How To Connect, Cultivate And Convert Your Ideal Clients

It doesn’t matter if you are a consultant, a dentist, or you are selling the latest tech gizmo, in order to be successful at business you need to connect, cultivate and convert new, ideal clients.

Entrepreneurs and business owners with an upward growth trajectory, have a solid strategy for consistently converting prospects into clients. They know that in order to create a steady stream of qualified leads, you need to do more than hang out a virtual shingle or set up a brick and mortar shop.

With so much competition for her attention and dollars, it’s not easy to grab the attention of your ideal clients. In this increasingly networked and online world, you have to to communicate and connect with prospects within their day-to-day experience.

For many businesses, that day-to-day experience happens on search and social media. Connecting with ideal clients on social media requires compelling content that converts them into subscribers, and eventually buyers – and you have a whopping 2.7 seconds to get it right! So, let me give you a leg up on your competition…

Here are 7 skills you absolutely must get right to connect, cultivate and convert your ideal clients.

1, Know what your ideal client is thinking. Literally get into his/her head and become a mind reader. To do that you need to listen. Reach out to as many of your ideal clients as you can. Listen to what they say. What frustrates them? Spot the patterns. Use these words as your headlines – for your blogs, your videos, your ‘click bait.’

2. Deliver something of high value. Solve a piece of their problem in five minutes or less. The trick to cultivating connections with your ideal clients is to give away your content. No one can be you and no one can replicate your value prop. However, in five minutes (and no more than 10) you can give away a “what” and “how” that will leave her wanting more… so give her the more.

3. Go for the small ‘yeses’. Invite your ideal client to step up and invest in a small way. Take a one-hour training, join you in a webinar, purchase a low-end product. Watch a video. The more frequently you can get a prospect to say “yes” to your offer, the more qualified she is to invest in your larger ticket item.

4. Create a community around your offers. Facebook groups are great for this. Whenever I launch a webinar as part of a campaign, I invite prospects to join a closed community. A Facebook group is so much better than a page – 1. Members can post questions and share content. 2. You can share files and handouts. 3. Your events show up in their notifications and newsfeeds. 4. You are engaging with them in conversation regularly. You have a captive audience.

5. Consistently engage. Prospects go cold in a matter of days. In order to capitalize on your marketing investment, invest in a solid CRM platform that has the capability of supporting multiple campaigns. Continually craft your free and upsell offers. Measure and finetune along the way. Engage with your prospects weekly – at a minimum. It can be a small touch – an article, new video or event – any piece of useful content. Always ask for feedback.

6. Create a flow. Make sure you have a steady stream of new, qualified leads coming in daily. This may mean a combination of advertising, SEO and in-person events. Know your conversion rates and how many new leads you need per month to hit your revenue targets.

7. Make it personal. People buy from people they know, like and trust. Be seen and heard regularly. Develop trust and you will have a constant stream of happy, qualified buyers.