MSPs: To influence what John Smith buys, you must look through John Smith's eyes

I didn't create that phrase myself. I read it in one of the hundreds of business growth & marketing books I've consumed over the years. No idea which one... if you recognise the phrase and know the book, please email me.

What that phrase really means is that the more you can think and feel like your ideal prospect, the more you will be able to influence them.

The world of marketing has a tool for this. Go, marketing!

It's called a "buyer persona". And it's a detailed look into all the ingredients makes up the perfect client for you.

Once you understand exactly who that is and what makes them, them... you can make sure that all of your marketing is targeted at, and is highly relevant for that person.

Here's how to get a huge insight into your perfect prospect with just 60 minutes of work

Think about your existing clients, and pick one of them who you know reasonably well, and who also most represents "the client I'd like a lot more of". Let's say it's Dave, a CPA (accountant) you support.

Then you think about 3 big areas:

1) All about Dave (facts)

How many staff does he have? What kind of clients does he have? What's his top line revenue? What's his personal working day like? And his staff? Where does Dave live? What does he drive? What's his personal situation? What sports and groups is he into?

2) What motivates Dave? (emotions)

What makes him happy? What is he working towards? What does success look like? What makes him sad? What keeps him up at night? What does he fear? What does disaster look like?

3) Where does Dave hang out? (access)

What groups and organisations does he belong to? Which social media platforms does he use? What publications does he read? Which networking events does he attend? What does he read in his downtime?

You can think about these things and take audio notes while you're driving or walking the dog. Better still, use them as discussion points with whoever helps you with your marketing. Do it over a pizza or something. Make it fun.

Dave becomes the representation of your ideal prospect. Write down your thinking. Better still, get an image of someone off the net to represent Dave. Create a document with his picture and all his info on it. Give this persona a different name, just to separate the persona from your real client.

Now when you do ANY marketing at all, every single time you re-read this document ask yourself this key question: How do I make this relevant and appealing to Dave?

The more you focus all your marketing on one person, the more powerful and appealing it becomes. People will feel like you're inside their heads. It's marketing magic!