Do You Know Why Your Clients Hire You?

You're probably thinking, "Of course I do, they hire me because______". And you probably filled the blank with a description of your service. For example, a graphic designer might answer that question as follows: My clients hire me because they need help designing their materials. And while that may be true, it isn't really why they choose to work with you. Your clients choose to work with you for many reasons:

The products or services you offer

Your warm friendly personality

Your commitment to their project

Your ability to follow-through on your commitments

Your knowledge and skill

Your willingness to research and find personalized solutions These are just a few tangible and intangible reasons someone might choose to work with you. But before your client can even determine some of the intangible reasons they might hire you, they have to be attracted to you in the first place. And the strongest way to attract them is for them to: Believe that you have the solution to their problem or need How can you create an atmosphere that makes them understand that you have the perfect solution for their situation? Keep the focus of your services, your products and your business on them. Your clients may want to know what you do, but they mainly want to know how what you do can help them. Many entrepreneurs spend their time focused on defining what their business is, what their services are and what their experience is. While this is informative, it doesn't actually tell your potential client why they should choose you. Your marketing material should clearly state the benefits of your solutions in a manner that attracts your potential clients attention. Spend sometime this month determining what your clients most pressing needs and desires are and then make sure your marketing material offers solutions to their needs. (Not sure what their needs are? Then ask some of your current or past clients why they chose you, what their need was and how you provided a solution). You'll be amazed at what you find out about yourself and about your clients. Do you feel your marketing material already states the benefits of your service and the how these benefits can help your potential clients? If so, are you as busy as you'd like to be? If not, I encourage you to take the time to ask your past clients why they were attracted to you, and what problem did your service solve. By asking these questions, you'll be able to adjust your marketing materials so that they actually reflect what your clients need rather than what you thought they needed. Make sense? Sometimes, what we think our clients want and what they really want aren't the same. When this happens no amount of great marketing is going to attract clients to you- you're off target. What can you do? Start by incorporating the strategies I'm outlining. But, like anything else, good ideas are only that- good ideas, if we don't take action and get proactive.