Identifying your ideal client can be a hot topic in the private practice field for registered dietitians. Some people say if you spend too much time trying to identify your ideal client, your narrow niche will kill you. Others say that identifying your ideal client is crucial to your success as a dietitian entrepreneur. So who do you listen to?
Something that I teach my students in the I Believe Mastermind for registered dietitians is that if you try to serve EVERYONE, you will end up serving NO ONE.
Think about it. When you post on Instagram, for example, only about 50% of people might actually agree with you. This is GOOD!
You only want the other 50% who DO care and DO agree with you to follow you. And then, you want to take the TOP 10% from there and work with them. When you’re building an organic nutrition coaching business, please realize you’re not chasing the masses. You’re using authenticity and human connection to get a few people to KNOW you, LOVE you, and TRUST you enough to do business with you.
And the fake business gurus are going to hate me for this but…trying to be EXTREMELY niched down will hurt you.
You grow through EXPERIENCE and working with REAL CLIENTS. Don’t miss out on viable clients’ experience that will GROW you just because it ‘doesn’t fit’ within your niche. You’ll learn a lot from difficult or challenging clients who maybe aren’t your most ideal client.
You have to EARN the right to be picky with clients. It took me 11 years to be VERY selective with my clients.
If you come out the gate with too many limitations, you’ll suffer. Don’t niche yourself out of the game. This is something these “business gurus” who never actually built a coaching business WON’T understand.
You become an expert through your formal EDUCATION, DEGREES, CREDENTIALS, and EXPERIENCE. As registered dietitians we have a broad level of nutrition expertise that we can tap into.
Now, if you ARE someone who has been in the coaching business and can be SELECTIVE with your clients, here are some tips and questions to think about to really figure out who would be your most ideal client to work with.
Who do you REALLY want to serve?
Do you want to work with moms or dads? Runners or weightlifters? A certain disease state? Start with a SUBSET of people who have a problem YOU can resonate with. At the end of the day you have to ENJOY working with the clients that you choose to work with. You want to get crystal clear on WHY you want to serve this group of people.
What is your client’s main struggle?
What is the MAIN struggle they are facing with when it comes to their nutrition? What is their specific challenge? For example: You want to work with active women in their 20-40’s who are struggling to fuel their bodies properly. They are working out 1-2 hours per day, suffering from very low energy, and not performing as well as they should be.
Why have these clients failed before?
What diets or programs have they tried in the past and why did they not work for them? You really want to get into the MIND of your ideal client and find out WHY they have failed before. For example, it could be because of anxiety of overwhelm. They KNOW what they aren’t doing isn’t working, but when they start searching for answers on the internet, it takes them down a rabbit hold of possibilities. This client is unsure of WHAT is best for them and they are more confused and frustrated than ever before.
What are their deep fears, failures, and frustrations?
You want to put yourself in your clients shoes here thinking about all their fears, failures, and frustrations that are keeping them up at night. Maybe your client’s deep fear is not being able to lose the weight and feeling like they’ll never be able to keep it off. Maybe it’s the fear of not feeling confident in her own skin. For example: your client has a Disney vacation with her family coming up and she’s too nervous to put on her bathing suit. It’s making her not even want to go on the trip. THIS is a deep pain! And this is where YOU the registered dietitian can step in and SERVE.
Why are they looking to invest in a coach?
Are looking to invest in a coach because they are sick and tired of not getting the results they want? Have they tried every diet and detox under the sun? Are they frustrated, burned out and tired of investing in things that don’t give them the return on their investment or the empty promises? Remember, if they were capable of doing it on their own they would have! This is where you, the awesome Dietitian Nutrition Coach, comes in and saves the day for your client.
The bottom line is that you really only need to ask yourself ONE question: Can I help this client succeed? If that answer is YES – WORK WITH THEM! That’s all that matters!
And all of this applies to posting content on social media as well. Likes on your photo will feed your ego, it’s REVENUE that will feed your family.
Stop chasing the masses.
Stop chasing LIKES.
Stop being a people pleaser.
Start with a SUBSET of people who have a problem that YOU resonate with.
Start providing help and a solution for FREE via social media.
Start delivering an exceptional product and amazing customer service and grow an organic business.
This is simple, but it’s not easy. It’s not for everyone. If you want to find out if it’s for you, email my success manager Olivia Kitz, RD at olivia@tonystephandietitian.com to schedule a FREE 2021 Business Strategy call!
