708 - Empathy, Client Education, and How To Shift Your Ideal Client As You Grow with Kate Gilbert

Live In The Feast

Today’s co-host is Kate Gilbert. Kate is a WordPress expert, an online marketing coach, and has spent the past decade building and supporting custom WordPress websites. In that time, she’s helped launch more than a hundred websites, and teaches website owners how to launch their own websites and maximize their online reach.

Kate’s been a web consultant since 2005 and her ideal client has evolved along the way. Currently, she works with female business owners at a critical stage of growth. Their businesses are big enough that they need some help getting to the next level, but still want to be involved in the process. Kate specializes in partnering with these kinds of founders and business owners.

Kate focuses on personality, more than industry or revenue, to identify her ideal client. And this has given her a lot of confidence in knowing what kind of person will be an ideal fit for her business.

In this episode, we dive into how to shift your ideal client as you evolve, and what that means for existing clients. We also talk about the importance of empathy and being a good listener. Finally, we dive into how to be flexible with your ideal client.

"I realized along the way that it’s more about the personality of the site owner, than it is about the industry that they’re in. A lot of times you can tell the way a project is going to go from that very first discovery phone call, before you even write the proposal."

In this episode Kate talked about:

• Who her ideal client is and how she keeps the pulse on that segment of the market.
• Why the decision to work for herself was such a big deal in her life, and how it put her on her current path.
• How she used post-launch analysis of her clients to define which ones were ideal, and which ones weren’t.

Main Takeaways

• Trial and error is a massive part of defining your ideal client. After going through enough clients, you’ll be able to pick out which clients have “red flags” and which ones will be a good fit. It may take time, but it’s the most foolproof way to understand who you want to work with.
• Sometimes the most rewarding or impactful work may not be doing the work itself, but empowering others to do things for themselves. Work will always be available, but making a lasting change can be greatly rewarding.
• Teaching your clients how to solve their own problems, or inviting them to be a part of the process with you, can not only save you time, but significantly deepen your relationship with your clients.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Kate on Twitter
• WP Master
• Get Your Guide from WP Master
• WP Master on Instagram
• WP Master on Facebook
• Code Wiz

For full show notes and resources

• Live In The Feast - Episode 8 of Season 7