“Give Me Ambiguity or Give Me Something Else!!”

A potential comes to you with a problem. The person you meet is your perfect “work soulmate,” but for some reason you don’t get the job. Why is that?

Could it be that you’re ambiguous — that you’re just not clear?

When it comes to hiring people, potential clients want to know exactly who we are and what we can deliver. They also want to whether their work will be safe in our hands.

That’s why it’s critical when people ask, “What do you do?” that we have a strong answer that invites them in to ask you more.

I say, “I use traditional and new media strategies to show micro and macro businesses easier, faster, and more meaningful ways to reach, connect with, and create thriving communities of brand-loyal fans — online and off. ”

Chris Brogan says, “I use social media and technology to show businesses, organizations, and individuals how to build authentic conversations between coworkers, customers, and even competitors.”

Do we all do more than that? Of course we do, but we’re clear, concise, and unambiguous about where our focus is. Potential clients know our work will always be founded upon what that statement says.

Want More Ideal Clients? Five Simple Steps

Ideal clients are partners that we select. The straightest line to them is to understand who will respect our thinking and value our work. To make long-lasting relationships like that takes an upfront investment of five simple steps.

1. Write a single statement to describe your best work. What is the highest level result you deliver consistently? What quests and problems bring out your best thinking? What do people often ask you to help them with? Start with those. Read your statement and tweak it daily until it sounds exactly like what you want your business to be.
2. Define your irresistible offer. Research it’s value to your clients. Find out what the work is worth in hard currency. Articulate in words how what you do takes a serious problem off the desk of your client group. Explain how what you do will make their life easier, make their work more efficient, and make them a hero because they let you do that
3. Define the best client fit for your work. Develop a prototype of the ideal customer-partner. Know what every client value set must include. Know what every client match must be without. Be sure the definition includes “communicates openly and can afford to pay you.”
4. Do your homework. Don’t be tempted to convert everyone you meet. . We can’t work with everyone. Not everyone is a match. Rather than trying to convince a potential client to think as you do, invest that time in identifying clients who want to learn how you do it.
5. Keep asking potential ideal clients what they need most. Talk to the folks you’ve identified as the best fit about their goals. When you hear a way you might help, tell them what you do.

So often the issue of business development is not one of what we can deliver, but how well we talk about it. When we have seriously thought through what we do best and where we best fit, the result is an irresistible offer that is clear, concise, and unambiguous. It’s easy to say and easy for fans and friends to pass on for us.

It’s much more fun to be able to say who we are and what we clearly offer to someone who is a perfect match for our work.

How will you move toward finding your ideal client today?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

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