The number one complaint I hear entrepreneurs make is about their inability to attract ideal clients. They just don’t know what to say to make potential clients pay attention. They know they are good at what they do, but they just can’t seem to pique anyone’s interest let alone convert leads.
If this sounds like you, you are probably really frustrated. You may not be sure what you are doing wrong or what to change. I’ve been to a lot of networking events lately and I’ve had the chance to hear a lot of elevator pitches, some of them good, but most I honestly can’t remember. Why is it that some people are able to immediately captivate their audience and others are totally forgettable?
If you are out in the trenches, networking, marketing, trying to attract and engage clients, the number one thing you need to remember is it’s not about you, it’s about THEM. Most of us are so anxious to let people know about the great things we do, we spend a lot of time talking about ourselves. Here’s the thing, people don’t really care what you do unless they understand what it can do for them. And this is where most of us miss the boat.
Nobody cares if you are an insurance agent, unless they connect it to saving or accumulating more money themselves. Nobody cares if you are a health coach. What they care about is being able to look great in a bikini by summer. Nobody cares if you are a business coach. They just know they are up at night wondering where the next client is coming from.
You have to address the problems with which your clients are struggling. You have to clearly articulate the problems you solve. Their needs and challenges have to come first, before your resume. When you can clearly communicate what problems you solve and get in front of people who have those problems, things will start to click.
But there’s another layer of communication that most of us never get to. We fail to address the desires of our audience. You need to get people to connect with an emotional response to your message. For example, it’s great to let people know your product or service will help them save or make more money, but what can they do with that money and how will it make them feel? Maybe they’ll take their family for a fun trip to Hawaii where they’ll create life-long memories. Or maybe they can finally pay off their debt so they can feel free from a massive burden. Do you see how that is more powerful than telling someone you sell insurance?
So how are you going to know what your ideal clients really want, what they struggle with and what turns them on? You need to ask them and then you need to listen. We get so caught up in our own drama, this is something we often fail to do. We want that client, we want to make a good impression, we want them to refer us or give us an important contact, we, we, we…. You see the focus is still on us, it has to shift to THEM.
Listening is a hard thing to do, but it is a very powerful business tool. It helps establish that oh so important emotional connection. People want to feel heard, like they are being understood. It makes them feel good and it makes them feel good about you if you are the one listening.
Actively listening also gives you valuable information. You start to not only intimately understand your client’s needs, you get to hear the specific language with which they describe their wants and needs. This helps you tailor your language to them. We tend to make a lot of assumptions about what we think our clients want, but until we ask and then listen, we don’t really know. We think it’s a family trip to Hawaii because that’s what we’d do with our money, but maybe they would spend it going to see a NASCAR race.
Gary Chapman author of The 5 Languages of Love, talks about how couples can forge better, more loving relationships by understanding each other’s love language. He says that each of us has a unique way we like to receive and express love, for one person it might be touch and for another it might be words. If you don’t know what your partner prefers, your message of love may not be received the way you intend it. You have to learn to speak the love language of your prospective clients.
Connecting with and converting clients is more than just peddling your services, it is an exercise in relationship building. Think about how you would like to be treated in a relationship next time you are out networking or writing a sales letter. You want to feel understood, you want someone to care about your problems. You want to have your desires fulfilled.
When you can clearly communicate to potential clients how you meet their needs, overcome their challenges and fulfill their greatest desires and do it in a customized way, you will no longer struggle to attract and engage them.
I know so many of you struggle with this very thing. You don’t know how to put what you do into compelling words. You know all the things I just talked about, but when it comes to your own business, your own elevator pitch and actually putting it to the test, you get tongue-tied. I know how painful it is to have ideal clients walk away from you simply because you are not able to clearly communicate your message. If you are tired of struggling and ready to start creating meaningful and profitable relationships, I invite you to a FREE Brand Clarity Breakthrough Session to see how you can start making a more powerful impact on your audience. Click HERE to contact me.
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What is your biggest struggle in attracting ideal clients? Do you have any great tips for being a better networker?
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Heather Poduska is a brand strategist, business coach and opera singer who helps entrepreneurs and small business owners create client attractive brands, polished brand images and brand communication strategies to increase their visibility and impact in the marketplace and grow their businesses.
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