At this point you’ve determined why you’re in network marketing and you’ve created your goal.
(See the blog post for Part 1 if you haven’t completed this task.)
You’ve also decided what products and product packages you want to concentrate on.
(See the blog post for Part 2 if you are still struggling with this.)
Now it’s time to decide who the primary people are that you will sell these products to.
In network marketing, we’re typically taught to sell to anyone who shows an interest.
After all, most network marketing products work for a wide audience.
And that’s okay. You don’t need to refuse to sell to someone who doesn’t represent your ideal customer.
But if you intend to do any marketing, even through social media, you need to have a good idea of who you’re targeting so you can craft your messages to appeal specifically to those ideal customers.
A bit of research will help you determine who would buy the products you’ve chosen to lead with.
1) Talk to your upline and leaders in your company to see who the company had in mind when they created the product or package.
2) Ask your upline who is buying the product or package right now.
3) Go online and search on the type of product you’ve chosen in order to see what else is being sold in this space, and who they are targeting.
4) Look in magazines – offline and online – to see where your competitors are advertising and pay attention to the articles. Who are they targeting?
5) Find blogs that talk about the space your product is in and see which readers these blogs are targeting.
There are many more places you can look, and each step will take you to another, like following bread crumbs.
As you’re doing your research, try to create a picture in your mind of your ideal customer and their life.
| If you would like to learn more about creating a picture of your ideal customer, please go to my blog post 5 Steps to Building an Effective Avatar to Transform the Power of Your Words. |
An avatar is a representation of the perfect customer in your target market.
The more details you know about your avatar, the easier it will be to create Facebook Live and video presentations, podcasts, blogs and emails relevant to your perfect customer.
Your avatar should become as familiar to you as your best friend.
At first your avatar will look a lot like you, but there may be some key differences, depending on what you’re selling.
For example, one of my avatars – yes, you can have more than one – is a working mom with an autistic child.
I don’t have an autistic child; however, one of the product packages I love helps some autistic children with issues common to their group.
As a result, I’ve been building an avatar that understands the problems these moms have so I can relate to them betteri.
That avatar isn’t based on me. It’s based on someone I know.
Now that you have a good idea of who your ideal customer is, you need to determine where he or she hangs out.
Where do you find him or her on the web? On social media? In person?
Let’s say, for example, that you sell an anti-aging skin care line, and you’ve determined your ideal customer is a professional woman, 42 years of age, who works as an HR manager at a Fortune 500 corporation. She is married, has a son and a daughter, and a husband who works part-time owing to heart issues.
OK. Where does she spend her down time? Is she likely to go to the spa with her daughter for a fun afternoon or would you catch her at the gym?
What are her hobbies? Does she take clean eating cooking classes at the local gourmet store, take classes in stock trading, or does she belong to a cycling club?
What does this person watch on TV? Does she watch the news, Bloomberg, You Tube videos, or a shopping channel?
What does she read? Does she read fashion and beauty magazines, Scientific American, The Economist, fiction, biographies or business books?
What social media does she use? Is she on Facebook or Pinterest or something else?
What blog posts does she read? Is she following a well-known personality like Dr. Oz?
What podcasts does she listen to? Vogue or Mike Dillard?
How does she buy – in store, by phone or online?
How much time and money does she have to spend on herself? Saturday morning “me” time with $50 for lunch with friends, or run off her feet with no money for anything except the essentials?
Now that you have a picture of your ideal customer, her life and where she hangs out, you can create messages aimed specifically at her, and place them where she’s likely to see them – even if you deliver them in person when you see her at the gym.
The next step, then, is to put everything together – your goal, the products and the people – and do the financials. That will be in my next blog.
By the way, the messages that will be most attractive to your ideal customer, according to Vitaly Grinblat of Elite Marketing Pro, are those that
1) are obviously meant for her – for example, they scream “If you’re a professional woman in her 40’s needing to keep her corporate good looks as long as possible …”
2) speak to her pain – being a professional woman expected to look the part, trying to “stay young” so her male counterparts don’t dismiss her as “over-the-hill”, but not having a lot of time and money to spend on cosmetic surgery.
3) have a message of hope – “You can do this – fast, easy and within your budget”.
4) invite them to learn more – generate curiosity so they want to take the next step.
5) use social proof or scientific numbers to convince them your solution will work.
6) have credibility and authority, which comes the more you blog, email, post podcasts and post videos.
If you would like to learn how to attract your ideal customers to you, using a method called attraction marketing, you can start with this Free 10 Day Online Marketing Boot Camp.
My friend and mentor, Ferny Ceballos, is an online marketing expert who built his network marketing team online. Ferny has recorded 10 videos, which I will send to you, one a day, to teach you the basics of attraction marketing.
You will also have the opportunity to purchase the e-book, The Attraction Marketing Formula, for a fraction of the normal price.
And as a bonus, you can participate in the Ignition Coaching Program, which has 3 one-on-one calls with great coaches who have been where you are.
Just sign up for the Free 10 Day Online Marketing Boot Camp to get started.
