Wouldn't it be nice to open your calendar up on Monday morning and see a week full of client meetings you are excited about? Not just to deliver performance reviews of a portfolio, but to hear about the latest family vacation, career milestone, or celebrating a new home. The advisors I've met over the years care deeply for their clients and they always have favorites. Let's find you more favorites.
You've probably been told 100 times to "find your niche" or "niche down." I am not here to talk you into that. We know this is true and it plays out with big and small companies constantly. If you try to be all things to all people you fail. Being crystal clear about who you want to work with, is the key to having a client list full of favorites. Your ideal client is defined as the "perfect" client for what your firm offers and the problems it solves for. Ideal clients understand the value they receive from working with you and often refer new clients to you. Additionally, an ideal client is someone you enjoy working with. Today, I am going to give you some applicable ways to define who that is, so it becomes much easier to attract more people like them and build your book with intention.
Try this simple, yet effective exercise:
- Identify your FAVORITE 5-10 clients. Not just those with the most money but the ones you really enjoy spending time with and have developed a close relationship with.
- Use the following worksheet to find out where these clients intersect.
| Client Name | Demographic Information | Family Structure | Job Title/Industry | What is most important to them? | How do they spend their time and money? | What services do they engage in at the firm? |
The next step is to read through and make note of similarities among the clients. Do the same words or phrases appear multiple times? Can you narrow down who the perfect client would be from characteristics of your favorite clients?
With this information, you are ready to create your ideal client. Name them, include demographic info and those similarities you noted above. Include as much specific information as you can to create a "real" person. Do this if you serve more than one niche, but no more than 3 (remember we can't be all things to all people).
Use these ideal client profiles when you create your marketing content or strategies. This gives you the ability to speak directly to what topics will resonate with new prospects who are similar to your favorite clients. Test this on your social media platforms. You could create a video telling a story about “I got into this business to help…” or “My passion for helping clients started when…” Make note of how your story resonates with your followers/connections.
Let us know if you have done this or a similar exercise that helped you replicate your favorite clients!
