Thursday Press #154: what 99% of ideal client strategies get wrong
[17 OCT 2024] 🎉 celebrating 4 years in business!
Group chats are the work of the devil.
Or at least I think that’s what my partner is thinking as my phone buzzes 17 times in a row where I’ve left it on the couch.
You walk away for 2 minutes and of course that’s when the group chat starts blowing up.
The group chat in question is actually just 3 people, myself included, all named Sara(h)
But you give a girl a top 10 baby name in the 1990s and they’re going to yap!!!
Surprisingly, it took 3 years of working together to give Sara my phone number.
(She’ll tell you it’s because I have good boundaries, but I know it’s because I was too scared to ask to be friends lol)
3ish months later, Sara got tired of having two separate chats with her Sarahs and threw me and Sarah Kleist into a group chat that regularly interrupts my partner’s peace.
Yeah yeah, you shouldn’t give clients your personal phone number…
And normally I agree! But these clients in particular happen to be some of my closest friends, so I think an exception can be made.
The thing is, after 4 years in business (4!!! Can you believe it?!?!) I can count the number of “bad” client experiences I’ve had on one hand, and I consider myself lucky that they’re far outnumbered by the roster of beautiful wonderful talented kind people I’ve worked with.
So when I hear from other Pinterest managers and service providers who have shared their truly nightmarish, reddest-of-red-flag horror story clients, it makes me wonder — how did I get so lucky to find these dream clients?
You know the type…
The ones you immediately vibe with on the call, who check every box you could ask for, who trust you implicitly because you’re the expert.
50% of marketing talks about how to attract those people, and the other 50% talks about how to convert those people.
But 100% of that advice overlooks the most important strategy of all — being uncompromisingly yourself.
Attracting better clients just by being you?
“Being yourself” isn’t just some cliché life advice.
I know you want to roll your eyes and cringe, but stay with me here.
You can copy the most “successful” businesses in the world — imitate their business model, learn their marketing strategies, and follow their path.
It might get you part of the way there, and it might even get you pretty dang far!
But when that potential client is deciding between you and the successful person you copied, how are they going to choose? What’s the thing that differentiates you?
Spoiler alert: it’s you.
That’s why we can’t sanitize the personality out of our businesses.
Because I don’t care how unique you think your approach or method is, there’s at least one other person out there doing the exact same thing.
But there’s no one else who’s you.
This quote from Seth Godin lives rent-free in my head: “People don’t buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic.”
You might have also heard this version — “people buy from people”
As cliché as it is, it’s true.
At the end of the day, your clients are choosing you for you, so you better make sure that the “you” they’re buying into is authentic.
I want to acknowledge that it can really freaking hard to get comfortable with yourself.
It’s not easy to commit to showing up authentically, and anyone who says otherwise has forgotten what it was like at the beginning.
That being said, these are few of the strategies & tools I’ve found helpful as a human-first, personal-brand-centric business owner on the social internet:
1. Get clear on your values and boundaries
Before you can show up authentically, you need to know what that actually means to you!
2. Identify any “tells” of not being authentic
For me, I know that anytime I start overthinking or pre-scripting a future interaction, I’m probably about to act out of alignment with myself and/or my values.
3. Consider therapy
Listen, I can’t start throwing words like “values” and “boundaries” around without mentioning how incredibly valuable and helpful therapy can be if it’s accessible to you.
4. Show up imperfectly and often
The more you wait until things are perfect, the more you reinforce the idea that perfection is what people expect from you, and it’s so not.
Hint: this also means you don’t have to wait until you feel perfectly comfortable in your authenticity to practice being authentic, k? I know you!
5. Lead with stories, not sales pitches
And while yes, you can use those stories to pivot into a sales pitch or marketing tip, you don’t have to.
Sometimes a story can just be a story.
Speaking of stories, I shared mine in this blog, as well as a deeper explanation of all of these points (+ 2 more!) —
Lessons on Authenticity After 4 Years in Business
It’s scary to think that just being 100% yourself is enough.
But trust me, the right clients will see that as your biggest strength.
Anyone who doesn’t isn’t a condemnation of you or a sign of anything “wrong” with you; it’s just not the right fit.
Don’t let anyone (yourself included) convince you otherwise.
When I look back at my business journey, I can say with absolute certainty that I am the most me I’ve ever been, and the clients I have today are here because of that.
Four years in, I’m still figuring things out — I’m still learning, growing, and evolving.
But the clients who stick around? They’re here because they connect with me, not just the service I provide
(Although that’s equally a slay if you ask me…)
It will always be an intentional, sometimes effortful choice to be wholly yourself, but it’s a choice that’s always worth making.
So if you ever doubt whether being yourself is “enough” for your business to succeed, remember this: it’s not just enough, it’s essential.
Thanks for being here, whether it's been 4 days or all 4 years. 🥹
Love you lots,
Sarah