How often do you hear “I’d love to work with you but I can’t afford it” from your clients? If you think it’s too often then chances are you are not marketing your services to the right people, those that can actually afford it and those that are affluent enough not to have to be out shopping for the lowest prices.
Marketing to affluent clients has many advantages: It’s easier to raise your fees, you don’t get bargain shoppers but people who value quality and people who will rave about your services to their (also affluent) friends. So how do you position yourself as attractive to this group?

1. Be clear about your ideal client

How clear are you about your ideal client profile? Is your marketing material designed to speak to those people who have the funds to pay your fees? What are their demographics? What affluent means is relative and it all depends on what kind of a fee you are planning it charge. But you want to make sure that your client is in life circumstances where they have enough disposable income to pay what you are asking. For example, a singe stay at home mum with two little kids with an income of $50,000 a year is not very likely to invest $20,000 in a premium image makeover session. While this is an obvious example, I suggest you look at your ideal client profile and just check that you are being realistic with your target audience.

2. Create a strong premium brand

A strong premium brand creates a sense of quality you can trust and it truly sets you apart in the market place. Affluent clients are more likely to buy from you if you have created a strong brand personality. A brand that stands for a clear message of premium, quality, innovative, glamorous or other attributes that are associated with being superior will be favoured by clients who have sufficient disposable income to spend. While budget conscious clients can’t afford to think this way, affluent people can and LIKE that they can ( I know that whenever there’s a premium option available, I’m likely to take it, because I can and I like the preferential treatment).

3. Don’t be a bargain

Affluent clients will not buy from you just because you are offering bargain prices. In fact, they may even be skeptical about the value of your service if you don’t charge enough. That’s right, you can lose sales if you undercharge. Affluent clients equate a premium price with premium service (you need to back it up and actually deliver of course). So if you are wanting to attract affluent clients, position yourself as a premium provider and have your fees be aligned with that.

I realise that doing this (especially the last one about raising your fees) takes some courage to do because whenever you select a specific group to target you are also deselecting another. It shows once again that you can’t be all things to all people. I do know though that if you consistently do the right thing with your marketing, attracting affluent clients to you is a much smarter strategy than being a bargain provider. And as for the middle ground, well, that’s a pretty wishy washy place to be. I suggest you make a decision and stand by it.

What are your thoughts? Would love your comments on this. Please leave me a note!

Have you settled on a niche yet? I know it’s not an easy decision to make for most service professionals and it’s the most important decision you will ever make in your business. It can mean the difference between a thriving business and a total lemon.

A lot of people are resisting making the decision for the fear of getting it wrong and losing their business. I used to be one of them. Apart from the fear of losing clients I was also extremely fond of all the different things I was doing and didn’t want to let go of any of them. I love stimulation and variety (probably smiliar to you).

On thing I have learned over the last few years is though: You MUST settle on a niche to be financially successful (beyond the $100,000 ceiling you can just reach without making this decision, but you’ll be working hard to maintain that for the rest of your life).

I have a step by step process that effectively leads you to make that decision. Many of my Market your Brilliance Workshop attendees made the decision on the workshop weekend, they had huge breakthroughs. I want to share with you the fundamental questions that start this process off so you can get yourself into the frame of mind that helps you make this all important decision.

So here it goes, you may want to do this with me as we go through:

Step1: Find out what you are passionate about

There is no point starting a business when your heart is not 100% in it. That’s why it makes sense to do this process from the inside out and start with what your heart tells you. When you do this, don’t think about how you will make it happen, will someone buy it etc. that just sabotages the process. That comes later. For now just focus on what you are really passionate about. Believe me without this passion you won’t have the commitment you need to make your business a success. This is especially true for us heart-centred entrepreneurs. Being an NLP Expert I use processes here that uncover your passion by engaging the unconscious mind.

Step 2: Your ideal client and their problem

Who is it that you want to work with and what problem do you solve for them? This is the time to get really specific in articulating these things. The clearer you are the better. And yes that means some people won’t fit into your profile anymore. That’s the point.
If you don’t set a clear boundary around who you work with, then nobody in particular will feel spoken to. And here is the crux of it: If you can find 5 people that want to work with you because you offer exactly what they need and you are confident your solution will solve their problem, then you have a good chance of building a viable business. Because if you can find 5 then you can find more. It’s then just a question of how do you find them and that can be solved.

Step 3: Does your ideal client have enough spending power?

So you know they have a problem you can solve. Do they want to solve it? Is it important enough for them to spend money on solving it? Do they have the spending power to buy your solution? This is critical and sometimes overlooked. Some of the biggest problems we have are not the ones we spend the most money on solving. Ever thought about it that way? Look at your own life and your spending patterns, what do you really need (be honest) and what do you spend the most money on?

How did you go? Has your view of your niche changed at all? still undecided? If you need a way to tighten this up and really nail it down, if you are having a couple of alternatives to choose from here is what I suggest:

1. Go out and test your ideas on an audience of your envisaged ideal clients

2. Get help from a mentor who is unbiased and can ask the questions that you may be avoiding to look at because of fears or emotional attachments to a particular niche.

This is one focus of our Platinum 2010 Program. All my Platinum Program Members will be guided to making sound decisions on their niche so they have a solid base to build their business on. It’s much easier to see your vision unfold once you have made these basic decisions. Could it be time for you to step up and become part of a Mentoring Program that holds you to your goals and helps you to realise them with sound advice, savvy coaching and a great sense of community?
Go to www.clientprosperity.com/platinum to get your Platinum Invitation letter and application form.