What is the single biggest mistake any business can make? It’s not knowing who to sell to. But wait, you say, anyone can benefit from my service or product. Don’t I miss out on potential sales if I focus only on one group? Let’s take a look at some selling basics and how to find what I call your best fit customer.
Do you remember the client you took on even though you suspected from Day 1 it was going to be problematic? You probably knew from past experiences what to expect from this type of client, but you had little choice because no one else was knocking at your door.
You need to find better clients and it needs to happen fast. So, you decide to cast a wider net and throw out all sorts of generic messages hoping at least one will stick.
As a result, you use marketing language that is very broad. You can’t be specific to one group because you want to appeal to men, women, baby boomers, and millennials. Your website copy is as lame as it can be and the words you use are dull and lifeless. As one of my copy editors, Ruta Fox, says it’s probably littered with every applicable cliché. Things like: it will make you more successful, you will feel relaxed, you don’t have to worry about anything, we will take care of you.
All that the client hears is blah blah blah.
Think about a single surfer dude who is 26 years old and likes to play, party, and surf. He has very few responsibilities other than his own needs.
Now image a 35-year-old married mother of two who is a manager at her workplace. She juggles kids, husband, career, home, friends, and money and is in a perpetual stress to get it all figured out.
Next, envision a baby boomer who is close to retirement age. He or she is very adverse to risk, already has a lot of everything or has begun to downsize, and just doesn’t need all this stuff anymore.
Do you really believe you can address each of these groups with a generic message on a single platform?
Of course not.
Each of these groups requires a different approach because they have different reasons for needing your product or service.
The key is not go wider, but to go deeper. Unless, of course, you are addicted to struggle.
If you are interested in finding out more about your best fit client, please go to this website and register to receive information about the upcoming Creative Entrepreneur Rocket Launch. It’s an interactive online program I designed to help you identify your best fit client. I ran the program at the University of Hartford and—due to demand—we turned it into an online course. Please go here now and register so you can be notified of the launch date.
Finding your best fit client changes everything. Suddenly you know to whom you are selling. Once you know who they are, you know how to talk to them. You will understand their worries and can focus on a solution (hint: it’s buying your stuff).
The magic starts when you engage in a conversation and stop having those awkward sales conversations that make us hate selling. Now you are a partner, a friend, a collaborator and an adviser. Trust me, it beats selling any day.
