The language of people with money.

You don’t have to do this to see the results you want in business.

“No matter what I write, I can’t seem to attract people who pay me well.”

So you mess around with what’s on your website.

You fantasize about hiring a copywriter like me to write your copy for you.

You tinker with what you do and who it’s for.

Like a contortionist, you bend. You twist. You balance.

What the heck is going on? Do you really have to change yourself to get great clients?

One of the biggest issues I help clients handle is the fact that they are writing to the wrong people. Typically, they have been writing to people who are stuck. Who are struggling. Who are overwhelmed.

(Why? Because that’s the standard marketing advice “write about what they are struggling with. Write about what overwhelms them.”)

But guess what?! People who resonate with the words “struggle” and “overwhelm” often have another thing in common: the way they relate to their problem.

They speak the language of struggle and overwhelm.

Here’s the thing – if a person describes her experience in terms of “struggle” and “overwhelm”… they have certain problems go unchecked a little too long.

This means that they may have a habit of avoiding.

Of not being proactive.

Of telling herself a story that she is at the receiving end of her situation… instead of being the captain of her own ship.

And then you, dear business owner, write about her struggle or her overwhelm, and she reads it and says, “oh yes, that’s me.”

But then the way she relates to her own life – the thing that has caused her very existence to get to the point where she must deploy words like “struggle” and “overwhelm” to express her inner life – also prevents her from actually DOING anything about it.

To sum up what’s happening here: your writing makes a connection. But you connect with a person who is constitutionally unwilling (or resistant) to act. Or invest.

And THAT is why you are attracting people who have money problems.

If you find yourself here, it’s normal.

The next question to ask yourself is, “how is my relationship with money? How do I approach spending money? Do I invest in myself with confidence – and even glee – or do I clutch every dollar as if it’s my last, and there will be no more once it’s gone?”

I’ll never forget the day I was teaching a class, and I said, “the goal is to attract people with money. Or, if they don’t have the money, you want to attract clients who say ‘I know how to find the money for things that are important to me.’”

And then, later that day, I was on the phone with a potential client who said, “I really want to work with you. So I will find the money. I always find the money for what I want.”

Oh.

That’s how it works.

Not just for me. For us.

But maybe you are in the moment in time where you see that you aren’t attracting people with money. But you can’t figure out why that’s happening.

Here’s a quick litmus test — take a look at the problem you solve for people. And ask yourself, “is this a problem people with money have?”

Curious for your answers – I invite you to post your insights in the comments.

If this is an issue in your business and you are ready to connect with a higher caliber of client, join me for the next Writing That Sells production lab.

Mighty thanks to Laura Bittner flickr photostream for the contortionist.