Are you Confusing your Potential Clients?

What do you say when you meet someone for the first time and they ask what you do?  Do you say “I’m a coach” or “I’m an accountant” or “I’m a therapist” making you sound bland and just like everyone else?  Or do you confuse people by talking about things that the average person who needs your help simply doesn’t understand – maybe talking about meridians or vibrational healing.

Small windows of opportunity

In our modern fast-moving world, you only have very small windows of opportunity to get your message across in a way that articulates what you do in a clear and compelling way – and that leaves your ideal client wanting to hear more. But most people are either bland and not standing out from the crowd, or using language that only confuses their potential clients.

I like to teach my clients how to use the language that your client actually uses – not ‘high-falutin’ terms that are well intentioned, but don’t mean much to the average person, which is so common in both the coaching and healing worlds.

First of all, before you craft your message,  think about the result you want to achieve.   I know when I tell people what I do I want them to think “Where have you been all my life!” or next best “Oh, I know someone who really needs to know about you”.

Meet them where they are at

But to get this result you have to meet them where they are at.  I have heard this called ‘joining in the conversation that is already running inside their head.’

To demonstrate what I mean I’m going to use a couple of examples from real businesses I have come across recently:

Example 1:

I recently stumbled across a website on “Conscious Parenting” offering to teach people how to parent in a more conscious way (don’t ask me how I landed there, I don’t even have kids…!).   Now, we probably all know what is meant by this, and indeed it’s a noble thing to aspire to.  But imagine for a moment that is your website and your business.   Now, the people who are your ideal clients are not likely to be waking up in the morning thinking “oh, I really must learn to become a more conscious parent, I wonder where I can learn more about it”.

No, they are much more likely to be waking up thinking “Oh no, I’m dreading having to go out today, I just wish the kids would stop fighting all the time” or “all I want is to be like a normal family”.   Imagine how much more likely your ideal client would be to hear you if you used language exactly like that – if you entered the conversation that is already running in their head.

Example 2:

Similarly, I recently met a Relationship Coach at a networking event. When she told me what she did it piqued my curiosity (so far so good, her niche was working for her).  But when I asked her further about the work she does with people and what results she helps them achieve she said “Oh no, I don’t help people find their partner, I help them improve their relationship with their Self, which is the only relationship that matters”.  Was she right? Well, of course she was.  But did she have enough clients? Absolutely not.

That’s because her ideal clients are not walking around thinking “Oh, I’m really unhappy, I wish someone would help me improve my relationship with my Self”.  No, they are walking around thinking “I’m really scared because if me and my husband can’t stop arguing I’m sure we’re heading for a divorce” or they might be thinking “I’m so unhappy and lonely, I just want to meet a man”.

Now, will this coach help them work on their relationship with their Self?  Of course she will.  But if she can’t use the right language to attract them in the first place she’s never going to have a chance to do this amazing work with them.  See what I mean?

So start to simplify your language so that you are using everyday language that your ideal client will really resonate with and you’ll soon notice a difference in the way that your potential new clients respond to you.