After chatting to a single friend this week, it occurs to me that attracting clients to your business is very much like dating.

I do wonder why on dating apps, anyone bothers putting ‘misrepresentative’ information or even worse, those misleading helicopter type pictures to hide your real weight or age or indeed ones that are so far out of date they are almost unrecognizable.  I had a early ‘Catfish’ encounter before that was even a word….

It happened many years ago, well before the days of Tinder or Bumble when you had to go on to the website to load your profile (there were no apps in those days!) to get a match. I was first attracted to his picture by his long, messy, sandy hair.  He looked about mid to late 20’s and stood athletically resplendent in his wetsuit, surf board in his firm grip – yes it was a match!  Needless to say, we chatted back and forth for about 2 weeks, he seemed lovely, we had a lot in common (love of dogs, wine) we decided it was time to meet up for drinks.  I drove nearly an hour away to meet him at a charming country gastro pub.  On the phone to him as he was directing me in, as I excidedly turned in to the carpark to finally meet my date, imagine my absolute confusion and horror only to be confronted by a fat, middle aged, bald bloke dressed in a loud baggy shirt which made him look pregnant as it skimmed his huge beer gut…. why was this man waving me, where was my long haired surfer boy??  I must have looked visibly shocked when he asked, without a hint of irony ‘See your face then, is it the hair?’.  THE HAIR???????????????????? That was the least of my worries as he was about 50 years old (I was 27 at the time and always liked younger men), he was ancient to me then and sadly the figure stood before me was the exact opposite of what I fancied in a man.  It was so awkward, I politely had a drink, made my excuses and left.  I felt so robbed.  As nice as he was, he had completely misrepresented himself and no matter how nice someone is, if you are expecting one thing and then get the complete opposite, you are going to be disappointed to say the least.

An Actual Catfish

Now call me romantic but I strongly believe that there is someone for everyone out there.  We have these crazy ideals in our heads about what we ‘should be’, this homogonised view of attractiveness but everyone is different with different likes and wants.

It is the same with our businesses, the word ‘authentic’ gets bandied around a lot by coaches and influencers alike but what does it really mean?  That man obviously thought that all women want a young, handsome surfer boy and whilst that might be true in some cases (certainly in mine!), in equal amounts are plenty that love a cuddly, bald headed older man.  My point is just always be yourself because if you do this, the brand you create, with your values, your style, your taste, even your logo will genuinely attract the kind of clients that are right for you.  No matter what type of business (it goes without saying having a great business offering/service/product is imperative) your brand must be authentic.

If you ‘borrow’ a competitors social media post/images and let’s say you attract all of these amazing new clients, when they come to you they will feel it’s not quite right, it won’t be what they expected you will just lose them (Catfish picture situation).  It is the same with ‘new client’ offers, it’s like jumping into bed on that first date (no judgment here) but once they have got what they wanted, why on earth would they now start trying to build a relationship with you?  Same with those clients, by giving these preferential discounts on the first visit, how does it benefit them by coming back? With no reward for their loyalty, they know they will have to pay more on their next visit and so they move on to the next ‘new client’ offer. If you consistently transmit your message that all you want is new clients, then that is what you will get.  However, without your loyal, returning clients you cannot not build a stable, consistent business.

So whether you cater to the top, middle or budget end of the market, there are enough clients out there for us all.  As  long as you know what you are, you price and deliver the service accordingly and everything in your business represents this, then you are all good.

We spend a lot of time with our clients and it is truly is one of the aspects I enjoy the most, I just cannot imagine how exhausting it must be, spending all day not really being yourself with clients who, frankly are not your cup of tea with nothing much in common. With any business, the initial enquiry, the booking process, the way that you communicate, your prices, your aftercare, all of these things represents your brand and ethos and most importantly, attracts the right profile of client that will suit your business.  Think of it as a natural filtration system.  If they are attracted to your adverts or social media posts then great! As they progress through stages of that interaction, each process of your booking and communication with your potential client send a clear message as what type of business you are.

By the time the client is actually through the door and with you, you’ve got a great chance of this being a perfect match!

The message here is believe in yourself, be true to your brand personality and you won’t go far wrong.  You will create a loyal, happy client base that you genuinely enjoy spending time with in a long, mutually beneficial relationship!

Check out my free ebook, Love Your Clinic that takes you through my top 4 tips for setting up your clinic or salon including how to attract your ideal client with your branding and processes 🙂

Get my book here: http://pennydee.co.uk/freestuff/