Defining Your Avatar: Your One Perfect Customer”

Happy Friday folks. Brent Perry with Business on Purpose here. It’s nice and rainy here is good ole’ Tennessee, but we still have some good content to talk about.

If you have worked with us in the past you know that on the vision story we walk with you through, we ask a couple of questions about the type of clients or customers that you want to work with. And on the flip side of the coin, we also ask questions about what type of clients or customers that you don’t want to work with. 

Story about sales job at WireMasters (2 different customers)

I am reading a book right now, written by John Lee Dumas, host of the podcast Entrepreneurs on Fire. And one of his chapters is titled, Create Your Avatar. Which he goes on to explain that “an avatar is a single individual. Your avatar is your perfect customer, your model client, the ideal consumer of your content, your products, your services, and your offers.”

His idea is simple, spend some time really thinking about your perfect customer. 

Now, let’s make sure we’re on the same page. Just because you spend time thinking though, and creating this avatar, doesn’t mean we expect this is the absolute only customer you will work with. That’s not reality. As a business owner, you will with a doubt find yourself working with all different types of clients in the field you are working in. Then what’s the point? Why spend time daydreaming about your ideal customer, when in reality you feel like you don’t want to say no to anybody. 

Couple of things…

1. As Dumas explains, “Allow your avatar to be your guide at every fork in the road.” Meaning, as business owners you are faced with many decisions throughout the day and weeks…. and it usually involves a decision to go right or left... a fork in the road. After you have defined and dreamed up your perfect customer, you now have help in that decision. Which way would your avatar go? They are your perfect client, after all, let them help you in your decisions.  
2. Use some freedom in defining your perfect customer, to say no to some people. There will be clients who will just not be worth it to work with. Your avatar will be north on the compass, and you will be able to identify someone not taking you in the right direction. Start with 1, see how it goes. 

So how do you create your avatar? Well be specific, and ask some questions and jot down your answers. The more specific you can be, the better your avatar will work for you.

Some examples, 

Age

Male or female

Married

Kids

Hobbies

Communication style (text, emails, phone calls)

Do they commute to work? Work from home? 

What does your business provide that they are looking for?

Why would they choose you?  

Thanks for your time. I hope there is something here that you can take with you.

Spend some time with your avatar over the next couple of weeks. You might be surprised how this simple tool can help liberate some of the chaos in your world.