Prospecting Part 2 – Understanding your ideal client

Client Prospecting Never Ends

Now that Paul's back on track, and carving out time to build that foundation, I'm bringing the focus back to prospecting.

Paul's pretty happy with his clients and the rate of his growth, which makes him complacent with his prospecting. After all, from his point of view, he's got enough clients, with little room for any more.

But I've been there before, young and confident with a list of good clients. And then I would lose a client, or four – clients I was so sure would be around forever – and suddenly there's no work, no cashflow and I'm scrambling to find someone – anyone – that I can work for (often throwing out the ideal client in the process).

Now, if you haven't read my earlier post about finding your ideal client, take a moment and read over it – it's the first step to building a prospecting system that works.

But, you can't stop with just finding out who your ideal client is – that wouldn't get you very far. You still don't know how to market to them. The next step is to find out what problems your ideal client deals with.

Understanding your ideal client

If you've gone through the process of finding your ideal client, you know them at a surface level. The next step is to delve a deeper and learn what makes that client tick.

Whoever they are, they deal with an array of problems that keep them from getting what they want, or making it more difficult to get there. Dealing with that problem is their pain point. It's costing them time, money, or causing some sort of discomfort in their lives.

Your job at this point is to understand:

The problem which is keeping them from attaining what they want

The pain they feel when dealing with that problem

Understanding the first allows you to tailor your product or service, while understanding the second gives you the information you need to increase the efficacy of your marketing.

Listening to their problems and pain points

Before we go any further, we'll go through an example of what I'm talking about.

Let's say you're a gym owner who wants to get more people in the door. You've identified new mothers who want to get back into shape after having a baby as one of your ideal clients.

The most obvious problem these new mothers deal with is that they want to regain their pre-baby body. But if you stop there, you won't really understand them. If that was their only problem, they just go on youtube, watch fitness videos and change their diet. But, the truth is these mothers deal with a host of problems that are keeping them right where they are.

Busy-ness

Tiredness

A c-section that keeps them on their backs for week

A baby they have to take everywhere with them

If you don't understand these deeper problems, you're going to approach your prospecting very simply: Want to get in shape? Come to my gym. The response of all these mothers is to roll their eyes at how naive you are. 'Id' love to come,' they would think, 'but the baby needs changing, I haven't slept more than two hours in two weeks, and I can't even drive for four more weeks.'

In short, your prospecting falls flat in front of their problems and pains.

Finding the real problem with empathy, imagination and a lot of research

Now, because my wife and I have had kids, I am familiar with the problems young parents face. Though I'm not a woman, and haven't ever given birth, I can use my empathy and imagination to extrapolate what the pains and problems those young mothers would have. That's the first step.

Change How You Think About Your Potential Clients

Once you start changing how you think, and start stepping into the shoes of your ideal client, you can begin to see problems you hadn't thought of before. Each new problem you come across as you imagine your client's journey is another path for you to pursue to understand the pain that comes with it.

Once you've tried on those shoes, start to research those problems, and the pain that comes from them. A google search is a great start, but it's only that – a start. Look for forums that cater to your ideal client, and talk to actual people who fall into your ideal client bucket. They will tell you things you never knew, that will allow you to talk directly to them in your marketing.

The Next Step in Prospecting

Now that you have an ideal client, and have started down the road to understanding what they're dealing with, you have the door and the lock. That seems pretty daunting though, doesn't it. We're halfway through the four steps to effective prospecting, and we're standing here in front of a locked door.

But, it's actually a great thing. Before, you were working in a vacuum, throwing things out there and hoping they stick. But now you have something to focus on, a problem to conquer. And that's half the battle.

Next week on my call with Paul, I'll be going over how to start fashioning the key that will open that door. Stay tuned.