Your Ideal Client Avatar Is a Lie. Here’s What Actually Works
If you’ve been in business for more than five minutes, someone has probably told you:
“You must define your Ideal Client Avatar before you can sell anything.”
And then they hand you a worksheet where you’re supposed to name your “ideal customer,” pick out their favorite coffee order, describe their morning routine, and guess what brand of leggings they buy.
Cute in theory. Absolutely useless in reality.
I’m going to say what most business coaches won’t:
You Do Not Discover Your Ideal Client in a Journal. You Discover Them in the Marketplace.
Most business owners start their business for one simple reason:
They were trying to solve a problem they experienced themselves.
Which means your first “ideal client” is simply a mirror of you.
You price based on what you would pay.
You write copy based on what you would respond to.
You assume people just like you are going to show up and buy.
And sometimes they do. That’s how most businesses get their first sales.
Here’s the hard truth:
There aren’t enough people exactly like you to build a scalable business.
Your background, your pain tolerance, your risk appetite, they’re too unique. That reflective ICA is useful for launching, and it will kill you if you cling to it too long.
The 5 Biggest Myths About Ideal Clients (That Are Costing You Money)
❌ Myth: You must define your ICA before you sell.
✅ Reality: You discover your ICA through selling
❌ Myth: Your ICA is one person.
✅ Reality: If you sell more than one thing, you already have multiple ICAs.
❌ Myth: High-ticket buyers are always your best clients
✅ Reality: Check your profit margin, often they are the most expensive to acquire and least profitable with the highest churn.
❌ Myth: Your ICA stays the same forever
✅ Reality: Your ICA evolves with pricing, product mix, and even the season
❌ Myth: You should chase who you want to work with.
✅ Reality: You should first look at who is already buying profitably.
Okay, So How Do You Actually Identify Your Real Ideal Clients?
Here’s the formula I recommend:
Launch the offer, even if the messaging isn’t perfect. Action beats theory.
Track who interacts, engages, and buys. Data > Guessing.
Talk to your buyers. Ask why they bought, and why others didn’t.
Watch for patterns, not preferences. Real buyers reveal real behavior.
Adapt quickly. The faster you evolve, the faster you scale.
Final Truth: Confused Buyers Don’t Buy
The real danger isn’t choosing the wrong ICA.
It’s trying to talk to everyone at once.
When your messaging is diluted, your revenue becomes diluted.
When you stop guessing, and start observing, clarity comes fast.
So stop sitting in Google Docs naming imaginary customers.
Start looking at the real humans already leaning toward you.
They’ll tell you who they are.
They’ll tell you how to sell to them.
And if you’re paying attention, they’ll build your business for you.
Want to dig deeper? I recorded a full episode on this topic.
🎧 “Your Ideal Client Avatar Is a Lie (Here’s What Actually Drives Sales)”
👉 Watch here
