How To Customize Follow-Up Emails To Create Sales with Clarisa Catalina

You need to educate your audience. People just literally don't know, and it doesn't make them an unideal client that they don't know. You just need to make sure that you can educate them on why what you do is important. Because exactly like how you mentioned, there's a lot of designers and there are a lot of resources that you can purchase that you didn't create yourself that are out there that thousands of other designers could have also purchased and created assets with for their clients.. And if you're not in the design industry and you've never had somebody make you a logo, you don't know these things.

Welcome to Crafted to Thrive, the globally ranked podcast for entrepreneurs living with chronic illness. I'm your host, Nikita Williams, and after being diagnosed with multiple chronic illnesses myself, I figured out the surprisingly simple missing links to growing a profitable business without compromising my health. Since then, I've helped dozens women just like you learn how to do the same. If you're ready to own your story and create a thriving business that aligns with your health and well-being, you're in the right place. Together, we're shifting the narrative of what's possible for entrepreneurs with chronic illness. This is Crafted to Thrive.

All right, y'all, I am so excited to be here today. I'm so excited to have Clarissa on the show. She is an amazing entrepreneur, and I met her actually through my client Ruth, who told me about her, and then we connected, and then we're in this community called Babe Crafted, and we have been connecting that way. We had a great conversation about following up and how to really do that in a way that creates the results we want, which is a new client. And I can't wait for us to jump in and talk a little bit about it. But before we do, Clarissa, Please introduce yourself, tell everyone who you are, what you do, where you're from, and something fun.

Thank you so much for having me. Oh my goodness, I am so excited to share about this topic. I am a graphic designer and I create really luxury branding for my clients. And I realized early on in my career as a new designer that there was so much competition. I mean, if you think of any industry industry that you consider to be saturated. I truly, I believe that graphic design is probably one of the most saturated industries, and I dove right into that just overwhelm amount of other people who were doing the same thing essentially that I was. And I knew that I wanted to be in that luxury space. I wanted to charge really high luxury rates. And I needed to figure out a way to do that and to be able to explain my worth to my clients in a way that all of that other noise and all of that other undercutting pricing wasn't going to affect me and my business. And so what I did differently from the Space is instead of continuing to do so much visibility outreach, because I just didn't have the time for that, social media wasn't the number one thing. On my plate to focus on. And so what I started doing is I really just rerouted my brain around how do I book luxury clients? How do I explain my value and my worth after somebody has already found me? And so that is where I really have taken a step back now and have been focusing on education because I feel like there is so much in my experiences that I can share with so many other service providers who are just feeling stuck and confused and are really wanting a way to just know how to communicate everything that they're pouring their heart into, into their craft, and being able to properly explain that to the people who really want to find them and cherish them and go into their client experience and really be excited about working with just them.

Yeah, such a good point. I have a couple— before we get into all the things, everybody knows that I do this, but I have a couple of questions about your introduction. What I heard you say, which was really interesting, is that you didn't have the time for— this is kind of what we call it, like chasing new leads all of the time, right? What was making it hard? Like, what was your situation making that actually not having the time? What made you not have the time in to be like, I got to think about how to do this differently.

Yes. So I was 9 months pregnant. I was in a job that I hated. I told my husband, there is absolutely no way I am going back to this. I don't want to do it anymore. And I, I don't know, I guess I was insane because I decided that having a brand new baby was going to be the best time for me to start my business and I don't know what made me delusional in thinking that I could handle all of these things at once, especially like not having ever worked with clients by myself before and thinking that this was the perfect opportunity. I didn't really do much in maternity leave. I just started trying to get a couple of clients. I started going to networking events and I remember meeting with leads out 7, 8 9 months pregnant, really just like about to pop, sitting in a coffee shop, just telling people about my services and what I have to offer. And I really, I wanted to be present on social media and I knew that that was important and I knew that that was a wonderful way for people to find me and learn about me. But it was also so difficult. I mean, anybody who has ever had a newborn will know that there just are not enough gaps in the day where you look presentable enough to be in front of the camera and just don't have noise in the background or screaming or crying and just your focus is all over the place. And I was getting a trickle of clients coming in and inquiring with me and I just felt like, you know what, if I can't show up on social media to actively promote myself, I am sure as hell not going to let anybody slip through my fingers that somehow was able to find me through all of these other people in the space. And so that's where I was really like, you know what, if I'm going to buckle down, I'm going to put my time and energy into something, it's going to be making sure that the people who already put in the effort to contact me and tell me that they're interested, that I am going to make sure that they feel like I'm giving them the attention they deserve in the process of them considering to work with me.

Oh, it's so good. Thank you for sharing that, because I think it's so interesting how we find the things that work for us in the moment of being like, I can't, and I choose not to. It's not even I can't, I choose not to burn myself out trying to do it the way that everyone's telling me to do something. I'm going to figure out a way to make it work for me. And I love that you shared that because we all have those things in our businesses, right? Or in our lives, right? Where we're like, I've heard it so many times. I'm sure you have. Like, you just need more people in your funnel. You need more and more and more people connecting with you. You need to be visible all over the place. And you could be doing all of that where you're not even realizing that there are leads. And it's, it's not even that you don't realize, you discount it. That's what I call it. I'm like, you discount the people who've already shown interest into what you have to offer by not communicating with them. And it's such a good point that you said. It's like, where do you want to focus your time? On people who have no idea who you are, or the people who have said, hey, this is interesting, I kind of want to know more?

Exactly. Yeah. I mean, it's not to discount the fact that you need visibility in your business. Like, of course you need to have people to be able to see you. So you need to do some kind of outreach, but you don't need your entire business to be set up on how many views can I get on my next reel? And it doesn't have to be this overwhelming pressure of trying to put together a video for 2 hours and find trending sounds and doing all of these tactics and all of these things, and then either be disappointed if it flops or just push it out there hoping that you're going to get leads from it when you may or may not, or maybe you will, but not until, you know, 5 months down the road. There are so many different factors when it comes to visibility and like even SEO and your website and all of those things. Like, those are amazing, those are important. I'm not saying that you shouldn't do them at all, but at the end of the day, like, if you need to book a client today, the people who are sitting in your inbox who have filled out your contact form and who have said, hey, I found you, I liked you enough to make the effort to fill this out and reach out to you and ask more about your services. Those are the people who ultimately, if you only had 2 hours in the day, that's where I would focus my time.

Yeah, such a good point. To the point of like just talking about your time and energy, I think it's so important. We all— my audience and the people that I work with, even if they don't have chronic illness. Like, I always tell people, like, half of my clients are not chronic illness warriors. Like, they don't technically identify living with chronic pain or chronic illnesses, but they do live with the fact of life. It's got its own life hurdles, and the time and energy it takes to manage all of that makes feeling like running a business and always focusing on lead generation— I think that's the point of what you're sharing— is like It's not that we need to not have lead generation. It's not that we don't need to be visible. It's that we need to like more focus on what happens when we are doing that because people are reaching out. It may not be at the cadence that you think is like great, but they're there, they're there, they're in your inbox. And so for you, what has been a really key for you growing your graphic design business when you were looking to work with luxury clients What was the pivot into like the mindset of like, oh, these are the people and this is how I need to connect with them? What was the keys that made that possible for you?

Oh, this is such a good question. I love this so much. So I think overall any service provider— so you have, let's say, all of this competition and you have people who maybe are not as good, maybe their services or their final products that they deliver. Maybe you do a much better job than them. And then there are people who are like extra luxury and they've worked with like the top people and their, their stuff is absolutely incredible, right? The thing is, is that everybody, no matter what point in their execution that they are at, everyone thinks that they are doing the best that they can offer. And so everyone is marketing the same. Everybody's saying, this is the transformation I provide, this is how amazing what I'm doing is. And when I realized that, I was like, man, like, I am a luxury designer and I am saying that I'm creating beautiful logos so that if you don't like the logo that you have now, I can create something that you absolutely love. But then I took a step back and I was like, wait, like, somebody who maybe isn't doing as good of a job as me is literally saying the same thing. And so if everyone is marketing in the same way and everybody's essentially saying and talking to the same transformation overall, then we all just become a blur. And then it kind of falls on the client to decipher who is actually better, who they think the final portfolio is executed more beautifully. And so what I started doing is I was like, okay, instead of focusing on the overall transformation and what I'm giving, I'm gonna instead narrow down one very small specific thing that I do so well that I know that 90% of other designers are not doing or capable of. And so I actually ended up recording a masterclass on this, the Standout Strategy System, because I realized that people just, instead of having like a broad overall explanation of their service. So let's take like a makeup artist, for example. If your main point is a gorgeous wedding glamorous look, Anybody in your industry could be saying that. So instead, you need to focus more on a tiny detail of that service that you are doing so, so well. For me, I decided instead of talking about the fact that I create logos and that somebody's going to love their new logo, I'm going to talk about how I hand draw these logos, that I do hand done typography, and that I am hand painting watercolor designs for them for their entire brand suite.. And all of a sudden it was like, yes, like now I feel confident that I can market myself as a 5, 10x price difference from someone else who is not doing that. Even though our services as a whole sound like it's the same thing.

Mm-hmm.

But when I narrow down my focus and I really put a spotlight on that one little thing that makes me so different and so special. That is where that aha moment comes in, not just for you, but for your clients who are finding you as well. So, you know, instead of saying as a makeup artist, you know, I do a wonderful full glam look, say, you know what, I know how to draw on your eyebrows. If you've overplucked and you don't like it, I know how to make them frame your face. So amazing. I will draw on— it'll look like hairs. It'll look so real. It'll be so beautiful. It'll completely change the shape of your face. It'll just completely transform you with this one tiny thing that I am specialized in that I do so well. And so anybody all of a sudden who has that problem, they're going to be like, oh my goodness, like, I don't want to hire anyone else but you. Like, yes, everybody's saying they're doing a full glam look, but all of a sudden I have now something to latch on to that I really want. And so that is the biggest difference. That's the thing that completely allowed me to double my pricing and to really feel confident about selling luxury rates and feeling like I not only deserve to be paid that, but also be able to communicate the value to the people who are finding me so that they could say, oh yes, I see it too. And you know what, I do want to spend that extra amount because of that reason.

Such a good point. I love that you shared that. I actually 100% agree with you. I had a whole podcast episode on how your how is more important than your who. And I said that from the context of what you're talking about, right? Because everyone, everyone in every industry I know, like in graphic design, it's very saturated. I personally believe almost there's nothing new under the sun. Like that's a proverb. Literally, there's nothing new under the sun. The thing that distinguishes you is your how, like the very specific how, what you do and how you do it. And your unique way of doing it. And I love that you shared that because, yeah, not every graphic designer is like hand painting these images. Some— I know lots of graphic designers that will buy from creatives who have hand-painted things and then use that or incorporate it into their graphic design, but they're not themselves creating that. And to your point, any service provider, you have to be aware of what it is that you are so uniquely different than everyone else. And I think it's interesting because we've been taught a lot in marketing to look at niching down from a context of the person, right? Who the person is, where they live, what they look like, all of these demographic and even social demographics. And it's like, really, I truly believe we're at this point in the world when it comes to marketing that those little details about how you know a person based on how you deliver a service is more of how we're niching down. It's so that someone can easily know, like, oh yeah, like you said, I need help with my eyebrows because they're horrible. Or like, I want all of my beautiful wedding set to be completely hand-drawn. No one else has it. All of those different kind of things. When you kind of make this like shift into like your marketing, was there any like fear or any hiccups along the way when you were like starting to incorporate and test this aspect of marketing to the people who have already found you?

Yes. So I say this time and time and time again, you need to educate your audience. People just literally don't know. And it doesn't make them an unideal client that they don't know. You just need to make sure that you can educate them on why what you do is important. Because exactly like how you mentioned, there's a lot of designers and there are a lot of resources that you can purchase that you didn't create yourself that are out there that thousands of other designers could have also purchased and created assets with for their clients. And if you're not in the design industry and you've never had somebody make you a logo, you don't know these things. And so explaining to your client why hand painting and creating custom artwork is so important, it's one of the differentiating factors because sometimes like somebody is going to be looking at another designer's portfolio and say, well, it looks like they have hand-painted stuff too. And it's like, well, no, the difference is that they purchased something that thousands of other people also purchased. So now It is hand-painted, but it's not just yours. And so it stems into every industry and anything that you do, not just graphic design. I mean, even with like the makeup artist example, you can't just assume that people know why what you do is so much better. So if you have this amazing process of layering on different foundations and different makeup applications and you do it in a specific order, for a specific reason, you need to explain why you do that and how it enhances the final result. Because not everybody is a makeup expert. Like, they could be willing to be spending thousands of dollars and hiring, you know, the most luxury package, but they just don't know that what you're doing is something incredible and something that other people don't do or don't know how to do unless you explain to them, look, Generally in the industry, they put on all these different applications on your face at the same time, and I have decided that I'm going to do it differently. And I put a base and I clean your skin first, and that really helps create a smoother finish or whatever that final result is. You have to be able to explain it because that is where you are able to give that extra value. You can't just assume that people will look at a before and after photo and understand that it's so much better than a different before and after photo. People just don't have an eye for this, and it's not their fault. They just, they haven't been in your industry for years and years and years, constantly educating and learning and looking at things in order to decipher what is better than something else. Sometimes you can easily see like a portfolio that's not very good versus a portfolio that's incredible. But a portfolio that's good or really good versus a portfolio that's incredible, that's a smaller gap. So now all of a sudden, if you're doing something really immaculate, you need to point it out and you need to show people this is what makes this so much better than someone else. This is what makes me so much more attentive, and this is why you should want that.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, For me, as who I serve specifically, I think one of the things— this is often conversations I have with my clients— is the feeling of they should know. Like, so many clients are like, but they should know that this is what it is. And it's so interesting. And I think part of the challenge with that is that we're so close to it, right? Of course we know. Of course we know that, for example, for me, as I'm a business coach, but I'm also a certified and about to be aromatherapist. For holistic means of like helping you feel better with your body and your mind. And telling someone who's like, hire me to be a business coach, they have no idea how does that work. They have no idea why does that even matter? Versus when I'm like, hey, the reason why this matters is because of the fact that when you're in pain emotionally or physically, I know how to give you something somatically that can solve all of that, that doesn't require you to go to a doctor's office or doesn't require you to overthink how bad you are. Things like that helps calm you. And there's so many different things about that. But I know for myself, the fear that I had talking about these things is like, nobody wants to hear this. Like, nobody wants to hear these nitty-gritty things that I know because I felt— I can feel at times that it's like I'm being too boasty, I'm being too What do my clients say? My clients say, nobody cares how I know what I know. And I'm like, but they do, like, but they do care. And so have you ever personally, in your experience, like, had to, like, have that moment of, like, I'm sharing these things, these very small, detailed things, and had to deal with, like, the mindset of, like, do people really care that I'm sharing this? Like, is this— why am I doing this? Has there been any mindset drama for you personally? That you've been like, I'm doing this, but everyone's saying that's not what I should be doing, or this is what I feel like I shouldn't be doing?

Well, first off, I just want to say that, like, when you said that clients should just know, that is— it is so powerful because so many people are just losing business from this mindset of like, well, clients should just know that I'm the right fit for them. Clients should just hire me right away. They're not going be good clients if they just don't get off the consultation call all of a sudden, book me and rush to pay me, and if they don't, then they're not a good fit for me. And that's not true. Like, I had to look at myself and say, like, okay, one, what is the structure of my consultation call? And like, how am I speaking to them? And is the way that I am delivering information a good way to explain everything to them? And then after that, you need to like say, Okay, well now if they haven't booked me and I feel like I've done everything right, what is the next step? And I feel like I've heard a lot of people say like, oh well, I don't want to chase clients that don't be my value.

That ego.

I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to be the one like bothering them to hire me. They should be the one chasing me. And I don't believe that that's true at all. Like, you are a business. It is your job to pursue a sale. And that was one of like the main hurdles for me in my mindset because I was like, there's a lot of people that aren't really talking about this and who are just like, yeah, you know, amazing clients will know that you are amazing right off the bat and it's gonna be this instant click and connection. They're going to book you. And just in my own experience, in my own business, I was like, you know what? Maybe they saw my portfolio, but they didn't get it. Maybe I went on the call with them and there's still like maybe some unanswered questions. What can I do when I'm reaching back out to them and reminding them to book me? How am I going to be able to say that in an effective way that isn't just like, hey, just wanted to check in. Did you see my proposal? Because at the end of the day, like, those words, they do nothing for you. I mean, people will read that and it's essentially a rhetorical question, and oftentimes they're not going to respond to that. And us as service providers, like, when we don't hear back, it's very natural to be like, oh, I did something wrong, like I said something wrong on the call, maybe they don't like me, maybe they found somebody cheaper, maybe my prices are too high, maybe I need to lower my prices. And you go down into this just like spiral of self-doubt and just being so worried about what you're doing, that you're doing something wrong, that people aren't connecting with you. And in reality, you just need to nurture your clients and your prospective clients in a way that gets them to that next step in your process. And a lot of people are missing that because either they feel like they shouldn't be following up with their leads they're worried that they're getting ghosted and that it's just more of like a victim mindset of like, oh, like all my clients are just ghosting me. Like they're the problem, they're unresponsive. And so it's really just like shifting your mindset to be like, no, like I'm in control of this. Like I have a way that I can turn this around for myself and I have the power to continue deeper conversations until people empowered to book me.

Such a good point. Like, when you were talking, I was thinking there are so many different reasons why our thoughts affect what we actually end up doing, right? So to your point of like, you did something wrong, and I know with my clients often I'm like, but what if you did everything right? You just need to keep going. Like, you just need to keep asking questions. You need to keep sharing the information you need to share. Versus turning around and being like, I love that you said this because I've had clients tell me this all the time. Well, if they don't want to book me, then I don't want them. I'm like, what? In my brain, that doesn't ever make sense. That's more of your ego talking. Like, 100% your ego is like, well, they didn't want me, so I'm fine with that. I'm like, no, they did want you because they booked the call. One, okay, they booked the call. Or they inquired about your services, they did want you. And your automatic assumption after whatever didn't happen the way you thought it would happen is they didn't want you. What if they just needed more time? What if they had more questions? What if— so many what-ifs about what the client might be experiencing while your ego is over here thinking, I don't want them because they didn't want me right this second. And I always think about if we really give ourselves permission to think about how we buy different things, we realize that we don't always say yes to the thing that we actually want right off the bat. Especially women, especially women, especially women. We definitely don't do that. So my question to you is, in your business, when did you start seeing the shift of incorporating this follow-up connecting and nurturing process to start to really see, oh, this is working and this, oh my gosh, like this is great. I have clients saying yes to me now. When was that moment for you?

So that moment was in my own personal experience. I wanted to hire a videographer to film me, to shoot YouTube videos. And I had this idea in my head, like I was willing to spend the money. I was excited. I wanted to do it. And I had reached out to her and she gave me a quote. And then I was in that client that was like, just went MIA. And it's not because I wanted to, it's not because I was being mean or rude or disrespectful. I just like, every day was just something else. Like, you have other things on your plate, even if you're not a business owner. Like, even if you're talking to people with 9-to-5 jobs, like, they're at work, they're coming home, they're making dinner, a friend calls them up, now they're going out, now they've lost a day to book you, right? And so oftentimes I feel like we just discount the fact that like people just need time because they're busy. And sometimes it's not that they haven't booked you because they don't like you or because they don't want to book you, they just got distracted by everyday life. And I realized that because it felt like every day it was like in the back of my head like, oh gosh, like I need to send my retainer payment, I need to tell her that I really I want to do this. I'm so excited. And then like I turned around one day and I was like, oh my God, like, are we in so-and-so month? Like, did I ask her about this like 2 months ago? When did the time go? Like, how did this happen? And all of a sudden I was like, you know what, like maybe my clients are experiencing the same thing. Like maybe they really do want to hire me, but they're getting distracted and I gave up on them because I never followed up with them because I sent them one email one time and they didn't respond. To it. And I just assumed that they didn't want to work with me at all and that they booked somebody else. But in reality, like, they would have booked me had I continued to nurture that relationship and just remind them in a way that felt natural and just was like, hey, I want to give you more information. I want to continue this conversation. Are you ready? And so that's when I was like, you know what, I know as a client that I experience this problem. So I know that my clients are experiencing this problem and I'm no longer going to be angry at them for getting distracted or getting busy. I am going to actively just talk to them and say, hey, just a reminder, but do it in a way that actually helps them make that decision. And not just sending an empty follow-up email, which is what everybody is doing. Because when you ask something like, 'Hi, I'm just following up. Did you read my proposal?' It's an empty email essentially. There's nothing there, and so there's no reason for them to respond. And then on your end, you're getting discouraged, like, 'Oh, they're not a good client, they're not responding.' But in reality, you're not giving them anything Choose now.

Yeah, you're not having a conversation. It's like putting up a sign on the wall. And I think about, you remember back in the day when you, I guess people probably still do this, but you get a little paper, you put whatever you have, you have those little tabs you take away because it has like a phone number or something on it and they take away and they're supposed to call you. I was thinking about that.

Yeah, those bulletin boards.

Yeah, those bulletin boards. And I'm like, I think that's what happens when we incorporate follow-up emails, like the automated follow-up emails that are not tailored to the client. Like, it's not tailored to what you know, especially if it's a client you actually spoke to and spoke with. I think that's really important. I think sometimes— and I'm saying this in the age of AI, right? But even AI has figured out that you have to take the information that a client has told you and like incorporate that in the follow-up. Like, you can't just assume the same information is going to serve the other person because a couple of things, right? I would imagine, you know, they had objections on that call. You know, they had concerns on that call. But if you're just signing up, sending emails that are not based on the connection that you made with them, it feels very impersonal. It feels very just a thing, right? And how is that going to help them really have a reason to respond or a trigger almost like, oh yeah, that's right, I want to work with Clarissa or Nikita. Like, how have you found for the way you do this process? Like, what is the recipe of getting someone to be like, oh yeah, that's right, I totally did want to work with Clarissa, but I forgot.

Yes. So what you said is so important. Like, these are not mass email blasts, right? These are not like automatic responses. They can be canned emails, so you can have like a structure to remind yourself of a couple of things that you want to say. But this is not like something that you schedule out to 50 people on your email list and you're like blasting it out. These are personalized follow-up emails for someone who you had a consultation call with, you had a full conversation with, and now you need to follow up with them. And so what I found the best way to do that is through like a storytelling email. So instead of emailing, did you have a chance to review the proposal? I can no longer hold your spot for this date. You need to hurry up and book. You know, you can't say that because it doesn't make somebody excited to pay you thousands of dollars. You need to create excitement. Like it takes a lot to make someone get up from what they're doing, look through 5 purses for where they left your wallet. I don't know who else has this problem, but I literally, I can never find my wallet. I have to look through every purse I've, I've used in the last week to try and find it. Like, it takes a lot of excitement for me to stop what I'm doing and be like, oh my goodness, I need to buy this right now. And so when you're sending these generic follow-up emails, you're not doing any of that. What I love to do is incorporate storytelling within the main body of that email. So you can say something like, hey, I was thinking of you. I'm a wedding planner, let's say, and I worked a past wedding this weekend, and I remember talking to you and I wanted to share this story about this thing that happened because the bride was having an event in the same venue that you are. And all of a sudden this happened with the caterer and I had to put out this fire and we had to go and find somebody to bake the cake in the last 2 hours of the day. And all of this chaos was happening. The bride had no idea. She had a wonderful day. She had no idea. And then I just wanted to share this with you because I want to make sure that you know that all of these horrific situations can happen. And this is how I deal with that scenario. And so what you're doing is suddenly you're, you're making yourself the hero of the story, but you are also like actively setting yourself as being an expert because now all of a sudden people are gonna read this and be like, oh my gosh, what if that happens to me? Like what if I do book the wrong person and they don't know how to deal with that situation? And so now it's not so much about focusing on your pricing and how much you're charging. But focusing on the value that you're bringing with your package and what you offer and the experience that you have. And so an email like that is so powerful because now they're like, oh my goodness, you know what? Like, I'll spend the extra $1,000 to make sure that you're the person that knows how to deal with this, because I don't want to be dressed up in a beautiful gown and all of a sudden get a phone call like, oh, you know, so-and-so got stuck in traffic and all of a sudden I don't have this super important thing that I need to have on my wedding day, and now I'm stressed out and scrambling and I'm supposed to be enjoying my time. And so it's not a bad thing to follow up with people, but do it at the end of that email. So after you've explained the story, you've made yourself the hero of the situation, you've explained your value and what you've done that's so great. And then at the end, just say, hey, I just wanted to remind you that I sent you a proposal on this date. And I can only save your spot for the next 7 days, and I don't want you to go digging through your past emails to find the proposal that I sent you, so I've reattached it to this email again, and I really am excited to begin working with you in my client experience process. I'll talk to you soon. And so that is how you send a proper follow-up email, because now they've read it and now they're excited again. You've reignited that excitement for them to be like, wow, like, yes, I definitely need to book this person.

Oh yeah, so good. So many good points. It's so funny, Kaila, so we're talking about all this stuff because I literally have done some solo podcast episodes. I'm talking about storytelling and like how that's such an important piece of things and how I think— let's have a quick little side note on this topic for a second. I feel that the way we in general, for most online business owners or business owners in general who have learned during the age of YouTubeversity and everything else when it comes to marketing, have learned to not talk about ourselves. Like we are told constantly about like, it's not about you, it's about the customer. And I 100% believe it is about the customer. But I think there's a mindset that we've gotten so hard driven into our brain that not talking about you means literally not talking about you. Like, literally it means just talking about the client experience, this wonderful thing. To your point, to the story you just told, no, you talked about the client, but you also talked about how you straight up helped that client not even realize that all those horrible things happened. And that was because of you that they were able to have that experience. And I think It's a pet peeve, Nikita Williams, right? That I constantly fighting with my clients on, like, it's not about me. And I'm like, it is though. As much as it is, it's about the client, about their experience and their transformation. The reason why they will work with you is because of you. It is because of you. Like, yes, they want this transformation that they know they can get because you have clients, but also because of the transformation that you help them have is because of you. Like, you have to talk about that. And the way you just shared that story was a beautiful way of incorporating, like, yeah, this is all of the stuff I did to help my client have this wonderful day. And if they don't know that, they don't even realize that, you pretty much sound like everybody else that's saying you're gonna have this beautiful day, but they don't talk about how they helped you have that beautiful day. It's really a thing. And I, I'm, I'm curious to see, is that something that you have found in your growth as an entrepreneur, of like really finding that balance of like, no, it's not just about the client, it really is about my unique special sauce that I'm bringing, because that's the value, right? That's the piece that they're really going to be like, that's why I want to pick working with Corissa.

That is exactly right. I mean, yes, it is about your client, obviously, but The decision of working with someone else versus working with you ultimately boils down to you as a person and as your unique process and what you are offering within that process. Like, they are excited to work with you for a reason, and you need to be able to talk about that reason. And where I think a lot of people get super hung up is the thing that they're trying to get their client excited about is actually something that is going to happen down the road, like even sometimes 12, 18 months down the road. I mean, if you think about anybody in the wedding industry, they're trying to book a client today for a final result that is so far in the future, that person almost is detached from it completely at this point.— and doesn't even have to be just in the wedding industry. Like, let's say you're a weight loss coach or something, like somebody's transformation to that fit body or to lose those 40 pounds, like that could be 6 months into the future. So what you need to do is make somebody excited about your unique process and client experience, but not just the final outcome. You need to get people to sign your contract based on the next thing that they can be excited about receiving. We live in this culture where we are used to paying money and then walking away with something. So like, if you go shopping, like you go to a store, you pick out a dress, you take it off the rack, you pay for it, you put it on, you have it. And so what you need to do is instead of talking about this ultimate transformation that you have down the road, like obviously it's important and you can talk about that, but when you are nearing the end, when you are nearing like somebody is going to sign your contract, get them excited about the next thing in your process that they are going to immediately get. So that could be a questionnaire that they're going to fill out. That could be a welcome gift that you're going to mail them. That could be for the weight loss example, like maybe you're going to create some kind of custom eating plan for them and just talk about like, yes, this transformation is going to be in the future and you're going to, you know, lose all this weight and feel amazing. But sign this contract and I'm gonna email you this custom meal plan so that you can start focusing on that goal tomorrow. And all of a sudden you've gotten somebody excited about the next step. And by doing that, you have gotten them wanting to experience that because they know that they're going to experience it now and not something that's going to happen sometime in the future.

Oh, that was juicy, Clarissa. That was so juicy. That's such a good, good, good, good thing. Like, if anything you take away, I think that's such a good point. We do so often talk about transformations in the future for most of us, especially online, even graphics. I mean, graphic designers, like, you're not just tomorrow walking away with a logo. Like, you're not just— okay, but that's what you know you need. That's what you want. But I love that you're sharing, like, the thing that you're going to do, like you're going to get that transformation. And also, I think it's really about the 'and also' that you're sharing. Like, and also when you sign up like today, you will also get this today or tomorrow or whatever timeframe that is. And it's really creating what one of my coaches calls relevancy and as well as urgency. It's creating the urgency to make them put all the things that they have in their arms right now down and be like, oh crap, I need that today. Like, give it to me right now. And such a good point. I love how you can incorporate that into your follow-up process because the client already has shared with you that they want to work with you to get that transformation at the end. But if you can add a little bit of sweet cherry on top, if you will, of like, hey, do this now and you also take this next step that you're excited about Such a good point. Such a good point.

Yes. And that's something that I started incorporating into my own follow-up emails. So when I was following up with someone, it doesn't always have to be a transformation. It doesn't always have to be a story. Sometimes it can be creating excitement. So what I was doing for my luxury clients is I was creating these custom curated thank you gift boxes to send them after they have sent me their retainer payment as a welcome gift in the mail to say, you know, thank you for choosing to work with me. And so I wrote an entire email that said like, hey, like, I am so excited for you to make your payment and secure your design date. And once you do, I'm going to mail out this beautiful welcome box and this is what's inside of it. And you're going to be so happy because it's a beautiful candle. And I've put together, you know, all of these little goodies in this box and it is going to just be the most wonderful welcome into my client experience. And it's going to be something that you can enjoy as you're waiting for your design date to come. Because I was booking clients a month into the future. And so there's no urgency when you're like, oh, I have to wait 1 month, 2 months, 3 months down the road to even start the process that I'm paying for today. And when you are able to give something, even if it's small, to someone that they can say, oh, I'm so excited that like I made a payment, I gave thousands of dollars for this retainer, and I at least get something, even if it's small. To say like, oh, like I paid for this and I'm excited as I'm waiting for the next thing to come.

Yeah, such a good point. I love that you shared that because it reminded me of something that I do that I didn't even think about based on what you're sharing. And it makes sense, like from a psychology— everybody knows I love psychology, would have gone for that in school at one point, but that's too much school. But anyway, that's why I'm a coach. I can do it all fun. But something you were saying is something that I don't even— you saying that made me realize, oh yeah, I kind of do that. So with my clients, if I have like a VIP day where it's in the future, right, it's not like tomorrow, it's usually a month or two months out. Or if I have a waitlist for my clients, they automatically, when they sign up with me, get access to a portal with all of the resources they need and Voxer access, which is like a little walkie-talkie. We can like start coaching, like literally once the payment is done. And it's just something that I have found is like, I also, as the coach, don't want my client to feel like, okay, I just spent thousands of dollars and I have to wait until I have access to anything. Like, it seems very out of sync for me personally. And so that's why I offer it as like a bonus, but I don't think I talk about it as much in my stuff. So now I'm going to be like, I need to talk about this. Kristin helped me realize something. I need to talk about that because it is, that is, even when you order Amazon, like I was thinking about this, we are, we just moved. And so I have all of this stuff that I'm realizing I need in this new place. And I'm like mad that some of the orders aren't getting here in like the 48 hours that they promised. And I'm like, I didn't pay thousands of dollars for this stuff. I paid like $20 or $50 or $100 or something. And you're so right, like getting people excited about getting into the container with you is such a really great little strategy. And I think everybody should remember that forever. Just, I'm just saying, making sure y'all got that. And it's easy to do.

I have the juiciest tip for everybody listening because I think we try to like make our stuff like exclusive. Like you have to pay me to get access to this. And like, while that could work, what I found is even better than doing that is to give exclusive early access. Because once someone feels like they're already a client of yours, it's like 10 times more likely that they're going to then become a client of yours.

Yes.

Because they feel like they already are. So one of the best things that you can do, and it's so easy, like if once somebody books, they get to, let's say, like fill out a questionnaire or they get to log into a portal where they can see their finances or whatever it is that your business is, that you give them like some kind of exclusive client access, it is going to completely supercharge the amount of people who are booking you because they feel like they're already your client. And so I like to think of this kind of like a restaurant setup. If your target audience was just a bunch of people walking by your restaurant, and then the consultation call would be like somebody who comes up and is reading your menu and you're sending out there, like, telling them about what your restaurant is or what you offer, what's the specials, all of those things. That's your consultation call. But exclusive access, that is like saying, like, hey, you know what, come in, like, I have a table for you, sit down, I'm gonna bring you some free bread. And now all of a sudden it's like those people are going to order for— like, they're already there, they're already sitting down, and so they are going to, like, have such a higher chance of being like, you know what, we're already here. Like, why are we going to go somewhere else? We're already experiencing this. This is already great. Like, let's just continue and order off the menu here. And now all of a sudden, like, by giving early access into something, they feel like they're already part of it. They've already committed in some small way to filling out your questionnaire, doing whatever little thing, like looking through your client portal. And so now it's like so much easier for them to step into your process because they're already there. They're already in the beginning stages of your process.

Yeah, such a good point. I think for many of us, the fear, right? The fear is, but what if they don't? Right? Like, but what if they don't? And I always like, how would you answer that? But what if they don't? What if they don't, Clarissa? What if they don't stay and eat my pasta that they paid for and they just ate my bread and walked away?

You know what? You would have lost that client anyway. So why not do everything that you could possibly do to make sure that you're setting yourself up for success and that you're doing all that you can to try and get that client? And another thing that I hear often is like, oh my gosh, like, what if they see what I'm offering and then they steal it from me somehow? Or like, what if I share so much of my process that someone else can copy me and do what I'm doing? Or all of these other things, like all of these fears that we hold inside of us. When I was recording videos of myself drawing, I'm like basically teaching other people how to draw. And like, at the end of the day, like I can only take on so many clients. So it's not about me being fearful of trying to like keep all of my knowledge to myself. It's more about me saying, like, if you're a client and you happen to see this, I'm gonna make sure that I am showcasing every single thing that I do so that you can be convinced that I'm the perfect person to work with. And to me, being paid is more valuable than, like, keeping things to myself and, like, living out of fear and living out of worry and just being like, well, what if I give them access and they don't book? Well, you can just remove them from their login and say, you know, your session has expired. Unfortunately, you haven't booked yet, so this is going to now be taken down. If you do want to work with me after this, I am happy to reinstate your login, and after you make the payment, you will then have access again to it. But, you know, at the end of the day, I think it's, it's important to just focus on what are the things that you can do to make money and to book clients and not worry about all of the other things, all of the what-ifs, all of the fears that we have.

Such a good point. Well, this has been an awesome chat about using the connections you've already made with people who have booked calls with you, who how to have those consultations and how to follow up. What are 3 things you would give to someone who's like, okay, Clarissa, this is all awesome, but what do I need to do to start implementing this now?

3 things. Okay, so number 1, narrow down your audience's attention to one very specific detail of something that you do, that you do really, really well. That is going to be the thing that they should book you for. So not your overall service, but like the eyebrow example, like what is that one thing that you offer that you're like, yes, this is the reason why people should book me, and focus all your marketing around that because that is going to drive much deeper connections than your overall thing that you're trying to sell. Number 2 is Look at how many leads are contacting you and that you've had consultation calls with, and take a really hard look at like, what is the ratio between the amount of people who are inquiring and the amount of people who are actually paying you? Because if they are completely out of ratio, if you have 10 people that you've been on a call with and only one person has made their payment and committed to working with you, Take a deep look at what am I saying in that consultation call. Maybe I need to restructure the layout of the call in order to better explain the value that I bring to the table and why this should work with me. And then if you feel like you're doing a good job up until that point, like you feel like you get off consultation calls and you're like, that was amazing, they're going to love me, and they still don't book. Then look at number 3, which is your follow-up email strategy. And what are you saying as that last part of like welcoming them into your experience in a way where you're not just constantly saying, hey, checking in, checking in, have you gotten my proposal? Have you looked through it? Do you have any questions? Do it in a more educational sense from a connection building standpoint, from a continuing a conversation standpoint. And then that is what is going to then turn around those other clients who maybe were on that fence of booking you, and then you say something that really hits home with them, and all of a sudden they're like, oh, you know what, this person really is amazing, I am going to work with them.

Oh, so good. Such good 3 things to kind of start implementing. And your business. So tell everyone how they can find you and what's happening that's fun and exciting in your business that you would like to invite them to or serve them with.

Thank you. Yes, so you can follow me on Instagram. My handle is @calla.lane, and I have a few educational resources. So I have the 10 follow-up email templates. That you can purchase, and then that way you can essentially copy and paste these prompts that are going to help you construct a follow-up email that is going to have that impact. I also have the Standout Strategy System Masterclass that is going to help you really pinpoint what it is that you can sell as far as your differentiator. If you are feeling like you don't know how to get people to understand your value, This is going to be an amazing masterclass for you to listen to because it's going to talk about all of the buying motivators that your clients have and how you can leverage those things in a way to connect to what you do that's so special and really be able to communicate your value. And I also have an Unparalleled Positioning. It's a free masterclass. And that is going to help you talk about what you do. So this is really honestly the starting point. Like if you don't know how to talk about yourself in a sales pitch, in an elevator pitch where you're, you know, talking for a minute and you have that opportunity to convince, let's say, a crowd of people as to why they should work with you. If you are like completely blanking on what to say, This is going to help you structure that statement in a way that really helps you build connections. So if you on the top of your website, you don't know what to say, this is what is going to help you and it's totally free. And it is probably an amazing starting point for everybody listening to understand how to talk about what they do in a way that makes them stand out and feel really, really special to their target audience.

So good. So we'll have links to all of that in the show notes as well as on the website where we'll be hosting this. But thank you so very much, Clarissa, for coming on and sharing your unique approach to like following up and converting those clients. Thank you for your time.

Thank you so much for having me. It was absolutely wonderful.

That's a wrap, y'all. Thanks for tuning in to Crafted to Thrive, the podcast that helps helps entrepreneurs with chronic illness to thrive and build a holistic business and life. Check out our website at craftedtothrive.com for this episode's show notes and all the gifts and goodies. Connect with me on Instagram @thrive_with_nikita for more tips and behind the scenes and more. Tag me to share what you loved about this episode, and I'll feature you on an upcoming episode. So until next time, remember, yes, you are crafted to thrive.