This Week's Play: Great Customer Referrals
Most small business owners describe their ideal customer the way they describe the weather — too generally to be useful.
"Small businesses." "People who need accounting." "Local homeowners."
That's not an ideal customer. It's a category. And when your network only knows the category, the referrals you get back are random.
The owners on Alignable who get the most referrals don't have the biggest networks. They have the clearest answer to one question:
"Who exactly should someone introduce me to?"
Your Active 50 want to send you customers. Most of the time they don't — not because they don't care, but because they can't pattern-match a category to a real person in their own network. The fix isn't to ask harder. It's to make the answer easier.
The Play: Spend 10 minutes this week rewriting your ideal customer on Alignable. Not the category — the specific business owner you most want walking through your door. Industry, size, role, the situation they're in right now, what they're stuck on. The more specific you make it, the easier it is for someone in your network to match a real name to your description.
Your action this week: Open your Alignable profile and update your Ideal Customer section so that a peer reading it could point to a real business by name.
A clearer profile is the difference between "I'll keep you in mind" and "I know exactly who to introduce you to."
— Eric
Comments (1-10)
I have owned a travel agency for almost thirty (30) years and over the years I have learned about my ideal client. My ideal client is a mature, professional woman who knows what she wants, values quality, and wants an experience that feels personal, supportive, and genuine. She’s wants a curated trip and is not looking for something rushed or one size fits all. She wants to be taken care of throughout the booking process. She appreciates honesty, good communication, and for someone to listen to what she wants. I love working with women who are confident and ready to invest in themselves. This is my ideal client.
Excellent insight, Eric. I’ve seen firsthand that vague messaging creates weak referrals and low conversions.
Clarity is what creates connection.
When business owners can clearly articulate who they serve, what problem they solve, and the transformation they provide, referrals become intentional instead of accidental.
Specificity builds authority.
Great article and yes updates are vital for the ideal client!
This is a strong reminder that specificity is what actually drives referrals, not network size. Most missed opportunities come from being too broad, so making the ideal customer easy to visualize for someone else is what turns passive connections into real introductions.
I really enjoyed this article! My ideal client is the individual who needs their credit restored or who has $10,000 or more in debt. Also a business owner who needs to separate their business from their social security number and get an EIN. I help business owners create a business profile with business credit for maximum funding. I help business owners who have at least $15,000 in business debt.
Then Alignable drop down box needs to update the category selections.
My ideal client is a woman in her mid-60s to early 70s — likely retired from teaching or a healthcare career (nurse, physical therapist, school administrator, teacher). She was the person others leaned on for decades, and now she's navigating the quiet after a full career.
She stays active by choice, not obligation — walking, swimming, Tai Chi and/or Qigong — but she's noticing her body asking for something gentler and more intentional. Her kids are grown and living elsewhere. She may be quietly managing a parent's decline or a spouse's health, which means her own wellbeing often comes last.
She's not looking for a workout. She's looking for a practice — something that steadies her nervous system, keeps her confident in her body, and puts her in a room (or on a Zoom) with women who get it.
She's financially comfortable and will invest in something that feels right. She does her homework before she signs up, and once she trusts you, she stays.
I primarily treat clients with pelvic health conditions that have not had favorable results. Patients who cannot tolerate intravaginal/intrarectal treatment, or are considering invasive medical procedures or pain medications. Clients are often referred by their providers for Softwave treatments before proceeding for the remainder of their standard care.
Okay, to be specific...
Small business, Any registered entity of 5 to 20 employees in the US that produces a product or service to the public for profit, and is a registered entity.
We lip-synch vintage songs and dance to entertain senior groups. We are a non-profit and with our donations, we give scholarships to high school seniors. Our best fit is people who have recently retired and want to make a difference in their community. Only requirement is that they be 50 or older.