5 Useful Tips to Stop Attracting Clients Who Can’t Afford You

One of the biggest issues that people come to work with me around is that they are attracting a mixed group of people.

They’ve got some really great clients. And they’ve got some clients who complain about their rates, don’t pay on time, and generally drag their feet on actually doing the work… while asking for more time than they actually pay for.

This whole phenomenon shows up massively in your message. Which means that the message you’re “putting out there” is actually attracting these sorts of not-so-great clients to you.

This is why I’m over here picketing for all of us to stop using the words “struggle” and “overwhelm” in our copy. (My take on that tried-and-true marketing advice is here.)

So if this sort of thing is happening to you, I wanted to give you some pointers on how to get out of the downward spiral:

(1) Stop taking clients that you don’t love working with. When you’re starting out, sure, you’ll work with people who may not be your ideal clients. But keep working towards honing your vision of who makes a great client for you – and then have the backbone to turn people away when they don’t measure up.

(2) Tell the truth in your sales conversations. Look, you’re going to talk to people who aren’t motivated. You want the breakthrough more than they do. Say that. There’s no judgment there. But don’t let them into your business. Find people who really WANT the results you can help them get.

(3) Start looking at your own money stuff. I used to think this advice was total horse poop (hey, I’m from the Midwest… we’re skeptical of these sorts of things)… but then I read a book called Overcoming Underearning and realized I was totally incapable of even imagining making more than $24,000 a year. If you can relate, clean up your belief of what’s possible for you.

(4) Stop being nice. If you buy into other people’s stories about how they “can’t have” this… or “can’t do” that… you’ll never be able to stand for them to make a change. This isn’t about being mean – it’s about rooting into truth. And then actually saying that. Even if someone hasn’t hired you.

(5) Make sure your business solves a problem that people with money have. I just did a VIP day with an executive coach who has a CEO client running a billion dollar business. What sorts of problems would he have that the rest of us don’t? How would he describe those problems? No matter what business you’re in, you might spend a few minutes imagining the wilder, wetter, juicier problems that people who are already successful + kicking butt have. You might find out something useful.

Mighty thanks to Pete Birkinshaw flickr photostream for the narrow focus.

I’m curious – have you decided to narrow your focus to people who have money? What have you learned? Share it the comments below.

Stella Orange is a copywriter who helps people put their work into words. For eight years, she wrote email campaigns that resulted in more than a million dollars in sales for her clients. In that time, Stella also taught popular marketing writing workshops to business owners on both sides of the Atlantic -- and a few in Australia and New Zealand. In 2017, Stella cofounded a creative and consulting shop offering a complete and slightly unorthodox line of business advising and marketing services. She continues to write copy and advise clients on customer delight, how to resonate with more sophisticated, discerning clientele in your marketing, and just who, exactly, your ideal clients are. Stella is the founder of Show Up And Write, a weekly writing group and writes a letter every two weeks or so (here’s the sign-up). She lives with the Philosopher and their two kiddos in Buffalo, New York, a fifteen-minute bike ride to the Canadian border.

2 Comments


  1. Linda Ursin

    I’m in the process of narrowing it down even further. I just have to get that illusive insight into what needs to change in the description I have of the ‘ideal client’

  2. Stella

    Make sure you are in conversation with real people who fit your notions of what an ideal client is for you — they have the keys to the castle here, Linda!

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