Identifying Your Buyer
The ability to picture one specific person who has the problem you solve — what they want, what frustrates them, what they believe, and what they have already tried — clearly enough that everything else in your business becomes easier to figure out.
What it looks like in real life
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Example 1 — Without this skill
A personal trainer creates content about fitness, health, motivation, and nutrition. Each post is decent on its own. But the profile as a whole does not speak to anyone specifically. Someone scrolling through cannot tell whether this trainer works with beginners or advanced athletes, whether they focus on weight loss or performance, or whether their approach is right for someone like them.
The trainer gets likes. They do not get clients. Not because the content is bad but because nobody can see themselves in it clearly enough to reach out.
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Example 2 — With this skill
A personal trainer decides she works specifically with women in their thirties who are returning to fitness after having kids and feel like they have lost themselves in the process. Every post reflects that specific person. The language matches how those women actually talk about their situation. The frustrations she addresses are the ones they actually feel.
When one of those women encounters her content the immediate reaction is she gets it. That feeling is what creates the trust that leads to a conversation.
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If you do not know who you are for your message tries to reach everyone and ends up resonating with no one. The content feels generic. The offer feels like it could be for anyone. The person who could genuinely benefit from what you do scrolls past because nothing made them feel like this was specifically for them.
When you are specific everything else gets easier. You know what to say because you know who you are saying it to. You know where to show up because you know where that person spends their attention. You know how to price because you understand what the outcome is worth to them. Every decision in your business becomes clearer when you have one real person in mind.If you do not know who you are for your message tries to reach everyone and ends up resonating with no one. The content feels generic. The offer feels like it could be for anyone. The person who could genuinely benefit from what you do scrolls past because nothing made them feel like this was specifically for them.
When you are specific everything else gets easier. You know what to say because you know who you are saying it to. You know where to show up because you know where that person spends their attention. You know how to price because you understand what the outcome is worth to them. Every decision in your business becomes clearer when you have one real person in mind.
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You will know this skill is developing when the right people start recognizing themselves in your message without you telling them it is for them. When someone reads your content or encounters your offer and says that is exactly me or that is exactly my situation you have identified your buyer clearly enough.
Another signal is when the wrong people start self-selecting out. Specificity does both — it attracts the right person and it repels the wrong one. If everyone seems like a potential fit the message is still too broad.You will know this skill is developing when the right people start recognizing themselves in your message without you telling them it is for them. When someone reads your content or encounters your offer and says that is exactly me or that is exactly my situation you have identified your buyer clearly enough.
Another signal is when the wrong people start self-selecting out. Specificity does both — it attracts the right person and it repels the wrong one. If everyone seems like a potential fit the message is still too broad.
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Describing demographics instead of situations. Saying women aged 25 to 40 who want to get fit is not identifying your buyer. It is describing a demographic. The person you are looking for is identified by their situation, their frustration, and what they are trying to change — not by their age or gender.
Trying to keep it broad so you do not exclude anyone. The instinct to stay broad comes from fear of missing out on potential clients. But broad messaging excludes everyone by resonating with no one. Specific messaging attracts fewer people and converts far more of them.
Confusing who you want to work with and who you actually serve well. These are sometimes different. The skill is about identifying who genuinely benefits most from what you do — not who you would ideally like to work with if everything were perfect.Describing demographics instead of situations. Saying women aged 25 to 40 who want to get fit is not identifying your buyer. It is describing a demographic. The person you are looking for is identified by their situation, their frustration, and what they are trying to change — not by their age or gender.
Trying to keep it broad so you do not exclude anyone. The instinct to stay broad comes from fear of missing out on potential clients. But broad messaging excludes everyone by resonating with no one. Specific messaging attracts fewer people and converts far more of them.
Confusing who you want to work with and who you actually serve well. These are sometimes different. The skill is about identifying who genuinely benefits most from what you do — not who you would ideally like to work with if everything were perfect.
The Exercise
Think of one person — someone you have worked with, someone you know, or someone you have observed — who has the problem you solve.
Write down their situation right now. Not their demographic. Their actual situation. What is happening in their life or business that makes this problem real and urgent for them.
Write down what they have already tried. What did not work. Why it did not work from their perspective.
Write down what they actually want. Not the surface level goal. The deeper thing underneath it.
Write down what they believe about the problem right now. Including any beliefs that might not be accurate but that are real to them.
Now write one sentence that describes who your business is for using everything you just wrote. Show it to someone who fits that description. If they immediately recognize themselves in it the specificity is there. If they have to think about whether it applies to them it needs to be more specific.
Come back to this exercise every time your message feels like it is not landing. The answer is almost always that the person is not specific enough yet.
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