Everyone in business will at some point need to think about their ‘Ideal client’.
Your ideal client (or ideal customer) is someone who finds the perfect solution for their problems or needs in the products or services you’re selling.
The majority of courses, coaches and advisors will start out by asking you to create a document that describes your ideal ‘client avatar’ or ‘customer persona’.
This document typically covers everything from their sex, how old they are, their name, whether they have children, where they live, if they have pets, what they had for breakfast and what colour their front door is!
The aim is to help you get clear on exactly who you’re serving and how to talk to them.
Now, in theory I am all for this. However, in practice there are a number of reasons why this exercise can be a complete waste of time!
Your ideal client document focuses on the wrong things
Purely looking at the physical attributes of your ideal client’s life will not give you the depth of information and understanding needed to sell to them. You really need to get inside their head, be clear about what motivates them and what keeps them awake at night.
The idea of this exercise is to create a portrait of your ideal client so that you can attract others who ‘look’ like them. Not everyone looking for an accountant will have kids or a dog for example.
The key to creating a really useful customer avatar document is keeping it relevant and focusing on the pain points, desires, and beliefs someone has. And guess what? You can know those things without knowing exactly what their life looks like.
Most ideal client avatars are dreamed up out of thin air
Unless you are a living breathing example of your ideal client, having been through the same experiences and challenges which lead you to the exact product or service you are selling, it is likely that you will be making a significant number of assumptions.
A Virtual Assistant looking to target tradespeople, for example, may feel that they understand their target market, but unless they have walked in their shoes there can be a big gap between their beliefs and reality.
The way to ensure that the persona you are creating is aligned with the problems and desires of your target market is through research.
You need to conduct research so that you can hear first-hand, in the language of those you are wanting to sell to, what their life looks like, the problems they have and their desires. This research will enable you to back up your assumptions and validate that your product or service actually delivers the right solution for the market.
Creating an ideal client is a box-ticking exercise
Businesses do this exercise, file the document and then move on to the next thing. What a waste of time. Just because you’ve done the task, doesn’t mean that Dave, who is 36, lives in Hull and has a red front door is going to buy your consultancy package.
Creating a client avatar is only step one in the process. The next stage is to use what you have learned to create content and messages which will really cut through and resonate with those you are trying to sell to.
You also need to revisit your document on a regular basis. The needs, wants and desires of those you are selling to will change over time, as will the types of customers that your business wishes to attract. Don’t forget, you can learn from your existing customers too, they are a great source of information and will also highlight opportunities to adapt and refine your offering.
The key to developing a really useful and informative ideal client document is to make the connection between:
Customer > Problem > Solution (your product or service)
Getting this right will stop you wasting time, effort and money, instead you’ll stand out to those for whom your product or service provides the perfect solution. This should make the sale a lot easier.
Get a copy of my template for creating a really useful ideal client avatar document by clicking here.
