Are You Speaking a Language Your Clients Don't Understand?

If you feel like you're creating great content that somehow fails to connect with your ideal clients, the problem might not be what you're saying, but how you're saying it. Effective marketing isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room; it’s about speaking the right language to the right person so they finally feel understood.

Key Takeaways:

• The Problem: Generic, expert-level messaging fails to connect with sophisticated clients because it doesn't reflect their actual, felt problems.

• The Mindset Shift: Stop describing problems from your perspective. Start using the exact words and phrases your best clients use. This builds instant trust and demonstrates a deep understanding.

• The Action: Take 15 minutes to recall and write down the specific language your single best client used to describe their problem when they first came to you. Use that as the foundation for your future messaging.

• The Goal: To stop broadcasting generic solutions and start targeted conversations that magnetically attract clients who are the perfect fit for your unique process.

I have two beautiful, young daughters, and my wife and I are working hard to raise them to be strong, independent, critical thinkers. This is a parenting goal we’re proud of. It’s wonderful… right up until the moment your own carefully crafted logic is put under the microscope of a seven-year-old.

Recently, these thoughtful individuals have begun asking more questions to gain a deeper understanding of the reasoning behind our requests and expectations. Simple instructions are no longer enough.

Now, hear me, this is a fantastic developmental leap for them, and we are genuinely grateful for it. But a part of me thinks, "Couldn't you go be critical thinkers with your teachers? Or your friends?" Suddenly, my wife and I have to be more logical, more reasonable, and have a much deeper understanding of our own reasoning so that we can communicate it in a way that connects with them.

A generic, authority-based statement doesn't work anymore. To gain buy-in, we must address their specific questions, acknowledge their perspective, and use language that makes sense to them.

Stop Broadcasting, Start Targeting

That experience—the failure of a generic message and the need for a specific one—is a profound lesson that applies directly to how we, as experts with a unique process, communicate our value. We often try to market with the equivalent of "Because I said so." We use our expert jargon and talk about our solutions, assuming clients will understand.

But our best potential clients, the ones we love working with, are just like my daughters. They are critical thinkers. They won't accept a generic promise. They need to feel that you understand their unique world, their specific questions, and their particular problems.

This is why I believe that your marketing shouldn't feel like shouting with a megaphone at a crowded stadium. It should feel like a timely, compelling whisper to the one person in the stands you know you can help.

Your content isn't failing because it's not good enough; it's failing because it's not specific enough. The goal is to stop broadcasting and start targeting particular audiences. Effective messaging isn't about reaching everyone; it's about reaching the right one.

Articulate the "Problem" in Their Language

Stop describing your client's problem with your expert jargon. You are so deep in the solution that you've likely forgotten the simple way they first described their pain. The key to building instant rapport is to listen to, capture, and use the exact words your best clients used in your first conversations.

Think about it. When a client hears you describe their challenge using the very words they use inside their own head, a powerful shift occurs. They move from seeing you as a vendor to seeing you as a trusted guide who truly gets it.

• You might say: "We solve for sub-optimal team synergy."

• They actually say: "My best people keep quitting, and I don't know why."

• You might say: "We implement frameworks for scaling executive leadership."

• They actually say: "I'm completely stuck in the day-to-day. I can't find the time to work on the big picture."

Which one creates a more powerful connection?

Your First Step to a Magnetic Message

Let's put this into practice right now with the "Ideal Client Snapshot" Challenge.

Take 15 minutes today. Block it out. Think of your single best client—the one you wish you could clone. Now, answer this one question:

What was their exact phrasing of the problem when they first came to you?

Write it down. Look back at old emails or notes if you have to. Capture their words. That single sentence is more valuable than any marketing slogan you could ever invent.

From now on, before you write a single post, email, or social media update, picture that one person and the exact problem they described. Write directly to them. This will transform your generic content into a magnetic message that attracts the right people, every time.

This exercise reveals the power of being specific. The next step is to develop your entire unique methodology into a system that allows you to communicate it clearly, every single time. That's the key to real leverage.

I teach you exactly how to do that in my free 3-part video course, "Trust Before Transactions." Sign up to get the framework that helps you codify your genius and attract more of your ideal clients.