Where will you find that ideal client?
Challenges are ever great as more of the world moves online
Searching for ideal clients raises several questions. Does that person exist? How often do marketers’ dreams come true?
Joe Apfelbaum suggests answers. The author, speaker and entrepreneur is chief executive officer of the business-to-business digital marketing agency Ajax Union. He specializes in sales, marketing, self-improvement and — interestingly for the times — comedy.
Chelsea Krost hopes not to become a punchline. Like many others who make their living through marketing and branding, the millennial expert, global speaker and LinkedIn instructor has thrown her sights online.
During her #MillennialTalk Twitter chat, Krost and Apfelbaum talked about their continuing quest to attract and convert the elusive perfect client.
Drawing new coaching clients online is quite an adjustment, particularly for businesses previously based on in-person face-to-face interactions.
“It does not have to feel less personal when you are meeting people online,” Apfelbaum said. “It’s the new normal. Use video chat, and build a real relationship.
“Too many people are trying to get clients instead of trying to add value to a specific target market,” he said. “Do not try to help everyone. Instead, help your target market. Be specific and come in with just adding value. The more value you add, the more clients you will get.”
This takes a whole new business mindset.
“When building relationships with a specific group of people, think geographic, demographic, psycographic, and go deep instead of wide,” Apfelbaum said. “Go from online to offline. Build relationships the good ol’ fashioned way. Get on the phone. While people are off work but not on vacation, it is so much easier to just pick up the phone and make some calls.
“All too often, coaches want to get paid before they add value,” he said. “The best coaches just start coaching. When your clients have to talk to you, that’s when they start paying you.”
Taking it to social
Krost describes her activities as “all about less email and more phone calls. They save time and are way more effective.”
These are her keys to attract new coaching clients:
- Have a branded and active presence on social media.
- Know who your target client is.
- Have a clear offer — service or product — description.
- Validate your expertise.
- Craft the right consumer journey map.
“Online coaches have to consider building their personal brand,” Krost said. “As the coach, you are your best marketing tool. Your personal presence and digital footprint is a better lead generator than any paid ad.”
The ideal coaching clients are coachable, not set in their ways.
“Find out where your dream clients are spending time,” Apfelbaum said. “It might be on specific Facebook groups. It might be on LinkedIn. Make your list and reach out.
“It’s not about finding dream clients,” he said. “It’s about building relationships with real people and making a real difference in their lives. Start impacting lives.”
Searchers have to cast wide nets.
“These real people are everywhere,” Apfelbaum said. “Speak to your network, and describe your client to them. Everyone has people they can introduce you to when you are specific enough.
“One great strategy to find dream clients is to have a podcast,” he said. “Interview people for your podcast. Learn everything about them — or listen to podcasts that already interview your dream clients.”
Beyond first impressions, dig into details.
“Identify client demographics, psychographics, needs, pain points and goals to narrow in on what social channel or platform to be most active on,” Krost said. “Learn how to speak their language.
“People are so quick to talk, talk, talk, but the secret is really to sit back, watch and listen,” she said. “Then prioritize strategy, and implement.”
Storytelling rather than selling
Marketers must be wary when promoting their services without being overly promotional. The general rule in marketing applies: Don’t come off too sale-sy. Let people know what you do, and make it interesting to entice them to want to know more.
“Tell stories about results you got for people,” Apfelbaum said. “Where were they before? What breakthrough did they have with you? Features tell. Stories sell.
“The best way to promote your services without selling is to take a consultative approach,” he said. “Give insights on each call. Sometimes it can take three to four calls to close a client. Keep them wanting more.”
Giving value will give back.
“When you lead with insights and practice education-based marketing, you’re the thought leader who has authority,” Apfelbaum said. “People are attracted to leaders.”
Krost draws on a standard productivity formula.
“I like to follow the 80–20 rule on social media,” she said. “That’s 80 percent sharing value, engaging others, building relationships and crossover collaborations such as blogs, podcasts, live streams and webinars. Then spend 20 percent on promoting services with sales-driven content.
“Don’t forget about the power of video and live stream on Twitter to connect with your target audience in a more conversational and casual way,” Krost said. “That’s better than a static ad that feels ‘billboard-ish.’”
She has found this “a great way to cross collaborate with other platforms to introduce yourself and build relationships in different audiences.”
LinkedIn can strategically attract new coaching leads through articles, video, groups and live streams. All of these features contribute to profiles and resumes. Everything posted and shared should reflect your values.
“LinkedIn is the largest professional social network,” Apfelbaum said. “Most people mistakenly never post, engage or message. If you want to get visibility, you need to post something of value each day and engage with your connections.
“A LinkedIn post usually dies within 24 hours,” he said. “You must post every day if you want people to find you in the LinkedIn feed. You can post a video, an image, text or a document. Remember to add value in each post.”
Alternate possibilities
Those aren’t the only features to tap into.
“If you want to get people on the phone with LinkedIn and get new clients, you have to use direct messages,” Apfelbaum said. “Build relationships with your connections. They will want to speak to you. Do not wait for them to come to you. Reach out.
“Articles also rank in Google and have great authority,” he said. “Make sure to include keywords people search for.”
Krost emphasized simple things.
“I am surprised when many of my coaching clients — who are coaches — don’t have the basics on their LinkedIn profile,” she said.
The results can be far reaching.
“By increasing the amount of good-quality inbound links to your profile from elsewhere on the web, Google will see you as a more credible and popular profile,” Krost said. “As a result, your LinkedIn profile will appear higher in the search results.”
Those who see beyond the short term will achieve greater success.
“Invest your time and money in creating valuable evergreen videos,” Krost said. “Those can remain relevant over a longer time frame. That’s so strategic for your brand and business.”
Marketers can warm up their audience with a “freebie” to convert them into paying customers or clients. Known as a lead magnet, the enticement is something of value offered to prospective clients to learn more about what you do.
“A lead magnet can be a buyers guide, checklist, infographic or video series,” Apfelbaum said. “Let them know what they can expect and when they can expect it.
“A live webinar is a great way to warm up an audience and get them excited about wanting more,” he said. “I give my best content away in free webinars. Remember to tell participants what they need to know, not how to do it.”
Steady drips
This is another long-term tactic.
“Create a drip campaign where you send out information over time,” Apfelbaum said. “Give bites and pieces over longer periods. People will get used to nibbling on your goodies.”
Giveaways are often ready made to use.
“We tend to forget how much relevant content we have primed to repurpose into a freebie,” Krost said. “Offer a value-driven freebie for download as a way to build your email list and nurture warm leads.”
She distinguished free trinkets from signature traffic builders.
“The lead magnet has an opt-in for the PDF, webinar, how-to series, audio guide or e-book,” Krost said. “The signature traffic builder is an open-access community builder such as a twitter chat, podcast or live stream.”
Direct messages are another way to build new relationships and generate leads — if not abused. Use DMs to genuinely get acquainted with people — no boilerplate, no immediate come-on. Otherwise you’ll be exposed as a spammer and lose prospects.
“When you use DMs, never sell,” Apfelbaum said. “Instead, start by building rapport with a greeting that does not waste people’s time. Say, ‘Thank you for connecting on LinkedIn.’ Then move to feeding by adding value or asking questions. Finally, you can ask for a meeting.
“It sometimes can take five to seven messages just to get one response,” he said. “Do not assume that people are not interested because they do not respond right away. People often miss messages.”
Variety is the great attractor.
“Try to mix up DMs by including audio, video and images,” Apfelbaum said. “People often forget how important it is to customize the message. Doing that, people do not think you are spamming them with a message clearly not meant for them.
“Send out a DM that is funny and gets people laughing, if that is your personality,” he said. “I like mentioning that we have no more toilet paper and talking about things in current events.”
Journey in stages
Coming on too strong is a big turnoff.
“Most people hate sale-sy DMs just like they do not like to be hit on when they are walking down the street,” Apfelbaum said.
Krost passed along her favorite ways to build relationships and generate leads with the five stages of the consumer journey in mind.
“How many of these strategies are you using?” she asked.
Promoting products or services depends on several factors.
“If you are creating a program or offer, set a goal for how many signups you want,” Apfelbaum said. “Based on that goal, you need to build a following that will help make sure you get to that goal.
“Before launch, test the market to see if people are interested,” he said. “When I came out with my goal-setting course a few years ago, I first posted on Facebook and saw that 50 people were interested. Then I created and sold it.”
Too soon might be too much.
“You do not need to start promoting many months in advance for online programs,” Apfelbaum said. “Just a few weeks beforehand is often enough. People do not plan when they do not need to travel far. On the other hand, if you are doing a retreat, you might need many months.”
Krost thinks of promotion in phases:
- Soft promo: teasers four to six weeks out
- Early adopters: two weeks out
- Full promo and social engaging: week before launch, week of launch, week after launch
“If you think of promoting your coaching services with ‘mini-training’ on video or live stream, it may feel like a more authentic way to communicate value, share solutions and tease for more warm leads,” Krost said.
Not always money
Marketing can be done on a small budget if planned correctly, making best use of resources — especially people who sing your praises. Most startups have small budgets.
“You do not need an advertising budget to be successful at getting clients on social media,” Apfelbaum said. “You can leverage your time and find organic ways to get attention. LinkedIn has the best organic reach right now.
“Some people have more money than time,” he said. “They can spend money on advertising instead of spending time building relationships. For those who have more time than money, you can find organic ways to generate money from social media.”
Reliable repetition helps keep the sales funnel flowing.
“If you want to really scale your campaigns and have a repeatable lead-generation machine, you will probably need to advertise at some point,” Apfelbaum said. “If you are just starting out and just need a few clients, you can leverage the organic reach and hustle to make money.”
Possibilities are as vast as imagination.
“There are many ways to engage and convert customers online today, either organically or with paid media advertising,” Krost said. “It boils down to what your goals are, who your audience is, how big is your community or email list, and what is your offer.”
About The Author
Jim Katzaman is a manager at Largo Financial Services and worked in public affairs for the Air Force and federal government. You can connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
