Post recession sales have gotten a bit tougher - that's not news. As someone who works with entrepreneurs on a daily basis, I see their struggles firsthand.
However, I have to say that the majority of their struggles are not brought on by the weak economy but are self-inflicted and totally fixable. It's simply a matter of determining exactly what you need in your business to be more profitable and designing a map that leads to that success step-by-step.
Generic Marketing Won't Help You Get Clients in Today's World
First off, using generic marketing messages that are typically worded with telling people how great you are at whatever it is you do isn't effective anymore. Self-absorbed marketing just doesn't work in today's world. One of the the largest reasons it doesn't work is because we're subjected to information being slung at us left and right. This constant onslaught of information has created a culture of people that have A.D.D. with an extremely short attention span. A few years ago according to statistics the average person had an attention span of 13 minutes. The word on the street is, the average attention span is now around 9 seconds.
So how are you going to get someone's attention when you only have 9 seconds?
Easy!
Instead of focusing on whatever it is you do really well, focus on what your target market needs and you'll get more clients with a whole lot less effort! Using marketing messages that are hyper-focused on what your ideal client's obstacles and needs can create a process of which they will sell themselves! This type of marketing is what is known as client attraction and once mastered can ease the sales struggles of the entrepreneur.
Get More Clients By Targeting
Step 1. Nail down a target client profile. It's so much easier to market to someone specific. So many entrepreneurs have the mindset that if they target their marketing messages that they will lose opportunities. The funny thing is the exact opposite is true. You will gain a whole lot more opportunities than you will lose. For example, through careful examination of my followers I know that over 75% of my audience are solopreneurs. I also know of that percentage the vast majority of them are women. So guess what? Yes, women solopreneurs are my primary target market. When I write content it's aimed primarily at obstacles they face in their business and can relate to.
Now here's the thing, there are other people that follow me, for example male entrepreneurs. I want them to follow me and I do want their business but because they don't make up the majority of my followers I don't target them. The opportunities of hyper-focusing on my ideal client profile far outweigh the disadvantages.
Step 2. Identify their needs and how your product or service meets them. When you are thinking about attracting your target client profile think of it like this, you're the light bulb and they're the moth. You need to pull them toward you with your marketing efforts.
Study your ideal client profile and determine exactly what needs they have. What are their problems? What are their obstacles? What do THEY need in order to be successful in their business? Exactly how do you fit into that scenario? How are you the lightbulb?
Step 3. Design your irresistible offer. Once you know exactly what it is they need and how you fit into that equation it's simply a matter of coming up with a straightforward irresistible offer. Simplicity is crucial! Remember, you have 9 seconds to impress! So many people tend to complicate things and this is when they fail - complication is not attractive to the short-attention-spanned-target. Come up with something that is short, straight to the point and will solve one of the biggest problems of your target market.
Start targeting and start selling!