#252 Not everyone is your ideal client. Points for coaches to ponder before they spend one marketing dollar.

If nothing else, I want you to walk away from this article armed with the wisdom to spend your money wisely because let me tell you, there are many folks out there spending marketing dollars where they won't get a nibble because they haven't taken the the following into consideration. 

Imagine you're sitting down to write an article - do you take the time to bring an image of your ideal client to mind before you begin? I do and here is what I dream up.

1. Ability to pay. I put this first because it is mission critical to business success. Coaching isn't cheap and not everyone has the means. That doesn't mean I won't share the post with up and comers. One day they will be in a position to pay and I want them to know that I exist. You need to do a little sleuthing to find out who has the means to pay for your services. A general rule of thumb - brand newbies won't pay because they're not ready to do the work that I will suggest. Ability to pay and willingness to do the work are important. Keep in mind that my work is based on the apprenticeship model - brand newbies are just learning to handle the artifacts - they don't know what they don't know nor are they ready to learn what I'm teaching. My clients know what they don't know and they're ready for someone to overcome the hurdle that they have. Ability to pay = mission critical. Keep in mind that people will generally pay if you can help them get more time, better relationships or more money. 

2. Hungry for the result you deliver. Think about the result you promise to deliver. Think about it in terms of states.  Your client has a present state of affairs (PSA) and after they work with you they end up in a future state of affairs (FSA). How clearly can you articulate those states? My clients are hungry for more revenue because more revenue is the thing that will land them in that future state.  Generally that future state is all about them becoming the go to person for the solutions they deliver. It is also about them enjoying a lifestyle that they imagine living in. What do you know about the future state of affairs that your client is hungry for?

3. You can CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE that you have the tools to get the job done. Closely related to #2 is being able to clearly demonstrate that you have what they need. You must be able to clearly articulate that you know all about the state they are in and make that linkage for them between where they are stuck and how your solution will get them unstuck. We're not talking abstract terms here - we're talking about them walking away after a discovery call thinking "she get's me". 

There are millions of coaches out there but only a handful of successful coaches. Your opinion of yourself isn't the one that matters here. Know your client. 

www.peoplecanbiz.com