When was the last time you worked on getting to know your ideal client (or client avatar) on a deeper level? When was the last time you could remember who they were, how old they were, or what their kids' names are? If you're like most of my clients, you don't check in on your ideal client too often. I recommend to all my clients that you check in on your I.C.s at least once a quarter, if not more often! Episode 116 of the Moments with an MEO podcast covers two fun Ideal Client exercises I give my clients!
In this episode, I chat about:
And more!
Want to connect or ask Britt a question?
Email: newaltitudesllc@gmail.com
Instagram: @new_altitudes
Check out MilSO Box here: www.milsobox.com
When was the last time you worked on getting to know your ideal client (or client avatar) on a deeper level? When was the last time you could remember who they were, how old they were, or what their kids' names are? If you're like most of my clients, you don't check in on your ideal client too often. I recommend to all my clients that you check in on your I.C.s at least once a quarter, if not more often! Episode 116 of the Moments with an MEO podcast covers two fun Ideal Client exercises I give my clients!
In this episode, I chat about:
And more!
Want to connect or ask Britt a question?
Email: newaltitudesllc@gmail.com
Instagram: @new_altitudes
Check out MilSO Box here: www.milsobox.com
Britt 0:00
When you're looking at who your ideal client is, just take into account that the user of your service product, whatever might be very different than who it is you're actually selling to. And therefore, the language must be different because we have to sell the thing. So how we do that is making sure that the ideal client that you're mapping out is the one that's actually buying the items, right? Like, we want to know who we're making this for, so that we know who's buying it. But ultimately, we need the cash flow. And so you have to know in great detail who it is that you're selling to. Ryan, welcome back to another moments with me yo podcast, I am so excited that you're here. For another solo episode,
I put up a poll on Instagram, and y'all really wanted an ideal client exercise to help you hone in on who it is that you're selling to. If you are new ish around here, about a year, year and a half ago, I was doing client intensives, ideal client intensives, where I would walk you through in an hour, your ideal client help you answer questions and gain clarity around your ideal client and who it is that you're talking to. And so today, I thought I would pull some of these exercises out of the vault, if you will, and give them to you on the podcast. And so if you're interested in figuring out who your ideal client is, feel free to message me. And we can do just a singular one on one and actually getting clarity around your business and who you're selling to. Now, before I dive in, I do want to talk about users versus buyers. Because this is huge. And this is something that I didn't even come across until further into my entrepreneurial journey than I'd like to admit. And that is that sometimes we have a business where the buyers are different than the actual users. So say we have a product. And this does work for service based as well. But say we have a product that is typically bought as a gift. That means that the people that are buying the gift and the language that we need to use in order to get people to purchase this gift item is going to be much different than who the gift is for. And typically, with small business ownership, we tend to think that they're the same person, or we tend to target the user instead of the buyer. And so when you're looking at your products or services, when you're looking at who your ideal client is, just take into account that the user of your service product, whatever might be very different than who it is you're actually selling to. And therefore the language must be different because we have to sell the thing. So how we do that is making sure that the ideal client that you're mapping out, is the one that's actually buying the items, right? Like we want to know who we're making this for, so that we know who's buying it, but ultimately, we need the cash flow. And so you have to know in great detail who it is that you're selling to. Okay, so when we're talking about ideal client here today, keep that in mind that the user is much different than the seller in many cases. Now, not in every case. So for me, for instance, I'm b2b business to business, and therefore I'm talking to you and my products are for you. And it's not common that someone would gift my services to a small business owner. Is it possible? Yes, have people done it for holidays or put it on their Christmas list or things like that? Absolutely. But it's not typical. However, like a gifting service, or another business where the users of the product or service and the actual buyers are completely different. I'll give you another example just to kind of hopefully make this more clear. Think about any service for children so whether it's a subscription box for kids, whether it is a cake box, think about anything like toys, right like toys the user would be the children but obviously the children are not the ones purchasing said product. So now that we know that we're targeting our ideal client is typically the buyer in this situation, though it is good to know and understand the user in order to back up why the ideal client the buyer should purchase for said user but I Ideally, no pun intended. Ideally, your ideal client is the actual buyer. Okay,
I also want to just make it clear why we need to know as much as we possibly can about our ideal client, about our buyers. And here's the thing, if you're talking to everybody, you're talking to nobody. I've said this before, I'm not the creator of this term or this phrase, it's been out there, I heard it, and it finally clicked. And I hope that over time, throughout the episodes that I have mentioned this, that it's resonated with you. But if not, this is the moment to let that seep in. Here's a prime example. Say, I find a company that looks interesting, their marketing is on point, they've got the beautiful colors, they've got a vibe, their Instagram looks amazing. And I go to read their captions, or I even go to their website to figure out if I should purchase this product, I need the language to back up the fact that I need to purchase this. If the language is too vague, or if the language doesn't seem to be talking to me at all, I'm not going to be convinced as a potential client or customer to purchase because I don't know, if the language is vague, I'm vague on my answer, to convert higher to increase your leads to make your time more valuable, you want the message to resonate. Now say I find a different account whose maybe even doesn't even have good marketing, right marketing is part of the puzzle. But it's not the whole puzzle. If I go to their language, and I'm like, I don't know, like their marketing is a little wonky. Like I don't know, if I'd put those colors together something visually is not clicking. But everything that they are saying matches what I need. They're talking to me, I feel connected, I feel like this product was meant for me or for my problem. Or for you know, whatever it is whatever season I'm going through, if I feel like they are talking to me, and I need this product, I'm probably going to purchase it. Even if it's outside of my budget, even if the marketing is not perfect, even if you know the list goes on and on. So having a solid message, understanding who you're talking to, and talking to them extremely well. opens the door for more people to convert without extra work. You don't have to get DMS from people going Hey, like I saw that you have this. I'm not sure if it's for me or not. Can you walk me through my options? Can you talk to me more about it, they're going to read the language and they're going to click Buy now. It's going to be that simple. And the reason I brought up getting those DMS is because I've gotten those DMS I've gotten those DMS, where people are like hey, like I'm not sure if this is for me the language is that that that that that it is almost exciting. Because you're getting engagement, people are interested. But once you realize that there's more confusion, Imagine all the people who did not have the courage to DM you when they were on the fence and instead they just didn't respond. Yikes. I'm going to walk you through two exercises that I did about a year year and a half ago to help my clients determine their ideal client. I truly hope that this helps you discover just a little piece more about your ideal client. And if you want to do a one on one where we dive deeper into this, feel free to send me a message I would love an email new altitudes llc@gmail.com You can also send me a DM at New altitudes. Either way, I would love to chat with you more about your ideal client and help you figure this out. Because this is one of the most instrumental pieces of your business. If you don't know who you're selling to, you're not selling. So I truly truly hope that this helps. Alright, so the first exercise is a bunch of questions, and I'm going to read off these questions and why it matters. And then I'll give you some tips on how to make this a little bit better. And then we'll move on to a second exercise that I do with clients if I have time. I want you to answer these questions as specific as possible. Imagine that this person is your best friend. So when I'm asking these questions, answer them as if your best friend was listening in and you were answering them about her or him. You should be very specific. Now being specific while you're filling out this worksheet does not matter. mean that someone else might stumble upon your Instagram or whatever or your your website and go, Oh, I don't know if this is for me. People who resonate are going to resonate on different levels, I have resonated on accounts that were not meant for me, I'm not the ideal client. Mom accounts, for instance, because I'm not a mom yet.
There's a mom, therapist, Allison, who's been on the podcast before. I love her feed. And I resonate with a lot of what she's saying, just in different ways. And so by answering these questions very specifically, you are not getting rid of people who do not fit the 27 year old mom of four, right? If someone is 24, and only has one kid, they're still going to resonate. But narrowing this down and understanding who it is that you're talking to, allows you to get clarity, which means that your ideal buyer is getting clarity as well. So I just want to make that clear that this is not the only option and writing down these answers. You're not creating the only scenario or the only client you will ever work with. But this is necessary to hone in on your messaging. So number one, what is their gender? What is their gender? And is that important to them? Some people, it's not a huge value of theirs, it's not a personal value. For other people, it is a huge value, and it's a huge part of who they are. Understanding what their gender is and why it matters to them, or if it matters to them is important. What is their name? Now, obviously, you're probably not going to use their name. One of my ideal clients, her name is Gracie, you're probably not going to put Gracie. I'm talking to you in an email or on your website. But what it does do is it helps you remember them. It helps you remember right, like I know my ideal client is crazy. I know what she looks like. I know how old she is how many kids she has, I know how many dogs she has, I know her hobbies. Like I know who Gracie is. And it's because I've given her a name. I've given her an identity. You know what gender now pick a name. And you can always change their name later on. But it just helps you remember who the heck they are and differentiate them from another ideal client if you do have more than one down the road. Number three is how old are they? This is huge. And I don't want you to put down a range like 19 to 43. Okay, that is geriatric millennials. Yes, that's a thing. Millennials and Gen Z ers. And here's the thing 90s babies want nostalgia. They want you to bring back those old cartoon references. They want to be reminded of the childhood that was never caught on camera. For a mother of toddlers Paw Patrol is probably really big in their life right now. Or maybe it's Elmo or Barney or Barbie movies. So understanding who it is that you're talking to is important. Another big reason that this is important is that millennials for instance, love value. And they want to get everything that they can for free, or as much for free or discounted as they possibly can. But Gen Zers are more about where's the personality and the brand? Who's the person behind it? How can we make this more personable? More of a unique experience? How can we make this so that I as the Gen Z are feel more like I'm part of something bigger than myself, because Jen's ears have grown up their whole life, on social media, and through influencers. So that's just like a really big example of why 19 to 42 or 19 to 50. Women just doesn't cut it. Get specific. Think again, referencing your best friend, if you showed up at their birthday party, and you were like happy 19 to 50 year old birthday Best Friend Like she'd probably be offended that you didn't know. So pick a day, it doesn't mean that you have to know her birthday. The bonus points if you do. It doesn't mean that you know you're only working with 37 year olds like no, but it just helps you solidify this identity for yourself and helps you clarify your message. I cannot get that point across enough. The next question Question number
four. Where do they live? get as specific as possible with this one, where in the world are they? Now if you're like me and you're targeting or your ideal client is a military spouse House, they might be all over the country. But I can still get specific, I can still reference there. They're living on a base, or they are near a base. And it's probably one of these most popular or biggest bases, or maybe it's one of the smaller bases, I can pinpoint where in the country they are, I can talk about their transient lifestyle. There's lots of different ways that I can go with that question, even though my ideal client is all over the world. So ideally, rikes is your ideal client, ideally, where in the world are they? Are they in the country? Are they in the city? Are they in the US? Are they outside of the US? There's so many directions to take this. So where in the world are they? How much do they make? This one's really important because you need to make sure that you're not out pricing yourself in the market. And that's a really, really fine balance to walk. Because obviously, we want to charge what we're worth, we want to charge how much our items cost to make, as well as our time and our energy. However, I've made the mistake of pricing myself too low. And I've also made the mistake of pricing myself too high. When I originally started coaching, I only priced my one on one coaching at $20 and session $20 A session. And I recently came back from V ys, which is a conference for female veteran and military spouse and military family, entrepreneurs. If you want more information, please message me, I would love to share and I would love for you to go because it's amazing. But I actually shared this story in the middle of a marketing session, and the entire room of almost 100 People gasped, like audibly gasped, the whole room went silent. When I shared that when I started, I originally was selling my services for $20 an hour. And everybody came up to me afterwards and said that they resonated so well with what I was talking about in that session, because they to underprice themselves. However, I also made the mistake last year in bumping my prices up too high. For my ideal client, I was $150 an hour for three months. And there's a reason that I didn't get very many one on one clients. And it's because I had out priced myself. And it's because I was charging what I was worth. But I was not keeping in mind how much my ideal client made. And that is a huge deal. So I've met somewhere in the middle, I'm now $75 per session, which is about a fourth of the average for a coach. So I am by many coach standards, I am extremely cheap. I will say that I am valued correctly for both my ideal client and my worth. If you're interested in a one on one session, it is $75 like that, that is it. That is it right now, as of this recording, April 2022. I'm $75. And I don't plan on changing that. And it's because I had to figure out what was too high and what was too low. In order to figure out what was right for me. When it comes to understanding how much your ideal client makes. It's huge to know how to price your products or your services correctly, so that you not only feel validated and what you're doing and what you're making, but your buyer wants to purchase. This is not to say that Jaguars don't sell, right, like people buy luxury cars. People buy really, really expensive purses, even though TJ Maxx sells purses that look nearly identical for $20 Even in the middle of an economic crisis, even if they don't need it, even if it's just a luxury feel good item it still sells. So this is only part of the puzzle. This is not the whole puzzle. Okay, but it just helps you figure that out, especially as a new small business owner.
Okay, next question. What do they do for a living? This will clue you in on what language to include or to use. So if you know that they are in construction, then you can use terms that people in construction, understand. If you're in healthcare, you might know whether it be m is but people who are not familiar with the health care system may not know that that means a bowel movement. There are so many different languages that we use based on our profession. Keep in mind that being a stay at home mom or dad, being a stay at home spouse is acceptable. And if you need examples of that, go listen to any single episode from season one of the moments within me yo podcast, originally, moments with the mill sell podcast, because we had so many people sharing how they are successful in every way, including being a stay at home spouse. So it just clues you on what language to use or to include. Are they married? Are they single? Are they dating around? Are they in a committed relationship? What does their relationship status clue you in on does have anything to do with the products that you're gifting? Maybe you figure out the majority of your custom designed products are actually typically wedding gifts. Great. So you know that your user is someone who is engaged, about to be married, and you know that the buyer is someone looking for a wedding gift? So there's lots of ways that the questions can help you answer things about your ideal buyer and your ideal client. Where do they shop? This is so that you can go find them. If you know that they're an Amazon, if they're a millennial, then they're probably looking on Amazon, they're looking at deals on target, they're probably shopping at sheen. Unless of course, eco friendliness is something that's very important. And maybe they don't buy into the fast fashion. In which case you might find them at thrift stores. Understanding where they are shopping helps you find them, as well as use language and provide examples of how your business meets their values. What books do they read? What shows do they watch? What podcasts do they listen to? Do they listen to this podcast? Do they listen to true crime? Oh my gosh, my husband
kind of off topic. But my husband watches this podcast, it's technically like a video cast. It's on YouTube, of a hot sauce, Subscription Box Company. This guy makes hot sauces. And he interviews famous people while they are eating wings with his hot sauces. And so they are like dying from the heat of these wings, or whatever it is they're eating. And he's trying to get them to answer questions. And it's honestly hilarious. And it's called hot ones box if you're interested. But that's the kind of podcast my husband listens to. I listen to podcasts about how to grow my business. I listened to podcasts about the military community. I listened to a true crime podcast and I listen to things that my husband doesn't because we're totally different people, we're different ideal clients from from each other. So again, this is just more places to find them, looking again at their interests and things like that. Who do they follow on social media? This is big, it's gonna help you find them again. But honestly, this just helps you know, where to spend the majority of your engagement? Are they faith based? What hobbies do they have? Are they goal oriented? What kind of personality do they have? Are they funny, sarcastic, organized, worried, overwhelmed. All of this helps you understand and develop language to use around or to include in your conversations with them to make them feel like you're talking specifically to them. So something else if you're still struggling, if you're like, Brett, I answered all these questions, and I'm still not really sure. Number one, I highly recommend that you pick a picture off of Google and tape it wherever it is that you work. So for the longest time, I had like a random blogger photo on my wall in front of my desk that I just used. And anytime I was going to write something, I just looked at that picture and I knew her name. And it just kind of like was like a visual reminder of who it is I was talking to and what they liked. Remember that a strong leader, a good leader and makes everyone feel seen, heard, included and allowed. And if you're talking to everyone, then you're talking to no one. So make sure that you get as specific as possible. I don't recommend that you answer all of this in this 2530 minute podcast. And then you're like cool, I've got it. I don't need to revisit it. I revisit my ideal client worksheet, I've got like a workbook, it's like 15 pages long. If you're interested, send me a message, and I will send it to you. It's nothing fancy. But it does help my clients when they're trying to figure this out. Every quarter, I feel like I either learn something new, or I realize something different about my ideal client than I did before. And it completely changes my language or my messaging. And so don't think that spending 25 minutes today on this means that you don't have to come back to it, I would highly recommend that you answer these questions today, and then come back to it a week from now, and really solidify the message. Once you're there, come back to it every couple of months. And just make sure that you're still talking to the same person, because your business pivots and changes and adapt, and so does your ideal client. And so does the time's right. Like, one of these questions that I had on here is how are they handling COVID doesn't exactly pertain to you now, because you know, for the most part, the heavy part of COVID is over. That was in 2020, which is when I had these intensive. So that's why that's a question there. But obviously, that's not something that I would need to know necessarily depending on my field, and what it is that I sell, compared to back in 2020.
All right. And then the second exercise I want to go over is a struggles versus desires T chart. So if you're not familiar with a T chart, it's basically if you took a blank piece of paper, and you drew a line straight down the middle, from top to bottom right in the middle of your paper. And then you drew a line up at the very top all the way across from left to right. In the first column that you've created, at the very top above that line, go ahead and write struggles. And on the other side of that straight line that kind of cut your paper in half, write down desires, this is going to help you figure out how to talk to them and what to say, when you are talking to your ideal client online. So in the first column, you're gonna write down all of their struggles, write down everything that they're struggling with. And if you answered these questions, in the first half of this podcast, then you're going to know what their struggles are. Is it finding affordable clothing? That's also eco friendly? Is it finding 100% organic? So is it that they struggle with naptime with their kids, and you have a sleeping solution? What are all of their struggles, keeping in mind that their struggles may not include everything related to your business, as in, they may have struggles that you don't solve, with your product or with your service. However, if you can still talk about those struggles, and maybe give advice, or like, here's three things that you can do, if you're dealing with XYZ, even if it has nothing to do with something that you sell, that is high value, and people are going to come to you because you're going to be a trusted resource for them for everything related to their struggles, write them down, even if it doesn't pertain to your soap, even if it doesn't make sense for your service that you provide or your naptime routine, or your postpartum doula services, write down every struggle that they could possibly have. And then on the other side, write down what they desire instead of that struggle. So if you wrote down struggles with naptime, they probably desire a peaceful time during their day to get work done, or to do to chores or to have me time or a break in the middle of the day. Or maybe they just want their kid to finally sleep. Maybe their kid is having trouble sleeping, for every single struggle, write down a desire, and that'll help you with how to talk to them and what to say to your ideal client. All right, I have other exercises as well, such as documenting if you're a client of mine, you've probably heard that term. And I actually have ways to incorporate these questions into engaging on social media platforms to increase your engagement and followers. So if you are interested, if you've done these exercises, and you're like Brett, I want to go to the next level. Girl, I'm here for it, just send me a message. Again, that's at New underscore altitudes on Instagram, or it's new altitudes. llc@gmail.com And you can always check the show notes every single episode, we've got show notes and in those show notes, we have links to not only our asked if we have a guest there links but also we always link up the website and the Instagram for myself. So if you ever want to reach out, just click the show notes. Alright guys have a fantastic day. And I hope that this truly helps you figure out your ideal client a little bit stronger and figure out if you've been talking to the users or the buyers this whole time. Next episode, we are interviewing Liz from sketch and sentiment, all about personalized gifting and I cannot wait for you to hear that