We recently launched a website for yet another superstar client – Dan from Trader Trading Hub. And it got me thinking. The team love working with Dan, and we want more clients like him. We want to copy+paste him!
And we’re lucky. We have many of these favourite clients and on the horizon, I am feeling that more seem to be coming our way!

So how can we get more like him? I thought about the common elements when it’s worked for us so well, and wrote up these six steps.

1. Make a quick list of characteristics: I say quick because I don’t want you to get stuck on this. It can evolve and refine as more and more of your clients become favourites. Write down the characteristics of your ideal client. Then narrow it down to 4-5. These are the things that make them a pleasure to work with, and often doesn’t have to do with money – but rather their attitude and how easy they are to work with. For us it’s: Ready for change, Value our expertise and Proud of their business – with a proven business model. Once you have this, you can ask people specifically for people like that. You can weave this into your marketing, showcasing similar clients, and making it clear that you work with these types of clients in your various communications. You can incorporate it into your LinkedIn profile, your website and in blog posts.
2. The best type of visibility: This is the bit which requires an audit on your website and social profile, a “Kaizen” style improvement plan, and content marketing. An example for us is Dan from Trader Training Hub – he found us on Google where we have a good presence and 20 5 star Google reviews. He then looked at our website which has a video, I am told it’s very convincing! Other real client examples: Scott from Canada (Serenity) saw the presentation I did called “6 things your website needs to do be and have”, and read many of our blog posts before contacting us. Wendy (Snowbizz Family Skiing and Starlight Barking) came to an event where I was a speaker talking about improving your presence online. Scott (The Skills Farm) saw a blog I published on Linkedin which prompted them to get in touch. And Helen (York Walker) was recommended by Jonathan (Remarkable Partnerships)  – who I met at a business learning event. He started us off with a small project, we hit it off, and that led to more projects together. With others Francesca (Farley) she was recommended by a friend of mine, which ensured she had a good low down on what we can do and offer.
3. Show personality: Generally people who like you will be people who like you the way you are. How would they know this? Because they see it. In the way you talk on your social profiles. In the writing on your blog. You talking to camera. Sharing stories about your work. Giving common sense tips and advice. Speaking at events. These are all ways for people to get to know you a bit, even before they approach you. By the time they do – they’re halfway there!
4. Personality doesn’t mean ignoring the proper way to do things: While you may feel all free and easy to just be yourself because of point two – that doesn’t mean you ignore capitalisation rules in sentences, or start adding apostrophes to plural words. It’s always good to get a second pair of eyes on things. Try Grammarly to help with this.
5. Patience: You may need to get to know the client and allow them to try you out with a smaller project or a meeting before you go gung ho with your premium product. And in the early stages, cynics may say you’re over delivering – extra meetings, several rounds of proposals, updates more often, and more time explaining things, but it’s certainly no hardship  when working with the right clients. You can use this time to get to know them more!
6. Keep in touch: This is again an easy one. I mean during and after the projects. You’re probably going to be friends with these clients. This means you are more likely to keep working with them in future, and you can ask them to refer their like minded counterparts to you. I use text, WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and email, as well as face to face meetings and calls to keep in touch – it doesn’t always have to be formal. These clients are like friends! And – here’s the hardest one for many: be brave enough to ask for introductions and referrals – say to them “You’re a favourite and we love to work with you! Do you know others who we could work with who are almost as lovely as you?”

I would love it if this inspires you to attract those people you love working with – so do let me know your thoughts in the comments. If the world had more of this type of working relationship (and less of the other sort!), we’d all enjoy our work more, we’d be more productive, we’d produce our best work, and we’d be motivated to do more.