When someone seeks out a professional service, they’re searching for the provider who can best address their current needs and, hopefully, provide sustainable solutions going forward. Likewise, businesses and entrepreneurs want to find clients who fit certain criteria so that they can be sure they will have the greatest impact and can deliver the most value.
To facilitate these connections and improve the chances of “right-fit” clients and service providers finding each other, companies often build their marketing and outreach strategies around an ideal client profile. The more precisely they can define the audience they want to attract, the easier it will be to draw them to their brand and close more sales. Here, 15 members of Forbes Coaches Council explain how to refine and leverage an ideal client profile to attract an even more targeted clientele.
Forbes Coaches Council members share tips for refining an ideal client profile to attract more targeted leads.
Photos courtesy of the individual members. (Not pictured: Gina Gomez)1. Determine What Your Target Audience Is Not
I started by determining who I did not want to serve or no longer wanted to serve. Then, having cleared 75% of the spectrum, I only needed to focus on a smaller niche. I asked myself, “Who would I connect best with, given my goals? Who can I serve who will go “wow!” every time? Because when people say “wow” to your work, they start to refer you to other clients with the same great profile, and you can focus on your art. - Julien Fortuit, Julien Fortuit Agency
2. Consider How To Serve Your Past Self
To define or refine your ideal client avatar, remember that you are most powerfully poised to serve the person you once were. Ask yourself: “When I faced the problem, what were my thoughts, fears, challenges and objections? What were the outcomes, features or solutions I wished existed? What steps did I take to solve the problem?” Armed with this clarity, you’ll attract aligned clientele. - Ellie Shefi, Made to Change the World, Inc.
3. Find Who Is Naturally Attracted To Your Business
My ideal client profile came from looking at who was naturally attracted to me. It’s easy to think those people in your customer base don’t have a lot in common, but seeking out the similarities often provides clarity. People typically want to do business with people who resonate with them, so constant analysis of your shining skill sets and traits is a necessity in refining who your ideal client is. - Marc Zalmanoff, Marc Zalmanoff LLC
4. Get Out Of Your Head And Tune Into Your Gut
Get out of your head and tune into your gut to identify your ideal client. In other words, pay attention to the types of clients who energize you and those who drain you. Your pattern is usually clear. I get excited about working with high-performing women leaders in large corporations who truly invest in leadership development. My energy drains pretty quickly when I stray too far from that. - Neena Newberry, Newberry Solutions
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5. Build Mini-Case Studies
I’ve coached professional service leaders to build an ideal client profile for over 20 years now. A great ideal client profile has three parts: overview statement (one to two paragraphs), demographics and psychographics (top goals, opportunities, challenges). We like to build mini-case studies of ten great clients to assist in the process. An effective ideal client profile can be durable for ten or more years. - Randy Shattuck, The Shattuck Group
6. Find Who Interests You
Be honest with yourself and answer the question: “Which clients and requests are really interesting for me to work with?” Each coaching session maximizes the opportunities of both the client and the coach. Riding on the wave of your interest, it’s easy to create content that expands knowledge in the industry of interest, while at the same time attracting customers for whom this topic is relevant. - Mikhail Saidov, Coaching Solutions
7. Utilize The ‘Only’ Principle
I use the principle of “only” to refine my ideal client profile. What makes you the only logical choice for your client? Why are you the only right fit for your client’s needs? How are you the only option that will allow your client to succeed? Who is the only choice for your client? This line of questioning helps you narrow down what gives you that edge to become your client’s only choice. - Jedidiah Alex Koh, Coaching Changes Lives
8. Embrace A Lot Of Trial And Error
When you start coaching, you have an idea in your mind as to what an “ideal” client looks like; but as you and your business grow, so does your vision of that ideal client and their prerequisites. The goal is to focus on your core values to ensure that a client will align with them regardless of how you and your business evolve. - Joshua Miller, Joshua Miller Executive Coaching
9. Learn From Experience
You cannot call yourself a life coach without life experience, so how can you know your ideal client profile without having clients? First, you must know your own strengths and what you can offer to others, then market these strengths so that potential clients seeking them can find you on various channels. Then, you can ask existing clients to share, spread and recommend. - Able Wanamakok, Find Your Voice Asia
10. Listen To Your Key Clients
I had to ask key clients over the years why they thought they received value from me and my programs. If I had not asked them to help me create, essentially, the ideal client profile, I would not have easily done it on my own. They pleasantly surprised me. They also pointed out things that helped warn me against taking on, for example, clients who do not put people first and do not share my values. - John M. O’Connor, Career Pro Inc.
11. Apply Your Experience
I applied my experience. My first client profile was garnered by asking myself: “Who did I enjoy working with? Where did I experience my success? Where did I feel ‘good’? What do I want more of?” I created my ideal client from those attributes. I noticed what kinds of clients I’m attracting. Were they meeting my initial criteria? What new criteria are they meeting? By continually tweaking, I could be even more targeted. - Kim Neeson, Kim Neeson Consultancy
12. Find Clients Aligned With Your Values
Your best client is you five years ago if we are talking about coaching—or, you when you most needed the products or services your company provides. The best clients are those who are aligned with your values and can afford your services and gain benefits from them. Any business starts with a problem it’s solving, so knowing your customer’s problem will lead to an idea of a detailed client profile. - Aina Alive, Bee Agile
13. Start With Who You’d Love To Serve
Niching down has a lot of benefits and can help you to create a more sustainable and profitable business in the long run. However, there’s no need to be perfect when it comes to your ideal client profile. Just start with who you’d love to serve and refine as you go. Sometimes, clarity on who your ideal clientele is comes from working with a variety of people first. - Giorgio Genaus, Genius Institute
14. Identify Commonalities Among Existing Clients
I started by looking at my existing client base and identifying the commonalities among all of them. From there, I created a profile for my ideal client—someone who has the same needs as my current clients, but with a few key differences—and then refined that profile over time as I realized what else my ideal client needed to be successful. - Willena Long, Career Boss Academy
15. Leverage Your Expertise
The way I created our company’s ideal client profile was by leveraging our expertise to bring a unique experience to a community that wanted more. We have continued to refine it through the years by using the voice of the customer, which we get through testimonials and feedback surveys. Knowing your client’s needs also helps them refer people to you who are like them. - Gina Gomez, Gina Gomez & Associates
