When I used to work for RBC Dominion Securities, one of the largest brokerage houses here in Canada, the brokers would all need to fill out a Know Your Client intake form whenever they started an account with a new client.  It was a survey that was designed to help guide the broker’s investment choices on behalf of the client and asked the broker to assess the client’s risk comfort level (whether they preferred secure investments or were prepared to invest in stocks that were a little riskier but promised a bigger payout if they paid off).  It also asked the typical profile questions of address and income level and tried to help the broker build a complete picture of the client.  The Know Your Client intake form was always completed after you had already landed the client.

Know Your Client 2.0

With an online business, you rarely get to meet your clients face-to-face but it’s still a helpful exercise to develop a picture of your client.  Just click the video below for an example:

To visit the retailers cited in the example, click the links below:
Avec Plaisir Fine Lingerie & Swimwear (P.S. I’m usually at the Yorkville location on Saturdays if you ever want to pop in and say hello!)
Victoria’s Secret

Create Your Red Velvet Rope Policy

I learned how to modify the Know Your Client strategy to an online business or service based business when I worked with Michael Port a few years ago.  His Book Yourself Solid course helps you develop your ideal client profile.  Michael Port speaks about developing a red velvet rope policy that allows in only the most ideal clients – the ones who energize and inspire you.  Michael writes:

Your clients are an expression and an extension of you.  When I first started out on my own, I would work with anyone who had a heartbeat and a credit card.  Now I live by the red velvet rope policy of ideal clients.  By defining my ideal clients increased my productivity… happiness… and I got more perfect clients by referral than I ever thought possible.

Wouldn’t it be great to spend every day working with super-cool people that are both friends and clients?  It is completely possible once you identify who you want to work with…and with absolute certainty determine that you will settle for nothing less.

Red Velvet Rope Written Exercise

The following exercise is from Key #2 of Michael Port’s Book Yourself Solid strategy.  Start by identifying specific characteristics that your ideal clients possess.  Keep in mind your favorite clients – the ones you love so much you’d practically work for free.  Michael Port writes that his ideal clients have these qualities:

  • Bright (full of light and easily excitable)
  • Resilient (keep coming back)
  • Courageous (face their fears)
  • Think big (their projects benefit large groups of people)
  • Naturally collaborative (they contribute to and focus on their solutions)

Your list might look completely different.

Now It’s Your Turn

Written Exercise: Define your ideal client.  What type of people do you love being around?  What do they like to do?  What do they talk about?  With whom do they associate?  What ethical standards do they follow?  How do they learn?  How do they contribute to society?   Are they smiling, outgoing, creative?  What kind of environment do you want to create in your life?  And who will get past the Red Velvet Rope Policy that protects you?  List the qualities, values, or personal characteristics you’d like your ideal clients to possess.

With that picture in mind, take a look at your current client base and determine whom you love interacting with the most.  Chances are they already match the profile or picture that you just created.  If not, get a clear picture of these energizing clients in your head and merge their characteristics with the ideal client profile you just created above. By the end, you’ll have a clear picture and understanding of who your ideal client is.

Now go out and find them!

But before you do, be sure to pick up a copy of Michael Port’s Book Yourself Solid to help you discover your business foundation and learn the 7 core self-promotion strategies.

About the Michael Port: Called “an uncommonly honest author” by The Boston Globe and a “marketing guru” by The Wall Street Journal, Michael Port is a New York Times Bestselling author of four books including Book Yourself Solid, Beyond Booked Solid, The Contrarian Effect and The Think Big Manifesto. Michael can be seen regularly on Network and Cable TV and receives the highest overall speaker ratings at conferences around the world. Why? Because his mission is to rally you to think bigger about who you are and what you offer the world. Get free chapters of his books and learn more at www.michaelport.com.

iChat: Do You Have A Red Velvet Rope Policy?

  • Do you have a picture of your ideal client?
  • Has knowing your ideal client helped grow your business?
  • Have you read Michael Port’s Book Yourself Solid?

Let me know your thoughts by posting a comment below.