How To Create Freelancer Clients Profile. What do my clients actually want is one of the most crucial questions we can ask ourselves as freelancers. You must first be aware of who your clients are in order to ascertain this. Many business owners and professionals utilize the Ideal Client Profile, or ICP, as a tool to determine just that.
It’s an easy method to focus in on specific clientele that you, as a creative business owner, want to service. In order to better understand and serve your own range of clients. I’m going to walk you through the steps of generating client profiles in this article.
If the ICP used appropriately, your clients may believe you have mind-reading abilities.
Table of Contents
What exactly are Ideal Client Profiles?
The Ideal Client Profile has many names in the business and marketing world. And some business owners even have their own customized versions with individualized data. And questionnaires, but its fundamental idea is the same everywhere.
You can build a single, ideal “person” who will serve as the basis for all of your marketing. Initiatives by using comprehensive information on the common behaviors and demands of your target market.
With the ICP, you may have a finely tuned “average”. That the most of your clients will conform to, making it much easier to get inside their thoughts. Forget attempting to cater to hundreds or even dozens of different clients.
Data Collection
A freelancer producing an Ideal Client Profile needs to have some fundamental knowledge about human psychology. And behavior to serve as a reference, just like a novelist creating a character for a book.
But unlike a novelist, you can’t just make stuff up. Or change the facts to suit your own purposes (well, you could, but that wouldn’t help your business much).
Asking them directly is the quickest and most accurate way to learn about the clientele you want to target. You may learn the most important things that your clients aspire for, fear. And desire for their businesses by speaking with previous, present, and potential clients. You ought to be doing it anyhow to stay informed on what customers are truly seeking.
What you should query
Your client has motivation and a broad range of objectives, just like the main character in a tale. Here are some examples of questions you ought to be asking:
- Do they desire higher sales? Most likely, but what more do they need?
- Do they desire their peers’ respect? How about the confidence of their clients?
- What motivates them to get out of bed each morning?
- Why do they stay up at night?
- What are the top three difficulties they are now experiencing in their business?
You can use all of these and similar inquiries to help you create the framework for your ICP.
Get clear on the basics
However, before diving in, we must first identify the precise characteristics of your potential client. Start from scratch and create your ideal client from the ground up.
Who is this client’s name, first of all? Don’t chuckle. Giving this “person” a name makes it much easier for you to relate to them and consider their requirements.
The Ideal Client becomes a real person with a name instead of just a notion. Therefore, feel free to assign them names and genders. If there is a gender imbalance in your clientele, choose one at random. Otherwise, the gender should reflect the majority of your clientele.
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Dig, dig and dig
Next, what is this person’s age? Who lives there? What kind of company do they own, and how much money do they make from it? What sort of way of life do they lead? Do they frequently attend trade shows and other events? When do they go on trips? Do they feel content with how much time they spend at work compared to at home?
When responding to these inquiries, it crucial to really detailed. You are condensing all of your data into one individual, as the exercise says, by averaging it.
Again, be specific!
Avoid responses such, “So-and-so works in manufacturing and his company generates about 8 figures in revenue.” What precisely do they make, and how much do they charge for it? Put in a precise figure for their annual income, even if it’s just an estimate.
Don’t forget about currency. Even something as straightforward as changing US dollars to euros can effectively employed as a marketing tactic.
Avoid bad clients
How would you break this harmful habit in a perfect world? Respond to these inquiries and include them in your client’s profile.
Perhaps your study has led you to the conclusion. That the most problematic customers are those who have been with you for a specific amount of time. Or perhaps all of your top clients attended the same institution.
Only your imagination can restrict the potential uses for data points.
Don’t fear the niche
It’s time to delve deeper into the minds of your target clients. Once you’ve addressed as many of the fundamental inquiries as would be pertinent for your firm. Find out everything you can about a client. That will make the experience as positive for both of you as feasible.
Keep in mind that we are creating the ideal client, so don’t neglect your own demands as a freelancer. Sick of customers who are unsure about what they want? What knowledge about your client could you have that would solve that issue? Alternatively, perhaps you keep having clients that attack you with scope creep like ninja stars.
And finally…
As you go further into the mind of your ideal customer, you’ll begin to focus on a certain niche. That may far more specialized than the types of clients you used to working with.
Let’s say that you primarily work with tech startups as your clients. It may turn out that you need to change your niche from “tech startups” to “a productivity software company. In Silicon Valley that earns $6.2 million annually and that has received at least one round of VC funding”. Depending on the precise revenue of your client’s business and the precise products they offer their customers.
Remember that you’re creating this ideal client using information you acquired from your previous clients. Before you become upset about how very exact that is. Don’t second guess it if this is your ideal customer; go for them!
The game plan
Put all of your efforts into making yourself as appealing to this client as you can. Infiltrate their network and astound them with your ‘psychic’ newfound skills. Make use of the information you’ve learned from the characteristics of your ideal client to position. Yourself as the go-to expert for solving their particular difficulties.
If you’ve done your work well, word will get out and before you know it. You’ll have more “ideal” clients than you ever imagined. Do you believe you could provide your clients with better service by using an ideal client profile?
How can you use the data and comments from your clients. To help you find the ideal client for your freelance business?