Do you look at the new client and feel joy of the magic in the moment, or do you just see the chaos surrounding your day? It takes me back to that class where you first started to design your business vision. We’ve all done the exercise. It’s the first thing you’re taught when you first start your business: Create an ideal client vision.
This vision of your ideal client guides everything you do, including pricing (you can’t charge that single mom as much as you can the CEO of a Fortune 500 company), pain points (mom probably isn’t worried about shareholders), and even the color of your logo. I had this conversation with a good friend the other day.
When you get started you spend hours and hours considering niche targets such as:
- Age group
- Income
- Family status
- Education
- Lifestyle goals
- Location
Maybe you even write up a nice little story about your ideal client, like a written out vision board. You give her a name, a couple of kids, a husband who just doesn’t get it, and a load of student loans. You know quite a bit about her, you think.
But you would be wrong, and if you go here, you may be missing a huge piece of the puzzle—and losing out on the best clients because of it. Here’s something that’s rarely considered in the “ideal client” equation, and it’s arguably the most important part: your personality and your energy is inviting in the possibilities. If you write it out in detail, you are missing out on the fun and amazing clients that aren't in that niche field that you've created. Who and what are you uninviting into your business when you decide that this is all there is for you?
If you’re snarky, sarcastic, fun-loving and loud, then a quiet, middle-aged mom who spends her time volunteering at the church comes wandering along you poo-poo that she isn't good fit for you. Sure, she might need your help, and she might love your products, but for one-on-one coaching, this match-up is a disaster - or so you allow yourself to believe. And the truth is that if you go into business feeling like that either she will be uncomfortable with your style, or you’ll be miserable trying to reign in your natural exuberance.
Better to open up to the energy that you are a fit for everyone, and they are just open to driving to your goals.
However for the random coach it can be difficult to calculate from the start what your client is open to. If you close off at the first mention of simplicity, then you are missing out on possibilities. Don't feel the drag of technology, but once you recognize it (or the lack thereof) give them the tools and open them up to what more is available. Maybe you are the connector to affiliate programs, or maybe you want the whole thing. Giving your client the open opportunity you'll never find a client without the drive to succeed. It's all in what you attract to your business.
I was talking to a friend and fellow coach about all of this the other day. She had boxed herself into a a space where she was walking her goals backwards because she had pre-determined what a partner was capable of. You can have a relationship with someone, but if you are going to start determining what the signs are from the outside it is better that you stop now rather than waste your time. You have to be able to let your client or partner take on their own energy and decisions about what they can or cannot do.
If you look at your current and past coaching clients, you’ll begin to see patterns where they, and you closed yourself off. You can easily look back and see what made some clients a joy to work with, while others were a struggle. Most of that was you. You drive the direction and you offer the openings - think about what those differences are, and add them to your daily mindset. When you bring in new potential clients you’ll never again sign on with a less-than-perfect attitude if you know that everyone is there to make something magic happen and the universe is just waiting for an invitation to get to work.
