HOW TO COMMUNICATE TO ATTRACT CLIENTS
How to Identify and Attract the Right Audience

by Shana Lynn Yao
CEO | Business & Personal Success Strategist
Total Genius™

"Can you hear me now?”

If you have a cell phone, chances are you’ve spoken these words.  Yes, those infamous dropped calls, people on the other end hearing a deaf silence… but with a little adjustment, something as simple as changing where you are standing can allow your voice to penetrate the sound waves.

It’s annoying but expected with a cell phone.  But what if you have a business and those unheard words fall (or don’t fall) into the ears of your prospective clients? What if your words can’t be heard because to your clients, you aren’t speaking a language they understand?  Or it’s not what they want or need to hear so they just shut it out?

Unheard words and unclear communication result in silence.  Not sales.  In your life and business, in order to be effective and profitable, it is essential that you not only speak the words your target audience wants to hear but that you also understand not only HOW to speak those words effectively, but to WHOM you need to speak them to.

HOW TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY

Communicating effectively is an art.  It is a learned trait that involves deep compassion, empathy, and a genuine interest in helping others.  In technical terms, this is referred to as social intelligence.  As defined by Research Scientist Daniel Goldman,   “Social intelligence comes from our ability to be socially aware and to manage our relationships intelligently: the ability to pick up on emotions in other people and to work out what’s really going on with them; to appreciate another person’s perspective; to understand and appreciate the impact of your communication on others; to cultivate rapport and be attuned with a broad diversity of people; to manage interactions effectively; to engage with others for mutual benefit.”

In terms of a business nutshell, that is what having effective client relationships and selling is all about.  At a fundamental level, your ability to communicate effectively to your ideal clients can make or break your business.  You could do all of the social marketing and advertising you want, be "seen" on Facebook - but if you don't know who you're speaking to and can’t speak in such a way that they understand you;  if you can’t understand what they want, they won’t be able to see or hear you.

This is understanding human behavior at a basic level.  Not knowing this could leave you with a business that doesn’t service your customers’ needs and have people tune you out.

Quite simply, this is relationship building and marketing 101.  

YOUR BBF LEGACY CLIENT

Who can hear you? Who needs to hear you?

If you feel like you are lacking "visibility" - is that really why you're not attracting paying clients? Because even if people "see" you, if they can't hear you - or rather have an interesting in listening to you - visibility becomes a moot point.

Do you know who your ideal clients are? Your BBF (Best Business Friend) Legacy Clients?

If you just thought about a "customer avatar", that may be one of the most important issues to your lack of visibility (and money in your bank account) I know, I know - everyone is teaching this 20 point questionnaire to create a "customer avatar". 

But by definition, a customer avatar is
1. someone who represents a type of person, an idea, or a quality
2. computers : a small picture that represents a computer user in a game, on the Internet, etc.

I am not an avatar. And for heaven's sake, I hope you aren't one either. 

As an intelligent, and purpose-driven entrepreneur, the term "customer avatar" creates a false form of what represents your ideal clients. And while this may seem like an easy way to think about who you target in your business, in actuality, doing so creates a very cold representation of someone you are trying to develop an emotional connection to. In fact, research shows, that in order to get another person to DO something - like make a decision to work with you - you have to get them to FEEL something.

ATTRACTION MARKETING

Who do you want to help? Who are your BBF Legacy Clients?

Marketing is an art. It's the art and science of understanding yourself and your own motivations so you can understand others. This is what Personal Influence™ is - positioning yourself through your marketing as the answer to your Legacy Clients problems.

Most people make the mistake of trying to talk to EVERYONE. And this strategy works for NO ONE. While in your mind, you don't' want to eliminate opportunity, this is the exact opposite of what you need to do. No one can hear you if you are shouting in the air. Instead, you want to go DEEP.  Just as the Pareto Principle states - it's understanding how the 80/20 rule applies to your audience.  If 20% of people you speak to produce 80% of your results, you need to decide who you are going to market to.

Who are your BBF Legacy Clients? Chances are, they are much like you.

In order to communicate effectively, you need to learn the 4 personality types and also how to speak to them in the way they take in information. Knowing this will help you identify your target audience, develop better communication to them, and manage your relationships with them.

UNDERSTANDING PERSONALITY TYPES

According to Behavioral Analyst and author of  The Four Personality Types and What Drives Them, Steven Sisler describes the the 4 different types of personalities and how your relationships and communication styles are affected depending on which personality type you are.  Every person has one or more of these personalities, but one is their more dominant quality.  These are based on the DISC Model of Behavior developed by William Mouton Marston, a Harvard graduate physiological psychologist in 1928.  

To simplify the model, Steve describes these 4 types as Mad, Glad, Sad, and Scared.

MAD/Dominant – “Mad” people are bold and direct
GLAD/Inspiring – “Glad” people are positive and social
SAD/Supportive – “Sad” people are more quiet and laid back. They may communicate with a lot of questions and commas. (i.e. “Is this ok?”  “What do you think?”)
SCARED/Cautious – “Scared” people are intelligent and rational

In order to achieve results with these different personality types, you have to know what they want out of the communication.  Below are descriptions and examples of verbal and non-verbal communication that will help you communicate more effectively to your ideal clients.

MAD people have a dominant, to-the-point communication style.  They seek communication that leads to results – they want to get things done.  What they need: Schedules, tasks, Challenges – things that put them into action mode.
Example: Donald Trump

GLAD people are outgoing and social . They care what other people think of them and are fun loving and interactive. They respond to admiration and recognition.
What they need: Interaction (great for a group environment), acknowledgment, frequent communication, opportunities to demonstrate their talents.
Example: Bill Clinton

SAD people are supportive and seek communication that promotes safety
What they need: Interaction, support from leaders. They need ongoing mentorship programs, support and open communication.
Example: A secretary

SCARED people are reserved and seek out the “right” answers and facts.
What they need: This group is cautious and careful and needs a lot of factual backup for proof. This could be provided via a blog, a teleclass, or a webinar – anything that communicates facts they need to hear.
Example: Dr. Spock from Star Trek

Which one are you?  Knowing which personality type you are and how you communicate will help you identify those qualities in others.  If your business is positioned correctly, your BBF Legacy Clients are very similar to you. And when you understand yourself and your own motivations, you will understand them and their motivations and urgent problems at a DEEPER level.  Understanding their personality type and your own, will guide you towards the right marketing to do and understand what they need when you speak to them.  Additionally, you will understand which personality types you best get along with (and therefore want to work with).

SPEAK AND BE SEEN

Visibility is essential for any entrepreneur. But if the right people who need you can't hear you, they will never actually see you.

Transactions - those done through selling - live in the brain. But relationships - the type that build a loyal tribe of raving fans that want to follow and buy from you - is done through appealing to emotions. The real communication that reveals you to those that need you. 

You can't sell to anyone that isn't paying attention to you. And you can't get people to pay attention to you until you find the emotional connection. Their story, their pain and their voice.

How do you rate on your positioning? Discover your brand story and find the true connection to people that need you and want to pay you.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also want to read:

The Marketing Strategy That Works
(free downloadable marketing plan inside)

Shana Yao is CEO and Founder of TOTAL GENIUS™, where she works with high achieving entrepreneurs to discover your genius - the combination of your greatest strengths, talents, and life experience - to create a profit generating business based on your purpose, that fulfills your life and makes an impact on the world. She is an award-winning Business and Personal Success Strategist with over 28 years of experience managing multimillion dollar retail and shopping center locations, including the famed Rodeo Drive. 

In her signature program Discover Your Genius, Shana helps her clients achieve discover and empower their genius within. Using her knowledge of neuroscience, neuro-linguistic programming, positive psychology, emotional and positive intelligence, and high level business strategies, she works to develop her client’s unique vision by uncovering their purpose, their message, building their profit-generating signature program and putting their words into action on their website and in their customized marketing strategy.Schedule a chat to get your business and personal brand positioned to sell.