Ideal clients
So often at my planning days I find myself looking around the room and thinking how lucky I am to work with such great people. I work with genuinely fabulous clients, and I don’t take that for granted.
That doesn’t mean they’re all absolutely flying in their business. It doesn’t mean they’re all chasing global domination or planning to build a massive business, as you might assume from people working with a Business Coach.
You could challenge me about whether they fit into a conventional model of an ‘ideal client’? Because they’re definitely not all from the same industry. They’re not similar sized businesses. They’re a mix of male and female. On the surface you wouldn’t be able to say what makes them similar.
When you look deeper than the bog-standard ideal client templates though what I see in my awesome clients is a group of people who genuinely care about their customers and care about doing a great job for them. They care about the world too. They have deep-seated values. And usually a cracking sense of humour (because how do you survive in business without one of those??)
They want to make an impact, do good work, start a ripple effect and make a difference in the world. And that really motivates me to do everything I can to help them do that.
I should probably make it clear here that wanting to make an impact on the world doesn’t mean my clients don’t care about or don’t expect to make money. Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. You can do great work AND build a profitable business to be proud of at the same time. (And that right there is pretty much the definition of my ideal client 😉)
Working with a group of clients who genuinely inspire you isn’t something that happens overnight. And it definitely doesn’t happen by accident. But it can happen by design of you make a conscious choice and a clear effort to move things in that direction.
Back at an ActionCOACH conference 10+ years ago one of the speakers was a high-profile American business ‘expert’ and author, Michael Port. He spoke for about 90 minutes and as tends to happen with conferences I’ve forgotten almost everything he said by now. All except for one line about creating a genuinely fulfilling business by working with clients who challenge, educate or inspire you.’ That had me hooked immediately, and still does.
I was at the stage in my business where it was still a struggle. I had some clients I loved and some who drove me nuts. Some who I didn’t really connect with as people, and if I’m honest, one or two who I didn’t really like that much. But I needed the money so I wasn’t going to say no!
I’ve seen with my own clients what a massive difference it makes to start leaving behind the customers that aren’t the best fit, and gradually replace them with inspiring, uplifting people they totally connect with instead.
So of course, I wanted to share with you some of my favourite tips to move your own business in this direction too.
I’ve shared advice here about going beyond the bog-standard ideal client templates and really understand what connects your inspiring people. And I’ve talked about how to craft your message so that they come to see you as the perfect fit for their needs.
And a minor miracle has happened this week – I’ve managed to keep myself to 4 & a half minutes instead of blethering on for 6!
So please do take the time to watch, and think about exactly how this could help you in your own business.Â
And if it hits a nerve and whets your appetite to evolve your own customer base until it’s a group who genuinely challenges, educates and inspires you, book a 15 minute call with me and let’s talk about how we can make that happen.Â
