Are You Positioning for Ideal or Threshold Clients?

You and your team are likely starting to think about the highlights and low lights of the year so far and how they can help you shape the rest of 2025. Remember that habits are often shaped by the choices we make–or often–the ones we don’t make.

Take a moment to consider the following question with your team:

“Are we being thoughtful about the set of wealth, demographic and psychographic attributes that characterize “threshold clients” who we will serve versus “ideal clients” who we’re seeking to serve?”

Consider a consult where I asked a team lead, “What does your ideal client look like?” Their response:

• Assets $1 million to $10 million
• Ages 40-70
• Corporate executives (mid-level and c-suite) and business owners
• Family-oriented
• Nice people
• Open to advice

Do these criteria bring enough specificity to be of value from a strategic, positioning and marketing perspective? We think not. They signal a desire to maintain a very wide net. The more you attempt to position yourself to a wide array of clients, the less you’re perceived as bringing unique value to any of them.

Imagine if the team fine-tuned their notion of ideal clients to the following set of wealth, demographic and psychographic attributes:

• $5 to $10 million
• Ages 60-70
• Closely held business owners
• Multi-generational family wealth
• Philanthropic
• Full balance sheet delegators

The team can start to make some critical decisions now. For example, they could choose to narrow strategic planning, positioning and marketing to showcase a laser focus on their ideal clients. Whether internally understood or externally communicated, they can also position themselves as being selectively open to an additional category of client.

Bottom line: Be intentional with your profile of an ideal client versus a threshold client and capitalize on significant benefits, such as optimized marketing and strategic decision making.