Communication can get muddled when you explain the problem you solve for your dream customer, especially if you are capable of helping them with more than one pain point. It is essential to communicate the problem simply, effectively, and concisely in a way that leaves no room for ambiguity.
Think of your “I help” statement as a tagline for your business. This is especially important if you’re a coach or consultant. The goal of this statement should drive straight to your customers' deepest and most urgent pain point. This statement helps them connect and say, “She gets who I am.”
Next to building out a highly defined avatar, this step is the next most neglected statement in the marketing process. When you are uber clear on who your target market is, the easier it is to write your “I help” statement. The more targeted you can be, the more of your dream customers will see it and resonate with it.
This statement is especially helpful when you look at your attraction marketing strategies. You want your words to evoke emotions that will attract your dream customer in an organic way. All of your content is derived from this simple statement. It lays the foundation for how you will communicate with your dream customer in a way that resonates with them.
Last week I was talking to a client who felt like her target audience was a bit off and she needed to refine her messaging to capture that ideal avatar. Part of her statement was: “I help salespeople who care.” It’s a simple statement, but my first thought was, “care about what?”
Did they need to care about...
Making money?
Getting results for their customers?
About their families?
Their teammates?
Saving the planet?
You get the point, there are a million different scenarios that could be construed from that vague statement. Would it attract who she wants to work with? Maybe, but it could also miss the mark because it left too much room for ambiguity.
If you haven’t reviewed your “I help” statement recently, I’d invite you to take a look and determine if it needs some sprucing up. If you haven’t created your “I help” statement yet, I’d encourage you to use these simple steps to create a statement that is clear, concise, and complete. Here is the simple formula:
Your Action + Your Target Audience = Your Solution [without doing…]
Your Action
This part will be generic and simple to understand:
I help…
I build…
I guide…
I teach…
I mentor...
I create…
I design…
I produce…
You get the picture! Pinpoint the verb that BEST describes what you do. This part of the statement gives energy to the work you do. It demonstrates that you actively participate in helping your customer solve their problems with passion.
Your Dream Customer
Be as specific as possible with adjectives that define who you want to work with.
40+ female entrepreneurs
Women who are going through a divorce
Couples who are experiencing empty nest depression
Sales professionals who want to close more business
Speakers who want to learn how to sell from stage
Service providers who use paid ads to scale their business
Female entrepreneurs with ADHD
You can also include numbers to show proof of the transition you provide and speak directly to your chosen niche:
Sales professionals who want to close 40% more business
Speakers who want to learn how to sell 6-figures from stage
40+ female entrepreneurs who want to scale a 6-figure business
Service providers who want to close 40% more leads from paid ads
Female Entrepreneurs with ADHD who want to increase productivity by 25%
Your Solution
What do you help your dream client do? What transformation can they expect from working with you? This part of the statement should encapsulate what sets you apart from your competition...it defines YOUR “blue ocean.”
Let’s use a fitness coach as an example: “I help women in San Diego get fit.” Sure, that’s concise and clear, but it’s not a strong selling point. There is nothing that draws you in to know more. It states the obvious. The solution part of your “I help” statement should make your dream customer feel something in their gut. They should feel a sense of excitement that someone finally “gets” them. They should feel a sense of urgency to contact an expert who can finally solve their problem. Your solution should address their problem and simultaneously offer a solution:
“I help women in San Diego create habits that support a healthy lifestyle in just 90 days.”
Can you see how she is creating a transformation and a promise to her customers?
Some people also use the phrase [without doing xyz] in their “I help” statement to further qualify the transformation. This phrase normally will lay out doing something they don’t like doing. For instance:
“I help women in San Diego create habits that support a healthy lifestyle in just 90 days without doing 100 sit-ups each day.”
Get Creative
You don’t have to follow this exact formula, in fact, you might want to mix things up for a sales page or landing page. Your statement might look like this:
“I create 90-Day customized health plans for women in San Diego who want to commit to a healthy lifestyle.”
Many coaches run a global business and don’t work from a brick-and-mortar location, if that is the case, the location may not be important for you. However, if your program requires on-location work, then noting your location is important. Keep in mind that poorly written “I help” statements can repel your dream customer. Here are some examples I have seen in social posts:
I have a tech startup.
I help entrepreneurs by producing online content such as blogs, video,s and photography.
I’m a real estate agent who helps clients buy and sell homes in the Denver metro area.
Getting in front of the right audience can be one of the most challenging parts of building sustainable coaching or consulting businesses. If your messaging isn’t precise you won’t attract your dream customer and you’ll waste time and money weeding through “looky Lou” leads.
You’ve heard me say that the formula for success is:
The right audience + the right message + the right offer [at the right time]
Think of a stool and how it balances on three legs. If you remove one of the legs, the stool falls over. That’s how business building is, too. If you’re going to build a business with repeatable income, you need to be in front of the right people. And, you need to have a message and offer that speaks to their heart. Vague messages will miss the target 100% of the time.
Content is king when it comes to attracting your dream customer. Take some time this week to revise your “I help” statement and make sure it’s speaking to the people you most want to work with. When your message is clear, your audience will be attracted to the solution you’re offering.
Let’s get busy...