People often ask me, what’s the “secret sauce” behind being consistently successful at attracting wildly motivated clients and raving fans?
So I wanted to share with you a very important business skill for you to develop, one that I think is often overlooked.
Here it is…
Learn to see all of your interactions with your clients through the lens your clients are looking through (not your own).
Can you imagine knowing exactly how your ideal clients are going to react to everything you do in your business?
- You would know what to say and what not to say
- You would know which of your offerings will be a hit and which ones won’t
- You would know how to engage your audience rather than
bore them to death - You would know exactly what they want and be able to
simply provide that for them
And yes, your ability to serve your audience and your ability to generate the income you desire would skyrocket.
You knowing how your potential clients are going to feel and what they will think as a reaction to all your outreach is a huge asset and it’s also a skill. And it is absolutely a skill that you can develop. All it takes is a desire for it, knowing where to start and a whole lot of practice.
Here’s what you can do to develop this skill:
1. Commit to asking yourself the following question:
How will my ideal client react, how will they feel and what will they think in reaction to what I am about to do right now?
This is the essence of marketing. Ultimately it’s a commitment to being of service, knowing that you will be that much more of service when you understand your ideal clients.
And asking these questions can be a huge eye-opener:
How will this email land? How will my ideal client respond to this particular word? What will they think when I offer them my premium service package? How will they feel when they watch my webinar?
And what I am talking about is getting as intimate with your tribe as you do with your lover. When you know your partner, you know how they are going to react to everything you do. It might not be conscious, but you know.
Being able to intimately and consciously know your tribe is one of your biggest business assets. Invest in it freely.
2. Do whatever you can to experience the world through their lens.
Here are a couple of exercises that can help with this:
a.) Ask a friend or a colleague to interview you as if you were an ideal client for your business. Your friend would be asking you all kinds of questions to get to know you, what you want, what keeps you up at night, what you like and what you don’t like as it pertains to your area of expertise and to marketing.
b.) Interview a few of your clients and ask them the same questions. Ask them about what they like about you and your service. Ask them about your marketing. Ask them to read one of your newsletters and ask them to be brutally honest. Provide an extremely safe environment for them to tell you exactly what they think and feel about EVERYTHING you do. This will be extremely valuable. I’ve done this on many occasions and I have learned a ton (even if I was uncomfortable hearing the criticism).
c.) Create a collage using magazine cutouts of your ideal client’s world – what they like, what car they drive, what clothes they wear, what books they read, etc….
This will allow you to look at the world through their lens and will help you to be a more effective marketer and more impactful with your clients, too.
3. Learn to measure and monitor your ideal client’s reaction to everything you do.
This is an important and very courageous act. It’s not easy to always be tuning in to the experience of your audience. For example, when you send out an email and no one responds, notice that. Be loving to yourself and avoid getting down on yourself. But notice that you did something (sent an email) and you got a particular reaction. Ask yourself questions like, “What did not resonate with my ideal client? What could I have done differently to get better results?” Conversely, when something works and you get a good response, notice what worked and do it again…and again…and again.
You can do the same in a consultation with a potential client. Notice when you lose the connection to them. Notice when they begin to shut down. Notice when they light up. Notice what reaction they have to what you say and also to how you listen.
Notice and adjust with no judgment and without making yourself or your potential client wrong.
When you are able to create this kind of empathic relationship with your ideal client by looking at the world through their lens, your marketing will be highly effective, you will love how it feels in your business and your clients will be raving fans spreading the gospel of YOU.
And isn’t that what we all want?
Stop Offering Free Consultations
If you are offering free consultations (or discovery sessions or strategy sessions), and you’re not seeing 80% of your potential clients sign up with an enthusiastic YES, then I want to show you how to turn that around in this report. When you discover how to have conversations with potential clients so that they practically enroll themselves into working with you (if it’s a good match) and they feel great about the enrollment process, then you’ll find it easy to attract as many clients as you want.
Free Download – YES: A Revolutionary Approach to Conversations That Sell And Transform
Your turn!
I’d love to hear your thoughts and more importantly, what you plan to do with what you’ve just read. Please leave a comment below and let me know. I can’t wait to read through every single one of them.
Thanks Bill.
As a new start up, learning to communicate with your clients is so important.
Thanks for the insight.
Kind regards
William
Great post. I am inspired and going to apply some of these ideas. Thanks.
Everyone says” walk in their shoes to understand them” . You gave me the HOW in this email. Thanks
I’ve never thought about looking at it from my clients eye veiw. I only concentrated on being friendly and trusting. I will try to use your ideas and see what kind of outcome happens. Thanks for your advice.
Thanks for your wonderful works of love.
You dish out a lot of meaty articles for FREE.
Thanks.
N/B: The link to download “Getting Your Ideal Client” is dead or not working.
Hi Fabian,
Thank you for letting us know about the link to download the “Getting Your Idea Client” is not working. Please send us an email to wecare@billbaren.com and we will send you the pdf.
Sending sunshine,
Andreea
Hi Bill, thank you for all your wonderful information. I find it extremely helpful – has helped me see things from a totally different perspective, so thank you!
Sooooooooo needed to read this, can’t tell you how perfect the timing is. I totally screwed up enrolling an ideal client this past week….there were several factors that contributed to the situation just going awry. But I’m wasn’t a loss for words and very uncomfortable about the situation, until reading this. We all make mistakes, but reflection and acceptance are the keys to moving forward, plus awesome tools like this to not screw up so bad in the future! Thank you Bill!
Bill,
Your advice is always spot on. Thanks!
Not that I have any clients yet, but this makes total sense. I have a friend in the same boat ~ with no real interest yet ~ and I hope to try the interview with her. Sounds fun as well as insightful 🙂
just to mention, too, I like the way you gave your big tip right at the top of the post; it can get irritating going on pages which promise you a great tip & ten minutes later you’re still scrolling down, past yet more reasons why your life will be empty and bleak without it 🙂
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I definitely love the connection you create in you post, this is really magic and creates a feeling of exclusivity so to speak in this exchange. I mean a feeling that you are te only one to whom you are speaking ! I am going to use your excercices because connection and knowing exactly your ideal client point expectations and feelings is a core of our profession. If you loose connection, you cannot be usefull to your client anymore …
Great contribution ! A big, big thank you !
I thought this was an interesting take on marketing. I feel that knowing your ideal client and their needs and wants is the best starting point for a successful partnership- one that creates the bridge to happiness and fulfillment in whatever goals/projects/relationships they are working on.
Celebrate Your Open Road,
Jennifer Bair
I was reminded of this when last week, a new client was struggling with my mailchimp opt-in sequence. At first, I wanted to tell her how it’s really easy and to just do this and that… then I just apologized to her that she was struggling so much and offered to call her and walk her through the registration process. She was actually able to figure it out without a phone call, and again instead of saying something from my perspective, I just said, I’m glad it’s working for you and I’m sorry you had a frustrating experience.
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Everyone’s comments speak my thoughts. Once again you get to the essence and the heart in an emotionally warm and inviting way! I feel so blessed to be connected to you and have you as a mentor and inspiration igniter! p.s. Great video on gratitude!
The other day, while I was at work, my cousin stole my iPad and tested to see if
it can survive a forty foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation.
My apple ipad is now destroyed and she has 83 views.
I know this is completely off topic but I had to
share it with someone!
It all boils down to providing genuine, down to earth service from the heart but we need to be reminded over and over. After all, isn’t it the most wonderful complement when we hear a client say, “Thank you SO much; what you did for me was amazing”.
Thanks for continually reminding us of why we went into business in the first place. I learn more from you about how to treat a client than anyone else on the net (or in person, for that matter).
By the way, someone I met at one of my local networking events attended one of your seminars a short while ago and was absolutely in awe of you and the event. So congratulations! You’re name is getting around in rural Ontario, Canada.
Love this Bill, thank you for putting it across so usefully and clearly. It’s so true and love the idea of being interviewed. I’ve done the interviewing but not been interviewed about ‘her’ – my ideal client. Off I go >>>
Thanks again
Kay
What brilliant suggestions and insights Bill, you have definitely engaged with me as a reader. I’d like to share this with the members of my hypnotherapy organisation if that’s ok with you?
Hi Bill,
You have many great ideas in this post and my reaction is how scary it will be when I make an appointment tomorrow with my long standing client who has been asking me how he can be of service to help me grow my business. One thing I really need to learn is how to handle my emotional reaction to so much truth! Breathe…..
Thank you! Ellen
Bill, Thank You!
This post came at just the Right time(as always if You think that way)
I have been struggling with a single client for three months to build Her self-reliance and esteem. All was great I thought, then in the last week She Completely reverted to Her old thinking patterns, what a disappointment.
So when I read Your post I started thinking about what I could have missed or what went wrong.
I am implementing Your tips to find that out!
Thanks Again,
Mark
Bill, you are a genius! Thank you for all of the info I get from
You. You really know people! I will take what you’ve given
me today and really practice trying to feel what my
potential clients think of me and how I can better
serve them…
This was a long e-mail AND I read the whole thing which exemplifies exactly what you were sharing. You engaged me. You always are personal and communicating with your tribe rather than marketing, even though I know that’s what you’re doing it doesn’t feel that way. I know you use your intuition to connect with your clients. I feel it and it’s what I teach my clients how to use to really connect with their clients hearts, desires and motivations. Thanks Bill. I learned that by listening to you.
You consistently provide such beneficial tips. When I work with my clients, I always want them to have the best experience possible. Without that, I know that the value will not be as profound as they deserve.
Grateful for your investment into all of us.