10 Essential Criteria
for
Choosing Your Target Market
Move
in the right
direction with these tips for choosing your target
market -
great advice from someone who knows what
she's talking about
|
A specific group of
people you will focus on selling your services to
is your target market. This is not to be confused with the problem you
will be solving for this group.
Why choose a target market?, You need to decide
exactly who your audience is before you sell your services. Deciding on
your target market lays a critical foundation for your business. When
you get clear about who your target market is, you will:
* know where to focus your selling and
marketing
efforts.
* know where to focus your research efforts.
You want to intimately understand your market:
the
problems they have and the language they speak. The greater your level
of understanding the more magnetic you will become.
Your target market will determine your income and success. Choose the
wrong one and you will waste a lot of time and money with very little
results.
Whatever target market -TM- you choose, check to see that it meets the
following 10 essential criteria:
1. Your TM has a big
problem.
They think about it
all the time, it keeps them awake at night.
2. Your TM wants the problem solved. The impact
and
cost of the problem is big enough that they will act to solve it (some
people have problems they are quite happy to live with!).
3. You can easily find your TM. Do they belong
to
associations? Are there conferences for this target market? Are there
publications? Where do they hangout? If it's not easy to find your
target market, it will cost you a lot of money to find them.
4. Your TM has money to spend. No point having a terrific service if
your target market hasn't the money to pay for it. I know this sounds
basic but it's often overlooked.
5. Your TM has a history of paying to have this problem solved. You
want to focus on a target market where there is a proven track record
of problems and people paying to solve them. A good sign is if your
competitors are selling similar services to the target market.
6. There's enough of your TM out there to
sustain a
business. How many people or businesses are in your target market?
Realistically how many will become your clients and what will that be
worth to you? Is that enough?
7. You enjoy working with your TM. Think about
what
types of people are in your target market and visualize being with them
day in and day out. How does that feel? Will you feel energized or
drained at the end of the day? Remember, you are also in business to
enjoy yourself so make sure you will enjoy working with this target
market.
8. You have a passion for helping and serving this TM. Passion is an
essential ingredient for selling your services.
9. You have valuable expertise and experience you can offer. Your
target market will want to buy from people who are experts in their
field. Think about what specific expertise and experience you can offer
your target market.
10. Your TM fits with your ultimate lifestyle
package. What hours do you want to work? Where do you want to work? How
do you want to work? Does this fit in with your target market? Ensure
that working with your target market will enable you to live the kind
of life you want to live.
Once you have found your target market, the
next
step is to refine it even further. Decide on the profile of your ideal
client. What sort of person are they? Decide on their demographics and
psychographics. Demographics are the basic facts like age, gender,
income, location, etc. Psychographics are their characteristics, values
etc. This will enable you to focus even more.
The clearer you are about who you want to do
business with, the more you will attract exactly the clientele you're
looking for. You will then need your Sales Conversation skills to
convert them to clients.
About the author: Tessa Stowe works with self employed professionals who are struggling to sell their Services. To learn more about this and to sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at http://www.salesconversation.com.