Busting the BS of the Ideal Client Avatar
There’s a Chinese proverb which says:
If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.
Chase just the one damned rabbit!
Well that makes total sense right? If you’re trying to chase all those crazy little rabbit dudes all you’re going to do is exhaust yourself, look stupid and after a while you’re going to seriously suspect those little bunnies are laughing at you!
So we know that it makes sense to niche in and serve and market to one specific client type or avatar.
What this means in marketing terms is that you perform your marketing activities as though you were trying to attract just that one person – and not “anyone with a wallet”. When I first started out with my first business I made the enormous mistake of thinking my idea client was anyone. Anyone at all. Please buy! Now I know better – and that although you have a perfect client to whom you focus your marketing activities – others will find you.
Trouble is, there are an awful lot of marketing experts and coaches out there in the female entrepreneurial world who are selling this “create your perfect avatar” shtick. Well that’s awesome Susan. My avatar is Lucy. She’s 35, lives just outside Boise, doesn’t like ketchup, uses factor 50 sun-block, is a Sagittarius but identifies more as Aries, once drove all the way to Vegas to see an Elvis impersonator, lies about her weight, dropped the peanut butter spoon on the floor last night but licked it anyway – and in her diary draws little circles above her i’s. 😂
Smashing.
You’ve created a really detailed avatar… but didn’t you say you really wanted a customer?
There’s a danger here of getting drawn into a time-sucking activity and believing that if you’d just crack your “correct” avatar that the customers would be hammering at your online door begging you to work with them.
Stop fiddling with your avatar! Stop it. Pretend it’s your 4 year old who’s intent on picking their nose! Stop it! Don’t you dare touch it! What are you digging for? Gold?
Done is better than perfect right? And your rough avatar is good – it’s really going to help. But when they say e.g., write a blog as though writing to “Lucy” – what is really better is if you write as though talking to a friend – it’s just going to be easier for you, faster and will flow better.
It’s much more important to really understand your niche than to have the perfect avatar so put your energy into fully understanding your niche and leave the avatar-tinkering to those who are procrastinating about getting clients – and I’ve been there too! Oh yeh… stick around cuz I’ve made ALL the mistakes!
