Defining your ideal clients: A strategic approach to effective prospecting

Advisors often waste considerable time and money on prospecting efforts that don’t lead anywhere. They tend to cast a wide lens, hoping to attract everyone, but that strategy usually leads them to include generic messaging that appeals to no one. A better approach, and one that’s more successful, is to focus on attracting your ideal clients and design and message your services to appeal to that group. 

Building an ideal client profile

If you aren’t sure who to consider as your ideal client, first, try to define some criteria: what makes an ideal client? You can certainly include metrics, such as assets under management or revenue per client, but a best practice is to include some qualitative characteristics, too. For example, perhaps your ideal clients give you referrals or may be good at acting on your advice. If you have a specific niche or expertise in a particular area, that can be part of your criteria. 

To make it easier, list five characteristics that define your ideal clients. Then, try to write down 10 clients who meet your criteria. 

This in itself is an interesting exercise; who came quickly to mind? If you struggled to come up with more than a few names, this could signal that something’s amiss with your practice.

Next, write down your 10 favorite clients – the ones you really enjoy working with. These are the people who make you smile when they are on the phone or the ones you look forward to seeing in the afternoon when you know you have a meeting scheduled. 

Chances are that these 10 names come to you pretty quickly and easily, as we all tend to know who we enjoy working with.

Finding common threads for better connection

So, now you have a list of criteria for your ideal clients, a list of the 10 people who meet that criteria, and a separate list of your favorite clients. Excellent! Next, take a closer look at your two lists of clients. How much overlap is there? Ideally, you’d like to see a lot of the same names on both lists, but this doesn’t always happen in real life. 

Assuming that you do have at least a few names on both lists, the next step is to consider what these ideal clients have in common. Are they all involved in technology-related fields, teachers, or perhaps doctors or engineers? It might not be a profession but rather a life stage, such as empty nesters, divorced people, or young couples just starting out. 

Take some time to look for the common characteristics, as it might not always be easy. One advisor had his lists of clients but struggled to understand what linked them. His lightbulb moment came when he looked at their occupations and saw owners of ice cream stands, landscapers, masons, and tree trimming. While none of these occupations looked that similar at a glance, the advisor realized that they were primarily seasonal businesses, with the majority of their cash flow earned during a short period. The advisor had worked at similar companies throughout high school and college and understood the nuances of these types of businesses really well.

It goes without saying that your ideal clients should be a group that can pay for your services. Once you know who your ideal clients are, it should be easy to start understanding how to help them. Think about how the group communicates, the ways they leverage technology, and the decisions they face. Does this group use specific products? Are they subject to any regulatory or banking constraints? You’ll want to learn all that you can about this ideal client group.

Becoming an expert for your ideal clients

Finally, consider how you can become an expert in meeting the unique needs of your ideal clients. You can decide to take a class or gain a designation, but there are probably organizations you can join or publications you can read that will boost your knowledge, too. 

Think about how different your life would be (and how much more enjoyable) if you had a practice full of your ideal clients, and start taking steps to make that happen!