How to find dream clients (even if you’re starting out!)

Are you struggling to attract the right clients? Or maybe you’re having a tough time trying to get any clients at all. If that’s you, here are my top tangible tips for how you can start attracting your dream clients today, whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been working with the wrong clients for a long time.

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What are dream clients?

• You will have a good gut feeling about them
• The thought of working with them will light you up, and make you excited 
• They will inspire you

Who is your dream client?

If you have been around business a while, think about the clients that you’ve worked with. Which ones were dream clients? Which would you LOVE to work with again or clone? What made them such a good client? Write it down! On the other hand, which clients did you dread working with and why? 

If you are new to business, YOU might be your dream client. Or “you” a few years ago. For example, there’s a member in my program The Copywriting Academy, who is a wedding planner. She LOVED the process and found she was really good at it, so she started her business after planning her own wedding. If that’s the same for you, consider what your struggles and desires were when you were in the place where you needed the service you provide now. 

Whether you are new to business, been in business for a while and are working with the wrong kind of clients who are draining the life out of you, OR are simply wanting to attract MORE dream clients and less of the wrong clients, I want you to allow yourself space to dream about WHO you would like to work with. 

Here are some things you might want to consider about your dream client

1. Are they at the top of their field?
   
   
2. Do they have a certain style?
   If you’re a branding photographer and you want to create stand-out brand stories with your photos, you’re probably looking for clients who don’t want the usual headshots that are the same as everyone else’s. Or if you’re a web designer and your style is dark and moody, you’re not going to want to work with clients who like imagery that’s light and bright, because that’s just not your style.
    
3. Where do you find them?
   Where do they hang out? Instagram? Facebook Groups?
   
   
4. Who are they following? 
   You? If you have been sharing for a while, it’s likely that some of your dream clients are in fact silent creepers, just following you quietly in the background… This is great! 
   
   Competitors? But I don’t want you to go down this rabbit hole… 
   
   Complementary service providers? For example, someone who’s looking to hire a web designer is going to need copywriting for their website. Or if you’re a wedding florist, you might look at wedding photographers or cake makers. You can team up with other providers to refer each other and introduce yourselves to each other’s audiences by doing IG Stories takeovers, Instagram lives, etc. Referrals are the most POWERFUL and easy way to get new clients, especially if you only have a tiny audience! You don’t need a big audience because you’re leveraging other people’s networks.

Connecting with your dream clients

1. Messaging

When it comes to connecting with our dream clients, we don’t want to be vague! They are real people who have real struggles, etc, so why would we make stuff up?

A lot of marketing gurus teach people to make a list of all the different random pieces of information like, what car does she drive? Where does she hangout? What food does she like? But this doesn’t really help us. It’s vague, and it doesn’t relate to the solution you provide. 

That’s why, when developing your messaging, it’s so important to… 

• Interview your dream clients to understand what they are actually struggling with. 
• Speak to their pain points, for example “wrong clients who are keeping you up all night”
• Speak to their desires, for example “dream clients who you are excited to work with each day”
• Paint a picture of the transformation they will receive, for example “number one choice and people are always referring their friends to you” 

2. Use this language in your copywriting! 

3. Include calls to action in your:

• Instagram posts
• IG Stories
• Emails 
• Podcast

I’m not telling you to use all of these methods. But wherever you are sharing content, make sure it includes a strong call to action. Because if someone’s not invited, the chances are they don’t even know your service exists! 

Elevate your awesome work

After you’ve worked with clients, provide them with incentives to refer you to others. 

1. Referral program

I have a referral program for both my clients which means that when someone refers a friend my way, I send them a percentage of the sale as a thank you. This is one simple way to encourage great clients to tell their amazing friends about you! 

2. Highlight testimonials 

What easier way to brag about yourself than to let someone else do it for you! As a part of your off-boarding process, make sure you invite clients to fill out a simple form to share their thoughts and feedback about their experience working with you… 

• Share testimonials and client feedback from your projects on your website

Other ways… 

• Case studies on podcast/blog
• Feature clients on Instagram and talk about the amazing work they’re doing 

There you have it, my top tips on how to find and connect with your dream clients.

I know I mentioned a lot of ways and places you can find dream clients. But I don’t want you to use ALL of these tips because that would be like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. I know it can be tempting to use all the marketing channels and strategies but I want you to choose one method that stood out to you and go all in on that. 

I’d love to hear your thoughts

Thanks for reading this post! I hope you found it valuable. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment down below and let me know what you found most helpful or surprising about how you can find your dream clients!