It’s the new year and you are ready to focus on working with clients you LOVE! But just how do you do that? What’s the key to attracting clients who are the perfect fit? You want clients who are ready to jump in and get the help they (often desperately) need from you, and who you will genuinely enjoy working with.
I use a streamlined three step process to achieve my goal of attracting, and ultimately working with, clients I love.
I have already outlined steps one and two in previous blog posts. Step One is creating and maintaining an energetic prospect/outreach list. Step Two is inviting the RIGHT people in to have effective conversations through creating rapport and relationship building.
Step 3: Leading confident conversations with preparation, clear messaging, and the appropriate ask.
Let’s start with your mindset before the call. If you find you’re excited to talk with the person – you’re looking forward to the interaction – perfect. You’re ready to go!
If you’re nervous or unsure about yourself, do some quick mindset shifting work. Take the pressure off by telling yourself the outcome does not matter. Your purpose in this call is to get to know the person better, see if there are ways you can add value to their life or business and decide if they are a good fit as your client. It’s not to make a sale or even to get them to like you. There’s no pressure. Allow yourself to have fun with it!
It’s time for the conversation.
What do you say? You don’t. Or rather – you ASK.
Focus the conversation on the other person. Whether it’s a past client, prospect, person you’d love to work with, or possible referral source – you ask about THEM.
Keep this in mind: one question is worth 10 statements. Here are some starter topics:
- Ask about your point or person of connection.
- Ask about your mutual interests.
- Go back to your conversation outreach message. What was the part you tailored to them? Ask about that.
This is the best way to get them AND you comfortable with the conversation.
Recently I had a conversation with a past client and friend from almost 8 years ago. We spent about 20 minutes talking about his family, his move from Illinois to Colorado, and what had happened during that time span.
I asked the person about his business he started in late 2021. One question led to many more about:
- how he got there,
- what was helping him grow,
- his plans for the future of the business, and
- his challenges along the way
All of those questions got him doing a deep dive into his work and it made transitioning into my work easy – especially as he’d already worked with me as a business coach.
Gradually, you’ll turn the conversation to a topic more related to the work you do. When you are asking them questions that relate in some way to your work, the person will typically shift the conversation over to you organically.
In the case with my previous client, the gentlemen specifically asked me, “How do you see being able to help me, given what I’ve shared?” I couldn’t have asked for a better conversation shift.
If the transition to you or your work isn’t happening, you make the shift by saying something to the effect of, “I want to be respectful of your time and I mentioned I’d like to share with you about my new services. May I tell you a bit about this?”
Always ask permission to share. You’ve mentioned it in your outreach so they know this topic is coming but it’s still always best to ask and not just go barreling in with a spiel.
Here is where it’s important you are very clear on your messaging. You don’t want to ramble on and on about what you do. Be brief and to the point describing your work and, most importantly, focus on the ways your work benefits your clients. Always communicate relevant results.
Focus on how you can help their specific challenges or help them achieve their goals in your area of business. In my situation, I reflected back to my previous client the challenges he shared with me and how I would help him with this. His challenge is having a lot of ideas for growing his business in the next few years but also feeling scattered and a bit overwhelmed as he is a one-man show right now. He wants to grow a team but doesn’t have time for outreach. I shared how I could help him get all of those ideas out, organized, and into a 2023 plan with specific action items and suggested a couple of ways he could begin on his own.
Another way to focus on results is to share a recent success story. Give an example of a client’s work with you and how they overcame similar business challenges with your help.
It’s time to make an offer. If it feels appropriate to make an offer to work with them AND if you feel this is someone you really do want to work with – make an offer!
You might say, “I’d love to help support you in [their challenge] by [whatever service you provide]. The investment is [investment cost]. How does that sound to you?” Then be silent. Don’t try to fill a gap in conversation. Let them answer you.
Sometimes an offer to work with you is not appropriate. Perhaps it’s just been an exploratory/ first connection type of call. Maybe they don’t actually need your services. Maybe they have no challenges or issues in your particular field. Don’t force anything on anyone.
There are lots of options to consider if an offer isn’t appropriate:
- Suggest keeping in touch and put them on your calendar for follow-up.
- Share a resource that may be helpful for them – particularly if it turns out they are not a good fit for you.
- You may also want to suggest that if they know of anyone else needing your assistance, you’d love it if they kept you in mind.
ALWAYS remember: the purpose of the conversation is to develop rapport, build a relationship, and decide if working together is a good fit. You are looking to add value to your prospect/connection AND to attract clients you LOVE! Sometimes these conversations lead to business. Sometimes they don’t, at least not right then. But if the person is a good fit, you might cross paths at another, more appropriate time. Or they might know someone who needs your help.
There you have it! Your three steps to attracting clients you LOVE!
Step One is creating and maintaining an energetic prospect/outreach list.
Step Two is inviting the RIGHT people in to have effective conversations.
Step Three is leading a confident conversation.
I recently discussed Step Three in a Live for my private Facebook group, Streamlined Business Strategies. Here’s the recording if you’d like to give it a watch:
3 Steps for Attracting Clients You Love – Part 3: Conversations If you liked this blog series, sign up for my monthly newsletter to receive tips and invitations to help move your business from Scattered to Streamlined!
