You Don't Know Who You Are

The first step in becoming successful in your sales conversations is to understand your audience. To understand your audience, you must first understand yourself. Understanding yourself unlocks the key to identifying who you want to attract. When you understand your values, your likes, and your intentions, it becomes easier to attract the right type of person to your business.

One of the most difficult things for entrepreneurs—myself included—to do is commit to an ideal client. There are billions of people in the world and your first thought may be to say, “I serve anyone who…” or “everybody that…” But my friend, I am going to ask you to commit to one persona and one audience, and I will tell you why.

When you decide on an ideal audience, it makes all aspects of your business simpler. When you remove the ambiguity of words like “anyone, everyone, or anybody,” you make it easy to identify exactly who you are looking to serve. It also allows individuals to better identify themselves as people who need your services and opens the door for people to refer you to the appropriate contacts.

But none of this starts with them. The process of deciding who you serve begins with who you think YOU are. Many of us were taught that we have two selves: a professional and a personal. We were taught that business isn’t personal; we’re meant to keep our personal lives to ourselves and to keep things strictly professional in the business world. Well my friend, I think that’s bullshit. We have ONE self. We need to share who we are as individuals within the companies we build. After all, people do business with people, not organizations. Your prospects want to work with someone they can relate to, who understands them and can provide a solution to their problems. It is difficult to do business with someone who hides behind their logo, never revealing who they really are.

As entrepreneurs, we pour every ounce of ourselves into our businesses, day in and day out. It is nearly impossible to prevent overlap in our personal and professional lives. It’s time to allow for the overlap, but also to be strategic in how you communicate your personal side.

Defining your ideal audience takes time and dedication. This process is the cornerstone you’ll need to build the business of your dreams: to only serve the clients that you enjoy working with. It’s your right as an entrepreneur to choose your clients. You don’t need to settle on whoever comes through your doors.