One time I refused to make my clients the product they wanted because I thought I knew better than them. Lol.

It was 2019 and I was relishing the success of my creative studio, We Are Visual. I had a high client retention rate, a high level of referral biz, and an even higher horse that I was galloping into the sunset on.

For context: We Are Visual is a bespoke creative studio, not a template shop. So when my clients told me they wanted branded templates that looked like they were designed by me, I CRINGED.

Me? Designing and selling templates? Swipe left.

Well, long story short, I got knocked off my high horse. But once I got back on my feet, I dusted myself off, rolled up my sleeves, and told my husband:

“If I’m going to make brand templates, I’m going to make the best damn templates on the market!”

Digital Brand Kit launched a year later. (We celebrated birthday num-bah 4 yesterday! Woot woot!) And you know what? My customers tell me that DBK has the best templates for personal brands on the market.

Success? Sure. But it only came because I shed a layer of my ego and *actively* listened to what YOU wanted. Not the kind of listening where you just wait for the other person to shut up so you can tell them why they’re wrong.

The kind of listening that requires legitimately showing interest in others’ needs, pausing your thoughts, and forgetting any preconceived notions of how the world “should” be.

This kind of listening also might require falling off your high horse, which I’d argue is beneficial from time to time.

So let me ask you this: When is the last time you surveyed your clients/customers to ask for feedback and make sure they were achieving what they hired you for? When is the last time you *REALLY* listened to your peeps?

If it’s been 5+ months since you’ve checked in on them, slot this 5-step action plan into your calendar.

5-Step Action Plan for More Sales & Happier Clients

1. Make a list of your top 5-10 clients or ideal clients.

2. Reach out to them (DM, email, or text) and ask for 30 minutes of their time. Offer them a gift such as a free digital product, resource, or mini-consulting session in exchange for their time. I usually offer a complimentary brand audit.

3. Schedule a 30-minute chat with the people who say yes. Not all of them will want to participate. No need to take it personally.

4. Prepare 5-7 questions to ask them, but avoid coming off as scripted. Make your chat casual and conversational. These are the Qs I used last time:

• In general, how satisfied are you with your Digital Brand Kit templates?
• Why did you decide to invest in DBK?
• Do you want to share any wins you’ve had with your DBK templates?
• What do you not like about DBK?
• What do you wish DBK could help you with?
• What would you say to people who are on the fence about investing in DBK?

5. Record the call, run the transcript through ChatGPT to extract the highlights, and read the entire transcript to pick up on subtle language choices that you can use in your copywriting.

It’s nearly impossible to run this process without garnering incredible intel to improve your product as well as your marketing copy.

Better product + better copy = more sales and more happy clients

(Pssst! If you want to eavesdrop on the whole story of me falling off my metaphorical high horse, eating dirt, and then launching DBK, you’re in for a treat. Listen to this episode of The Art of Lost & Found with the one and only Brooke Estin.)