Does attracting new clients into your health & fitness business feel like really hard work at times?
Have referrals been your main way of attracting new clients but now they’re slowing down and you don’t know what else to do?
Perhaps you’re just starting out and don’t know where to begin when it comes to marketing yourself and getting clients?
Regardless of where you are at right now, the following principles still apply.
You see there is a science behind attracting clients, well more of a formula really. It all starts with creating your ‘Client Avatar’.
You’ll also hear people refer to this as ‘Ideal Client’ or ‘Client Profile’ – it’s all the same thing.
A Client Avatar is about building a clear picture of the type or types of clients you want to attract.
If it’s just you in your business, you only really need to have one Client Avatar, two at most. If you have more than two, you’re just going to make it harder for yourself as your marketing needs to be different for each avatar.
For instance, you might want to work with women only or men only. You might want to work with adults over 40yrs or perhaps it’s new mum’s. There’s no right or wrong here, as long as you’re clear on who YOU want to work with and help the most.
Equally, it may not be the demographics (such as age or gender) that defines who you want to work with. It could be more about their psychographics, such as their ‘now problems’.
For example, you may want to focus on helping people struggling to lose weight or those who want to perform better in a specific sport. Their age and gender are irrelevant, it’s their struggles and goals that define them.
To be clear and before we go any further… I’m not saying you can’t work with other types of people. I’m suggesting you get clear on who you would prefer to work with and therefore attract with your marketing.
Take my business for example, I aim my marketing at Health & Fitness Professionals who run their own businesses and want to get more clients. Yet, I’ve recently worked with a client who owns an Equestrian Centre – totally different right?!
I can still work with other types of businesses if I choose to. I’m just not actively seeking them out with my marketing, make sense?
So how do you start creating your Client Avatar so you can attract new clients?
Step 1 – Get clear on their demographics (if relevant to your avatar)
- Age
- Gender
- Marital Status
- Children/Grandchildren
- Occupation
- Location (where they live)
- How they spend their spare time?
Step 2 – What are their ‘now’ problems and what do they want instead (Psychographics)?
- What are their pain points (physical, emotional)
- What are their problems, struggles, frustrations, concerns, worries, fears?
- What is it they are trying to change?
- What are their goals?
- What results do they want?
Wherever possible ask these questions to your actual clients (if you have some already) or those who you believe fit your client avatar. Pay attention to the actual words they use.
It’s their wording you want to use in your marketing. It’s about resonating with the conversation going on in your client avatar’s head. It’s not about your interpretation of how you THINK they are feeling.
It’s definitely not about using technical jargon either. For example, people who are struggling to lose weight don’t sit on the sofa thinking… all I need to do is create a calorie deficit and speed up my metabolism.
Pay close attention to the words each client avatar uses and mirror that in your marketing. Use their words when someone asks you what you do. I refer to this as your ‘one liner’.
Here’s a one liner example for one of my clients… Rather than saying I’m a Physio and Fitness Trainer, she says … I help those suffering with joint & muscle pain to move and feel better so they can live their best lives.
The person asking you ‘what do you do?’, could just be your ideal client and so could the other three people standing within earshot!
Take a bit of time to create your client avatar and then decide what your one liner will be?
If you would like free access to training and support on how to get new clients and grow your health & fitness business join the Health & Fitness Business Club
