Hey friend, we’ve all been there at different seasons of our business where we have struggled to get our content, services and work in front of those dreamy ideal clients we long to serve. Although it’s discouraging to be in that space, know that it’s just a season of your business. And seasons don’t last forever, sweet friend. You truly can make some thoughtful changes to really pivot away from the struggle and start booking your ideal clients.

Today, I want to take a few minutes to talk through some of the most common issues I see fellow creatives struggling with that puts them in the booking dead zone and four main areas you can improve to truly reach the front-of mind for your ideal clients.

WHY YOU’RE NOT BOOKING IDEAL CLIENTS

As an industry educator and mentor, when I hear from friends and fellow creatives they are struggling to book their ideal clients this tells me there is a step in their booking process that is broken and can be elevated through a few intentional changes.

Over the years of guiding fellow creatives through my mentoring approach, we’ve been able to get them out of the booking deadzone and fully connecting with their ideal clients in a fulfilling and joyful way. It simply comes down to these four main areas where your process might be failing you.

1) HOW YOUR COPY SPEAKS TO YOUR IDEAL CLIENTS

The very first thing I look at when working with my mentoring clients who are not booking their ideal clients is their copy.

One important thing that is an absolutely crucial with your process is how you are resonating with your ideal clients and positioning your offerings to them through your website.

So where exactly is your copy falling short?

In my experience, I’ve seen so many creatives who are spending loads of time on their website talking mostly about themselves, their qualifications and their experience. Now don’t get me wrong, sharing your favorite order at Starbucks can be fun and a great way for your audience to learn more about you! But if you are spending all of your time talking about yourself as a business owner then you are unintentionally not creating the space within that message for your ideal client to see themselves.

What I mean is this–if you are writing your copy on your website and making yourself the hero of it all, then there is no opportunity for your ideal client to see how your work fits into their life.

Instead, you need to make it abundantly clear how your offerings and services can meet your ideal client right where they are.

First and foremost, focus on writing every single piece of copy (from social content to your website copy) speaking directly to your ideal client. Make it so clear how your work can help them reach their goals. Because ultimately that’s the point, right? Your job is to help them reach a goal they can’t reach without you.

2) YOU AREN’T MEETING THE NEEDS OF YOUR IDEAL CLIENTS

The second main area I see as a pain point in not booking ideal clients is that your specific offerings don’t match the needs of your ideal clients.

Maybe you’ve done an incredible job of making your ideal client the hero of your story. But, it is entirely possible that your services and the way they are structured aren’t meeting the pain points your ideal clients currently have.

They might look at your offerings and see the deliverables you offer as part of a project scope and think, that sounds nice but it’s just not what I need at this time.

If your offerings aren’t resonating then what you need to do is get in touch with your ideal client. Put out a survey, email people you’ve worked with in the past or someone you would love to work with in the future.

Ask them what they need from a service provider like you.

What this is going to do is help you clearly identify the pain points your ideal client is struggling with. From there, it can help you figure out how to tailor your offerings to meet those clients right where they are.

3) YOUR VISUAL BRANDING ISN’T CUTTING IT

Alright, maybe your copy is spot on and your services and offerings are everything your ideal client needs!

But the third issue you may be running into is that your visual branding simply isn’t cutting it.

In our digitally based industry, it is so crucial that your visuals speak to the level of service and the kind of experience that you offer to your clients.

If you find you are getting inquiries from people who don’t have the budget to afford your work, who nickel and dime you along the way, or who try to micromanage the process, then my guess is your visuals aren’t speaking to the kinds of clients you want to be working with.

This can come to fruition in a few different ways. Maybe you have a gorgeous logo, but your website isn’t quite up to par. Or you have a beautiful website, but an unprofessional logo with an overwhelming amount of color. And don’t even get me started on mismatched font pairings that don’t offer a cohesive visual experience!

An easy way to fix this issue is  to reach out to a designer who offers branding audits. They will give your online presence and marketing materials a professional once over so they can identify exactly where you need to be focusing your time and energy on in order to elevate your visuals.

If that’s not in your budget, sitting down with industry friends or your biz bestie can also help open your eyes to different areas of growth. Ask them if they were an ideal client, how they would perceive your brand.

So, if your branding isn’t cutting it, figure out what isn’t working and then fix it!

I would highly recommend working with a professional brand designer to elevate what you have and really focus to reach your ideal clients.

Because a truly strategic brand designer will focus on the strategy behind your visuals that will help position you in an appropriate way to your ideal clients.

With some thoughtful updates you can absolutely get your visual branding back on track.

4) YOUR BOOKING APPROACH

Alright so maybe your copy, website and visuals all are great. But one of the biggest reasons I see mentoring clients not booking their ideal clients has everything to do with their booking approach.

Are you making it easy for your ideal clients to understand how your process works?

Do you make it really clear and share all the information on your website on how they can move forward with working with you?

On top of that, is your inquiry communication with potential clients only through email?

I get it.

You’re a busy boss lady. Not everyone has the time to hop on a phone call or meet at the local coffee shop to talk through pricing and investment. But in my experience, if you are only handling communication with potential clients via email then you are missing out on a lot of opportunities to really make the sale in an authentic way.

If you are struggling to book your ideal clients I would recommend taking a serious look at your booking approach.

Do you get a lot of inquiries from clients who on the surface sound wonderful and fit into your “ideal client” perspective, but as you start working with them you find out they aren’t so ideal? That’s something you can probably avoid if you spend some time upfront, in-person or on the phone, getting to know who they are and what their expectations and needs are.

As nerve wracking as it may seem to hop on a few consult calls or to grab coffee with a few potential clients, I promise you that is an approach that will pay off in the end. Trust me, you don’t have to be awkward or salesy.

Instead, create this as an opportunity to connect with your potential client, learn more about them and their vision for their project, and provide a solution to how you can help reach their goals.

HOW TO BOOK IDEAL CLIENTS

Friend, if you find you are in a season of not resonating with your ideal clients or bringing in the kinds of projects you dream of doing, then I would love to partner together and walk alongside you as we determine the best actionable ways to elevate your booking process.

Together we can figure out intentional ways to elevate your strategies so you are getting your work in front of your ideal clients, communicating accurately who you are, what you do, and who you serve in a sustainable and genuine way.

If you are longing for someone to walk alongside you and give you personalized individualized guidance on how you can reach your goals and get out there in front of your ideal clients then I would love to chat with you. I only have a limited number of bookings for my 2018 mentoring clients and would love to hear from you!

You can get in touch with me here to schedule your complimentary call to see if we would be a great fit to work together! I would love to partner with you to help take your business to heartfelt new heights.