Are you a nutrition coach or health professional aiming to help more clients reach their ideal nutrition goals? It can be difficult to figure out the best way to attract your perfect customer. That’s why we’ve created this guide which outlines 6 easy steps that you can use to secure ideal clients for your business.
Before you go any further make sure you grab the Ideal Client Handout that goes along with this blog!
The Step Before Determining Your Ideal Nutrition Client Avatar
To be honest, I haven’t always been clear on my WHY. I started out in just the same way you did, fresh out of nutrition school with absolutely no clue what direction to take. Luckily (for me), I had previous experience in business and administration which came in very handy! I already knew how to set up business processes that would streamline my work and make it more functional for both me and my clients.
But even with all these strengths, I experienced imposter syndrome with the usual thoughts of “I have no clue what I am doing” or “How could anyone possibly want to follow my advice?”. It took me a long time to get over those fears and finally put myself out there so that others would get to know and trust me.
Over the years I have realized how much I love to teach and share my knowledge. This has turned into a business where I can help nutrition professionals become the best they can be in their business. In the end, I get to teach and help even more people because I am sharing my passion with the leaders in the industry. I get to help many more people this way.
So it was only after some time in the field that I determined my WHY.
I think that the main reason I didn’t base my business on teaching and leading in the first place was that no one asked me what my WHY was!
Before trying to determine your nutrition client avatar, ask yourself these 3 important questions (dig deep!), :
- Why are you starting a nutrition business?
- What are your passions and values around helping others?
- Are you in this for the long haul?
To ACCURATELY and WHOLEHEARTEDLY answer these questions (and ANY work you do on your business) you need to be VERY clear on your WHY. It is going to be the fuel to your fire and it will also help you uncover the ways you are going to communicate with and create for your audience.
Defining your why is like stepping into the shoes of your ideal client
We need to discuss and be clear on:
- Who your ideal customer is?
- What are your ideal client’s pain points?
- How to ask the right questions to your nutrition clients
- Are there potential objections to your services?
- What does success & failure look like for your ideal client?
- After working through your nutrition services, what does their transformation look like?
- Does your potential ideal client need the nutrition services that you want to offer?
This is going to help you market and understand how to ensure your clients will purchase your nutrition services or products.
Step 2: What Do Your Prospective Clients Need?
I am a firm believer that we should always treat others in the same way we want to be treated. When you look from the point of view of your prospective clients, you should be able to identify what they really need or want. This means that you need to talk to your potential clients and find out their main concerns.
You can also ask people who have worked with you already for input on what information they need so you can improve the services you already provide. From here you can build your plans knowing that someone is already looking to buy it because they need it.
Step 3: Get Specific on Your Buyer Persona
A buyer persona is also known as a client avatar in the business world. Buyer personas help you create a “character” that suits your ideal client/niche and should be formed based on your market research.
Some traits — for example, demographics like age, gender, and location — are easy places to start. But stopping there is pretty superficial, and they don’t always help you create messaging that speaks to the deeper desires and needs of your prospective clients. What you really want to do is uncover the reasons why a person would reach out to you about your services.
Try some of these questions:
- What is your ideal client struggling with?
- How does their problem make them feel?
- What is their goal (in relation to their problem)?
- What’s stopped them from finding a solution up until now?
- If they can overcome their problem, what does the ideal outcome look like?
- What are their expectations of hiring a service like yours?
- How can you exceed their expectations?
Step 4: Get Clear on Your Ideal Nutrition Clients Pain Points, Fears, & Objections
Pain points are the reasons that your client is looking for help from you in the first place. In other words, it is the problem that your client is having. Essentially your job as a coach is to determine what problem needs to be solved, how is it going to be solved, and who is going to solve it (hint, that’s you!). Knowing this allows you to create a program that is completely individualized for them and thus should be successful at the end of your work together.
Define:
- What are the top 3 pain points?
- What are the obstacles being faced?
Your Ideal Client’s Potential Fears
I often speak about how fear, limiting beliefs, and stories can prevent us from starting to work toward a goal in the first place. It often is the reason many people end up not being successful with their goals as well.
We must understand what our client’s biggest fears are. When they come to us with their objections below – having a solution and understanding where the fear is coming from is completely necessary to create your programs around your ideal client.
Define:
- What are their biggest fears?
- What aren’t they seeing? Is there something that is holding them back that could be seen as an “easy fix”?
- What is the danger if they don’t make a shift or change now?
Does Your Nutrition Client have Objections?
Objections, negotiations, excuses… these all fall under this category. Imagine you are offering your program to them and they have come up with any number of reasons either not to do it, how to change it, or the best way to move forward and thus decided to not go with you.
Define:
- What are the top objections to the sale?
- What are the solutions you can offer to these objections?
Step 5: What does your Nutrition Client Avatar’s Success Look Like?
To be successful, we first have to determine the exact outcome that your client is going to achieve with you.
This is where you need to dig into their values and ensure you understand what their ultimate achievements will be. Think about what they desire, how are you going to get them there, and what process will you be taking with them to make sure they ARE successful.
Imagine your client has completed their time working with you and was successful in reaching their goals. How would their life change?
Imagine your client did not follow your recommendations. What are the potential outcomes if they don’t use your product or service (Look into the future).
What is the Your Ideal Clients Transformation
And now thinking through this all, what is the ultimate transformation?
For example, if your niche is weight loss with women aged 40-50 and you are focusing on a whole-food diet, balancing hormones and body systems with supplements.
Think of this as the “ultimate” review from your client where they post a picture of themselves on social media and thank you for helping them lose 10 lbs, stop night sweats, have more energy, and have a more positive attitude!
The homework work booklet will help you find your ideal client, which can also be called your client Avatar. It is called an “ideal client” because it is who you WANT to work with, not who you can work with!
Knowing this information is going to help you “speak to your clients as I mentioned many times before. It is possible to have multiple ideal customers. If you have more than one, fill out the client avatar worksheet at the top of this blog post for any that come to mind.
- While filling out the Avatar sheet, keep these points in mind:
- Be as specific as possible – include, their hopes, dreams, dislikes, etc.
- Focus on a single ideal client – enter into “a day in the life” of your ideal client” *Remember you are not your client!
- Dig deep into the emotions – Your client will buy based on emotion, not on logic
- Use language your clients relate to and understand
“Don’t create a product or service then go out and look for an audience to sell it to. Instead, look for demand in the market and then create your product or service based on that specific demand.“
Lynne – HNH CEO & Business Coach
Step 6: Create Your Nutrition Services & Pricing Around Your Ideal Client’s Needs
How many potential customers are there?
Starting a business takes a lot of work and passion, and to be successful usually starts with a good idea that people need. There is no point in selling a product or a service that only a few people are interested in. You won’t make your return on investment.
The best way to figure out if there is a market for your idea is to look at your competitors to get an idea of market size. If the market is saturated with 20 different companies in your area, you might want to dig a little deeper. Are your competitors priced really low or offering poor service based on the reviews you have read? If there are 20 different companies offering the same services – what are the key services that set them apart from the others?
Who are your competitors?
Imagine you are one of the customers that you are building your business around. Other than yourself, where could these potential customers go to get what you are offering them? What do you think these companies are missing that you could provide?
Can you think of some “niches” or products that are already oversaturated in the holistic nutrition world?
Now you need to talk to your potential clients and find out their main concerns and what they are looking for.
Here are a few ways to find out what your potential customers want:
- Send out surveys
- Visit forums
- Browse social media groups
- Read bad reviews for similar services/products
- Find people using similar services and contact them through social media
The Takeaway: Smart businesses understand what their customers want, and they fill those needs better than their competitors.
By going through the steps in this blog you will be able to answer “Is there a market for what I’m selling?”. If there isn’t, there is no point in designing a program that doesn’t attract clients. Always do your market research ahead of time so you set yourself up for success from the very beginning.
It is time to get started! Creating a unique product or service for your ideal client that stands out from the competition is key to success. Research the market, talk to potential customers, develop a plan of action, and make sure you understand who you are targeting. With the right research and dedication, you will be on the path to success in no time!
Good luck and happy nutritioning!
Want support in building your Holistic Nutrition Business?
Check out our DIY nutrition business course available now!
Lynne is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, meal prep mastermind, wife and mother of three. Lynne’s dreams and creativity have brought Holistic Nutrition Hub to fruition so that all Nutrition Practitioners can better help their clients and attain their business goals.
