My Ridiculously Easy Formula to Engage Clients: Be YOU

Step One: Speak Their Language
Now, wait a minute, before you click off this post to sign up for a night course at your local college, learn to speak CLIENT.

I’m referring to the importance of speaking to what your ideal client identifies with, what their needs are, and from there, devise a method of communication that resonates with your ideal client.

You may need to zero in on your niche, become more vulnerable aka REAL, and work SMARTER. But by providing intuitive insight, being highly creative to differentiate yourself, and being true to those you serve, you will land more clients quickly.

Ideally, it is best to set aside some quiet time for you to be able to zoom in on who your ideal client is, what their pain points are and what they are willing to pay for (conduct some research online).

To engage with clients, you need to reach them emotionally and offer value.

Start by showcasing your personality, clearly communicate your value and how you can best serve them via your brand message.

This is where you don’t inherently sell what you do but weave in your services or product within the free content by creating a call to action to build your tribe!

If you hold back or pretend to be someone you are not, people will see right through you and move on. Be genuine, empathetic and offer a solution.

I witness this time and time again. Even the savviest female entrepreneurs miss the mark on this one.

Often their focus is on flashy marketing or the next shiny object rather than a heart-centered approach.

You never want to SELL your services.

You need to SHOWCASE your worth, your true self and how you can make a difference in their lives. Once you have figured this out, your business will skyrocket.

Step Two: Brand Big Time!
Whether you appreciate the products sold at Starbucks, Adidas, Bed, Bath & Beyond etc., we all know what the companies stand for, who they serve, and what they offer.

Their success is in part of their never-ending branding efforts and exceptional target marketing methods to engage with their ideal consumers.

Now, there is no argument that except for Tony Robbins and perhaps Brandon Burchard, very few coaches will ever possess the ability to match the marketing efforts of those big brand names.

But don’t let these limitations deter you from implementing a formula to build a rapport and loyal following which can equate to massive revenue.

Brand YOU.

Don’t Be a ‘Dime a Dozen’ Service!

 
When you are formulating your brand message, be mindful of what you want to be known for. You need to stand out and don’t copy another competitors image – appeal to your ideal client because your message speaks to them. Be authentic & open to sharing valuable as well as vulnerable (your personal story), content that will capture their interest and elicit a positive response.

As your content creation develops, be sure to share your personal story and insight to increase the chances of your audience experiencing an emotional connection. Potential clients are online to seek entertainment, to learn, to laugh, seek answers, and to fill a void. Your job is to ensure your brand stands out to those clients who are in need of your product or service. Once you have captured their interest, it is your task to provide value, insight, and genuine concern to improve their life or business.

Step Three: A Systematic Method to Attract Clients
At this stage, your dream clients are visiting your site and clicking over to see what you have to offer…they are interested, and more than likely, they are ready to buy. Before you get all excited and are ready to pounce. I want you to think about what you do prior to purchasing a product or service.

How does a company or individual make you feel welcome, heard, and able to address your issue?

Personally, if I am looking to buy XYZ, I look for what services they offer and whether there are positive client or customer testimonials or reviews.

Don’t worry about placing photos with testimonials etc. It is way too easy for competitors to drop in a pic that is not the real ‘Sandy Smith’.

Heck, I no longer even include photos or videos of my clients because there has been an issue of harassment by a ‘prospect ‘of mine.

There is no need to create havoc at the expense of a previous client. What needs to be highlighted is the client transformation and how you’re genuinely committed to making a difference in the lives of those you worked with.

I can see right through those individuals who pretend to be something or someone they are not.

My gut tells me to run as they are not for me! So, before you spend countless hours building a course followed up by a flashy sales funnel, I encourage you to focus on the basics.

• Are you proud of your brand, your message, offers & do you thrive in your market?
• Do you have a product or service which is deemed of value?
• Have you been able to differentiate your product or service in some manner?
• Are you providing valuable insight & systems to support a transformation?
• Are your marketing efforts paying off? Are you reaching your ideal client?
• What is your plan to acquire a steady stream of clients?
• Can your ideal clients connect emotionally with your offer?
• Do you speak to their pain points or are your offers salesy & one-sided?
• Are you making an impact in the lives of others? Are you fulfilled?
• Can you provide testimonials to share success stories?

It is essential to develop a method to acquire new clients consistently, and even more important to have a plan on how to retain those clients long-term.

Gain referrals from happy clients!

I have been able to create a very successful business on referrals alone.

As of late, I am now swimming in the online abyss.

I am forever grateful to know I stand out online and in person, because of my positive nature, expertise, and tenacious outlook on life and in business.

Despite this wonderful feedback and stellar referrals/testimonials, it is imperative I am open to sharing fabulous content, RESULTS – client success stories and commit to DIFFERENTIATING myself amongst the number of online coaches.

 Cheaper to Retain than Gain

Leads, Conversions & Process

 
From our friends at HubSpot:

Customer acquisition is the process of bringing new customers or clients to your business. The goal of this process is to create a systematic, sustainable acquisition strategy that can evolve with new trends and changes.
Customer acquisition is important for businesses of any age and size. It allows your business to:
1) make money to meet costs, pay employees, and reinvest in growth
2) show evidence of traction for outside parties such as investors, partners, and influencers.

Being able to systematically attract and convert new customers keeps companies healthy and growing — and investors happy.

At this point, you may be asking, “What’s the difference between lead generation and customer acquisition?”. Well, let’s break it down.

In the business world, we visualize the customer journey typically with a funnel or a similar graphic that highlights the stages in the buying process and the mindset of the prospect.

As consumers move through the funnel to become buyers, they:

1. Gain awareness about your brand
2. Add your product or service to their consideration pool
3. Make a decision to become a paying customer of your business.

To simplify the process, lead generation typically happens at the top of the funnel, lead acquisition happens in the middle, and lead conversion happens at the bottom. And customer acquisition typically refers to the funnel.

Here’s another way to visualize it, in a less funnel-like fashion:

In the example above, customer acquisition lives in the attract phase, where consumers become readers and visitors. https://blog.hubspot.com/
N.B.: what you’re doing presently, may not be in your best interest nor sustain your business. Vanity metrics like social media hype & dime a dozen ventures rarely translate into consistent cash. I encourage you to look at this from a different angle. Don’t go looking to reinvent the wheel but rather seek support to lead you down the RIGHT path. Do the work to gain the confidence to work through mindset blocks, rid the fear & overwhelm; all while learning to identify your strengths & specialty, to showcase your differences, develop an exceptional engagement process with prospects & make connections with clients to generate sales with confidence – on your terms. Gain my genuine support to get your business on the road to revenue! Do what you love to do, each day. I do! Contact me today to discuss how I can be of help. 

Your Plan of Action:
This is where your marketing skills need to soar!

1. Attract your clients with creative branding & fabulous content
2. Develop an irresistible offer they will opt-in & then scale it up
3. Keep them in the loop with new & enticing offers to support their growth
4. Be easy to find! Online or otherwise. Have a clear message & brand name.

There are so many options to showcase your business online. One essential tool I use is the skillful, sales funnel system.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are many other options for you to use but I have found a sales funnel is direct, eye-catching, and effective to not only build your list but also gain new clients and bring in consistent revenue.

I use ClickFunnels as its user-friendly platform but there are many options. It is straight forward and it is a system that will get you more clients if done correctly. You need a product or service, a catchy header, creative content, effective pricing, value & an effective sales pitch.

Note: there are several methods to grow organically too … word of mouth, face to face networking, and offering value inside of various online groups.

Step Four: Grit & Gusto 

At this stage of the game, I am referring to working hard for your clients but not giving away the magic of your business.

There is no benefit to you in working for free. There is no sense in sharing every proven system and tool you’ve created prior to engaging in a working relationship.

I want you to understand there is a difference between participating in a networking group, creating free online content, and conducting a strategy call to determine fit, etc., versus being taken advantage of or being deceived by another ‘professional’ posing as a potential client to obtain your goods.

Here lies the line in the sand … don’t be taken advantage of. If any of your spidey senses are telling you not to work with X client don’t.

There is an endless amount of wonderful people who could benefit from your services.

Unfortunately, there are also several individuals who are out to make our lives a living h#@! In order to work through these trying times, you need to develop the grit and gusto to ignore the haters, embrace the red flags, and listen to your intuition when you sense things are off.

I have experienced all the above and believe me, no one enjoys a hateful message, a scam, or appreciates the demands of a mismatched client.

Should you decide to ignore these messages … be aware of your surroundings, online or otherwise, listen carefully, and act accordingly. Be professional, avoid the use of curse words, and inappropriate exchanges, as it will only add fuel to the fire. In the end, the outcome will result in the ordeal having a negative impact on your business and your reputation.

Step Five: Shift & Offer Valuable Insight

Now this step is not encouraging you to go out there are give everything away but the kitchen sink.

It does, however, require you to shift your attitude from ‘hiding’ your secret formula to feeling good to share parts of it in order to build your online presence.

And what better way to do that than offer tips or tools to capture the interests of your ideal clients. You are not online to sell what you do but rather showcase how your product or services can greatly impact your target market.

Spending time with a client (on a discovery or strategy call) or offering this or that helpful tip, is a crucial aspect of building your business.

Believe me, you will get nowhere fast if prospects sense you are only out for the ‘shifty’ sale.

In all reality, we are not in the biz of only selling our services but in fact, we get tremendous fulfillment from impacting others.

Truth be told, if you believe offering a mere one-line response in a networking group is going to land you a tonne of business you are sadly mistaken.

I have spent countless hours assisting various people in my networking group because I add value and I care.

I can also reflect upon a time when I was struggling and needed support, which at the time, was REAL difficult to find.

The belief in the law of attraction comes to mind here … I am a firm believer in what you give, you will get back, ten-fold.

So, whether you are comfortable creating content, sharing a story behind the mic, or smiling on video; clients will flock to you because they know you are willing to invest in them too!

You will create a loyal following faster than any high paid ad.

Step Six: Optimize Visibility

The final step is to pull together all your tips, tools, and strategy to optimize your visibility.

This is a prime way of ensuring you are consistently in front of your ideal clients; a method to enhance your ability to engage with your target market. At this point, the strategy is key.

For there to be a ‘method to your madness’ within the online realm, you need to have a marketing strategy in place for how to get yourself in front of those who ‘matter’.

Whether you create and promote your website, utilize social media platforms, or promote locally, plan to be creative, and stand out.

It would be very rare for an ideal client to purchase your product or service the very first time they came across your brand unless you were highly recommended, or your message/brand caught their eye and they made an impulsive purchase. Research shows 7 sightings equals a sale.

Visibility is of course an essential part of this process BUT it is also very important to create a lasting visual memory. As mentioned previously, you don’t want to be lost at sea but rather stand out amongst your competitors. In their fabulous book, Blue Ocean Strategy authors Kim and Mauborgne, encourage their readers to not be consumed by the competition but rather pursue ways to differentiate your business. They elaborate upon the need to open a market space and create more demand by incorporating creative out of the box thinking.

Kim and Mauborgne believe it is essential to zero in on uncontested market space, make strategic moves, and add various elements to your business without limiting its potential.

It is this Blue Ocean Strategy and the ‘dime a dozen’ avoidance which makes your competition irrelevant.

You need to stand out, make a difference, swim in uncharted waters, and capture interest by appealing to need and desire.

Be sure to promote consistent branding and messaging so they recognize you the next time.

Consistency is another key component of optimizing your visibility and engaging with your target market.

If by chance they have found you and they are interested in your content, they will be more likely to click on a link to your product and services to determine if you can assist them further.

So, whether you have an elaborate website, blog, or lead page and/or funnel … you need to ensure all methods are optimized to send clients your way.

When a potential client visits your website, is a pop-up page requesting their name and email address in exchange for a free digital product? (My VA is a wiz at creating these!)

When people click on your clever PIN does it link from Pinterest to your website or blog?

Have you noted a call to action on your website or within your offers?

Does your website cover the 6 steps noted in this formula?

Are you linking all these tools together in one form or another, to get the most bang for your buck?

In the end, if you have spent hours on this or that and have ‘beautified’ your website, blog, and social media pages but still, you hear crickets.

It is a good idea to reach out to me.

I invite you to visit my website at www.laraleetaylor.com to see how I can support you on your journey to find your voice … to gain lifestyle & financial freedom.

Connect to Maxout Your Story to Master Your Message.

LT xoxo