Little Biz Resources

Little Biz Resources Logo

Join The Little Biz Resources Facebook Group Here

Identify Your Dream Customer

Identify Your Dream Customer
Last time, I covered the concept of a funnel and explained why this is the best way to start building profit. Before I jump into the dream customer, let me recap a bit to explain this a little more.
 
(This information is inspired by DOTCOM SECRETS from Russell Brunson).
 
As I mentioned last time, traditional business teaches you to go into debt. The idea behind a funnel is not necessarily to start a business (though, you absolutely can). The idea of a funnel is to generate profit.
 
You’re probably saying, “but wait, Kim…I WANT to start a business!”
 
That’s ok! You CAN start a business with a funnel, but you don’t need to focus specifically on the “business” part quite yet.

Stop Focusing On The Wrong Parts First

I seriously lost count of the number of online business models I have bought and every single one of them has a large percentage of the people say, “ok, how do I get a business license” – or some variation of this.
 
Personally, I understand this thought process. I was taught through formal education, through the SBA, and half a dozen other places that I need to first decide on my business structure, then decide and set up a DBA (“doing business as” name), then get an EIN from the IRS, then get a resale certificate from the state…and it goes on.

What About Licensing Requirements?

Licensing Requirements
 Before I go too far into why this doesn’t matter, I will say that there are a few times where you need licensing for a business.  My husband and I started a security company which is highly regulated.
 
We had to have the LLC in place, the DBA, background checks on us and potential employees, fingerprinting for all of us, business insurance, liability insurance, applications for a variety of state licenses…and the list could go on!
 
It took months to get the business started.  In hindsight, knowing what I know now, I would have done it differently.  

I would have started with finding a profitable digital product or affiliate product that could have brought in revenue BEFORE I spent thousands of dollars setting up a business.  

I Would Have Given Up

One other quick thing to consider – my husband was the driving force behind that business.  Had he not spent DAYS calling people and getting everything worked out, our business would have never existed.  
 
If everything had been up to me, I would have given up.  I was supportive of the security company and my husband, but I would have been stuck on several elements.  I pushed us through some, but he did the heavy lifting!
 
It doesn’t take much to derail a project with so many different elements.  It’s better to start with something simple!

Focus On Profits First

The reality is that you only need all of the official business elements if you are making money. Now, that’s not to say that you wont need it quickly after getting started, but it’s easy to get stuck on all of those elements and never actually get started.
 
Thinking back to the security company, if we had solely relied on it for income when starting, we would have given up!  What’s the point of a business that is NOT making you money?
 
It’s a lot easier to get motivated about a business when it succeeds rather than when it drains every dime from you and anyone you can borrow money from.
 
So, if you are worried about your business structure or getting your EIN, or anything else that doesn’t make you money – STOP WORRYING ABOUT IT.
 
Set it aside and start with your first funnel. Once you have it set up and you are ready to make money, you can start to think about everything else (and probably pay someone else to do it so you don’t have to worry about it).

What Is A Dream Customer?

Dream Customer From Russell Brunson
Alright, so let’s get back to the Dream Customer.
 
We talked about the “Secret Formula” that Russell mentions in his book DOTCOM SECRETS. The first of 4 elements in that secret formula is the need to identify your Dream Customer.
 
Honestly, I’ve heard this concept many times. It’s called different things then “dream” customer. 
 
You might say “target” customer or “ideal” customer, or probably another dozen or more names.
 
Ultimately, your “dream customer” is the person you WANT to work with.

"Everyone" Is Not Your Dream Customer

Let me be very clear up front. You may not know who your absolute dream customer is right now…and THAT’S OK!!
 
I still struggle with my dream customer. This is because I literally want to help everyone, but I know I can’t help everyone (ok, I tell myself I can’t help everyone and one day it will sink in).
 
I also have a vast array of knowledge, experience, and random information stuck in my brain that I want to share with as many people as possible.
 
The problem is that “everyone” is not interested in what I have to say. In fact, most people are not interested in all of the topics I cover.

Marketing The Right Stuff To The Right People

Marketing Matchmaker
So, think of it like this. Let’s say you LOVE meat and potatoes, perhaps a veggie or two…but you are not necessarily a “health” fanatic. More than likely, an ad promoting a vegan diet would not appeal to you.
 
This type of ad to customer mismatch happens when the person running the ad does not know their target market (or dream customer).
 
If you want to promote a vegan diet, you would be better off targeting people who were interested in something related to vegan stuff (yeah, I’m not a vegan…so, I have no idea what that would be).

Play Matchmaker With Your Ads And Audience

The idea behind the target market is that you MATCH what you offer with the RIGHT customer.
 
Now, your DREAM customer goes a little further than this. Russell explains about how he wanted to work with SPECIFIC people.
 
He tells a story about how he decided that he needed to focus his efforts on specific people instead of a broader audience. He literally created a profile for a male and a female customer.
 
Even though I completely understand this concept, I still struggle to be able to narrow this down. I recommend that you learn more about this from Russell himself by reading DOTCOM SECRETS.

Figuring Out Your Dream Customer

For me, I realized that what I want to do is quite a few things. I LOVE digital marketing, but most specifically I love SEO (search engine optimization).
 
For the most part, my current audience was built on people who were interested in Facebook Marketing. Since I do all types of digital marketing, I can teach just about any of these and frequently do.
 
The problem with this model is that it is way too broad. The people interested in SEO and the people interested in Facebook Marketing tend to be different people (though, my argument is that everyone needs SEO and they can add other digital marketing methods later).
 
Now, this doesn’t mean I can’t eventually market and work with ALL of these people, but it makes it VERY hard to focus my efforts for success when I teach 10 different marketing methods.
Too Many Possibilities Target Dream Customer
This is where I need to decide my “dream” customer. The customer most likely interested in social media marketing, such as Facebook marketing is definitely NOT the same as the person interested in SEO…so, let’s focus on SEO.
 
For SEO, I have 2 methods I can turn to. I can target the DIY business owner that is interested in SEO. The alternative is that I offer digital marketing services, including Search Engine Optimization, and my target market would be busy business owners that need help with generating leads.
 
These descriptions are far too vague for a dream customer.

Hyper-focus The Idea

But, I was able to determine that I needed to narrow down my focus. Do I want to work with the DIY market or do I want to work with the busy business owner that pays for services?
 
There are pros and cons to each, but I really made my decision because of my personal life. I have some medical issues that make it difficult to commit to regular working hours (hence the reason I work from home on my own business). So, I decided that I would rather work with other small business leaders that are in the DIY market.

Choosing Your Dream Customer
 
Also, I felt like there were way too many digital marketing agencies out there that were ripping people off. Literally, there is one group I am in that I know the people that offer their SEO services take about 10 minutes a month to do the work…they do not build a good foundation, and they charge $1500+ a month.
 
So, I now know my “dream customer” is a DIY marketer, interested in SEO, a small business leader/owner, probably tired of paying thousands every month for SEO services. They are still limited on time but looking for results. They pay for leads from places like HomeAdvisor.

Fine-Tune Your Audience

To find my ideal customer, I need to focus it even more. Are they male or female? What are the likes/dislikes? What are their other interests?
 
Russell details his dream customer in great detail in the DOTCOM SECRETS book. While Russell has is dream customer identified, he didn’t start that way!
 
This gives me hope that I will be able to further narrow my audience. In the meantime, I will use some other elements to help me figure out who is in my dream audience.
 
This leads us to the second part of the “Secret Formula” – identify where your dream customers congregate.
 
This seems like another good time to stop for now! If you are ready to learn more, I recommend you learn from the expert and read DOTCOM SECRETS. If you are ready to kickstart your first funnel, read about the ONE FUNNEL AWAY CHALLENGE here.

About The Author- Dr. Kim Christian

Dr Kim Christian

Thanks for taking the time to read my content!  I am Dr. Kim Christian, but the only person that calls me that is my daughter when she’s pretending she’s opening a business!

Most people just call me Kim (or mommy when my daughter isn’t playing business owner).

My priority is to help other entrepreneurs and small business owners build sustainable businesses both “in the real world” as well as online! 

If you are ready to start building a profitable funnel, get started with the free book (just pay shipping) DOTCOM SECRETS or jump start your funnel building with the ONE FUNNEL AWAY CHALLENGE.

To Your Success,

Dr. Kim Christian