Today it is all about reaching your ideal audience, also known as your prospective client. I’ve discussed both market and competitive research. Now, I want to help you learn the 7 steps I use to reach prospective clients.

7 Steps to Reach Prospective Clients

Step One: Research

If you read my articles regularly you know how much I love definitions so it should come as no surprise that I would also discuss research. I believe research is one of the best ways that will help you reach your ideal prospective clients.

As you know, if you are a regular reader, I recently wrote about market research, and prior to that I discussed competitive research. I think it is important for you to do both kinds of research prior to setting up your marketing (including blogging) plan.

Also, within the market research find out where your prospective clients are online (also discussed further in Step 5). What do they like to do in their spare time and what social media platform are they likely to use most?

Step Two: What Problem Do You Solve

The next thing you want to consider in order to reach your prospective clients is the problem(s) you solve for them. You, obviously, offer a service that solves some problem(s) or your ideal client. Consider the issues they face and how you help relieve this problem.

Do you give them freedom? Maybe your solution provides peace or security for your prospective clients. Determine the main benefits you can provide them by solving that one (or more) problem for them. This can help you with your copy for your marketing.

Step Three: Storyboards

Complete a storyboard to help develop the story between you and your prospective client. You have more than likely completed a buyer persona profile for them, however, the storyboard goes a bit deeper. There is a big difference between a buyer persona profile and a completed storyboard.

You will see the conversations and the barriers holding your prospective clients back from signing up for your services. You will think more deeply about what is holding them back, how you solve the problem, and even what their business would like after receiving your help.

If you have never completed a storyboard, I’m giving you one by clicking the link below.

Make sure you have completed a storyboard for each type of prospective client. In other words, if you provide a few different services online do a different storyboard for each type of client.

Example of Prospective Clients and Storyboards

An example of this would be if you provide services in email marketing, social media management, and SEO Blogging. You would need to fill out a storyboard for each of your prospective clients in these services:

• Email Marketing
• Social Media Management
• SEO Blogging

If you only provide one type of service then you only need to complete one storyboard based on your prospective client.

Step Four: Email Marketing

This step involves your own email marketing list. By now, hopefully, you have created a free offer that should attract your prospective clients. This then should link to your email marketing system and the list you created related to the free offer. As you continue to market your free offer whether on social media, ads, or other means, your list should grow.

Many think the minute they get that free offer up suddenly they will have hundreds, even thousands, of people sign up for it. The truth, however, is usually far from that unless you have built up a huge group of followers prior to creating your offer. It is most often similar to a trickle rather than a flood of sign-ups. Keep this in mind and continue to put it in front of your prospective client audience. This is how you will consistently grow those lists.

Step Five: Prospective Client Hangouts

We discussed, briefly, above finding out where your prospective clients are online. This can be done through market research and maybe some competitive research. Through market research, you should be trying to locate your ideal client (prospective client) base.

In competitive research you trying to identify the gaps in your competitors’ services. What are they NOT doing that you can provide in a unique way? It may be the same service offering but you have found a way to help another industry or possibly provide a specific niche type service that they do not help or provide.

In competitive research, however, you can also dig into where they (your competitors) are online and see the activity they may have as well as not have and in doing this you can find your own audience.

The other way to find your prospective clients is through social media groups. Find groups where they may be members on a platform, whether it be Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, or another. This is for a long game and doesn’t provide an instant result.

Step Six: Group Posting for Prospective Clients

Joining the group where your ideal client is a member is a good strategy, but as I stated it really is a long game. You need to establish yourself as an expert in the services you provide by answering questions that come up and are related to your services.

Never join and begin to try to sell immediately. This is a very bad strategy. It may win you a client in some respect but most likely will not be a long-term one. Try watching at first and seeing the flow of the group. Observe the questions that get asked and then when you are able help give answers, especially those related to the services you provide.

Eventually, you will become known as an expert in your service within that group. You can do this by joining a few different groups as long as your ideal prospective client is a member.

Step Seven: SEO Blogging to Reach Prospects

The last step, step seven, is SEO Blogging. You’ve heard me discuss this quite often and how it can help your SEO power online with search engines. SEO Blogging weekly has literally doubled my traffic in the last year.

I used to blog (keep in mind when I say blog for this article it always refers to SEO Blogging) once a month because I thought I did not have enough time to do more. I did not realize how much I was depriving search engine traffic. Google Search provides over half of my overall website traffic.

As you can see from Google Analytics, it is obvious where my visitors come from here. The reason is that when someone searches Google for an answer one of my blog posts will pop up with an answer. The more people that click on it sends a message to Google that it is good content and that people like it.

Six out of the ten pages listed in the photo below (of my analytics) shows that my articles (blog) brought people to my website. By the way, the group coaching was an ad run on Facebook as well as social media posts, which accounts for those numbers.

And when I increase it to view 25 pages, 19 of those are my blog titles. So, I hope you see how valuable SEO Blogging can be for you.

Finally

Now, all you need to do is combine these steps, one by one, and develop your plan for reaching your prospective clients.

Are you taking these 7 steps to reach your prospective clients? If not which one can you implement starting today?

If you need help getting started with these, book a free mini-session with me to gain insight and help. Remember also, that many of my clients may be able to provide the support you need with implementing many of these steps. Just reach out and ask.

Remember to be kind to yourself in these difficult economic times. And try new techniques as it could be the one that works for you.

To Your Continued Success!