna attract them to you. You need to know what they want. My clients need to have more knowledge on how to do their meetings better and why, but all they want is to have their audience engaged. So- I give them that. And put the rest in it as well:)
4. I find referrals wonderful. After every conversation I ask them: would you know anyone else who’d like to know more about how to do online meetings better? And they will bring me my ideal clients. Even better- they will check my energy and look for people who will like it- so they do the pre selection! And they will only do this when I am very clear about what I have to offer and if they think it’s valuable.
111 comments
This is SUCH an important topic, I expected it to be much earlier in this challenge and so happy to read all the above great ideas.
Like I said in another post, it took me YEARS to find my ideal clients. I thought that if I'll focus on the quality of my writing it they will come. Can't believe I've been that naive...
It took me a few years before I found who are my ideal clients, and it was a HUGE surprise to me. I had to keep narrowing it more and more before finding it. I thought it was the kids, but I found out that my ideal client are the parents of these kids and even more teachers and schools
Here are a few things I did to get to know them better:
1. Listen to what REALLY bothers them
2. Ask them questions about what they like and what they are looking for
3. Become their friend more than just a service provider
4. Make it easy for them to reach you
175 comments
Ah yes, I experienced the same! Narrowing down my target group was such a great relief. I have to keep doing it, because I tend to come up with so many new ideas (read: new possible clients). Saying 'no' is a very helpful skill for this, it helped me a lot.