Invisible Fences: 5 Ways You’re Driving Away Your Ideal Clients (And How to Fix It)

Walking through the skyways in downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul, you notice them everywhere—those spikes people put on building ledges to keep pigeons from taking up residence.

And many cities have now replaced their already uncomfortable wooden or metal park benches with contraptions meant to deter the unhoused from sleeping there.

Maybe you’ve noticed these examples of “hostile architecture” as you go through your daily life. They’re a bit more obvious than the hidden obstacles that might be keeping people from working with you.

In fact, you may be entirely unaware of the defensive fortifications you have unconsciously built around your business.

Last week, I lamented to my business coach, Michael that while I'd given away 20 free action plan sessions over the holidays, a whopping THREE people had actually followed through.

I explained to Michael that I'd asked participants to do a little homework before scheduling their sessions. You know, just a tiny bit of prep work... nothing major... just enough to keep the sessions to a reasonable 60-minute window and give them something of value.

Michael’s response? He basically told me I'd installed a moat around my castle and was wondering why people weren't swimming across.

Castle walls are obvious…but the obstacles you’re creating might not be

Even if I needed that homework to facilitate a productive session (which I did), Michael suggested that I should get them to schedule first. And he’s absolutely right. Nothing motivates most people like the 11th hour!

Before working with Michael, I had had my eye on a different program for a few years. When I was finally in a place to work with them, I emailed them with some perfectly reasonable last minute vetting questions… and the sales guy apparently decided this was the perfect moment to channel his inner hardass to try to pressure me into a sale. That dude did NOT read the room. Transparency would have cleared the path for me to walk right in. Cagey non-answers plus the confrontational approach? Notsomuch.

Here's another gem: Last year, a friend was looking to get a new voice over demo. He emailed his top two choices, and the responses were like night and day. One replied with all the warmth of an FBI interrogation: "How long have you been doing voice over? Who have you coached with?" The other basically said, "Hey, I checked out your stuff, and I'd love to work with you." In a shocking plot twist that no one saw coming, my friend chose the demo producer who seemed eager to work with him and didn’t ask him to prove his worth.

We shouldn't underestimate the power of subtle shifts that can make the difference between deterring people and encouraging them to choose us over others. Think of it as the difference between a welcome mat and a "Beware of Dog" sign.

Some signs are clearer than others…no matter the language

Here are 5 invisible barriers and the solutions to make it easier for people to work with you:

1. Problem: Your contact info is MIA.

Solution: Make your information easy to find. If your potential clients can’t find your email address or phone number, they’re moving on. Nobody has time to play hide and seek with your contact info!

2. Problem: Your process is a digital obstacle course.

Solution: Make your processes simple and frictionless. Count how many clicks it takes to find your demos, pricing, or offerings. If it's higher than the number of times you brushed your teeth today, it's probably too many. (For example, setting up automatic calendar scheduling is on my to-do list, because going back and forth with potential meeting times isn’t fun for anyone. It’s going to make my life easier AND make it easier for people to work with me!)

3. Problem: Your vetting process feels like a bad job interview.

Solution: Be friendly and approachable. No one wants to work with someone who’s standoffish! Yes, sometimes you need to add friction to your process to ensure you get the right clients. But even when someone's not a fit, you want them to walk away feeling positively about the encounter. In the long run, helping the wrong client for you find the right service provider for them is a win-win. Sure, you’ll lose a sale this time, but what you’ll gain in good karma will definitely make up for it.

4. Problem: You're treating non-ideal clients like spam callers.

Solution: Be specific about who you serve (but don't be a jerk about it). It’s your prerogative to define the type of client you want to work with. But that’s no excuse to treat any other inquiries like they’re calling about your car’s extended warranty. Certain industries are pretty small, and word gets around if you’re difficult to work with.

5. Problem: Your booking process is death by a thousand emails.

Solution: Make it easy for people to say yes. Let’s say a client wants to book you, but they don’t give you all the information you need to give them an accurate quote. Avoid wasting your client's time with and confusing or annoying them with a lot of back and forth. Instead, have a standard form for them to fill out or ask if they can hop on a quick call.

Better, yeah?

Remember, every interaction is an opportunity to either build trust or build walls.

The goal isn't to remove all barriers - some friction is necessary and valuable. It's about being intentional with which barriers you put up and when.

But to be intentional requires awareness, and we aren’t always aware. I HIGHLY recommend getting yourself a Michael to help you see those invisible fences that you don’t even realize you’ve built around your biz.

Have you ever had the realization that you’ve made it hard for people to get to you? What changes did you make?