The number one question we get when talking about positioning and branding yourself to attract your dream client is: “But what if I don’t know who my dream client is?”
Whether you’re transitioning career paths, pivoting to try out a new offering or service, or entirely new to your creative career – you might not only be wondering “how do I get more clients?” but trying to figure out “who the heck is this client, exactly?”
So, I’m going to give you my best advice for identifying the dream client you’ve never had.
Before we dig in – I want to tell you that we’re going to be hosting a free mini-training where we’ll be deep-diving on getting more of the clients you want on Friday, March 31st. Save your spot here >>
To attract dream clients, you have to be clear about who you are and what you’re offering.
If you stumble over telling people what you do and are vague about what you deliver after they hire you, you will confuse any potential customers or worse… attract terrible fits. It’s important that you are able to articulate what you deliver and for whom – on your website, social media profiles, and in your content and conversations.
Who isn’t your dream client?
Sometimes it’s easier to identify what you want by getting clear about what you don’t want. So let’s begin by identifying who isn’t your dream client.
- In my experience, my not-so-dreamy client usually asks me if I can do things that I don’t do – early in my career I was tempted to deliver more in order to close the deal. “Say yes, I’ll figure it out later!” was my go-getter mantra – (but afterwards it never left me feeling like the expert I wanted to be.)
- They want me to convince them to hire me – every client likes to feel reassured they are making the right choice, but when a potential customer needs a lot of persuasion or asks me defensive questions, I see it as a red flag. I’d rather simply explain what I do, and if it’s a fit, they feel confident about hiring me without needing much convincing.
- Working and communication style – there are smaller red flags that someone isn’t a dream client. It’s not always the case, but we’ve found when someone doesn’t like to work or communicate in our preferred methods, they’re not a dream client. These working and communication styles can be VERY nuanced and take trial and error to identify.
Now, if you really don’t know who your dream client isn’t, it might be a good idea to collect information as you go. Say yes more than you say no, and take note of what works and what doesn’t along the way.
Who do you already know that fits the profile?
Even if you’ve never worked with your dream client, you probably already know who they are. Write down a list of everybody you know (I recently read that we have the capacity to hold 150 names at any given time in our minds – so aim for 150). As you read through that list cross off anyone who is an instant “no.” For anyone that is left, begin asking yourself:
- What does this person have questions about?
- What is one thing that would make them feel really good?
- What is their number one source of stress?
- What podcasts are they listening to? What shows are they watching?
- Where do they shop for groceries? Where do they buy clothes?
- What do they value more than anything else?
- What irritates them?
- What inspires them?
It’s a lot of work, but once you begin to analyze the dream client you already know, you will begin to see common threads and make patterns out of what your potential dream client struggles with and what they desire. And the more you can speak to your dream clients’ exact stresses and desires, the more they will trust that you can really see them for who they are – and the more they will want to hire you to solve their problem, coach them to the next level, or buy your product that will deliver what they really need to know.
Now, write that person a helpful email (but publish it to your entire audience).
Once you know exactly who your dream client is, go ahead and write them an email. Read it out loud. Does it sound like something you would actually say to that specific person? And if you were to actually share this content with your dream customer, what kinds of follow-up or clarifying questions would they ask next?
Be sure to include that next-level information in your email too – that’s where the secret sauce is. Now… publish this email as a blog post or newsletter that goes out to your entire list! It might feel too specific since you were just writing it to one person but – I promise – that’s the content that resonates with hundreds.
