across could use my know-how and expertise to improve their marketing. I could surmise that they “need” what I have to offer. However, there is an abundance of research that shows that people rarely buy what they need, but nearly always buy what they “want” (finances permitting). This is a critical distinction. You may be meeting people all the time who you feel “need” what you provide, but until such time as they actually want it, they’re unlikely to buy, and therefore your time spent marketing to them and building the relationship is largely wasteOne of the biggest mistakes I see consultants, coaches and professionals make is to be unclear about who their ideal client is, and to carry out their marketing without any specific definition of their target market. In fact, most are hedging their bets and trying to appeal to everybody.

Intuitively, this seems the right way to go. We might presume that the more people you can appeal to, the more likely you are to get business. It’s the law of large numbers - if you throw enough darts at the board, then eventually you’ll hit the bullseye.

However, this approach has a number of drawbacks. First, when you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody. Your marketing message will be bland and, quite likely, meaningless to everyone that is exposed to it. Secondly, trying to market to an undefined group of people is extremely hard work and involves a lot of wasted energy and expense. How will you know where to place your ads, who to send direct mail to, where to network, who to call or who you want to attract to your website? Thirdly, if you don’t specialise in any way, then you’ll never build up specific expertise in any particular area or get paid the premium that specialists get paid.

So, if you haven’t already, I suggest that you define your precise target market and start building up a profile of the ideal client.

Who is NOT an ideal client?

For a lot of people, who they think is their ideal client and who genuinely is an ideal client may be world’s apart.

Here’s a list of types of businesses or consumers you probably don’t want to target:

Price-shoppers: People who are shopping on price are very, very rarely your ideal client. Unless you have a business model that allows you to somehow “mass produce” services and leverage your time, then you’ll never create your dream lifestyle or large pension fund working for price shoppers. My experience, and that of thousands of other service providers, is that “cheapskate” clients are often more demanding, take up more of your precious time and cause more headaches than clients who are looking for a premium service.

People who you think “need” your services: Virtually every small business I come across could use my know-how and expertise to improve their marketing. I could surmise that they “need” what I have to offer. However, there is an abundance of research that shows that people rarely buy what they need, but nearly always buy what they “want” (finances permitting). This is a critical distinction. You may be meeting people all the time who you feel “need” what you provide, but until such time as they actually want it, they’re unlikely to buy, and therefore your time spent marketing to them and building the relationship is largely wasted

>However, this approach has a number of drawbacks. First, when you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody. Your marketing message will be bland and, quite likely, meaningless to everyone that is exposed to it. Secondly, trying to market to an undefined group of people is extremely hard work and involves a lot of wasted energy and expense. How will you know where to place your ads, who to send direct mail to, where to network, who to call or who you want to attract to your website? Thirdly, if you don’t specialise in any way, then you’ll never build up specific expertise in any particular area or get paid the premium that specialists get paid.

So, if you haven’t already, I suggest that you define your precise target market and start building up a profile of the ideal client.

Who is NOT an ideal client?

For a lot of people, who they think is their ideal client and who genuinely is an ideal client may be world’s apart.

Here’s a list of types of businesses or consumers you probably don’t want to target:

Price-shoppers: People who are shopping on price are very, very rarely your ideal client. Unless you have a business model that allows you to somehow “mass produce” services and leverage your time, then you’ll never create your dream lifestyle or large pension fund working for price shoppers. My experience, and that of thousands of other service providers, is that “cheapskate” clients are often more demanding, take up more of your precious time and cause more headaches than clients who are looking for a premium service.

People who you think “need” your services: Virtually every small business I come across could use my know-how and expertise to improve their marketing. I could surmise that they “need” what I have to offer. However, there is an abundance of research that shows that people rarely buy what they need, but nearly always buy what they “want” (finances permitting). This is a critical distinction. You may be meeting people all the time who you feel “need” what you provide, but until such time as they actually want it, they’re unlikely to buy, and therefore your time spent marketing to them and building the relationship is largely waste

ever build up specific expertise in any particular area or get paid the premium that specialists get paid.

So, if you haven’t already, I suggest that you define your precise target market and start building up a profile of the ideal client.

Who is NOT an ideal client?

For a lot of people, who they think is their ideal client and who genuinely is an ideal client may be world’s apart.

Here’s a list of types of businesses or consumers you probably don’t want to target:

Price-shoppers: People who are shopping on price are very, very rarely your ideal client. Unless you have a business model that allows you to somehow “mass produce” services and leverage your time, then you’ll never create your dream lifestyle or large pension fund working for price shoppers. My experience, and that of thousands of other service providers, is that “cheapskate” clients are often more demanding, take up more of your precious time and cause more headaches than clients who are looking for a premium service.

People who you think “need” your services: Virtually every small business I come across could use my know-how and expertise to improve their marketing. I could surmise that they “need” what I have to offer. However, there is an abundance of research that shows that people rarely buy what they need, but nearly always buy what they “want” (finances permitting). This is a critical distinction. You may be meeting people all the time who you feel “need” what you provide, but until such time as they actually want it, they’re unlikely to buy, and therefore your time spent marketing to them and building the relationship is largely waste

ry, very rarely your ideal client. Unless you have a business model that allows you to somehow “mass produce” services and leverage your time, then you’ll never create your dream lifestyle or large pension fund working for price shoppers. My experience, and that of thousands of other service providers, is that “cheapskate” clients are often more demanding, take up more of your precious time and cause more headaches than clients who are looking for a premium service.

People who you think “need” your services: Virtually every small business I come across could use my know-how and expertise to improve their marketing. I could surmise that they “need” what I have to offer. However, there is an abundance of research that shows that people rarely buy what they need, but nearly always buy what they “want” (finances permitting). This is a critical distinction. You may be meeting people all the time who you feel “need” what you provide, but until such time as they actually want it, they’re unlikely to buy, and therefore your time spent marketing to them and building the relationship is largely waste

across could use my know-how and expertise to improve their marketing. I could surmise that they “need” what I have to offer. However, there is an abundance of research that shows that people rarely buy what they need, but nearly always buy what they “want” (finances permitting). This is a critical distinction. You may be meeting people all the time who you feel “need” what you provide, but until such time as they actually want it, they’re unlikely to buy, and therefore your time spent marketing to them and building the relationship is largely wasted.

People who can’t comfortably afford your services: You may meet people who both need and want your services, but if they can’t comfortably afford them, then it’s going to be an uphill battle proving the value of what you do and why they should invest. If they do decide to buy your services then they may also become “problem child” clients.

Sometimes you will get business from people who can’t comfortably afford your services, but to actively target them and to spend too much time wooing them is likely a false economy. Your marketing efforts and resources will be better spent when aimed at a market that can easily afford you. This market will also perceive less risk in hiring you, as they can more easily rationalise the purchase to themselves.

People who don’t see you as credible: 20th century marketing has taught most of us to be sceptical. Because people have made bad purchasing decisions in the past, and sometimes been outright ripped off, they’re wary of how they spend their money and who they spend it with. This is true whether they’re a corporate buyer (they don’t want to lose face or lose their job) or a consumer. They’ll look to minimise their risks, and the easiest way of doing that is by buying from someone they trust who has a substantial amount of credibility. This goes hand in hand with positioning yourself as a specialist and expert in your field - high end clients who are willing to pay high fees will want reassurance that you can produce the results you claim to produce.

People who don’t truly want change: As a service provider, it’s highly likely that what you do involves some kind of change on the part of your clients. If you’re a consultant or coach, then your clients will probably have to change what they do or how they think in order to implement the strategies, tools and techniques that you advise them to use. If you’re a professional, then they may need to change how they do their accounting, how their website works, their visual identity or their contracts in order to benefit from the improvements you provide.

If you find yourself speaking to people who show all the signs of resisting change, then move on! They may pay lip service to