Meet Your Ideal Client
The first step is to figure out exactly who you are trying to sell your product to. Now wait a minute, that is not as obvious as you might think. And unless you have been selling like hotcakes, at least hear me out on this.
You have to know exactly who it is you’re talking to so you can provide the solution to their problem. You have to know what their problem is.
Imagine yourself trying to persuade people to come into your restaurant in New Orleans. You are standing on the balcony overlooking hordes of people milling around Bourbon Street. Through your megaphone you are shouting “Great food, great beer”. Maybe a few trickle in. The next night you change tactics. You shout “cheap food, cheap beer”. Who do you think comes in? People who aren’t looking to spend much money, that’s who. You need a lot of customers if each individual one is looking to minimize their spending.
The third night you do it my way. You hoist the megaphone and shout “Lousiana’s best Zydeco music, Specialty seasonal ale”. Now who comes in? People who like Zydeco music and appreciate specialty beer, that’s who. Through the noise on Bourbon Street, the word “Zydeco” cut through to them. And… perhaps… others who saw the excitement over “Zydeco” came to see what it was all about. These are your people. They stay all night, spend a lot of money and invite their friends. You don’t need (or want) everybody. You want people who relate to what you are selling and are willing to stick around for the evening and keep ordering beers.
The first step in creating your launch blueprint: you need to know who your prospect is, who are you marketing to? Make no mistake, your launch story is about YOUR PROSPECTS… it’s not about you or your product.
So here is what you need to do: (BTW I’m fairly confident that most of you won’t do this. But I’m even more confident of the 80/20 rule. 80% of the WOW! profits are going to be made by 20% of the on-line marketers. And those 20% are dead certain of who their prospect is.)
Sit down and write a detailed description of your ideal client. Give him (or her) a name. Pretend they are sitting across from you. What do they look like? What are you talking about?
Demographics
- Age
- Gender
- Marital Status
- Do they have kids?
- What is their education?
- What is their occupation?
- Do they have pets?
- What is their fitness level?
- Physical attributes?
Psychographics
- What magazines do they read?
- What TV shows do they watch?
- What are their top fears and frustrations?
- What gets them mad, gets them
worried? - What are their hopes and dreams,
- What are their top wants and desires?
- What are they really after, and the end goal they THINK
they want? - 5 people they most admire
Financial Life
- What kind of house do they live in?
- Car they drive?
- Where did they take their last holiday?
- What credit cards do they have in their wallet?
- Beliefs and attitudes about money
- True financial picture
Daily Living
- Recreational activities
- Health
- What clubs are they a member of?
Give as much detail as you can. Don’t forget to give your ideal client a name. My ideal client’s name is Scott.
I’ve had clients tell me they fear this exercise will narrow their scope and leave out prospects. Actually the exact opposite happens. Think of your launch story as trying to hit a bulls eye on a dart board. The ideal client is at the center of the bulls eye. They are worth the most money to you. The prospects on the outer rings are worth something so even if you miss the bulls eye you still score points. But.. you make the most money aiming at the bulls eye.
The funny thing is the more specific you are in your descriptions, the more you are in that red bull’s eye, the more the concentric circles pull you in and you still attract the same people. It’s an amazing but true thing that people don’t need to worry about.
Doing the launch without clearly defining your target is like throwing darts blindfolded.
So… describe your ideal client to me.
So what did you think? Is this information useful? Did you agree with it? Let me know!
OUCH! Are you doing this?
