The No-BS Guide to Attracting Clients Who Pay What Your Work is Worth
Most entrepreneurs think they need more customers to make more money. The truth? You don't need more—you need the right ones. Those who love what you offer, pay happily, and become loyal fans.
I've seen this pattern countless times coaching business owners from tattoo artists to shop owners to restaurateurs. You're hustling hard, yet your bank account doesn't reflect all that effort. Sound familiar?
The problem isn't that you need more customers. The problem is that you're attracting the wrong ones.
How The Wrong Customers Are Costing You (Beyond Just Money)
They drain your time and energy. These customers typically require more explanations, more exceptions to your policies, or more justification for your prices. Think about how much time you spend explaining why your handcrafted products, organic ingredients, or skilled services cost what they do—time you could spend on people who already get it.
They prevent you from doing your best work. When you're constantly battling over price, you can't fully focus on creating excellence. The tattoo artist rushing through a design to accommodate a customer who haggled them down can't deliver their best art. The restaurant owner cutting corners on ingredients to maintain unrealistic prices can't serve their best food.
They block ideal customers from finding you. Your time and space are finite. Every hour you spend serving someone who doesn't value what you offer is an hour you're not spending attracting someone who will. Every table in your restaurant filled with a low-spending, high-maintenance customer is a table unavailable to someone who would happily order your chef's specialties with wine pairings.
They undermine your confidence. Constantly defending your prices wears down your belief in your own worth. And when you don't fully believe in the value of what you offer, it shows—and attracts more people who question it too. Remember, YOU are NOT your business! You as a human are inherently worthy, don't get it twisted!
What Your Ideal Customers Look Like
Your ideal customers:
Value quality over price. They understand that skill, quality materials, and expertise come at a fair cost.
Respect your process and policies. They don't expect exceptions or special treatment.
Become repeat customers. They don't just buy once; they become regulars who support you consistently.
Send referrals your way. They proudly tell others about your shop, studio, or restaurant.
These customers exist for every business type, whether you're running a boutique shop, wellness practice, or neighborhood restaurant.
The 3-Part Framework for Attracting Ideal Customers
1. Magnetic Messaging: Speak to Value, Not Price
Stop talking about what you sell—start communicating the value you deliver:
❌ "We serve authentic Italian food."
✅ "We create intimate dining experiences featuring family recipes using ingredients sourced directly from small Italian producers."
❌ "I do traditional tattoos."
✅ "I create permanent art that celebrates your personal story through timeless designs that will look as good in 20 years as they do today."
❌ "We sell handmade candles."
✅ "We craft small-batch candles using sustainable ingredients that transform your space with unique scent stories you won't find in mass-market stores."
When your messaging speaks to what truly matters to your ideal customers, you naturally filter out those just looking for the cheapest option.
2. Authority Positioning: Be the Expert, Not Just Another Option
People want to buy from the best. Position yourself as the destination, not just an option:
Share your process or sourcing methods. Let customers see the care and expertise behind what you offer.
Highlight your unique approach. What do you do differently that creates better results?
Let your personality and values shine. People connect with authenticity and purpose.
A wellness practitioner who shares educational content about their methods naturally attracts customers who value expertise over discounts. A boutique that tells the stories behind their products creates connections that transcend price considerations.
3. Experience Design: Create Value Beyond the Basic Product
People will pay more for experiences that make them feel something:
Create memorable moments in your physical space. Consider every sensory detail—lighting, scent, sound, comfort.
Add thoughtful touches to your presentation. How something is presented matters as much as what it is.
Personalize wherever possible. Small acknowledgments of individual customers go a long way.
A coffee shop might serve similar quality coffee as competitors but create an atmosphere so inviting that customers happily pay extra to spend time there. A skincare boutique might include a personalized note with each order that transforms a transaction into a relationship.
Quick-Start Implementation Steps
Identify Your Ideal Customer
Ask yourself: Who already appreciates and values what I offer? What do they care about beyond price? What frustrations have they experienced elsewhere that I solve?Revise Your Core Messaging
Review your website, social media, signage, and in-person pitch. Does it focus on value or just features and prices? Does it speak to what your ideal customers actually care about?Enhance Your Customer Experience
Walk through your customer journey and identify three specific improvements you could make that would delight your ideal customers. Small touches often have the biggest impact.Align Your Pricing With Your Value
Are you charging based on your true value or just matching competitors? Consider creating tiered options that allow customers to choose their experience level.
Building a Business That Attracts the Right Customers
Once you've implemented the basics, try these strategies to amplify your results:
Create a simple referral system. Your best customers know others like them. Make it easy and rewarding for them to spread the word.
Build community around your business. Host small events, create social media groups for your customers, or develop loyalty programs that make regulars feel appreciated.
Use boundaries as a filter. Clear, firm policies actually attract ideal customers while repelling difficult ones. Set specific hours, be clear about what you do and don't offer, and don't make exceptions that devalue your work.
Trust the process. Shifting your customer base doesn't happen overnight. Stay consistent with your messaging, experience, and standards. The right customers will find you, and the price-shoppers will find someone else.
The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything
At its core, attracting ideal customers starts with believing you deserve them. If you don't truly believe in the value of what you offer, no strategy will solve the problem.
Every time you bend over backward for customers who don't value what you offer, you're taking energy away from those who would. Every compromise on quality to please bargain-hunters is a missed opportunity to delight those who appreciate excellence.
The businesses I work with who successfully make this shift experience something transformative: they start enjoying their work again. When you're serving people who appreciate what you do, creativity flows, energy returns, and your business becomes sustainable in every sense of the word.
Ready for a Business Filled With Ideal Customers?
Ready to stop chasing discount-seekers and start attracting customers who value what you offer? Get my Magnetic Marketing Mini-Course delivered straight to your inbox!
Because you deserve customers who are as excited about what you offer as you are to provide it.
Hey there, I’m Piper! I help creatives and unconventional entrepreneurs make more, work less, and live a rad life.