What Makes Someone Say, “This Is Exactly Who I’ve Been Looking For!”
Every business owner loves getting an inquiry that starts with something like, “I’ve been following you for a while, and I just knew you were the person I wanted to work with.”
Or maybe you get on a discovery call, and within the first five minutes they tell you, “This is exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
By the time that person reaches out, a lot of the work has already been done. They don't need you to spend the entire call convincing them that you're good at what you do because they've been paying attention. They've seen your content, spent time on your website, read what past clients have said, and somewhere along the way, they started to believe that you were the right person to help them.
That feeling doesn't happen by accident.
It isn't luck, and it isn't about having the biggest audience. It comes from marketing your business in a way that helps the right people understand what you do, trust you, and remember you when they're ready to buy.
This is where a lot of businesses get marketing wrong.
You can build the kind of marketing that makes the right person think, “This is exactly who I've been looking for,” long before they ever reach out.
What Makes the Right Person Feel Like They’ve Found You
Your Messaging Meets Them Where They Are
I have very strong feelings about messaging becausegetting it right is the foundation for everything else you're doing in your marketing.
You can have a beautiful website, post consistently on Instagram, and get plenty of people in front of your business, but none of that is going to do its job if people don't understand why they need what you're offering. That starts with knowing what your ideal client is experiencing and how they are already talking about it.
Not everyone in your audience is at the same place. Some people know exactly what their problem is and already understand that a service like yours can solve it. They're not trying to figure out what they need anymore. They're trying to figure out who they want to hire.
Other people haven't made that connection yet. They know something isn't working, but they don't necessarily know why or what needs to change.
I see this all the time in my own business. My ideal client isn't hitting their revenue goals. That's the symptom. The problem underneath it is that their website isn't converting the traffic it's getting.
Most of my potential clients aren't walking around thinking, “I have a website conversion problem.” They're thinking, “I'm not making enough money, and I don't know why.”
That's where my marketing comes in. I can name the symptom they already recognize and help them connect it to the problem I solve.
And this is exactly why you can't write good messaging by guessing what your ideal client wants to hear. You can sit at your desk and make a list of what you think your ideal client cares about, but you'll learn so much more by actually talking to them. Pay attention to the questions they ask on discovery calls, the way they describe what's going on in their business, and even the things they say they've already tried. That's where you'll start hearing the words and phrases that should be showing up in your marketing.
You may know what the actual problem is because you're the expert, but your potential client may only know what they're experiencing. Your job is to meet them there first, then help them understand the connection.
It also means you have to be willing to have a point of view.
Playing it safe with your messaging doesn't make more people feel included. It makes it harder for anyone to know whether what you're saying is actually for them. We may share a lot of the same experiences, but that doesn't mean we're all dealing with the same version of a problem or looking for the same solution.
The more specific you are about who you're talking to and what you believe, the easier it is for the right person to recognize that your business is for them.
That's when someone reads your content and thinks, “I feel like she wrote this for me.”
Your Brand Visuals Make the Right Impression Before You Say a Word
Before someone reads your website or spends much time with your content, they've already started forming an opinion about your business. Your brand is a big part of that first impression, and it gives people something to recognize and remember.
There is a big difference between a business that has chosen some colors and fonts and one that has invested in a professionally designed brand.
DIY tools have made it incredibly easy to create something that looks good, but DIY brands also tend to change a lot. You add a new font because you like it, try a different style of graphics on Instagram, or start using colors that weren't part of the original brand. Before long, your website, social media, and marketing materials don't quite look like they belong to the same business.
The problem is that people can't remember a brand that keeps changing. If you want someone to recognize your content before they even see your name attached to it, there has to be consistency.
AI has made it incredibly easy to create logos, images, and other brand elements quickly, and the results are getting better. But AI-generated branding still has a ceiling. It can make something look good, but it can't replace the depth and strategy that comes from working with a skilled designer.
A professional brand designer isn't just making something look good. They're getting to know the business owner, understanding what makes the business different, and turning that into a visual identity with intention behind it.
That strategy is what gives a brand depth and makes it much harder to replicate.
The same goes for your brand photography. Your photos are one of the fastest ways for someone to feel like they're getting to know the person behind the business.
If they've been watching you on Stories and then land on your website to find an AI headshot, an outdated photo, or images that don't feel anything like the person they've been following, something feels off. The experience they were having with your business suddenly doesn't match what they're seeing.
Your photos don't need to be brand new all the time, but they should feel current and reflect the business you're asking people to trust today. When everything feels like it belongs together, it's much easier for someone to recognize you, remember you, and feel confident that the business they're seeing online is the business they're going to get.
You Show Up Consistently Enough That They Already Feel Like They Know You
None of this matters if people aren't seeing your business in the first place. There is an unbelievable amount of content being shared every day. Older Instagram data puts daily feed posts at more than 95 million, with 500 million people using Stories every day. And those numbers don't even account for how much the platform has grown since then.
If people don't know your business exists, they can't buy from you.
This is why it’s so important to show up consistently. If social media is part of how you generate leads, consistency isn't optional. You can't only show up when you have extra time (extra time? Psshh, that doesn’t exist as an entrepreneur). You also can't wait until you feel inspired or have something exciting to share.
Consistency means continuing to show up when work is busy, life is full, and you feel like you have absolutely nothing interesting to say. It has to become part of how you market your business instead of something you get to when everything else is done.
And all of that showing up is doing more than keeping your business visible. It's giving people the chance to get to know you before they're ready to hire you.
I've found that the people who convert the fastest are often the ones who have been following me for a while. They've seen my work, heard my opinions, watched me talk about the things I believe matter in business, and gotten a feel for how I work. By the time they get on a discovery call, I'm not introducing myself to a complete stranger. They already have a pretty good idea of who I am and whether I'm someone they want to work with.
That's what you're building every time you show up, even when someone isn't ready to buy yet. The person watching your Stories or reading your post today may not need what you offer for another six months, but when they finally do, you want to be the business they already know, trust, and think of first.
Your Social Proof Helps Them See Themselves in Your Results
I see businesses share testimonials all the time that say something like, “Katie is amazing! Five stars!” And while I will happily take that compliment, a testimonial like that isn't doing much to help the next person decide whether they should work with me.
Social proof that focuses more on how great you are than what changed for your client is missing the point.
When a potential client reads a testimonial or case study, they should be able to recognize something about their own situation. Maybe your past client was dealing with the same frustration they're experiencing now, had already tried some of the same things, or wanted a result they haven't been able to get on their own. Then they get to see what changed after working with you.
That's when a testimonial becomes much more than a nice review. It helps someone see that the same kind of transformation could be possible for them.
Getting those kinds of testimonials usually comes down to asking better questions. If you ask a client, “Would you be willing to leave me a review?” you're probably going to get something like, “She was great to work with. Highly recommend!”
Instead, ask about where they were before they hired you, what they were struggling with, what changed while you worked together, and what's different now. You're giving them a chance to tell the full story instead of asking them to come up with a review from scratch.
And if you're not sure what to ask or how to actually create a system for collecting those stories, I created Rave Reviews for exactly that reason. It's a free toolkit that gives you the questions, email templates, and a place to organize your testimonials so you're not digging through old emails and DMs every time you need one.
The goal isn't just to collect more five-star reviews. It's to collect stories that help the next right person see what's possible when they work with you.
Make It Easy for the Right People to Know You’re the Right Fit
When someone reaches out and says, “I knew you were the person I wanted to work with,” that decision started long before they filled out your form or booked a call.
They've probably been paying attention for longer than you realize. They've read what you have to say, gotten familiar with your brand, watched you show up, and seen proof that you've helped people like them before. By the time they reach out, choosing you doesn't feel like a huge leap because you've already given them plenty of reasons to trust you.
That's the kind of marketing I want every business owner to build.
Not marketing that has you constantly trying to convince people to buy from you, but marketing that does so much of that work before you ever get on the phone. The right people already understand what you do, they know why it matters to them, and when they're finally ready to invest, you're the person they think of.
If you're reading this and realizing your marketing isn't doing that yet, that's exactly why I'm creating my new marketing group program. We're going to work on the pieces that help the right people find you, connect with what you're saying, and feel confident choosing your business.
Because the goal isn't just to get more people to see your marketing. It's to make sure the right people see it and think, “Finally. This is exactly who I've been looking for.”
