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I often hear people saying their target market is “everywhere”, so let’s look an actual example of a search that big.
The biggest target I can think of finding is another Earth-like planet with life.
And now we are one step closer to finding this. Astronomers estimate there are at least 8.8 billion Earth-size, just right planets—just in our own Milky Way. Earth’s population is 7.04 billion, so that’s more planets than people.
The approach that scientists took can be applied to your business to find the ideal client you are looking for.
Looking “everywhere” would be like scientists searching every patch of sky to find the their target. Instead, this is where they looked:
Let’s look at their results & compare it to marketing:
It would have been astronomically expensive (time, money & energy) to look everywhere. Standing on Earth, their search field would be “two scoops” of the Big Dipper. Now remember the whole sky is actually above and below you, so this is a VERY narrow search!
- They started with a clear GOAL, and made an educated decision on where to look.
- 150,000 stars (NETWORK) photographed every 30 mins for 4 years (IT TAKES TIME), with 3,000 planet candidates (LEADS)
- FOCUSED on the 42,000 stars (QUALITY NETWORK) & found 603 candidate planets orbiting them (QUALITY LEADS)
- Only 10 of these were Earth-size (CLIENTS)
They didn’t have to find every planet (IDEAL CLIENT) to reach their goal. It’s just like your business strategy. Of course you’ll miss out on potential ideal clients. But if you have more than enough to work with, it doesn’t matter!
What if these numbers were your actual results? Is your business setup to handle this many quality leads? If you are like most small businesses, this would be more than enough!! You can save your time, money & energy by knowing a target number for leads, then scaling your efforts to the appropriate level.
Apply this approach to your marketing strategy:
- Start with the people you already know in real life before branching out to strangers
- Get connected both online & in-person to create your QUALITY NETWORK.
- Build relationships to find your QUALITY LEADS.
- This will lead you to more than enough IDEAL CLIENTS!
The fastest way to find your quality network is with Groups. If you take a scattered approach to networking (both online & in-person), you won’t have time to get to know people. The search takes time.
TAKE ACTION: Pick 1-2 quality networking groups in-person. Add on 1-2 groups online. Try Facebook Groups or LinkedIn Groups.
Keep your focus narrow, only adding on a Group that you have time, money & energy to interact with regularly. Otherwise, you’ll be back to the scattered approach of searching everywhere.
Hello Service-Based Entrepreneur,
I know it’s easy to get overwhelmed by reading blog posts full of ideas, tactics & tools. Be honest...
- How frustrated will you be trying to implement this on your own?
- How much time will you waste if it's not your next best step?
- Did you just take the time to read this but you won't make any changes?
- Or are you ready to take a small next step to build your brand?
Get clarity & your next step forward!
I'm here to help you with your marketing for the new normal & beyond. Let's talk about your options to work with me on a FREE 30-min call.
To your success,
Marketing Strategist & Designer
I offer a blend of 30+ years of expertise in marketing, websites, brand identity, strategy, tech solutions, and more.
I work with service-based entrepreneurs with a practical and flexible approach to adjust to changes in business & life. Let’s talk about how we can work together to start & grow your business.
