The Belief Behind "Any Customer" Mentality
Hi Reader,
This is issue #100.
When I sent the very first one (December 2020), I wasn't thinking about reaching a hundred. I was thinking about whether anyone would open it at all 😅
And in a hundred issues, I've never once told you how many people subscribe to this newsletter. That's not an accident. I wrote about it back in July: a big following was never the goal.
The goal was to be useful enough, often enough, that when you (or someone you know) needed what I do, you'd already trust me.
And honestly, that's what these hundred issues built. Your replies, the conversations that started here, the clients and speaking invitations that came from this little inbox of ours.
Which is exactly why a conversation I had a few weeks ago has stayed with me.
I was at a gathering at a friend's house, expecting small talk and canapés, when a mutual friend walked over with a woman and said, "Rana, you have to meet her. She has a fashion label, and I told her you used to have one too."
Within five minutes, she told me something she clearly hadn't said out loud to many people. She'd hired a social media agency. They grew her account from 2,000 followers to 48,000. And her sales? They didn't move. Not even a little.
I go through that whole conversation in this week's episode of Let's Make Waves (details at the end of this email), but there's one part I want to spend more time on with you, because it applies whether you sell dresses, consulting, coaching or a clinic.
"Women." And why that answer wasn't really about her customer
Before I gave her a single tip, I asked her one question: who is your customer? Who are you really designing for?
Her answer was, "Women. It's a women's fashion label."
Now, I could have told her to niche down and moved on. But the longer we talked, the clearer it became that she wasn't vague because she hadn't thought about it. She was vague because choosing felt risky.
I can't tell you exactly what was going on in her head that evening. But after 20+ years of sitting across the table from founders and experts, I can tell you this: when someone can't describe their customer, it's rarely because they haven't done the exercise. It's because there's a belief sitting quietly underneath, and it stops them from looking too closely.
The two I hear most often sound something like this:
"I'm not well known enough yet to attract the clients my business is actually designed for."
"I can't afford to turn anyone away."
(I heard both again just this week, from a room full of new founders on the other side of the world. More on that in a coming issue.)
Why these beliefs are so convincing
Both of them sound like realism. Both feel responsible, even humble. Nobody wants to be the founder who's too picky to pay the bills.
But look at what they actually do. If you believe you're not known enough to attract your ideal client, you stop describing her, because why spend time on someone you've already decided won't come? And if you can't afford to turn anyone away, you start writing for everyone. Which, in practice, means you're writing for no one in particular.
"Any customer" feels like the safe option. It's actually the expensive one. Vague messages don't land with anyone, so you end up working harder for every single client, competing on price, and wondering why people who clearly like your work never quite buy. That's how you get 48,000 followers and flat sales: a lot of people who saw you, and very few who felt you were talking to them.
I believed it too
When I started my own label back in 2010, I had my own version of this. Somewhere in my head was the thought that I was too new to be taken seriously by the boutiques I actually wanted to be in.
And the buyers seemed to confirm it. I collected a lot of no's before I got into my first boutique. Maybe ten, maybe more. When I asked them why, the most common answer was some version of: "I don't know you. I don't know if this is a hobby or if you're serious. Come back after two or three collections."
I could have taken that as proof the belief was right, and settled for whoever would have me. Instead, I put every one of those buyers on a list. When my second collection was ready, I went back and said, "I know I only have two collections under my belt. But I'm now in these boutiques, they gave me a chance, and here's how the pieces sold." The conversation changed completely.
What I learned is that the belief was almost right, and that's what made it so dangerous. I wasn't known enough. But I wasn't known enough yet, to them. That's not a verdict on you or your work. It's a communication problem, and communication problems have solutions.
Flipping it around
Here's the reframe I'd love you to take with you. Being well known is not the thing that lets you get specific. Being specific is the thing that gets you known.
People start recognising you when you describe them so clearly that they think, "She's talking about me."
And choosing who you talk to is not the same as turning everyone else away. You can still serve whoever walks through the door. But your communication has to be written for someone, and the someone you choose is the one who brings the next three like her.
This is the very first pillar of my TRUST Method™, Truth. Clear positioning doesn't start with a template. It starts with being honest with yourself about what's in the way of seeing your customer clearly.
A small exercise for this week
Before you close this email, finish this sentence on paper: "I can't focus on [my ideal client] because..."
Whatever comes after "because" is your belief.
Look at it and ask yourself two honest questions. Is this true, or is it just not true yet? And what would need to happen, or what proof would I need, for it to stop being true?
Then, describe your ideal client in three or four sentences, as if that belief wasn't there. Who is she, what is she struggling with right now, and what would make her say "finally, someone gets it"? You might be surprised how much you already know about her.
Thank you for 100
Before I go, a real thank you. Writing to you every week has made me sharper and more honest about my own work, and I don't take it for granted that you open these.
So hit reply, Reader, and tell me: which issue stuck with you? Or what do you want me to write about in the next hundred? I read every single reply.
Have a great week. Keep making waves. You've got this.
PS: Did someone forward you this newsletter to you? You can Subscribe here.
NEW EPISODE ON LET'S MAKE WAVES PODCAST
This week's episode, 48,000 Followers and No Sales: What Was Really Missing, is the full conversation from that party.
I go through why "a women's fashion label" wasn't specific enough, why her sales strategy and her communication strategy were living separate lives, how to talk to two audiences who decide in completely different ways, and the communication toolbox that goes way beyond social media (media, events, trade shows, influencers and partnerships).
I also share a small study on why the people around you matter more than you think. Not in fashion? Stay with it. The principles are exactly the same.
Listen on Apple or Spotify.
