74. How to Get Clients to Say Yes Faster: The Positioning Secret for Service Providers

Are you struggling to get clients to say YES faster at the opportunity to work with you? In this episode, I reveal why potential clients are hesitating - and it has nothing to do with your pricing.

In this episode, I break down why positioning is the key to getting clients to say YES faster. Most service providers position themselves around tasks instead of transformations, making them blend into the crowd like "Where's Waldo" - invisible to their ideal clients despite consistent posting and outreach.

I share how focusing on your "unique magic" (the intersection of what you're naturally good at, what you enjoy, and what clients value) transforms your business. You'll hear a real-world example of how one systems specialist went from struggling at $4K/month working 50 hours to earning $7K working just 25 hours by making this strategic shift.

Key Points Covered:

✨ Why generic positioning makes potential clients' brains filter you out completely

✨ The three elements needed to create magnetic positioning that gets immediate decisions

✨ How to overcome the fear that specializing will limit your opportunities (hint: it does the opposite)

✨ Why premium clients are attracted to specialists who solve specific problems

✨ A simple 3-minute exercise to identify your unique positioning today

If you're tired of hearing "I need to think about it" or experiencing crickets after your sales calls, this episode will shift everything. It's time to position yourself as THE solution to your ideal clients' specific problems.

Ready to become the ONLY choice for your dream clients? My signature program Expansion is in BETA with special pricing for a limited time. Transform your positioning, attract premium clients who say YES faster, and build a scalable business you love - all in just 3 months. Secure your spot before rates increase! DM me "EXPANSION" on Instagram @soulfulbizcoachandrea or visit dancingleafsolutions.com/expansion today!

Thank you for being a part of the Soulpreneur Scaling Stories community!

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Andrea Elibero: Andrea here, your host and passionate business coach and scaling strategist for soulful service providers and coaches. Welcome to another episode of Solepreneur Scaling Stories. Have you ever wanted to look behind the curtain of your fellow entrepreneur's business to see what actually went into scaling it?

[00:00:22] Well, you are in for a treat 'cause that's exactly what we are doing here. In each episode, we will be uncovering the truth of the lessons and the stories behind what it truly takes for sold entrepreneurs to scale their businesses intentionally. I'm hoping that their stories will help you to unlock the true potential of your business so you can create your own soulful, abundant, and aligned laptop lifestyle through intentional scaling.

[00:00:46] So whether you're just starting out on your scaling journey or you're a seasoned entrepreneur seeking inspiration, this episode has something incredible in store for you. Are you ready to rise, grow, and create a business that fully supports your dream life? Well, let's [00:01:00] dive in. Before we begin, make sure to hit that subscribe buttons.

[00:01:03] You never miss an empowering episode filled with real stories and soulful insights.

[00:01:10] All right, my friends, welcome to Soulpreneur Scaling Stories. Today I am coming at you to talk about how to get clients to say yes faster and it has absolutely nothing to do with your pricing.

[00:01:24] So let's talk about this because listen, I'm just going to tell you the TLDR and it's about your positioning, but it's more than just your positioning, right?

[00:01:34] So what happens is when I talk to my online service provider family,

[00:01:39] they say,

[00:01:39] I find that I hear a lot of frustration because

[00:01:43] you're out there, you're posting, you're doing, you know, connecting with people, but

[00:01:47] there's just crickets. They're not signing up, they're not excited to work with you, and you can't really put your finger on what it is.

[00:01:53] What is it that is stopping people from, like,

[00:01:56] jumping up and being like, yes, and seeing the value that you know [00:02:00] that you provide, right? You're like, I know I do good work, so why are people not signing on?

[00:02:05] And so I get it, right? And

[00:02:08] This happens a lot, I hear it a lot.

[00:02:11] What happens is, it's a combination of a couple of things.

[00:02:15] So, one is that

[00:02:17] you are not, you're telling people that you do tasks. You're saying, I do X, Y, Z.

[00:02:23] You're not positioning yourself as somebody who is the expert at one particular thing.

[00:02:28] As somebody who is going to

[00:02:31] give them the transformation that they actually desire. So you're focused on this middle piece as I am,

[00:02:37] these are the things that I do, not the problems that I solve.

[00:02:41] And the second thing that I see is that a lot of people think that I have to offer everything under the sun.

[00:02:46] I can do it all, and I like doing it all, and I want to do it all. And what does this do for everybody? Right? And so what happens is

[00:02:57] that

[00:02:58] people don't see you [00:03:00] as ooh, you're the one for me in particular.

[00:03:02] They just see you as another person or they don't even register you because you don't stick out to them.

[00:03:07] So they're not going, they're not that interested, you know, you don't give them a reason for them to really want to work with you in particular.

[00:03:13] So now you're just kind of stuck doing tasks.

[00:03:15] You're stuck with these clients who are fine.

[00:03:19] And maybe you're doing all sorts of things that you don't even love. You're just kind of a little bit unfocused in your business.

[00:03:24] So when your business is set up like this, it's not really set up to grow.

[00:03:28] It's not set up to support you.

[00:03:30] Right. So.

[00:03:31] You're in this business. You started this

[00:03:34] because you have this dream.

[00:03:36] You were like, oh, I want to live my life this way.

[00:03:38] But when your business is kind of all over the place, one is you're not meeting your financial goals,

[00:03:43] like at all, right? Because

[00:03:45] you are not

[00:03:48] Set up properly to do so

[00:03:50] and because you're not meeting your financial goals Maybe you're not meeting your time goals either

[00:03:54] Because and that is in the opposite way meaning that you're working too much

[00:03:58] or maybe you're just not finding that many [00:04:00] clients

[00:04:00] So a lot of things happen when you are not positioned properly in order to create some urgency in order to

[00:04:08] have this desire of like, oh like

[00:04:10] Have somebody say like, oh, I am dying to work with her, right?

[00:04:13] And it's really frustrating

[00:04:15] because

[00:04:16] you can help them. They need your help.

[00:04:19] And you're not getting the clients that

[00:04:22] you deserve,

[00:04:23] that you are able to provide the transformation for.

[00:04:26] So That might resonate with you, right? It's like, oh wait,

[00:04:29] this is actually happening to me.

[00:04:31] So, why is this happening? So,

[00:04:35] positioning is a couple of different things.

[00:04:38] And let me

[00:04:39] talk about it in terms of what I see a lot of.

[00:04:43] I see a lot of people who say, I'm a OBM,

[00:04:47] I'm a virtual assistant, I'm a whatever,

[00:04:50] and

[00:04:51] you can pay me hourly and I do lots of things. Not in those words, of course, but like I see a lot of

[00:04:58] I'll save you time, let me do your [00:05:00] tasks.

[00:05:00] And guess what happens when

[00:05:02] you

[00:05:03] do not position yourself correctly?

[00:05:07] It doesn't even register in their brains that you exist. Why? Because especially in the online space, people, one, people's attention spans are shorter. Two, you have a reticular activating. system in your brain, the RIS, which is the part of your brain that filters out things that are not relevant.

[00:05:26] So if you're not speaking to that person directly,

[00:05:30] they are

[00:05:32] Not even registering you right you don't even like stay in their brains at all no matter how much you post no matter how Much you show up.

[00:05:40] So

[00:05:41] if you position yourself as the sort of someone who does a little bit of everything you're blending in

[00:05:46] and Potential clients can't see what makes you different They don't understand how to choose you

[00:05:52] and why they should choose you over anyone else And if they can't quickly understand your unique value

[00:05:58] then They're not [00:06:00] attracted to you, or maybe now they're just kind of price comparing you to other people,

[00:06:04] or, you know, or like things like that, right?

[00:06:06] And so that's not what you want, because you are a premium provider,

[00:06:09] and you want premium clients,

[00:06:11] and they can't see that. So

[00:06:14] they're not thinking like, oh, I really need to hire this person.

[00:06:17] Instead, they're like, oh, yeah, they look fine, and so do all these 10, 000 other people that do the same exact thing,

[00:06:23] right?

[00:06:23] So that's why you're getting the, I need to think about it. Oh, yeah, maybe we'll see.

[00:06:28] Because you are not speaking their language,

[00:06:31] you are not demonstrating why you are the pick for them in particular.

[00:06:38] So this is the price of

[00:06:41] being everything to everyone. Even if you're like, Oh yes, I do all the things and for coaches,

[00:06:46] it's not specific enough.

[00:06:48] I know. So there's a fear, right? So a lot of people are afraid

[00:06:52] of.

[00:06:54] Narrowing things down because they feel that

[00:06:57] they are going to lose out on potential clients,[00:07:00] 

[00:07:00] but if you If you don't understand or if you kind of like think about what I said earlier,

[00:07:06] you're not even registering in the first place. So there is, there is no chance there.

[00:07:10] When you position yourself

[00:07:14] as the person who can help them in particular, now you stand out. Now they say, Oh, that's the person, right? So

[00:07:24] and then

[00:07:25] if you don't do that, right, if you kind of like are the generalist who does everything for everyone,

[00:07:29] it's harder to raise your rates because. Why like what are you know, like there's a set, you know, there's

[00:07:35] there's only as so much you can raise your rates There's a ceiling there.

[00:07:38] It's harder to set boundaries. It's harder to grow in skill

[00:07:42] So how much longer are you willing to wait before you make this shift?

[00:07:47] How much longer are you willing to stay in this? Place where you don't stand up.

[00:07:52] You're not like the it's like, um, what was that book? Where

[00:07:57] where you had to find the guy and oh my god, what's wrong with me?[00:08:00] 

[00:08:00] I know you're like screaming at me

[00:08:02] the guy and the red and white striped sweater Waldo where's Waldo

[00:08:07] and you I sat there as a kid for like 20 minutes on a page trying to find Waldo, right? That's you you're just in a sea of all people that have a very similar

[00:08:15] Uh, red and white striped shirt. So, and you don't want that, you know, you don't want that.

[00:08:20] So the most successful VAs and OVMs

[00:08:25] have discovered how to position themselves

[00:08:28] around, and it's around something specific. It's not just, okay, like whatever, it's around their unique magic.

[00:08:35] So

[00:08:36] the people who are not only calling in clients really fast, but are doing things that they love

[00:08:42] and are able to grow and scale their business.

[00:08:45] easily in terms of you're not working 50 hours a week, right? This is like you can scale on part time hours,

[00:08:52] are people who focus in on their unique magic. And this is the intersection of what they're naturally good at, what they enjoy,

[00:08:59] and [00:09:00] what their clients value.

[00:09:02] This way, because you love it, you are so excited about it.

[00:09:07] You talk about it with passion, it's easy for you,

[00:09:11] and clients want it. So they're like, oh yes, I need that thing. Oh, she's the person who does that thing.

[00:09:17] So when you position yourself as the solution for a specific problem, for a specific person, instead of this general person who does all the things for all the people, it's really magical.

[00:09:28] What happens is now you stand out.

[00:09:30] Now you are no longer Waldo, where's Waldo in the crowd,

[00:09:33] right? You're like the kindergarten version where there's like three people in the crowd and you're like, You're there, you're shining, you don't have that red and white sweater on, you have like,

[00:09:41] I don't know, like a gold crown on and you're seen everywhere.

[00:09:44] You attract clients

[00:09:45] who value you. They're like, oh, you get me. And they value your expertise. Those clients are willing to pay you premium rates that are not hourly based. Because now you're seen as the expert, you are the [00:10:00] person, and yet you know how to tell them what transformation you're providing, not what tasks you're doing.

[00:10:07] And then they make decisions faster, because, oh yeah, they're like, yeah, obviously I need to work with you. Obviously.

[00:10:13] So now here's where a lot of online service providers get stuck is that they don't know how to adjust this, right? They don't know how to actually do this. Like how do you do this and get people to say, yes, I need you.

[00:10:24] I need you right now.

[00:10:25] So like I was saying before, it's the unique magic, right? It's the combination of your natural talents, your experience, and your approach that makes you exceptional. at certain aspects of your work.

[00:10:38] So when you focus on these things, instead of trying to be everything to everybody, you are irresistible.

[00:10:45] So I'll give you a couple of examples. So instead of a VA offering everything from inbox management, to social media, to project coordination,

[00:10:53] to coaches in general,

[00:10:55] anything 50 hours a week. Multiple clients, [00:11:00] scope creep, all the things, and struggling to make even 4k per month.

[00:11:04] This person,

[00:11:06] who was really great at systems, documentation, and things like that, right?

[00:11:11] But she was scared to niche down and was like, well,

[00:11:14] what will happen then? It was scary to her. But

[00:11:17] once she shifted from a virtual, from a virtual assistant to busy entrepreneurs, to a systems and operation specialist

[00:11:25] for Mindset coaches. Oh now now it was really specific now. It was powerful

[00:11:33] now She never ran out of content ideas

[00:11:36] because she knew exactly what to talk about.

[00:11:39] She knew exactly what their specific problems were, even though she could offer this to everybody.

[00:11:44] When she's able to

[00:11:46] talk to that one specific person,

[00:11:48] then she sticks out immediately, right? So super, super, super powerful. And within a couple of weeks, literally, she signed a client already that was 30 percent higher than any previous packages.[00:12:00] 

[00:12:00] Other people were interested.

[00:12:02] She was, it was way easier to sell because not only did she narrow it down, but she has specific framework, which is something else that I do

[00:12:08] and that help clients with that we won't get into here, but able to talk about what she did in such a way

[00:12:15] that it's clear. It's easy.

[00:12:17] They know it solves the problem that they have. They can see the transformation

[00:12:22] and it's not hours based. She has a clear system. for this work and boom, right? 25 hours a week, 7k per month, doing work that she actually loved. There's nothing better than that. Nothing better than that. So, I could go on and on with other examples, but I will spare you on that.

[00:12:43] But, basically, The take home message is be able to communicate your specific value,

[00:12:50] understand your client's exact challenges, and with that, position yourself as the expert for their specific needs. And then you're going to [00:13:00] get known in that space, and people are going to start tagging you in posts.

[00:13:04] You're going to get, like, you're going to be the person. They're going to share you with their friends, right? Because now you're the person that does that thing.

[00:13:12] So how can you make the shift? Three things. What is a specific problem that you solve? Who is the specific person that you serve? And what is your unique process?

[00:13:23] What's your framework that makes you different?

[00:13:26] When you can clearly communicate these three things,

[00:13:30] then potential clients immediately recognize that you are the solution that they've been looking for.

[00:13:35] So if you compare two statements, you can say, compare the I am a virtual assistant who helps busy entrepreneurs with their admin tasks, and I save them time.

[00:13:43] Versus, I'm a client experience specialist who helps

[00:13:47] service based businesses create seamless systems that wow their clients from onboarding to offboarding. Even here, It's not even super specific for the client type, but it is so much more specific on [00:14:00] everything else. Right? That it's like, Oh, I get what you do.

[00:14:03] Right? So

[00:14:04] the second one immediately positions you as a specialist with a specific focus and expertise.

[00:14:11] And it doesn't mean that you can only do one thing. It means that you are strategically. Positioning yourself around your zone of genius, your unique magic, instead of doing all these other things that you don't even like to do.

[00:14:21] Or maybe you do, but you know,

[00:14:23] I guarantee you there are things that you don't love doing that you're doing right now.

[00:14:27] So if you think,

[00:14:28] maybe you're thinking like, oh, if I position myself too narrowly,

[00:14:32] what if there aren't enough people who need that thing?

[00:14:35] So, again, I'm going to repeat myself again because it's really important.

[00:14:38] The more specific your positioning, the more clients you will attract. Because they're not just going to scroll by you, you're going to stand out. I promise you this. You will register in their minds. And they're going to be more likely to pick you.

[00:14:56] And it's going to be more aligned overall.

[00:14:59] [00:15:00] So when you position yourself specifically around your unique magic, you become magnetic to the exact clients that value that magic.

[00:15:08] And again, those clients will tell other people just like them, right, that this is what you do.

[00:15:14] So,

[00:15:15] this shift does not happen overnight.

[00:15:19] You don't have to drop all of your clients tomorrow. This is a gradual process. Of one, it's identifying what is your unique magic, right? Like maybe you're like, oh you're listening to this and you're like, I don't even know what she's talking about.

[00:15:32] What is my unique magic? And then if so, connect with me and let's chat about it.

[00:15:37] It's about creating positioning that highlights that unique magic and it's about starting to Market this positioning alongside what you do already, you could still offer what you do, but now start slowly transitioning, right?

[00:15:52] So you're gradually transitioning as you attract more and more aligned clients then you get to over not [00:16:00] that long over maybe a period of not more than six months like Transition your business if you have the exact steps to do it, right? So What can you do right now? Take a micro action right now. Take three minutes and just write down the part of your work that you could do all day long and still love.

[00:16:19] What's that thing? Write down the number one thing that clients ask you for help with the most. And write down a client transformation story that made you feel on fire.

[00:16:31] And this will help you with your positioning and deciding what it is that you want to do.

[00:16:36] And remember that your positioning does not need to be revolutionary.

[00:16:40] It just needs to be clear, it needs to clearly articulate what makes you the obvious choice for your personal dream clients.

[00:16:49] So can you see how positioning yourself around your unique magic can transform,

[00:16:53] let me think about it, and hearing crickets into an immediate yes? And can you see how specializing in what you're [00:17:00] naturally good at and enjoy could actually attract more clients rather than limit your opportunities?

[00:17:06] And can you see how strategic positioning would naturally repel nightmare clients while attracting dream clients who value you and respect your boundaries? So with that, I hope that I have conveyed my passion for

[00:17:21] your positioning and your unique magic and all of those things and getting clients to say yes to you quicker.

[00:17:27] And if you're ready to stop juggling those scattered services and finally create a premium offer that attracts high value clients with ease,

[00:17:36] I would love to help you and invite you into my signature. one on one three month program expansion,

[00:17:43] so it is designed to help you build a scalable stress free business that increases your income peacefully.

[00:17:49] So I'm not going to go into the whole thing, but the information will be in the show notes, it'll be down below, and you can connect with me if you have questions about it, and [00:18:00] depending on when you listen to this, But if it is soon after I released it, it is in beta, so the prices are amazing. So you will want to get in on this sooner rather than later.

[00:18:11] So thank you so much for listening today and I will see you on the next one. 

[00:18:16] Andrea Elibero: Thank you so much for joining us today. I really hope you found inspiration and insights from today's episode. You know, scaling your business intentionally and from the inside out is a transformational process, but I'm here to support you every step of the way. Head on over to dancing leaf solutions.com/resources for free tools to help you do just that.

[00:18:41] And thank you again for being a part of the Solepreneur Scaling Stories community. Your presence and dedication to growth inspiring me every day.