The Ultimate Strategy to Get Your Dream Customers

Getting in front of hundreds of dream customers can be a lot of work, especially if you are new to the business.

If you scour the net, the standard advice you'll often get is to do a bunch of campaign ads or join the reel craze. We know this because we've done it, too. Over the years, we tried to make a lot of social media campaigns and created reels to get in front of our audience.

Although reels can be a real magnet with the right content, it doesn't guarantee conversion. Some reel trends were also not part of our brand identity (we're not that into dancing). It wasn't smart to solely depend on campaign advertisements; after all, there's a budget to consider.

Then we discovered a strategy that can save money and effort.

The Dream 100 Strategy is an inexpensive method that can drive sales by forming solid relationships with people within your market. Here, you don't just meet your dream customers; you also open doors to new opportunities to scale your business.

How does it work?

It starts with a list

The Dream 100 Strategy involves creating a list of dream customers—either notable people or their audiences are potential candidates. Rather than wait for them to arrive at your doorsteps, you knock on their doors by leaving valuable insights in their profiles or starting a conversation.

Chet Holmes pioneered the Dream 100 Strategy, which Russel Brunson later popularized. The idea of the strategy is quite simple: by engaging everyone in your Dream 100, you put yourself in front of your ideal customers while building a solid network with the top people in the market.

So, how do you start? Think of 100 famous icons or online places your dream customers follow. They can be vloggers, influencers, newsletters, or similar businesses to yours. Marketing agencies like us might target people like Thinkific's CEO Greg Smith, marketing social media personality Chris Do, or the creator community Sidewalker Daily.

But you don't want to add just anyone to your Dream 100. You also have to consider whether you can benefit from connecting with them. Here are the three essential things to note when going through the strategy.

• Community engagement. Your dream customers are out there, and you need to be where they are. When you follow and engage your Dream 100, you become more visible to the people you want to attract.

• Exchange of value. Engaging your Dream 100 goes beyond following them on their social media. Make sure you're someone worth their time by giving value through comments and discussions.

• Meaningful connections. The strategy is not only for finding and attracting new customers; it also opens new opportunities for your business, like partnerships and affiliations. Moreover, it gives your potential customers a similar opportunity. Make the most out of it.

How To Use The Dream 100 Strategy

Now that you have a rough idea of the Dream 100 Strategy, it's time to put it into practice. Here's how.

Step 1: Know your dream customers.

This step is the most basic yet the most overlooked—especially by some entrepreneurs who think everyone is their customer. Here's why it's a bad idea.

Your dream customers should be the people whose needs, wants, and demands you can solve. To find them, you must go back to your business's essence:

• What can you offer? e.g., stress management courses

• What pain point does it solve? e.g., stress at work

• Who has those pain points? e.g., employees with 9-to-5 jobs.

Pro-tip: Make sure you're as specific as possible when envisioning your dream customers. Where are they from? What are their purchasing behaviors? How old are they?

The best way to encapsulate these is by creating a Buyer Persona. We talked about this in detail in a previous article.

Step 2: Find where they are.

After you know who you want to cater to, it's time to find out where they are.

Your dream customers are not everywhere; they are likely congregating at a specific place. Knowing where is essential, so you don't have to waste time and effort being somewhere they don't hang out. Remember: the Dream 100 is about strategically putting yourself out to catch your market's attention.

So look for where your market hangs out, whether online or offline. Social media platforms are a good start. If you're in the business industry, LinkedIn communities are where you can find them.

Pro-tip: You can also try doing a reverse search: consider what your dream customers will likely search for, then check the sites that pop up.

Reverse Search

Step 3: Build your list.

Now that you know who you want to cater to and where they are, it's time to do some digging.

You can start your list by scanning where your market is. You can delve deep into Linkedin to find the big names in your industry of choice. Or you can follow notable personalities on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube if that's where they're congregating. Remember, your list is an ongoing process. You don't have to know everyone you want to target right now; start by listing people or businesses you want to follow, and add more along the way.

You'll also find that some people won't be as receptive to your efforts. Over time, we had many people in our initial Dream 100 that we had to omit because they didn't align with our values. But we did find people who made our interactions fun and productive. We had new connections who invited us to join live calls that opened more opportunities for our brand.

So don't feel bad about omitting people on your list. Finding the right people along the way makes the whole experience positive and fulfilling. And if you do get invited to live calls, be open to joining because you may find more people you can form connections with.

Pro-tip: Organizing your list can help frame your engagement with them later. You can use tags to 1) segment their industry and 2) take note of their community size.

Step 4: Engage the right people and give value.

After the list, you can now start engaging. Remember: your mantra is to "provide value"—selling too early may alienate your audience.

How do you do this? A quick way is to engage in their comment section or discussions. Rather than just saying, "I agree with your point!" provide more value by expounding more on your insight, like saying, "Here is what I think…" or "This is why in my business I..."

Engaging your audience raises your credibility and visibility. When you provide value to conversations, you go from being a random person to someone worth remembering.

At this point, you'll also find out more about your Dream 100. Some may not be the right fit for you, and some may be there just to sell their products and services. As said, you don't have to feel bad about omitting them. Go ahead and edit your Dream 100 as needed, and focus on warming up the people you can engage.

Pro-tip: While positioning yourself as an expert during engagement is an excellent way to give value, the best way is to be genuinely interested in what they have to say. If that means only engaging on posts you resonate with, then so be it.

If there are some posts you want to engage with but feel like you lack the knowledge to do so properly, consider leveling up what you know. Read up on the topic, listen to experts, and take in anything related to the field. After all, the goal is to build connections—and that starts from a place of mutual interest and respect.

Where Does the Dream 100 Fit in Your Funnel?

Realistically speaking, it will take a while for the Dream 100 strategy to bring in people. But when done correctly, it opens you to a potential stream of warm leads.

The Dream 100 strategy is done at the top of the funnel. You use it as a way to raise awareness and generate leads. It's a great way to open opportunities like:

• Partnerships with other brands

• Influencer Marketing

• Chance to guest in shows or podcasts

• Social media interactions

• Online mentions

If you want a better chance of turning those Dream 100 leads into conversions, you'll want to have a solid funnel from top to bottom. As you convince them that you are someone notable, lead them to your funnel by asking for their emails or redirecting them to your site. Nurture them through your middle-funnel content and give them that final push to buy at the bottom.

But, more importantly, be genuine. Genuine relationships and transactions are never kept transactional; they require constant attention. You can start by taking the conversation off social media—invite them for “virtual coffee” so you can get to know each other and your businesses more personally.

Getting your Dream 100 to promote you is one thing; living up to the promotion is another. Your funnel will still have to work to warm your new leads up before you can convert them into loyal customers.

The Art of Building Connections

While the Dream 100 strategy does not equate to instant sales and traffic, it builds up your credibility, connection, and reach. So don't rush. You can engage your Dream 100 for as long as needed.

Think of it like an investment—or, as the saying goes, "dig your well before you go thirsty." After all, this strategy is about building your public relations so you can get in front of more people in the future.

So what are you waiting for? Start that Dream 100 list now!