Ever feel you’re making a lot of forward progress but don’t really know where you’re going?
I recently received an email from someone in this situation. She’s been doing really well at attracting new clients but wants to get a different kind of client and is not clear about her direction.
Half the battle of attracting clients is becoming clear on the following three questions:
- Who are my ideal clients? Divorcees, small business owners, widows/widowers…what are the demographics? What industry, job title, level of seniority and so forth?
- What are their problems, challenges and issues? If you don’t know or understand what your clients are struggling with, it’s hard to get their attention and interest.
- What outcomes do they want? This is usually the mirror image of #2 above. You just need to articulate it in a way that resonates with your ideal clients.
If you are clear on all of the above, you can then develop and implement various marketing strategies to get in front of these ideal clients, make connections, and ultimately convert them into paying clients.
But what if you’re not clear about who your ideal clients are, their challenges and desired outcomes?
Then you need to do some work to get clear. Here are some steps you can take:
- Inventory your strengths. What skills do you excel at? Are you analytical or relational? Do you like detail work or do you prefer mapping out the big picture? Do you like hands-on projects or would you prefer to support others in accomplishing things?
- What work is most fulfilling for you? You may have strengths in various areas, but what work do you find the most fun and interesting? Working alone, analyzing spreadsheets might float your boat, or presenting in front of large groups may be your definition of exhilaration.
- Where is the demand and the money? You might love the idea of helping college grads get started on the right financial footing—but struggle to find a client who can afford you. Working with their parents, who are looking to reduce their college bill, may be even more satisfying and much more financially rewarding.
If you can find an overlap in these three areas, you’re closer to finding your “marketing sweet spot.”
You want to be able to say to yourself:
“I’m good at doing this, I really like doing this, and I know where there’s a need for my skills and the ability to pay me for them.”
Well, OK, but how do you get there?
It can be tricky figuring out this situation on your own as you’re caught in your own self-referential bubble. You might know what you want, but not what’s out there and available to you.
The way to figure this out is to get out there and talk to people. A lot of people.
A current client of mine did this. Over a period of a few months, she set up appointments and interviewed 100 people in business.
She started connecting with the people she’d done business with during her 21-year career in the industry and then asked them who else she should meet with.
She learned what they were all working on, what their challenges were, and what they wanted to accomplish. She saw the areas where she could contribute her strengths in the areas she enjoyed, and where there was a need and demand. And before too long, she became very clear on her marketing sweet spot.
And soon after that, a number of the people she’d interviewed ended up asking her how she could help them.
It took her a while to figure out how she’d package her actual services, but before long she was offering the skills her target market wanted and were willing to pay for.
I’ll be honest: I haven’t met many people who’ve had the smarts and courage to get out there like this. But she found it very natural. She didn’t make it complicated. She just met with people and asked a lot of questions.
So, if you’re not clear on what you should be doing as a financial professional and where the demand is for your talents, I suggest you start reaching out to your network and setting up meetings. Be brave.
Remember, you’re not selling your professional services yet; you’re on a journey of discovery that may lead to the advisory business of your dreams.