- November 1, 2020
- Posted by: Con P. Sweeney
- Category: Social Media
In fairness to my readers, I should probably explain what I mean by the term “ideal client persona” before I go any further.
An ideal client persona is a representation of the perfect client for your business.
It includes a description of whom they, their characteristics, what their problems are, what their needs are, and where you can find them.
A business may have one or several ideal client personas depending on the nature of their business.
Ideal client personas help businesses target new sales.
Let’s talk about this!
Looking for new clients is one of the most important things that a business can do on social media.
I like to quote the famous (Or, is it infamous?) bank robber, Willie Sutton, who, when once asked why he robbed banks, he replied, “Because that’s where the money is.”
And, that’s why you should be looking for new business on social media, because that’s where the money is.
I’ve lost track of how many billions of the world’s population are on social media.
But, suffice to say, it’s most of us.
The trick is that we’re all scattered over multiple platforms in all sorts of different places.
How do you find the people who would be perfect for your business?
With prospects and clients, I like to use the example of the Manhattan Yellow Pages from back in the day before the Internet.
The book was big, really big.
In fact, before its demise, the phone company actually broke it up into two books, one for businesses and one for consumers.
(I won’t go into the hue ‘n cry that set off!)
But, if you were selling in Manhattan then that’s the book you used.
There was money to be found.
The wrong way to use the book would have been to start on the first page and call every number in the book.
Oh, you would have gotten business all right, that is if you lived long enough to do it.
The smart way would have been to develop a qualified list of prospects and then find their phone number and address in the Yellow Pages directory.
This is what an ideal client list does for you!
It allows you to approach the puzzle palace that is the Internet with a qualified list of whom you’re looking for allowing you to more easily find them.
(Mind you, that’s just the first step, you still have to make the sale!)
How do you prepare your ideal client persona?
The starting point is the solution that you’re selling.
Who needs it and why?
Work backwards from there to learn everything, and I do mean everything, about these people.
Review your current and past clients, what are their common characteristics?
The more detailed, the better.
Develop this information into a picture of whom they are and understand as only they themselves may have done to date.
With this information, you can then go and look for them on the Internet.
While you’re at it, you may want to see opportunities to identify new potential clients.
Recently, I was helping a client with an ideal client persona exercise.
One of her criteria was women in the 40 to 60 year old age bracket.
In the course of our discussion, she realized that she had opportunities with younger women and we’ll be developing another persona for them later.
Never leave money on the table!
So, if you’re looking at the Internet and wonder where your new clients are, try developing and using ideal client personas.
They’ll certainly help you!
That’s it for now!
Please check out my 8 step approach for developing a social media program for more ideas on how to use social media.
Also, never forget to reach out to either ask questions or to ask for help from someone like myself!
In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog.
I look forward to any and all comments that you may have. I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.
And, remember!
I do this for a living and if I can be of any assistance to either you or your organization, please feel free to call on me. Our initial discussion will be of no charge to you.
I can also be reached at conpsweeney@someddi.com.
My Twitter handle is @conpsweeney.
Stay well!