How consultants and coaches get high-ticket clients from social channels and email

• You need fewer of them. A handful of the right clients matters more than a long list of leads, so who you talk to matters more than how many.
• They buy on trust. They want to know you understand their situation before they'll spend an hour with you, let alone a large fee.
• They take longer. A decision this size often involves a partner, a board or a second look at the numbers.
• They notice templates. Senior people get a lot of messages, and they can spot a mass message from the first line.

All four point the same way: fewer, better-chosen people, each approached as a person, with a conversation that builds trust before it asks for time.

Describe your ideal client by situation, not by demographics. 'Founders' is a category. 'Founders of service businesses that have grown past the point where the founder can still sell everything' is a situation someone recognises in themselves, and one you can look for.

• The situation they're in, and the problem it causes them.
• Signs they can afford you: the size of their business, their role, what they already invest in.
• Signs it's urgent: a recent change, a goal with a date, a problem they talk about in public.
• Who you don't want: people who need a cheaper starting point, or a problem you don't solve.

Not everywhere, and not all in the same place. Match the channel to the kind of client you serve.

Your own audience belongs on the list too: followers, people who comment on your posts, members of your community. They already know your name, which is half the work of a first conversation.

Both, and they help each other. Content makes your profile credible when a prospect clicks your name after your message. Outreach puts your thinking in front of the specific people you want, instead of waiting for a feed to show it to them.

Content also creates prospects of its own. Everyone who comments on a post about the problem you solve has told you something about themselves. Treat those people as warm leads: read them, and if they fit, start a conversation about what they said. More on this in social selling for B2B.

Not a pitch, and not an offer of a free strategy session. At this level, the first message has one job: start a conversation the person actually wants to have.

The second message refers to something she actually said, makes it clear who you help without a pitch, and asks about her, not about a call. If she answers, you're in a conversation with someone who has the problem you solve.

Let the conversation do the qualifying. Over a few messages you can learn what's going on, whether it's a priority and whether it's a problem you solve. Answer their questions honestly, including about price if they ask. High-ticket buyers respect a straight answer more than 'let's discuss it on a call'.

• Suggest the call when they've described a problem you can help with, not before.
• Make the call about them: a conversation about their sales handover, not 'a discovery call'.
• Offer two specific times, and confirm in writing what you'll cover.
• If they're not ready, ask when to check back, and do it then.

High-ticket calls are worth protecting. A few habits make a real difference:

1. 1Send a calendar invite with a clear agenda as soon as the time is agreed.
2. 2Remind them the day before, and with a short message in the same conversation shortly before the call.
3. 3Reread everything they told you before you join, so you start from their words.
4. 4Follow up the same day with what they said, what you'd do and what happens next.
5. 5If they miss the call, rebook it kindly instead of writing them off. Busy senior people miss calls for reasons that have nothing to do with you.