Fun Business Fun Money Podcast
EP 069 – 6 things you need to know about your ideal client
Ideal clients, dream clients, dreamboat clients, soulmate clients, call them whatever you want. We’re all talking about the same thing…
The clients you’re excited to work with. They’re excited right back, and together you create amazing results because ALLLL the good vibes are flowing.
You’re on the same frequency, communication is easy and clear. The whole experience is awesome for everyone.
You know them when you see them.
But the burning question almost everyone has is… WHERE DO YOU FIND THEM??
In this longer coaching episode we’re looking at 6 things you need to know about your ideal / dreamboat / soulmate / yes clients in order to make that connection and get them buying whatever it is that you’re selling.
FUN BONUS: you get to hear me saying 6 several times in my Kiwi accent lol!
KEY MENTIONS
TRANSCRIPT
Hey there, and welcome back to the Fun Business Fun Money podcast!
If you’re listening in real time it’s Tuesday 22nd August 2023, which means this is our longer coaching episode.
There are 2 Fun Business Fun Money podcast episodes each week.
A longer one like this where we go into a bit more detail on specific area of your business. And the other one is, in theory, a shorter tip, tool or tactic that you can implement immediately.
I say shorter with a bit of ‘tongue in cheek’ humour! Meaning 10 minutes or less, but if you’ve been listening for a while you’ll know that doesn’t often happen – but it is always something useful!
Before we dive into today’s juicy topic about your ideal clients, a quick reminder that I currently have space for a couple of new 1-1 clients in IGNITE, my business and money coaching program, beginning in September.
IGNITE is for fun-loving digital creatives – web designers, copywriters, social media managers – and of course the beautiful coaches, who want to turn their $3K – $10K monthly revenue into $10K monthly take home pay and profit.
Or what I like to call ‘fun money’.
We work together 1-1 for a minimum of 6 months to work out any kinks or wobbly bits in your business.
We make it a simple, streamlined thing of beauty with clear offers, a specialised niche and pricing that supports your financial goals as you grow and scale without burning yourself out in the process.
‘Cause ain’t nobody got time for THAT, amIright??
If that sounds like your kinda thing, let’s have a quick chat! I’ll send you the application and we’ll be off and running!
Send me a DM! I’m @funbusinessfunmoney, all one word, on both Facebook and Instagram.
Connect with me on LinkedIn and send me a DM there, I’m the only Deirdre Amies in the world.
If you’re on my email list you can hit reply to ANY of my emails, or send a fresh new email to hello@deirdreamies.com
You’ll find all those links in the description of this episode, and in the show notes.
Alrighty then! Let’s talk about your ideal clients, shall we?
I say ‘ideal client’ but thats not the greatest term, is it?
I like to change it up, sometimes they’re YES clients (because we all want them to say YES! Shut up and take my money!)
Sometimes they’re dream clients, dreamboat clients, soulmate clients, so many different variations, but in the end we’re all talking the same thing…
The clients you’re excited to work with, they’re excited right back, and together you create amazing results because ALLLL the good vibes are flowing.
You’re on the same frequency, communication is easy and clear, the whole experience is awesome for you and your client.
You know them when you see them. But the burning question almost everyone has is… WHERE DO YOU FIND THEM??
Thats what we’re working on today.
I’ve got 6 things you need to know about your ideal / dreamboat / soulmate / yes clients in order to make that connection and get them buying whatever it is that you’re selling.
Here’s those 6 things you need to know about your ideal client:
1 – what stage of business are they at?
2 – demographics
3 – psychographics
4 – B2B or B2C?
5 – what type of business or industry?
6 – buyer behaviour and money personality
That’s all, thanks for coming! I’m kidding, thats a nice list and some of it may be completely obvious stuff you’ve done before, so let’s get break each one down in a bit more detail.
1 – STAGE OF BUSINESS
What stage of business is your ideal client at? Are they a beginner or a seasoned pro?
This is something thats easily overlooked. I mean, I’ve had people approach me with their offer because I ‘seem’ to be their ideal client.
But then it turns out to be something at a very basic entry level, or something more suited to large business with a marketing team already in place. And I’m neither of those.
Here’s some questions for you to consider… and if you want to take some time and work through this, I’ve done the hard work for you already.
You’ll find all of this in the transcript with all the details linked in the description of this episode, you’re totes welcome.
The questions on your ideal client stage of business are:
- Are they just getting started in business?
- Do they have a few years experience under their belt? At least enough for them to know going viral and quick wins are nice, but not sustainable.
- Do they have 5 or more years experience?
- What have they tried?
- What have they achieved so far?
You can work with anyone at ANY of those stages, whether they’re a beginner or a seasoned pro – its totally up to you.
Don’t go thinking someone at the start of their business isn’t ready for whatever you offer. And also don’t go thinking someone with years of experience doesn’t need your help.
The difference is simply where you’re picking them up, what you can help them with, and where you’re ‘dropping them off’, so to speak.
2 – DEMOGRAPHICS
This is where most ideal client profile formulas or systems seem to focus.
They tell you to build an avatar of ‘your person’ so you FEEL like you’re marketing to a real person. Give them a name, a life, all the stuff.
Demographics include things like age, income level, education, life stage, generation, gender, location.
All of which is nice to know.
But theres a LOT of assumptions involved unless you actually sit down for a chat with a real person that you think represents your ideal client.
Something I highly recommend doing!
Its a fairly one dimensional view of who your people really are if you’re solely going on demographics.
3 – PSYCHOGRAPHICS
This is taking it a little bit deeper, psychographics is more about them as a human being, how they think.
- What interests do they have?
- What activities do they enjoy?
- What does their life actually look like?
- What values and beliefs do they hold?
These are always good to consider, especially if you’re going to be working 1-1 with this person.
Having common interests or being able to relate to their lifestyle helps build rapport and gives you something to talk about and lighten the energy as you come into each new session.
Their values and beliefs may or may not align with yours, you may never actually know them for sure. But if you’re observant enough you’ll have at least a vague idea.
As an example, my values are freedom, simplicity and integrity. Those show up in everything I do, whether its actually stated or not. And of course fun is included as well!
Everything is geared towards creating time and financial freedom.
Its gotta be simple and clear because, lets face it, life is far too short for complex BS getting in the way of freedom!
And integrity is a huge one for me too, I can’t stand ego trips or blatant copycats. Lets just be decent humans, claim your mistakes and be upfront about stuff, ok?
Those values might be completely different to someone else who appears to be quite similar to me – their values may be family, their faith and responsibility.
That’s a whole other topic in itself, but you get the picture of how it can be a differentiator when it comes to your ideal client.
4 – B2B or B2C?
B2B is business to business, B2C is business to consumer.
Are you targeting someone who runs a business? Or the end consumer?
I work with other business owners, so my dream clients are B2B.
If you’re a web designer or copywriter, you’re most likely going to be working with other business owners as well.
If you’re a health coach, your ideal clients are more likely to be the end consumer, you have a B2C business.
Something else to consider in this area is whether your ideal client is corporates or entrepreneurs.
You can help them with the same outcomes, but the scale you do it on will differ, as will the language you use and the process you go through to get them signed on.
I tend to think of corporations – having worked in them for a couple of decades! – as a big cruise ship. Lots of people and processes all working together to operate this big thing, but it also means things move a lot slower.
Theres many levels of communication to go through before you get an answer, and a change of direction can also be slow to implement even if you’ve got the approval.
Entrepreneurs are more like agile speed boats.
They can make quick decisions and change direction in an instant because there are less layers of management or approvals to go through – often the person you’re dealing with IS the decision maker who can say yes on the spot.
5 – FIRMOGRAPHICS
Weird word, but its a nice neat way to say the industry, type of business or size of business you want to work with.
Let’s say you’re a web designer who wants to focus on a specific industry, such as holistic health practitioners. That still covers quite a few options – nutritionists, therapists, healers, that kind of thing.
I’d still advise niching down further at some point, but thats a good place to start and focus on an industry.
Are they a start up or a non-profit? They might both ultimately serve the same people, but how you approach them, how the decisions are made and how you work with them will be very different.
Again, niche down a bit further to the type of non-profit or start up you want to work with will make your job SO much easier.
What size of business do you like working with? This can be by number of employees or their annual revenue.
I love working with solopreneurs and those who have a small support team or the beginning of an agency model. I help them to implement the foundations to scale and grow without stressing or anyone burning out, because thats the worst possible outcome for your big hairy audacious goals, right??
You might like working with businesses that have at least or up to 5 employees, 10-20 employees, any number you like, a business need your expertise.
You might want to target businesses making at least one million dollars a year in revenue. Or $100,000. Pick a number!
They have established systems and processes and you can slot in there with YOUR expertise in a particular to help them streamline things.
There’s also the fact they’re more likely to be able to pay your fees in full, on time, than say a solopreneur who is just starting out.
6 – BUYER BEHAVIOUR AND MONEY PERSONALITY
- How do they spend their money? (Because thats ultimately what we want them to do – spend money with you, me, us!)
- What’s their relationship with money like?
- What kind of personality do they have?
- Are they FUN PEOPLE??
This isn’t something you’ll necessarily know for sure about their relationship with money. Unless you’re a certified Sacred Money Archetypes coach like me with an online quiz they can take!
But there are always signs if you know what to look for, even on a really basic level you can take a guess based on the words they use, the questions they ask, the things they share on social media.
If you don’t yet know YOUR money archetypes, go take my quiz and find out! Head on over to deirdreamies.com/take-the-quiz . You’ll find the link in the description and in the show notes.
I covered the money archetypes in detail in episode 3, “Unlock the power of your money personality”. And I also went into the buyer behaviour of each money archetype in episode 29, “8 money habits you need to know about your ideal clients”.
You’ll find the links to both of those episodes AND the Sacred Money Archetypes quiz in the show notes, make sure you go check them out!
BRING IT ALL TOGETHER
Once you’ve got all this figured out, what do you do with it??
You bring it all together so you’ve got a clear picture of who you’re talking to.
This is one of the best marketing skills you can have in my opinion, being able to understand your clients, whether they’re actual clients yet or not, on such a deep level that they can instantly see themselves in your words.
You’re speaking their language. Using the words THEY use and vibing on a personality level right from the start, so by the time you’re actually working together its like you’re besties already.
Here’s something I want you to do right now, it doesn’t matter if you’re on the move and can’t write anything down. You can always check out the transcript which is linked in the description of this episode.
I want you to think of your favourite client you’ve ever worked with. That name should instantly pop into your head because they were so awesome.
- Who are they?
- What is it about them that made your time together so enjoyable?
- What results did you help them achieve?
- What words do THEY use to describe their situation, both before working with you and afterwards?
If you haven’t yet had any clients, either because you’re just starting out or you’re changing things in your business to a new niche, you can still do this.
- Think of someone you know that really appeals to you. What is it about them that excites you?
- What’s their biggest challenge that you can help them with?
- What will their life look like after you’ve worked together?
- What words are THEY using when they talk about their challenges and desires?
All of that gives you the clues you need about your ideal client.
Your next step is to TALK TO THESE PEOPLE.
As I said at the start, you KNOW them when you see them. But the burning question… WHERE DO YOU FIND THEM??
Right there in your current network. They’re all around you when you take the time to get quiet, pay attention and listen (instead of talking!)
If you’re serving corporates or almost any kind of business, chances are they have some kind of presence on LinkedIn. Or maybe they’re on Instagram if they’re a visual creative type.
You can do a shout out on any social media platform, to your email list, anywhere really, and say “Who do I know?” And then describe your ideal client.
Those people will raise their hands, or they’ll be tagged on your post by others who recognise those things in people THEY know.
A quick recap on those 6 things you need to know about your ideal client:
1 – what stage of business are they at?
2 – Demographics – age, income, location, job title
3 – Psychographics – interests, values and beliefs
4 – B2B or B2C?
5 – what type of business or industry?
6 – buyer behaviour and money personality
Thats what I’ve got for you today, I hope that helps you dig at least a layer deeper on who your ideal, dreamboat, soulmate, YES clients are, so you can quit being generic and vague in your marketing content.
No need to keep firing stuff out there hoping something sticks!
Thats just a time and energy suck otherwise, it feels like a chore when you’re not seeing any results or engagement for your efforts.
Nobody wants to be shouting into the void!
As I mentioned at the start, if you’d like my eyes on your business to help with this and all the other sticky bits going on, reach out for a quick chat about how we can work together.
Send me a DM, I’m @funbusinessfunmoney, all one word, on Facebook and Instagram.
Connect with me on LinkedIn and send a DM there.
Or send an email to hello@deirdreamies.com . You’ll find the links to all of those in the description and the show notes.
Take the time to get specific and really understand your people from ALL the angles.
Have fun playing with this and connecting with the real people behind the imaginary ideal client avatar, and I’ll catch you in the next episode.
Want to make a BIG SHIFT in your business?
IGNITE private coaching could be the answer you’re looking for! Click here to check out the details, or send me a message for a quick chat about which option is the best one for you right now.
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