Jessica Osborn [00:00:00]:
You're listening to she's the business podcast. What are the main reasons why you're not attracting premium clients and what can you do about it? Well, stay tuned because that's what we're covering in today's episode. It's coming right up.
Jessica Osborn [00:00:18]:
Hi, I'm your host, Jessica Osborne. And over the last 25 years in marketing and business, I've helped many brands to launch, scale, and grow, with some of them becoming multi billion dollar companies. I'm here to announce, inspire you to get out of your own way and create a profitable, fulfilling business while living the lifestyle you really desire without all the hustle. So I bring you she's the business podcast. A unique blend of strategies, tactics, mindset, health and spirituality. Literally everything you need to be the successful leader of your dream business. Made by women. For women, this is your weekly dose of motivation and inspiration.
Jessica Osborn [00:01:04]:
Hello. So on today's episode, I thought it would be really fun to share with you a bit about the same things I've been teaching recently in some live masterclasses and trainings that I've been doing. And the one thing that I've been talking about most, that has most people in that place where they're like, that is exactly why I'm stuck. That's where I really need to focus on, is when we start talking about premium client attraction, that is, clients that want to pay for your top packages, your most premium services, and they're really willing and ready to sign up on those. They're not, you know, crunching the numbers, they're not negotiating and nitpicking on things. They're all in. They're committed, they're ready to sign up, and they turn out to be the easiest, most lovely, and amazing clients. Now, we would all like more of those, right? And here's a funny thing.
Jessica Osborn [00:02:02]:
It's like everyone says to me, well, just tell me what to do. I'm like, well, we can do that. And that's what we do. Inside business jam. There are modules in there to help you get the things in place in order to attract premium clients. But what we're going to talk about today is the fact that most of the time, the reason that you're not doing this and the reason why some people struggle to put those things into action is not about that they don't know what to do or how to do it, but more that they are internally repelling and rejecting this idea. They're actually pulling away from it, even though it's something that they want. So that's really interesting, right? Why would we be saying, well, I want to sign people up on my top packages or I even want to increase my prices? Maybe you're under charging.
Jessica Osborn [00:02:51]:
Maybe, you know, that you could be charging a lot more, yet you're doing nothing about it. And today we're going to cover off, what are these top five that I see reasons why you're not there. You're not out there on purpose attracting premium clients. So before we get into it, let's have a little chat about what's going on currently. And look, the real truth of the matter is that most coaches, most experts, thought leaders, service providers out there, but, you know, not the ones that are at the top of their game, not the ones that are the most successful, but most of the newer ones, the ones that are, you know, still trying to reach that initial six figure milestone. What we see that is really common there is that although they want to sign premium clients, they're out there with everything in their business. All of their marketing, their messaging, their positioning, their offerings are all aligned to a much less premium, shall we say, type of client. And of course, that that is who you're attracting.
Jessica Osborn [00:04:02]:
There is no great secret to it. If you want to attract premium clients, then your strategy needs to be aligned to the premium clients. And that is the number one, like, missing key. That surely is so obvious, but yet it's not. Okay, because if it was obvious, then everybody would be doing it and they're not doing it. They're not aligning these things. And when we dive into those layers of like, well, why is that? You know, you know that that's who you want to attract, but yet you're over here talking to a totally different person. You're talking to the people who are extremely budget conscious.
Jessica Osborn [00:04:39]:
You're talking to them in different language and the offers that you're putting out because you're like, well, I just want some clients to sign up, so I'm going to put out something that I think super affordable and that everybody can, can manage. Well, that's why, that's who you're attracting. You're attracting the ones that need that super affordable, you know, super affordable option, the ones who are in there for the cost discounts. Right. So when you're putting that out, that's what you're getting back. This is the one of the universal laws of our universe. That's why it's a universal law, right? It is a universal law. It is that what you put out is what you get back.
Jessica Osborn [00:05:20]:
And it's really, really simple in that way. So as I said at the beginning, there are usually five reasons why you are actually pushing away this idea of attracting premium clients and not doing the things that you need to be doing, actually avoiding doing them and carrying on talking to these other people out there in the market. Now, there's nothing wrong with having people who, not premium clients. There's nothing, you don't have to have a business that is only there for premium clients. Here I'm talking to people who want premium clients. They want people to be signing up to their high ticket coaching packages. They want people to be, you know, paying them appropriately and properly for their expertise. They want to be in that range, you know, when it's a few thousand dollars per client minimum and growing.
Jessica Osborn [00:06:14]:
So that's, there's nothing unusual about that at all. But there's a lot of people who aren't even seeing that they can even get into that space in the first place. So what are they? Well, the first one is that most of us have been conditioned to think that we need to work our way up. So when you've come into business, you came in probably with some years as an employee, maybe, you know, for many of us, a lot of years, right? You, maybe you had your first job when you were at school, as a high schooler in your teenage years. And the whole way, the whole culture of that type of environment where you're working for someone else is you come in at the bottom and you do your time and you work your way up. Now, a lot of us, without even realizing that, have started our business with the exact same mindset. We're in there thinking, okay, well, my business is brand new, therefore I'm new and I'm working my way up. I've got to start at the bottom and I've got to earn my stripes.
Jessica Osborn [00:07:16]:
And, you know, they're there waiting for their stripes, but there is no person, there's no boss, there's no teacher. They're giving you your stripes, right? So how long are we waiting for? What is it specifically that we're waiting to have some sort of validation from someone else? Like, hey, you know, guess what? You've done your time now. Now are you ready? Now you're ready to have some premium offerings? That sounds ridiculous, doesn't it, when I say it like that? But actually that is what's going on for a vast majority of people. They are waiting to be told that they're ready. Now, I just want you to think about that for a moment because it sort of makes sense. We understand where that comes from your business is new. So your business itself maybe doesn't have runs on the board, but doesn't have experience and expertise, but it's not you, is it? Like that isn't you. Your business isn't you.
Jessica Osborn [00:08:12]:
You are the person who's started the business, but you're not new. And most of the time, unless you have literally started a brand new business in an area that you know nothing about and you are as new as your business. That happens in a very microscopic, I think, amount of situations that I've ever heard of. Because most people I know, moving into a coaching space, consulting space, it's because you have something of value to share. You know, you can help people. You've walked in those shoes before, you have trained, you have got all of the experience you've already done that time. It may not have been underneath the business name, but does that matter? Does that mean that that experience isn't worth anything? Does it mean that you can't count it because it wasn't done under the business name? Well, of course not. You know, if you're selling your ability to help people and to impart the knowledge and the expertise that you've gained, then it doesn't matter what business name you're putting it under, what you're calling it, it doesn't change the fact that you have that knowledge and expertise.
Jessica Osborn [00:09:16]:
Right? So that is a really easy one. And, you know, it has been something I think I'm calling this one number one, because I think I really suffered from this when I started this business. And when I look back, it makes me laugh because I think, well, how ridiculous. I had more than 20 years experience in marketing when I started this business. I had launched brand new brands, taken them to the stock market, done IPO share market launches. They had literally gone from $0 to the millions and billions. And that was some examples. I had worked for governments, I worked for social organizations, I worked for professional organizations.
Jessica Osborn [00:10:00]:
I did some time in London working for one of the largest global banks and running their digital marketing team in the UK for the corporate banking sector. And all of this, it was sort of like I just dismissed it and forgotten it and thought, well, no, I'm starting here from scratch. I'm brand new into this forgetting like, yeah, okay, the business part might be new, you know, selling my service as me and as a service and as a business is new and there's some things to learn around that. But what it is that I'm doing with my clients, I'm nothing new at that. At all. So why would I treat myself like I'm brand new? Why do I think I've got to start at the bottom, the same as somebody straight out of university, fresh with their marketing degree, zero experience. I literally put myself all the way back down to that point and was treating it like that. And, you know, I look back now and think, well, that was not required, of course.
Jessica Osborn [00:10:58]:
And luckily I did, you know, come to grips with that pretty quickly and realize, oh, hang on a minute, I'm not even, you know, taking into account the expertise that is already gained. So that's the first one thinking that you've got to work your way up. That is one of the major reasons why many people are not attracting premium clients, because they're just thinking they're not even ready for them. Now, the next one, a little bit similar. Are you the type of person who thinks that you need to have all of these accolades in order to show that you're able to charge premium rates? Maybe you think I need to have all the qualifications. So you're out there qualification hunting, thinking, well, I need this one and now I'm probably going to need another one. And going after all these trainings and certifications and thinking that once you have enough of these, you're going to know that you're ready, then you're going to know that you've got enough training to then be seen as an expert. And I guess I'd like you to think for a moment of, you know, what is this actually saying? Like, what certifications are you thinking is going to make it enough? How many and which ones? And are people asking you whether you have them or not? Does it actually mean that you are then therefore you have permission? Because it's kind of, in a way, what we're saying, isn't it? When you're thinking that you need to have all of these, if it's not a prerequisite? There's nothing wrong with getting a qualification.
Jessica Osborn [00:12:26]:
I am somebody who loves to learn. I read books. I take courses and programs. I am continually adding to my learning. And a lot of the best learning I've ever done is literally just on the job doing the things. You know, some of my students, well, actually, one of my clients last week, we were going through Facebook ads and she was like, I thought it was going to be a lot more simple than this. How did you even learn it? I'm like, well, literally by doing it. But because I've now done that the long way, I can show you the shortcuts.
Jessica Osborn [00:12:57]:
I can help you do it the faster way, right? Because I figured it out. I made lots of mistakes and that's okay. That's just the way I did it. I wanted to learn that way. But, you know, once you have that, then it can be so much faster to help someone else to fast track through it. So what are these qualifications that you might be thinking that you need to have? And do you really need to have them? Is somebody there asking you on a call? Well, do you have this qualification? They're ticking it off and if you don't have it, then they're never buying from you. Is that even happening or a thing? Or could it be that it's more like your personal confidence and you're pinning your confidence on the fact of having a qualification or not? Because if you think that a qualification is going to give you confidence, then you're probably going to be hunting down qualifications forever until you get to that point where you decide enough is enough. I now have enough and I'm now ready to back myself.
Jessica Osborn [00:13:55]:
Well, the thing is that you can choose that right now. That is a decision you can choose to feel like, yeah, there's things I don't know, but there are always going to be things that we don't know. Right. Even the expert, the highest expert in any field is still learning. We learn every day. We're learning every week. Anyone who says that they're not learning anything anymore is a liar. And I would challenge you to go out there and find somebody that you would call an expert.
Jessica Osborn [00:14:27]:
You would say they are an expert. Find someone who says they don't need to learn anymore and I bet you cannot find them. So the point I'm trying to make here is there are no magical number of qualifications required. You may have one that you need for your industry. For example, you may need one in order to be, you know, a chartered accountant or a lawyer and have that qualification. But there are a lot of qualifications out there that are purely for your vanity metrics. They're purely for you to feel like you're qualified enough to do the job and that's something for you to have a think about. Well, what is this qualification? I'm thinking that I need? And do I really need it? Or is it actually something that's a good learning and a nice to have and I'm going to gain something from it, but I'm doing it for the reason of learning, not for the reason of thinking I must have it before I can go out there and attract quality clients because that's absolutely not true.
Jessica Osborn [00:15:26]:
I've never ever had a client ask about qualifications. And yes, I have degrees, yes, I have qualifications, but nobody has ever asked for it. So I guess I present my case to you. Therefore, if that is you, do you really need one now stemming on from this? You know, people have, and this is one I'll put my hand up and probably be, I had a moment in time where I thought this too. It was, well, I'm not the biggest expert in marketing. You know, how could I go out there and put myself out and say I'm an expert when there are the likes of Philip Kotler, who wrote the marketing textbooks that we all studied when I was back in university in the nineties, there are marketing experts, there are new ones out there on the Internet who certainly my age and have done their time, they've written books. And I thought, you know, I can't call myself an expert because I'm not the number one. And then I was like, well, hang on a minute.
Jessica Osborn [00:16:28]:
Surely we can't just have one expert. And, you know, what is an expert anyway? And looking up expert in the dictionary, you can go and do this right now if you want, but look up what is the meaning of expert? And it says it's a person who has gained skill or knowledge, that is, they have expertise. Doesn't mention number of years, doesn't mention qualifications, and it doesn't say there can only be one. Right? So that's the good news. You currently, if you have expertise in something, that is, you have gained skills and knowledge. And usually I believe that these two things are combined, like just learning something from someone else, hearing them say it, and kind of learning it is very, very different to learned experience in doing it. So I think it's, yeah, you need to learn it. You need to have that knowledge.
Jessica Osborn [00:17:18]:
But it's the skill and the knowledge combined that gives you that expertise, and you probably have it. So there you go. Great news for you today. You can call yourself an expert. You have skills and knowledge, you have expertise, therefore you are an expert. So we can kind of get rid of that, you know, while there's someone else out there who's a bigger expert than I am. Well, so what? You know, who are they? Does it even matter? There are so many people in the world who no doubt need and are looking for someone like you to help them. And who are you to not help them simply because you think that there's some milestone, some barrier, or somebody else out there who's more expert than you and everybody should go to them.
Jessica Osborn [00:18:02]:
Everybody learns differently. We love different people for different reasons, and for that reason, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from leaning into your expertise and getting out there and just doing it. So I highly encourage you. Now, we've covered off three, three of the top reasons. Number four is I need to have some social proof first before I can attract premium clients. So I hear this and I see this a lot. I actually see, and maybe you might also resonate with that, or you might be like, oh, my goodness, yes, I see them all the time. So these are the people who go after lots of industry awards.
Jessica Osborn [00:18:38]:
They're out there thinking, I need to get awards, I need to write a book, I need to, you know, have pr, I need to have articles published. I need someone else to be telling everybody that I'm an expert so that then I can believe in it myself. Well, that may be not thinking that last bit, but it's true, right? Why else do we need them? Like they think, well, I need these awards. I need someone else saying I'm an expert so that I can charge and I can sell my services so that I'm going to be seen as an expert. So to me that means that they're actually not feeling like they are properly without awards or without having authored a book. Just think about that for a moment. Is that even true? Like, can you be an expert without having won an award and without having written a book? Well, of course you can. Of course you can.
Jessica Osborn [00:19:30]:
They are pure vanity again, like, what will we call them? It's like we're needing these building blocks under our feet in order to feel like we can stand up and stand out as an expert. And there's nothing wrong with awards. And in fact, you know, I've worked for many companies that we've done lots of awards programs and we've gone out there and got awards. It's a great way to get some visibility, it's a great way to expand your reach and get known by other people. But thinking that you need them in order to attract premium clients is actually just your ego telling you that you need these things. And it's helping you avoid the fact that actually right now, you're not out there targeting premium clients because you're thinking that you need all these things first. You don't need them. No client is saying, well, you know, I need to see at least three industry awards being one before I'm going to come and work with you.
Jessica Osborn [00:20:25]:
Like, nobody's saying that. So it is purely coming from within. This is an internal need that you have for some sort of recognition to make yourself feel like it's okay and you know, that's okay, it's becoming aware of it. Could it be that you instead can say, I'd like to get an award, and that would be a really great opportunity to network and to become aware of some other people out there and to become known, but I don't need it in order to attract premium clients. And I'd have to say that in order to win some of those awards, well, you're going to have a much easier time, especially if they're business awards, business growth awards. Well, don't you think that attracting premium clients, working with the type of client that is committed, that is going to get great results, much more extensive results than somebody who's really playing small, is going to help you have greater success faster? Therefore, it's going to be much easier for you to pitch in for these awards and potentially be the winner. Right? So it's like that chicken and egg thing, or do we need to lose weight before we join the gym? Or will actually joining the gym help me to lose the weight? So I look at it like that. There's absolutely nothing stopping you attracting premium clients, except for you today, because if you have expertise and skill, as we said, then all it is, is for you to believe in it and to align your strategy.
Jessica Osborn [00:21:53]:
Now, the very last one that was number four was thinking that you need to have some sort of external validation. And the fifth one is a self imposed milestone that many people have as well, thinking, well, I've got to already be earning at least over six figures before I can even think of charging a premium, high ticket offering. And this is people who are thinking, well, they want to charge $5,000. You know, that's still a really, you're not going to say it's low, but in terms of one to one services, if that's what you offer, then that is low. You know, the lowest when you're talking one to one, it's hard to get much lower than that, unless it's like a one off single session. And in those cases, it's like, gosh, there's so many ways that you can leverage that opportunity and you can even turn that into a more premium offering or a more higher ticket offering where a client can be much more of higher value to you than that. So they are the five ones, and they are the main things that are stopping people from believing they're ready to target premium clients once they've decided they're ready. It's actually really fast.
Jessica Osborn [00:23:09]:
I have people come into business, jamden, get into that headspace quickly and then think. Right now, I know exactly who I want to target. I'm okay with not leaving out other people, but they're like, I'm okay with making my focus. These premium clients, I'm talking to them. I'm talking to them exactly how I know that they need to be talked to, what they're resonating with, and I've got an offering that's designed for them. Now, when you have these pieces aligned and you've got your messaging there, you really understanding who you're talking to and you're sharing it in the right way, then it's like those clients start falling into your lap. Why? Because you're aligned to them suddenly before you weren't. That's literally the only thing that changes.
Jessica Osborn [00:23:58]:
So it starts with you. That is my core message to you today. It begins with you. When you are ready, when you can remove these parts of the ego, the self imposed milestones, a self imposed need for external validation, external permission, all of these things that you know, it's not your fault. We've had them embedded into us since we were little and we've grown up with it. But it's time to think differently. You are in business now. You do not need to wait for someone else's permission.
Jessica Osborn [00:24:30]:
You don't need external validation. You can decide, and you can decide now and then when you're ready. It is such an easy process. You know, I have a. A five part strategy, a five part framework in order to connect the pieces of your strategy together. And when you have the five parts, you've literally got a client attraction machine, shall we say, they are already falling into your lap. And it just makes life so easy because you're not out there trying to convince anybody. The only person you ever needed to convince was you.
Jessica Osborn [00:25:03]:
Once you know that that is exactly who you're out there for and who you're there to attract and you have full confidence in it. And yes, confidence is something that you don't have to learn how to have confidence. You just need to decide it. You can turn it on right now, today, because you're going to decide, you know what? I don't need to wait for a certain level. I don't need to have been doing this for x amount of years. I don't need a qualification. I don't need x, y, z. The things that we've talked about today, once you just say, you know what? As I am, I know that I can get results, and I know that I have a lot of value to offer.
Jessica Osborn [00:25:40]:
When you can really step into those shoes, live and breathe it and be okay with it, you're ready. And that's a beautiful thing. So there we have it. The five reasons why you're not attracting premium clients, and what to think about tonight. What to think about in terms of what ones of those felt the most true for you. Maybe you had more than one. I did mention that a couple of them I certainly have battled with at times. And maybe you can then start to help yourself process that and see it from a different perspective and love to hear how you get on.
Jessica Osborn [00:26:19]:
I'd love to hear your insights from this episode. What stood out most to you? Was it confronting? Have I triggered you at all? You know, because I guess I'm saying, hey, guess what? Your ego's getting in the way. I know that for a long time I would hear that and think, hmm, okay, maybe it is. I don't really know what that looks like. And now I look back and think, oh, my goodness, my ego was so much in the way because it was really keeping me playing small when I didn't need to be. And to be able to step out of that and think, it's not about me anymore at all. It's just about my ability to help other people. And I'm really happy to welcome them in.
Jessica Osborn [00:26:58]:
I'm really happy to show them the way. Whether they come and work with me through business jam and go through that program or they want to work one on one, we still use business jam as the resource. I'm open to it, and I'm willing and happy. And there's never any convincing. Once you are convinced in your ability, you don't need to convince anyone else because they can feel it. They can sense your confidence and your, you know, complete conviction in the outcome and then being able to get the outcome, too.
Jessica Osborn [00:27:29]:
Thanks for joining me today.
Jessica Osborn [00:27:30]:
I hope you've enjoyed this episode, and we'll be back next week with another amazing guest here on she's a business podcast.
Jessica Osborn [00:27:38]:
Now, if I asked you, do you know who your ideal customer is? More than likely you're going to answer, yes, of course I do. Or at least I know enough about them to market to them. Or do you? You see, the number one reason why most audiences aren't converting into buyers, or even if you're having trouble building an audience in the first place, is simply because you haven't gone deep enough to understand who it is, exactly who you're speaking to. There's no connection being made there and therefore those people aren't taking that next step. They're not connecting with you. They're not connecting through to become your clients. It's not so much about who they are as a person who you might see, but more what is actually going on inside their head. What are those questions running on repeat inside their minds? What is it that they're feeling so stuck and frustrated about? And really, why aren't they able to shift themselves out of that place? Now these are just some of the amazing questions that I get you to explore inside my brand new customer avatar worksheet.
Jessica Osborn [00:28:43]:
I've called it the ultimate customer avatar worksheet because you will never, ever have seen one like this before. It is so much about what's going on in the mind with a couple of questions just to help you get the visual profile of who it is you're speaking to as well. But clearly it is their thoughts and the way to connect to their thoughts that shift somebody from being just a person out there in the market into being somebody who's an active fan, a member of your audience. And not only that, but also a buyer. And that takes deeper connection than what most people are prepared to do. So if you're prepared to go that additional step to get really deep and meaningful with your ideal customer, then head over to my website and download this free worksheet right now and you can get started. It's at jessicaosborne.com customer avatar. I've got the link for you here in the show notes.
Jessica Osborn [00:29:43]:
So you can hop straight over there and just get it, download it and let me know how you get on. Like how did you find this exercise that I take you through? Because I guarantee you are going to learn more than one brand new thing about your ideal customer that you never knew before.
Jessica Osborn [00:30:00]:
So enjoy.
Jessica Osborn [00:30:01]:
Good luck. I hope you love it as much as I do.
