Ever seen a movie?
Watched a drama on TV or your streaming service?
Or read a really good story?
Great! Then you have stumbled on a much easier way to discover your target market.
Which is “marketing-speak” for:
The group of folks most likely to buy your stuff.
Instead of asking “Who’s my target market?”
Ask,
“Who’s searching for me?”
“Why are they searching for me?”
“And what made that search a priority in the first place?”
This leads to uncovering your Client Backstory.
Which is the most crucial thing to get right.
Cause if you don’t, you don’t have a business.
Or you’ll have to work way too hard to build and maintain a business.
(Some of you are there right now).
Think of it this way:
Your client is a hero.
You meet your hero in the midst of their quest,
And in the midst of their crisis
Something is missing
That they are actively searching for.
Something that makes their life feel incomplete when they don’t have it.
Something they can’t do without.
This is your Client Backstory.
It’s a situation or narrative driving them to seek a solution to a specific problem in their life that they can’t just let slide.
If you’re not meeting them in the midst of their crisis,
If you’re not engaging them at the level of what’s missing,
And you’re not connecting in the midst of their search for the remedy:
Nothing is driving them towards you.
When nothing is driving your client towards your solution
BEFORE you meet them,
Your solution is “nice”
Instead of necessary.
And nice doesn’t sell because it doesn’t evoke desire for your offer.
Think of the last networking event you attended.
And all the polite but “not interested” responses you may have received.
You have to solve for what’s missing first.
Because when you get what’s missing (and provide it) – you get the client.
For too many of us, our business is like a story with no hero.
There’s no crisis, nothing driving them, nothing at stake, nothing unresolved, and nothing missing.
So, there’s nothing propelling your client to you.
And when you have to generate all that momentum on your own
(which is called “explaining what you do”)
It’s exhausting, difficult and ineffective.
If your business was a movie, you’d walk out 5 minutes in because:
Nothing is at stake.
The hero is not in danger.
There’s nothing driving them to find a solution.
There’s no wise guide or mentor who arrives at just the right moment to save the day.
And send them on their way.
Think of the original Star Wars movie –
When, that hologram of Princess Leia initially shows up,
What does she say?
“Help me Obi-Wan Kenobe, You’re my ONLY hope.”
Not “Hey Obi-Wan, if you got a minute I could use a hand.”
Or
“Obi-Wan, I’m in a bit of a jam. Got a minute? If not, no worries. I’ll figure something out.”
She says: “You’re my ONLY hope!”
It’s not casual. There is an urgent desire propelling her request.
The hero of the story is in the midst of a drama that is driving them to seek a solution.
So … if you’re Obi-wan, and you’re their ONLY hope … you have a client.
No explaining. No arm-twisting. No sales acrobatics.
The trick is to find the client who is already searching for you.
For whom you are their ONLY hope.
They just don’t know it yet.
Until you show up.
This is why it feels natural to create an effective Client Backstory.
Because you’ve seen or read literally thousands of stories in your life:
You know how they work.
And you know how compelling they can be.
So here are a few tips to nail your Client Backstory:
Start with:
• A character / hero / client
• Who is in a situation
• With a problem.
• They try to solve the problem
• But fail, making it worse.
• What are they feeling?
• What are they telling themselves?
• What do they want instead?
• What do they not want to do to get what they want?
• What do they want to feel instead?
Let’s give it a shot!
• A character / hero / client:
An ambitious entrepreneur …
• Is in a situation:
Making less than 50K / year working really hard.
• With a problem:
Wants to grow to six figures and beyond,
But can’t find clients who will pay them enough to get there.
• They try to solve the problem:
They’ve tried funnels, social media and all kinds of online techniques.
• But fail, making it worse:
That have cost them time and money without moving the income needle.
• What are they feeling?
They are feeling scared, hopeless, increasingly desperate.
• What are they telling themselves?
“Why is this working for everyone else, but not for me? What if it will never work for me?”
• What do they want instead?
They want clients eager to pay them what they’re worth – so they can grow to six figures and beyond quickly.
• What do they not want to do to get what they want?
They don’t want to work themselves silly mastering scores of complicated techniques.
• What do they want to feel instead?
They want to feel appreciated, relieved, capable, excited for the next challenge to grow more, and make more
Notice how:
Crafting simple answers to these questions creates a compelling client backstory that you can not only use in your:
Copy
Sales Pages
Emails
Social Media
Presentations
And Networking conversations.
And because you are so specific about who you’re looking for,
It makes it much easier to find them. Create compelling messaging that attracts them.
And avoid wasting time with people who aren’t already searching for you.
HOT TIP:
Notice how the answers are short and to the point.
If your answers are paragraphs long … pause until you are clear enough so that your answers are concise.
Remember: Your ideal client is ONE ideal client.
You don’t need to message “everyone”.
Because your clarity and specificity will attract others who may not match the backstory exactly, but still resonate with it.
Look … there’s nothing wrong with figuring out your target market the old fashioned way. And if that’s working for you – go for it!
But the Client Backstory creates a richer, more resonant and much more effective pathway to identify and find the folks who want you enough to pay you.
If you’re someone who has created 1000 market avatars
And none of them really hit home …
See if crafting a compelling Client Backstory does the trick.
Would you be up for some additional ways (21 to be exact) to find the clients who can pay what your worth?
It doesn’t have to be an impossible dream. But it doesn’t happen by accident. You have to be intentional in seeking out top-tier clients for your top-tier work.
If you’re wondering exactly how to do that, I can help. With 21 specific suggestions that can make your high end client search a whole lot easier. Take a look!
Rob, this is brilliant! I’m sharing it with clients who are dealing with writer’s block. (Wishing they’d just hire you.)
Glad this was helpful Kathy!