I have to tell you a story about a hoe, a shovel, and a rake! I recently spent a week in a beautiful home in the mountains of New Mexico. As the week came to an end and we were leaving this beautiful community of multi-million dollar homes, I noticed a man with an old pickup truck parked on the side of the road with a hoe, a shovel, and a rake leaned up against the truck. As I pulled onto the interstate I realized that this man was advertising his business. He was a yardman and he had placed his tools, the implements of his craft, on the side of his truck as if to say “Don't you need someone to hoe that rock garden?” (Since there is no grass to speak of.)
The brilliance of his plan lay in where he leaned his hoe
As I drove on, it dawned on me that he had picked the perfect location. You see he obviously knew the surrounding area very well. He placed his truck and his tools at a perfect spot on the side of the road that was leading into 3 major multi-million dollar subdivisions. These were his ideal clients – they had money, they had land and they, more than likely, didn't do their own lawn work.
He could have just as easily chosen to park about a quarter of a mile down the road on the other side of the interstate. I had actually ended up on that side of the interstate a few days earlier due to a wrong turn and I can tell you that they were not his ideal client. I actually turned my car around and got out of there as soon as possible!
The question is – Are you placing your hoe in front of the right audience?
Are you networking in the right places? Do you find yourself complaining about your clients because they never have money or aren't committed to the process of working with you? Do you just feel like it's time to up-level to a new type of client?
As you know I have built an amazing business meeting people through social media but I think a lot of times people think that is all I do to get in front of my ideal clients. That just isn't true. I do my share of in-person networking as well. Sometimes these are speaking engagements, sometimes sponsorship opportunities, and sometimes I attend events strictly as a participant to learn and meet other participants.
I just found out that I am going to be speaking at one of these events in April of 2013 – Suzanne Evans Be The Change event. This will be my second year to attend and I can't wait to see what it is like this year. Last year there were over 600 entrepreneurs there and I met so many amazing people and ended up with several new clients. If your ideal clients are entrepreneurs building a small to mid-sized service-based business this is definitely an event you should think about attending.
Don't you think it's time to put your hoe in front of the right people?
