Marketing
for the solopreneur really means attracting more clients. People in my
circle of influence consistently comment about my ability to be creative
yet practical about attracting ideal clients for myself and for my clients.
How do I do it? I have an eight step process that I follow consistently to
keep my pipeline filled with my ideal clients. Not all of them are ready to
work with me at the same time or in the same program, and that's perfectly
fine with me. Filling my pipeline with my ideal clients and building a
genuine relationship with them is paramount to my immediate and future
success. Here are my eight steps.
1. Commit to Attracting New Clients
I find that most solopreneurs find it difficult, if not impossible, to find
time in their day to commit to marketing. This is a big catch 22 because if
you don't spend time on attracting your ideal clients, you will end up
either working with anyone to crosses your path, even though they may not
be ideal for you, or not finding any clients or customers.
What you can do
today:
You calendar is your best friend when it comes to client attraction! Use
it. Find a minimum of eight hours in your week to focus on attracting your
ideal clients. Don't worry right now what you will do with this time. Just
carve out time on your calendar by noting: Creative Client Attraction Time.
2. Define Your Target Market
It may be true that anyone can buy your products and services, but figuring
out who is most likely to buy your services will benefit you tremendously.
When you know who is most likely to buy from you, you can spend some of
your creative client attraction time to find large groups of these people.
This allows you to be very strategic and targeted in the way that you use
your time and where you spend your marketing budget. In addition, when you
carve out a niche market, you become an instant expert! Who would you
rather see if you have a heart issue: a family doctor or a cardiologist?
What you can do
today:
Look at your existing client list - who do you like working with the most?
Which clients and customers bought the most from you? What are common
characteristics? Do they share a common trait - for example, are they all
attorneys, mothers of preschoolers, business owners? Keep asking questions
until you find some commonalities. These are clues to your target market.
3. Know Your Target Market's
Problems
Now that you have identified your target market, it's imperative to learn
what their struggles are. What are their pain points? What would they pay
almost anything to have fixed? Once you have uncovered their problems, you
can then create a meaningful solution. Once you create and communicate your
solution, making sales and helping others becomes much easier.
What you can do
today:
Understand that people don't really care what you do. They only want to
know if you can solve their problems. Take some of the client attraction
time you've set aside and figure out the problems that your niche wants
solved. You can do this in a variety of ways: a written survey, an online
survey, informal communication with your clients and prospects, a focus
group or even an email with a single question.
4. Define Your Unique Selling
Proposition
Chances are very good that you can name at least one other business that
does the same kind of work that you do. So how are your clients and
customers to decide who to work with? This is where your Unique Selling
Proposition (USP) comes into play. Your USP tells the world how and why you
are different than the rest. Think of the Food Channel. This channel is
filled with cooking show after cooking show. We can see a variety of chefs
prepare glorious meals and teach us how to make them in our own homes. What
is it about each show that either draws us in or not? Here' an example,
"I'm Rachael Ray and I make 30 minute meals." In 10 words, we
understand what we're going to get from her. Fast meals. Is she the only
person who can make fast meals in 30 minutes? Absolutely not! But she's the
first one to say it and build her empire around it.
What you can do
today:
During one of your Creative Client Attraction time blocks, write down 100
(yes, 100!) things that make you unique from your colleagues and
competitors. The reason why I say 100 is that I want you to really dig deep
and get beyond the superficial. Once you have that list, determine how you
can use one or two of those things create statement that makes you stand
out. Perhaps on Rachael's list she wrote down: Fast meals.
5. Create a Marketing Plan of
Action
Now that you know all of the foundational pieces to your creative client
attraction plan, you are ready to take a thirty thousand foot view of your
current marketing activities. Your marketing plan of action is just that:
an action plan that spells out exactly how you will reach out to your
target market and, like a magnet, start attracting them to you.
What you can do
today:
During one of your Creative Client Attraction time blocks, assign yourself
this task: Make a list of all of the marketing tactics you are currently
using. Which ones are paying off for you? Which ones are costing you money?
Do you have the basics down: a great marketing message, an elevator speech,
a high quality business card? Do you have a way to constantly reach out to
your prospects, like an ezine? Do you have a compelling free offer to
entice your target market to sign up for your ezine? Doing this assignment
gives you the power to start making important decisions on where you spend
your client attraction time and where you don't.
6. Leverage Your Business
Creating leverage in your business is imperative. By leveraging your
knowledge, you can start to shift your business away from only working
hours for dollars, as in, "I charge $1000 a month for my
services." The truth is, if you only offer one way for your clients
and prospect to work with you, you are leaving money on the table and are
not serving them as well as you can. By creating packages and products, you
can help more people and make more money. It's the definition of a win/win!
What you can do
today:
What common questions, problems or concerns do you hear from your customers
and clients? How can you bottle and sell your solutions? There are many
ways to do this but here are just a few ideas: ebooks, membership programs,
teleseminars, coaching clubs. You can really get creative in this area of
your client attraction! Put this assignment in your Creative Client
Attraction time blocks.
7. Create Systems in Your Business
Have you ever said, "I just need to duplicate myself!" If you
have, then you are ready to create a system around whatever you are
frustrated with. To get ahead and stay ahead, having systems in place will
help alleviate your frustration. Plus, having systems makes scaling your
business so much easier.
What you can do
today:
During one of your Creative Client Attraction time blocks, add the things
that you would like to systematize. Processes like your client intake
system, invoicing and tracking, filing, appointment setting, social media
are all good things to systematize.
8. Closing - Turn Prospects Into
Clients
To be great at creative client attraction, you need to know how to turn
prospects in to clients. Otherwise, you're just engaging in prospect
attraction! Closing the sale does not ever have to make you feel pushy. If
you are like most business people, women particularly, you have leads, but
you don't follow up. Why? Most of the time, it's due to fear. Fear of being
perceived as pushy, or having to talk about money or fear of being
rejected.
What you can do
today:
During one of your Creative Client Attraction time blocks, task yourself
with making a list of your prospects. You will probably have between 5 and
50 if you really think about it. These are people who have shown some
interest in your business. Make a decision to contact them and like Nike
says, just do it.
©
2009 Meredith Liepelt, Rich Life Marketing
Meredith Liepelt, President of Rich Life Marketing, publishes Smart Marketing, a
free bi-weekly ezine featuring marketing tools and resources designed to
help the busy entrepreneur attract more clients. Subscribe today at www.richlifemarketing.com.
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