How to Attract & Keep Premium Clients
Welcome to the UnCloned® Insider newsletter. My name is Audria Richmond®, and I am your marketing and launch strategist. Today, we're going to be talking about how to attract and keep premium clients. So if you are a person who wants to attract and keep premium clients, you are going to enjoy today's newsletter because, I want to just talk about I'm I'm not going to necessarily go into my experiences working with service providers, but I do want to give some tips and strategies that you can apply in your business to either attract high paying clients or keep premium clients. And in this context today, I am talking about anyone who would probably be spending, let's just say, you know, $2,000 or more with your organization, right, with your company.
Audria Richmond®:Now if you're thinking like, hey, I don't sell anything in that price point, you still can utilize these strategies if you are a service provider. And I'm quite sure if you're uncloning creative, right? We always talk about being unclown. I'm quite sure you will find some creative ways to apply this to your business, even if you're a product based business. So typically when a premium client is looking for a service provider, they're either going to ex friends, they're going to ex other peers, maybe other business owners that they know.
Audria Richmond®:They're gonna go inside of Facebook groups. They're gonna make posts publicly, and they're just gonna go and source the public to find people if they cannot find people within their network. And typically, when people are in discovery mode, which is the first phase before people actually start doing business with you, one of the things that's overly crucial I mean, uber uber crucial crucial is that when people are in that discovery phase, everything about your brand needs to scream, I'm ready. Right? And if you have not read, are you ready for the yes?
Audria Richmond®:How to prep your personal brand for lucrative opportunities? What are you waiting on? I will link that, below this audio so you can grab it today because we just got a new shipment in. So if you haven't read that book, it's awesome. It's all about personal branding, but a lot of it has to do with being prepared and ready for opportunity.
Audria Richmond®:And so when someone wants to give you a lot of money and do, you know, and spend a lot of money with you, they're typically looking for individuals who got their stuff together. Let's just be honest, right? We're not looking for people who just plan. We're not looking for people who just trying. We're looking for experienced professionals who have experience with working with these types of clients because the other thing is, oftentimes people do not want to, be a guinea pig.
Audria Richmond®:Right? And that's why you starting to hear I see a lot of people say, hey, give me some examples, so on and so forth. So I'm gonna give you some tips and strategies, and I'm a break this down into 2 phases. We're gonna have, phase 1, and then we're gonna have phase 2. Phase phase 1 represent before, right, before that person come becomes a client, more so in that discovery phase.
Audria Richmond®:And then phase 2 is going to be post purchase. Like, hey. I paid you. Now what? Okay?
Audria Richmond®:Now I must say there's more strategies before, than there are after, but I'm quite sure you're going to really, really, really enjoy this. Also, there is going to be a link below this audio wherever you may be listening to this, where you're going to be able to click a link and leave a comment. Guys, I need you to leave comments. I need to know that you're listening, that you heard this, that this was useful, this if this was helpful. We did release last week's one, and, one of my one of my good friends, Mario, he reached out and said, hey.
Audria Richmond®:You know, I can't get logged in to Facebook to leave a comment. So we fixed that this week. So definitely leave a comment. All you got to do is click the link below. This audio is going to take you to a dedicated post on our Facebook business page.
Audria Richmond®:It's gonna give you the opportunity to leave a comment. So I definitely want your reviews. Okay. So now let's dive in. Alright.
Audria Richmond®:So phase 1, right? Phase 1 is very, very, very important that you understand how people give you money. How do you actually want to be paid? And and before we talk about money and payments and all of that stuff, is what I'm talking about in this context is what is your process? So oftentimes when people want to work with you, they want to know what's your process.
Audria Richmond®:So if I say if you say, hey, it's going to cost you $5,000 to get a website built. Cool. What's your process? I don't you know, if I feel like you're kind of hesitant or you've given me some little fly by night type of response, I'm just going to be like, no, I'm good. Because to me, it screams a few things.
Audria Richmond®:1, you're not you're you have not came up with a clear process and you probably overwhelmed in your business or be, you're pretty new, and you're still kind of figuring it out. So, typically, I have found experienced people typically know their process. Right? So if someone say, hey, Audrea, you know, I wanna book you for a VIP day. What's the process?
Audria Richmond®:Okay. Go to my website, click on this link, fill out the form. We review the form. We send your response. We make some recommendations.
Audria Richmond®:If we feel like we'll fit, we'll send your proposal. You sign your contract. We get started. Next day we do, we send you pre work. And then after that, we schedule our day.
Audria Richmond®:We have our VIP day. You get your post, VIP day assets and recording and marketing plan. Right? That's me knowing my process, meaning I have experience. That means that I have done this a few times.
Audria Richmond®:And so, again, you know, you wanna work with people who have a clear process. And so if you're not clear on how to do that, what you wanna do is make a list. You know? Okay. What's step 1?
Audria Richmond®:Okay. What do I want people to do as step 1? Okay. I want them to come to my website. Okay.
Audria Richmond®:Cool. Now that they're on my website, now what? So it's kinda like your SOP, in assists for how people get started. So you might say, number 1, they're going to visit the website. Number 2, they're going to click on the contact button.
Audria Richmond®:Number 3, they're going to do that. So this may sound simple or self explanatory, but I promise you, if you make it clear around your process, people love that because they know what to expect. All right. So number 2, let's talk about proof. So if someone is going to do business with you, they want proof.
Audria Richmond®:And yes, we can go and give testimonials and reviews. But let me tell you what's going to take it up a notch. Case studies will take it up a notch. Being able to demo, like, actually demonstrate your skill set. Let's just say you don't have any case studies and things like that.
Audria Richmond®:You can demonstrate what you're going to be able to do in a video or talk it through with a client or be honest. Right? Please do not lie about, your experience. Okay? And so you could do case studies.
Audria Richmond®:You can utilize testimonies and reviews, or you can make, examples. Right? So let let me give you an example. So you're either gonna have some examples like, hey. I did this with this client.
Audria Richmond®:Look at what we did. Obviously, if you can do that, because sometimes, you sign NDAs with your clients and, you know, it depends on whether or not you can share that work or not. But if you're in a a business where everything you do is super sensitive, super private, then you may want to create some fake, situations or fake scenarios where you can create some spec work. That's what they call it, like, in a design world, where you create, like, a fake client or fake company and demonstrate what you would do. Right?
Audria Richmond®:So that's something that you can do, but we are in a age now where people be lying. Okay? They call it capping now, which is crazy. But, when we're talking about this, it's very important that you ask for proof. Right?
Audria Richmond®:Proof. Give me some proof. Let me know if you're legit because I didn't get burned. I had to make a public announcement after being burned. And so now when I'm working with people, you gotta show me some examples.
Audria Richmond®:You gotta show me some examples. If you can't show me some examples, then I'm probably not gonna be your ideal client. Alright. So the next thing, have a professional way of showing your services. What does this mean?
Audria Richmond®:This could be a service catalog, like a PDF that breaks down all of your services. This could be a page on your website that's well designed. So on that page, you may see, like, a video, and things like that. Because, when you're telling people your prices, please do not copy and paste your pricing and send it to people. That is extremely unprofessional.
Audria Richmond®:And, it'd be nice if people could see something visually appealing to be like, oh, okay. Cool. Because you gotta keep in mind, this ain't your $20 clients. You know, this is not your $30, 40, $50 clients. These are your clients who are going to ultimately spend, you know, high five, 6 figures with you.
Audria Richmond®:And so if you are not demonstrating before money is exchanged that you are a premium service provider, then they will not do business with you. And if they and if you do get them to slip through the cracks, you will not keep them, Okay? Because of a lot of things that we're sharing here. Alright? So the next thing, you wanna make sure that you are sharing all expectations with your clients.
Audria Richmond®:No surprises. Okay. No surprises. Be very clear about how you work, when you work, any very important policies that people need to know. I don't wanna know about your super strict policy after I've given you money because now you didn't give me a choice.
Audria Richmond®:Right? I I I remember working with someone, and they were just changing their policy, like, all the time. And that's not something that I personally was excited about because I didn't never know when this person's mood was gonna change or, when we needed to pivot or do different things. So if you're going to be changing your policies and things like that, I think that should be discussed, very early on. That way people can know like, oh, okay, I know every quarter you're going to change your policy or, hey, I know every quarter you're going to change your pricing.
Audria Richmond®:Like, be crystal clear with people and set the expectation because, you know, the worst thing to happen is like have someone get married to love and working with you. And then every 5 seconds you're changing with the wind because you can't handle your business. Right. So you just want to make sure that you are being very clear with the client. You're not giving them any, ex you know, you're not, you know, leaving them high and dry.
Audria Richmond®:You're setting the tone, and you're letting them know about all of the expectations. The next thing, have clear timelines on how long it will take. Right? Please do not give them the, oh, I think this would be cool because I really need to get the money. You know, if you know it takes you 3 weeks, say 3 weeks.
Audria Richmond®:Right? Don't say 1 week because that's what that client has time for. Like, you know, you know how some people are. They contact you at the last minute. I'm guilty of this.
Audria Richmond®:They contact tech you at the last minute, and they're like, hey. I need this done in x y z time. So if you know that you do your best work not under stress and you need that 2 to 3 weeks, then say that. That way you're not leaving that person, you know, having that person think thinking that you can do it in a week when the truth of the matter is you're really stressing yourself out trying to force yourself to be able to have that ready for the client. So you definitely want to make sure that you're crystal clear about your timelines and not just your timeline for the overall project, but also the timeline of the different phases.
Audria Richmond®:So, like, hey, you know, it's gonna be, you know, a week at best before we can do our initial consult. After we do our consult, it's gonna be another 2 weeks before we can do it. So if you, like, break down your process and get very crystal clear around how long each phase take, Then you can express and share that with the client so they won't come into the relationship thinking that you're going to be able to be Speedy Gonzales, when you know that you are creating magic and magic takes time. So you definitely wanna make sure that you're being crystal clear with your client around, time and expectations. The next thing, remain professional at all time and show it to all meetings on time.
Audria Richmond®:That doesn't really require a lot of explanation. Just show up on time. You'll be surprised how many people don't show up to show up on time or hell sometimes don't even show up at all. So definitely keep that in mind. Also, the next one is make it easy, to get started.
Audria Richmond®:Okay? What I mean by this is that your premium clients are probably extremely busy. What does that mean? That means that, you know, if you have a 40 page questionnaire, you probably wanna put someone on your team, that can go and facilitate the questionnaire with your client. I remember working with someone, and, basically, one of the features that they had was that someone on the team would call and help you fill out the form.
Audria Richmond®:I thought that to be very useful considering that I'm a very busy professional. And so keep in mind that, like, premium clients, people who got money, people who gonna break bread with you, people who refer you the best. We're typically extremely busy. So you have to think about, okay, based on my process, how can I support a busy professional? What can I streamline in my process?
Audria Richmond®:What can I improve, in my process to accommodate for high profile clients? Okay. Also, have a contract. I'm not a attorney at all, but I can tell you from very from a ton of bad business deals and from a lot of bad relationships or working with people. Not that many.
Audria Richmond®:Not to make it seem like like everybody I work with is trash, but I just want you to know that, like, you need to have a contract. Okay? You need to have a contract. So when you have a contract, it makes it easy for both parties to know what the expectations are when things are done, what's gonna happen if you don't keep your end of the bargain, and what's going to happen if the client don't keep up their end of the bargain? So having a contract is super, super important.
Audria Richmond®:And then the next thing and we're still in phase 1, y'all Make it easy to give me let me let me say this. Make it easy for me to give you money. Okay? Do not have me doing all this crazy stuff to give you money. So make it super, super, super easy, for me to give you money.
Audria Richmond®:So that's phase 1. Now let's move into phase 2. Okay? You didn't got the money. They just signed a contract.
Audria Richmond®:They'd review the proposal and sign the proposal. You in there, you cooking with grease. Okay. Now what? So now that you have the client, right, it's time to deliver on your promises.
Audria Richmond®:I want to talk about, you know, we we live in a age now where everybody is doing high ticket. Right? And when we talk about high ticket in my when I talk about high ticket, I'm talking about $5,000 or more. Right? Some people, you know, the lowest I'll go on high ticket, is 25100.
Audria Richmond®:But pretty much if you're spending more than $5,000 with anybody, that's considered high ticket. Right? After someone puts their credit card information in and they get to your next page, it needs to be fun and exciting. It needs to be fun and exciting. Don't get me to the next page, and it's crickets, or no follow-up.
Audria Richmond®:I've had I've spent, like, a crazy amount of money with people, and I don't get no follow-up for, like, a few days. That is unacceptable. You should have automation or person in place to follow-up with people who do business with you. Okay. Period.
Audria Richmond®:So if you know that soon as soon as client put her credit card information in, okay, we're going to have somebody call that person. We're going to get a welcome email popping for them. You need to have something that's automated to confirm that we are indeed starting our working relationship. Okay? Alright.
Audria Richmond®:We're still on phase 2. We're still on phase 2. Next thing, always keep your client in the loop in the loop if you can't meet the deadline. So if you're like, hey. I know I told you 3 weeks, but it's probably gonna take 4, communicate that.
Audria Richmond®:Do not tell your client it's gonna take 4 the day before is due. You know, you know, halfway through the project if it's going to be late or run over. So be honest and transparent about that. And typically, you know, yes, the client won't be happy, okay? But they will appreciate you being honest, Right?
Audria Richmond®:They'll appreciate you being honest more than they will appreciate you lying and missing the deadline. If you are a person that's missing deadlines or not even communicating with the client or not even following up, that's a surefire way to lose your best clients. Okay? Also, do care about how you present your deliverables. So if you're doing something that's not consulting or anything like that where you have to actually deliver a deliverable like a PDF, a workbook, a worksheet, whatever, whatever you have to give your clients, you know, something in the mail, something physical.
Audria Richmond®:Please care about what that looks like, Right? No one wants to spend, you know, 5, 10, $20,000 with you, and you send them something Uber whack in the mail. Okay? You're welcome. Gifts need to be on point, depending on the service.
Audria Richmond®:Right? So if it's a long extended service, yes, and a welcome gift, If you notice, like, a quick transactional, like, hey. We'll be done in, like, 2 or 3 weeks. Okay. Cool.
Audria Richmond®:But at the very least, you know, you wanna you wanna let your client know, like, I appreciate you. Thank you for doing business with me. Okay? Next thing, confirm that there are no changes and ask for reviews and or a testimonial. So once you get the once you go with your client and you share, the deliverable with them and they're loving it, they don't have any changes.
Audria Richmond®:Now is the perfect time to ask for a review and or a, referral at this stage. This is the perfect time to ask for that and then repeat the process. So, hopefully, you have found this to be extremely, useful. If you're on Instagram, tag me on Instagram at ardria richmond. Please don't forget to leave a comment.
Audria Richmond®:That's how I know you're listening. That's how I know you enjoyed it. I really do hope you are enjoying the UnCloned® insider newsletter. I have had a blast creating this for you. I look forward to your response, and, I'm definitely going to link.
Audria Richmond®:Are you ready for the yes to the to, you know, below where you're going to be able to find this audio? So please grab this book if you haven't already done so. And if you own this book, reread it because I think you'll find it useful and it'd be a great companion to the conversation conversation today. So thank you all so much and have an amazing day.
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