Do you ever wish you knew exactly what to do to attract the right people and turn them into paying clients?

 

This is the top struggle of coaches, healers, and most service-based solopreneurs.

 

Because your biggest struggle is getting clients, you are focused on “how to get clients” without really understanding how you’re getting in your own way by not having the essential foundation set up to get clients.

 

And that’s what we’re going to talk about today.

 

You see, there are 5 essential pillars to attracting your target audience and helping them pre-qualify themselves to work with you.

 

So let’s dive into this…

 

Pillar #1 to Getting Clients: Start with YOU!

 

The first pillar to getting clients is starting with you and working from the inside out to create the core brand message of your business. I like to refer to this as setting up the soul of your brand.

 

You must start with you, if you want to:

 

• create a brand that represents who you are, the work you do, and why you do it.
• grow a business that encompasses work that truly lights you up.
• confidently stand in your unique talents, expertise and experience.
• attract people who value and appreciate you and the work you do.

 

Now as a coach or healer, you have a big vision of creating positive impact in the world. Your brand message should encompass everything your brand stands for.

 

That includes your unique brilliance, what you’re an expert at, what you stand for, your brand promise, your brand values and mission, as well as that big vision that you have and the impact you want to make.

 

In fact, when someone asks WHY you’re in business, your answer will probably highlight your brand message.

 

Your core brand message focuses on YOU first and WHY you do what you do.

 

It helps you create your voice, it helps you stand out by making your position clear, and it allows you to take a stand for what you passionately believe in and powerfully claim as your expertise.

 

Your brand message is the inner compass of your business, and it inspires everything that you do in your business.

 

Not only will you communicate your brand message in words, you’ll communicate it in the way you choose to tell your story on the platforms you use and in the experiences that you build for your clients.

 

It also helps you formulate the overall tone and style of your brand’s visual identity, which includes your logo, the colors and fonts you use, and your taglines.

 

All of this combined together helps you convey the core message of your brand.  

 

This is important to do for two reasons: 

 

First of all, as women, we are so quick to discount our own awesomeness.

 

It's imperative that you recognize your own brilliance so that others will see it and respect your work. When you take the time to formulate your core brand message, its clarity empowers you.

 

The second reason it’s important is in this day and age, people want to know where their spending dollars are going.

 

People work with coaches and healers that they resonate with. That means people they know, like and trust.

 

When you know who you are in business, you brand communicates your values, what you’re a stand for, and what you’re all about to your target audience. And that’s a very powerful thing!

 

So how to do clarify who you are, interweave your brilliance into your business, and stand in the power of your brand’s core message?

 

To help you with all of this, I created a free business roadmap specifically for you!

 

Not only does it help you create a business identity that pulls you forward to the next highest level, it teaches you how to cultivate who you are as a solopreneur and how to set up a solid, powerful brand message for your business.

 

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Here’s where you can get your free Profitable Coach Roadmap, so that you can start cultivating who you are in business... Just click the image below to download your copy!

 

 

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Let’s move on to Pillar #2: Identify Your Ideal Client.

 

Pillar #2 to Getting Clients: Identify Your Ideal Client

 

This actually brings us to the word “niche” which really gets a bad rap.

 

And I can already hear your response…

 

You don’t want to choose a niche because 'what you do helps everyone', 'you don’t want to leave anyone behind', or 'you don’t want to miss out on opportunities to help people'.

 

First of all, thinking that way comes from a place of “lack consciousness” which is a low-vibe frequency.

 

And you don’t want to be sending out low-vibes because that just attracts more experiences of lack back to you. (We'll be getting into mindset in the future, so stay tuned for that!)

 

Secondly, going general dilutes and dims your message.

 

When you go general by wanting to help everyone, you have to speak to a lot of different people in your marketing message.

 

You think you’re speaking to everyone you can help, and you’re really speaking to no one because your marketing message doesn’t stand out and shine like a beacon to your target audience.

 

Let’s get clear on what a “niche” is.

 

Actually, you can go on the internet and get a complex definition, but here's a simplified version for you...

 

 

Your niche is a combo of these 3 things...

 

•  the PEOPLE you serve - so this is your target audience or your ideal client.
• the situationally-specific PROBLEM you help them solve.
• the SOLUTION - this is your specially-branded SOLUTION that solves their problem.

 

If you’re a health coach, your ideal client could be menopausal women and their situationally-specific problem might be that they struggle with hot flashes, weight gain and hormone cycle madness!

 

If you’re a chiropractor, your ideal client might be people who struggle with chronic back pain. You could even narrow that down more by focusing on a specific group of people with chronic back pain, like people in corporate that sit all day at their desks.

 

Or maybe you’re a personal trainer and you really want to work with new moms and help them lose their baby weight.

 

So you see where I’m going with this, right?

 

You want to choose a targeted group of people who have a specific problem that you can solve and you enjoy solving.

 

When your target audience has a problem, they are looking for a solution to that problem or struggle. They want to know if what you do is going to help solve their problem.

 

And whether they come to your website, they want one of your videos, read your blog article, see a social post, or they’re looking at your package or program, they are looking at it through the lens of “Will this help me?”

 

You should be looking at all the content you create and the copy you write as marketing for your business.

 

Everything you create should show your ideal client that you understand where they are, what they’re going through, and offer them hope to get past their biggest struggles so they can experience what they truly desire.

 

 

Pillar #1 is infusing YOU into your brand so that you stand out brilliantly in your own unique way. And Pillar #2 is identifying your ideal client, because when you speak to one client, your message is targeted, specific and clear as to who you help.

 

And that brings us to Pillar #3…

 

Pillar #3 to Getting Clients: Identify Your Client’s Biggest Problem

 

Once you’ve identified who you want to work with, it’s time to do the market research that identifies your ideal client’s biggest problems, especially their biggest wake-up-in-the-morning problem.

 

This is the problem that’s always on their mind and in their face ALL THE TIME!!

 

It’s also a problem that they are willing to pay for to get resolved. Because people have lots of problems but they aren’t always willing to pay to have help resolving every problem.

 

Your market research will clarify: 

 

• what your ideal client thinks their biggest problem is
• how they feel about that problem
• why they haven't been able to resolve this problem on their own
• the ultimate outcome that they really desire

 

And the ultimate outcome is not the same thing as their biggest problem!

 

For example...

 

My ideal client wants to get more clients in their business but the ultimate outcome they desire is creating financial, time, and location freedom.

 

This is why you need to do the research to vet your business.

 

You don’t want to put all the work into growing a business and then find out that your target audience is viable, they can’t afford your services, or don’t value the solution enough to invest in your services.

 

I have a series of specific questions you can ask people who are in your target audience in order to vet your business and your target audience. These questions are included in the FREE Profitable Coach Roadmap that I mentioned earlier.

 

Now it’s time to add in Pillar #4.

 

Pillar #4 to Getting Clients: Your Solution

 

Your Solution piggybacks on your ideal client’s biggest problem, and that’s why it’s Pillar #4.

 

This is where you’re going to take the marketing research you did in Pillar #3 and pull together the perfect solution for your ideal client. Not only is this the solution that they want and will resolve their biggest problem, it will also tee up the next thing to work on with you that gets them closer to the ultimate outcome they desire.  

 

Using my example, my target audience (which is you, if you’re a coach/healer) thinks your biggest problem is getting clients.

 

When I do market research, I find this out about you:

 

One...

You don't have crystal clarity on what you bring to the table, who you serve specifically, and what your ideal client's biggest problems, desires and roadblocks are. 

 

Two...

You lack systems for creating killer content, putting your content into the online space, getting on your target audience's radar, building a relationship with them, and converting them into paying clients. 

 

Three...

Your mindset and vibration do not match what you desire to create in your business. As a result, you're not attracting nor creating what you want in and through your business. 

 

That's what I see.

 

You tell me that your biggest problem is ‘getting clients’, but you don’t have the clarity and structure to get clients consistently.

 

So in all my marketing, I speak to ‘getting clients’ but I also seed for what is keeping you from getting clients, which makes you think, “Wow, she’s talking to me. I need that and she’s got that in her program. I need to work with her.”

 

I’m speaking to all the things that I found out by doing market research on my target audience.

 

And that’s what I talk about in all the content that I create, and then I build the “how to” into my paid programs.

 

And you can do the same thing in your business.

 

Here’s the deal… you cannot create a business in a vacuum!

 

You’ve got to do the market research to vet your business. And the beauty of doing market research is that it tells you exactly what you need to talk about in your blog articles, in your videos, and what to put in your offers.

 

Now let’s move to the final essential piece to getting clients, Pillar #5.

 

Pillar #5 to Getting Clients: Your Marketing Message

 

Once you’ve established your brand’s core message, you’ve identified who you serve and what their biggest problem is, and you’ve formulated a solution using your expertise, you are ready to take all this information and create your marketing message.

 

Essentially, your brand’s core message is the overall story and image of your business and we talked about this in Pillar #1. 

 

Your marketing message is how you package your brand message into compelling reasons why your target audience should buy your products, use your services, follow you on social media, as well as any other action you want them to take.

 

Crafting your marketing message is important!

 

Think about it…

 

You can have the most amazing products and programs out there, but if you don’t know how to communicate your message, it’s going to be difficult for you to get clients and your business will ultimately fail.

 

Your brand message is at the very heart of your business and it focuses on you and why you do what you do.

 

Your marketing message is different because it focuses on WHAT you do, WHO you help, and HOW you help. So its focus is from the outside in – meaning it focuses on your target market, your solution and what makes you unique.

 

According to research, it takes an average of 8 touches before a new prospect is willing to buy from you.

 

Obviously, that number may be higher or lower, depending on what you’re selling and who you’re selling to. The point is that you cannot expect to get in front of your target audience once and expect them to buy from you.

 

Consumers are smart! 

 

They want to buy from people they know, like and trust. They don't like being sold to before rapport is established because it feels forced, sleazy and slimy. You don't like it either, do you?

 

That's why the relationship needs to be established before they decide to part with their hard-earned cash. Focusing your attention on building relationships with your potential clients and giving them a quick win helps get them to the point where they’re ready to take action and purchase your services.

 

Think of marketing as everything you create in your business, including:

 

• Website copy
• Sales pages
• Free offers
• Other written materials (like handouts, business cards, etc.)
• Videos
• Blog posts
• Podcast recordings
• Social Media Posts
• Speaking opportunities

 

The whole point of marketing is to lead your target audience to the next step in your funnel with the ultimate goal of converting them into paying clients.

 

And that’s why it’s so important to do market research on your target audience. When you know who they are, what their dreams, goals, biggest struggles and roadblocks are, you can create content that speaks to all of that.

 

Doing so helps them get a quick win and it establishes you as an expert at what you do.

 

That’s where social media can really benefit your business.

 

Social media provides your business with a way to engage with existing clients and to reach new ones.

 

When done right, social media gets you in front of your target audience on a consistent basis. It provides you a way to get free feedback and knowledge about your target audience on a deeper level.

 

You can also use social media as a vehicle to usher your target audience into a container where you can nurture and provide additional value to them, and continue to create those touches.

 

Your posts address topics they are interested in, giving them small wins. And you’re building the know-like-trust factor which is the perfect equation that can lead to converting potential prospects into paying clients.

 

You might think it takes too much time to be on social media…

 

With the right strategy and systems in place, you'll know what to talk about, when to post, and where to post.

 

You can systematize every part of your marketing plan.

 

In fact, I have a video on 5 PRODUCTIVITY HACKS that explains how batching and time blocks can save you time, which you can access in the Profitable Coach Community. And I teach this in my depth in my Launch & Grow Program. 

 

The beauty of creating content for social media is that it gives you the ability to repurpose your pillar content into micro chunks and send it back out to various places online.

 

Using strategic systems is how you work smarter.

 

For example...

 

You could record a video, then convert that content into a blog post. You can also take that pillar video and chop it into smaller chunks of content and share it back to your social platforms.

 

One pillar piece of content then turns into multiple pieces of content that gets you in front of your target audience without having to create each piece of micro content from scratch.

 

How important is 'marketing' for your business?

 

I want to tell you about a past interaction with coach I had a few years ago. I was in a group coaching program, which is where I was first introduced to the concepts of batching and time blocking. What follows is the overall best marketing tip she gave us. 

 

Enlist these powerful 'marketing' tips today:

 

• Do not spend more that 5% of your time on housekeeping tasks.
• Split the remaining 95% of your time between client work and marketing.
• If your client roster isn’t full, whatever time you have set aside for coaching that you’re not using should be devoted to marketing.

 

In essence, you’re either spending time working with clients or your marketing your business, because marketing your business helps you get clients.

 

Learning this marketing strategy was a huge eye-opener for me!

 

And I hope it is for you, too!

 

Warning: Social media can gobble up your time if you’re not careful!

 

That’s why you should create a social media strategy based on your target audience, your preferred social media platforms, and the amount of time you can devote to your business.

 

If you need help with this, join my PROFITABLE COACH COMMUNITY where I do lots of trainings that will help you with the various aspects of growing your business.

 

Let’s wrap this training up…

 

To recap, the 5 Essential Pillar Pieces To Getting Clients are: 

 

Pillar #1: Start With You.

This is where you’re going to get clear on how you do you, how you do business and what your core message is.

 

Pillar #2: Your Ideal Client. 

Here is where you’re going to identify who you want to work with and narrow that down as much as possible.

 

Pillar #3: Your Client’s Biggest Problem.

This pillar is where you’re going to identify your ideal client’s biggest wake-up-in-the-morning problem and do the market research to find out a lot more about them.

Remember, you want to make sure their biggest problem is something they are willing to invest in to resolve.

 

Pillar #4: Your Solution.

This is where you’re going to take the marketing research you did in Pillar #3 and pull together the perfect solution for your ideal client.

This solution is in your wheelhouse, it showcases your expertise, and it’s something you enjoy helping them with.

 

Pillar #5: Your Marketing Message. 

Here's where you're going to take all the info from the previous pillars and formulate your marketing message so that what you write about, what you talk about, and what you share in the content you create speaks to their biggest desires, biggest challenges, and roadblocks.

Be sure it's in a way that is relatable, builds trust, and showcases your expertise.

Always remembering, that everything you create in your business is marketing.

 

It’s time to hear from you...

 

What client-getting pillar do you struggle with most?

 

If you need help with any of this, a great starting place is grabbing my free business roadmap. You can get the Profitable Coach Roadmap at MICANDERSON.COM/ROADMAP. You also get access to a video bonus that walks you through the entire Roadmap.

 

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If it was, please LIKE & COMMENT below. Tell me what resonated with you and where you're getting stuck. SHARE it with someone who needs to see it, and be sure to tag me.

 

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Watch the video below that goes along with this article... 

 

 

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Hi! I'm Michele.

I'm from the Midwest - think the Black Hills and Badlands of the Dakotas! I'm a mom of 2 grown kiddos and married to the best man I know and love for 30+ years.  

I'm a seasoned intuitive healer with business and marketing know-how for coaches and healers who want to grow their businesses online. I have a passion for empowering and educating female entrepreneurs to take ownership of their financial independence and abundance because as they do, not only do they create more choices for themselves, they create a positive ripple effect in the world.  

Make sure you join my FREE FACEBOOK COMMUNITY for live trainings on topics like this and how to best harness the online world to grow your business! 

Connect with me on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK here!