7 questions to get crystal clear on your messaging and stand out online

Today's online world is saturated. It's swarming with business owners wanting to be seen AND people who are ready to consume content. But how do you get your message in front of the right people at the right time? In today's episode, I share exactly how to do this—by getting crystal clear on your messaging so that you can stand out online.

– Why knowing your ideal client is just as important as knowing who is NOT your ideal client.
– How understanding what's really going on in your ideal client's life will help you to tailor your message directly to them and hit them where they're at.
– Why getting crystal clear on your ideal client's problems means understanding it in their words, rather than trying to understand it from your position as the expert.
– The questions to ask yourself to really hone in on both the solution that you offer and the transformation that it provides.

 

Today I am sharing seven questions to get crystal clear on your messaging because one of the easiest ways to stand out online is to get really clear on who you are talking to and how you are articulating your offers and your brand as a whole.

Because if you can get the right message in front of the right people at the right time, that's when they're going to stop scrolling and they're going to pay attention. 

 

Question #1: Who is your ideal client really?

Now if I had a dollar for every time that somebody answered this question with, you know, she's 35 to 45 lives in Australia and she either runs her own business or she works in a corporate job, that's not your ideal client.

That's a target market, and it's great that you know your target market, but addressing a group of people is always going to sound way more wishy-washy than if you're talking to one specific ideal client. 

Now, your ideal client is one person and you will probably have a slightly different ideal client for each of your offers.

 

Question #2: Who is not your ideal client?

It can feel really hard to say no to potential clients, especially if you are struggling to make sales or if your cash flow is a little bit down.

But working with someone who's not your ideal client, can be incredibly painful and often it means that they don't actually get the dream results, the ideal results. So a great way to think of this is in terms of red flags. What are some characteristics or traits that would make someone not get the desired result from working with you?

Or what red flags would they have that would make them unpleasant to work with? And if you have any clients in the past that you haven't enjoyed working with or that struggle to get the results, what was it about them that you didn't enjoy? Or what was it about them, or what actions did they not take that meant they didn't get the results?

 

Question #3: What is going on in your ideal client's life right now?

This is where you get to put yourself in their shoes and you get to really empathise with what is going on for them for what they are experiencing. I love to do this exercise as if I am telling a story about their day or their week.

What does it look like when they wake up in the morning? What does their day look like? What are the thoughts and feelings and stories that are running through their mind? This exercise allows us to meet our ideal clients where they are at rather than where we want them to be. And if we can meet them where they're at, then they'll feel seen, they'll feel understood, and they're much more likely to pay attention to what you are actually saying.

 

Question #4: What problem do you solve for your ideal client? 

Now the problem is not, I help them to learn, blah, blah, blah. Okay. People don't want to learn how to speak French. They want to be able to confidently order a crossaint, right?

So what are they actually wanting and what is the real problem that is going on in their lives and why is this problem a problem? What does it really mean for them that they are experiencing this problem? What is this problem stopping them from doing or having or being? 

 

Question #5: How would your ideal client describe this problem in their words?

Because what you, as the expert, know to be the problem is often going to be really different from how your ideal client experiences the problem or describes the problem in their own language. And if you try to talk to them in your expert language, they're not going to pay attention. They're going to just keep scrolling.

So a lot of the time, if you are posting things online, or you are emailing your list and you're noticing that it's just kind of falling flat. It might be that you are not meeting them where they are at, you are meeting them where you think they are at, which is actually very different from what they are experiencing right now.

Now, this is one of the biggest things that can stop experts from standing out online. Especially if you have studied your topic for a while and you know it really well, it can be really hard to put yourself in the shoes of your ideal client who does not have all of the experience and knowledge that you do. It can be really hard to meet them where they're at and speak their language. 

 

Question #6: What is the solution to their problem? 

Now, the solution is not coaching. It's not an online course, but rather, what is your unique approach to solving the problem? Is it maybe a unique framework that you have? Is it your signature methodology, your philosophy, your style, or your approach? 

In other words, why should someone come to you to solve their problem rather than any of your competitors? Because chances are you are not the only person who is solving the same problem. You might be the only one delivering this particular solution.

And in that case, you need to sell them on why your solution is going to work better than the other solutions. 

 

Question #7: What is the transformation you deliver for your ideal client? 

So when somebody buys from you, whether it's coaching a course, a membership, whatever it is, what they're really buying is a future version of themselves.

So rather than spending all this time talking about the features and the benefits of your offer, how might you share a little bit more about the transformation that is waiting for them on the other side? How can you show them what is possible for them? How might you inspire them with the future that they could have?

 

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