Create a Persona for Your Ideal Client

February 9, 2008

A couple of days ago, during a conversation with a client, Donny Deutsch’s show, The Big Idea, came up. She said, “Have you seen it lately?” I told her that not only do we check it out every night, but I even blogged it. Then she said something that got my attention. She said, “Talk about someone that didn’t know who his audience was when he started out. He was all over the map.” I commented that it was that exact thing that I blogged about. The show in the beginning was, in her words, “all over the place.” Today, though, she loves the show since it is aimed right to our hearts – passionate entrepreneurs.

So what can we learn from mega-millionaire advertising guru Donny Deutsch? It’s this. No matter who you are you can sometimes go off the road when it comes to identifying your ideal client. All kidding aside with Donny – it was probably the lack of format that made it hard to choose a target (he obviously knows what he is doing with his $2.3 billion dollar sale of the Deutsch agency). Still, you might be struggling with the same things. It can happen to the best of us.

I believe creating a persona can really make your ideal client profile sing. When you take your ideal client profile and create a persona it allows everyone in your company and other referrals sources know exactly who you are looking for in a client. A persona creates a snapshot – a character picture (cartoon or otherwise) of your best client. But, just like Donny, you need to begin with a clear snapshot of that special something you have to offer your ideal client. The two go hand in hand.

Create a Persona (do this for each target market you have in your business)

Think of your best clients. Choose three, and begin to look at how they are similar. Everyone is different, yet your best clients are the same in very similar ways. Your job is to discover those ways.

Start by covering the demographics. Age, size of company, number of employees, and any other physical characteristics you can think of. Take note that if you are choosing clients only by the demographic level, it’s likely you have a lot of room to choose from the cream of the crop of clients!

Next move to psychographics and characteristics of your ideal client. What do they want? What do they think? How do they think? What motivates them? What problems do they have that you can solve? The more in-depth you can make this the better.

Finally, we get to the unseen level. I call it the feeling level of who the client is. Your best clients feel a certain way. You act a certain way around them. You know how you act. Put into words a description that allows you to share this with others. It’s easier than it sounds. People relate to each other on this level every day, they just don’t talk about it, and they aren’t aware of it. This level will keep you safe when it comes to bypassing the clients that aren’t a fit, a.k.a. misfits.

After you have all three levels complete, take these and create a persona that looks something like this:

Bob is a 50-something, progressive-thinking business owner. He has children in college, he’s been divorced twice. He takes a great deal of pride in his business. He’s driven and has high standards. That works well with us because we have high standards too. We are driven to be the best in our industry, too. Bob isn’t too concerned about brand names, and he drives an American made car, just like many of the other self-made millionaires. His measure of excellence is a can-do attitude. He doesn’t like mistakes, but he is forgiving. When I’m around him, I feel like I’m being pushed to be better. It’s a fatherly feeling where I know he likes me, but he keeps me on my toes.

The more detailed you can make your persona, the easier it is to do market research, to identify magazines “Bob” may read, to ask others if they know a “Bob” and to actually attract and spot a Bob. With this information in your mind about Bob and aligned with why Bob likes doing business with you, it is much easier to speak about this in a way that gets your message across while helping Bog identify himself as a good client.

This one technique has literally increased many clients’ revenue very quickly. That’s the gift of clarity and the gift of being able to pass on that clarity. This week, commit to creating a persona that will help you say bye to struggle and hello ease.

You can do the same with a client that was a train wreck too. It can help you deconstruct what worked and what didn’t and where the engagement went off the tracks. Have the courage to be honest about the part you played and you’ll be able to better bypass the next one.

Next week, we’ll talk about how to leverage misfits for more profit and reciprocity. There’s a way to send people away that actually will get you more clients. Imagine that!

Here at the True You Marketing, we also work with personas. This is our female entrepreneur persona.

Sally is passionate about leaving the world a better place than when she found it. She is a successful expert in her chosen field, and is an influencer of others. People say she is generous, kind and compassionate, but she’s no pushover. She’s a courageous, talented entrepreneur who is fueled by her intense commitment to serve others. She believes in doing her best each and every day, and encourages others to do their best; always looking for the best in others. She is an energizing force for others and her passion is contagious. She knows who she is or is evolving into it. She believes in something greater than she is, and believes that when we serve the whole, all the parts benefit. Sally is a responsible and intentional person who sets goals for herself on many levels, and she realizes she isn’t perfect nor does she try to be. She is involved in her community. She reads a lot – self development books, business books, O Magazine, and tunes into influencer blogs online. She may be single or married, and she enjoys the good things in life that have come to her materially and otherwise. Sally realizes that having an outside perspective can make her even more successful and chooses to work with a like-minded company such as the one80 group. In the end, Sally understands life is about living. She strives to balance life and work in a way that honors who she is.

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