What High-Level Clients Actually Want from Their OBM

You’ve been tweaking your offers, polishing your ClickUp boards, and obsessing over SOPs, convinced that this is what high-level clients want.

But what if I told you… that might be the very thing holding you back?

In this episode of The OBM Show, I’m pulling back the curtain on what premium clients actually care about when hiring an Online Business Manager. Spoiler: it’s not perfection it’s partnership and true leadership.

But what does that look like? High-level clients aren’t looking for flawless dashboards or the most detailed onboarding doc. They’re looking for a leader who can step into their business with clarity, calm, and confidence.

Here’s what we cover:
  • Why obsessing over backend perfection positions you as a “helper,” not a leader
  • The real difference between task-doers and strategic partners (and how clients see it)
  • How to show up with confidence, even when things aren’t perfect behind the scenes
  • The key mindset shift that makes clients see you as indispensable
  • What it really takes to land and keep premium clients who value leadership over busywork

Whether you’re still duct-taping your backend together or stuck perfecting your SOPs, this episode will shift the way you think about high-level clients and help you step into the partnership role they’re truly searching for.

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Thanks for tuning in to The OBM Show - your go-to podcast for Online Business Managers and entrepreneurs who want to scale strategically and sustainably.

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Until next time, keep building the business behind the business.

Episode Transcript

SarahNoked (00:00):
Now, you've been tweaking your offers, you've
been polishing your ClickUpboards, you've been obsessing
over every SOP, every template,every perfect onboarding doc
that you have, and you areconvinced that this is what
high-level clients care about.
But what if I told you thismight be the very thing that's
holding you back?
Now, welcome back to the OBMShow.

(00:20):
I'm Sarah Noquette, and ifyou've been tweaking your
offers, if you've beenperfecting that project
management tool, thosetemplates, all the stuff, and
obsessing over every SOP, hopethat it will land you premium
clients, but you're stillhearing crickets, this episode
is for you because here's thetruth.
High-level clients don't careabout perfection.

(00:40):
They care about power.
They are not hiring you forcolor-coded dashboards.
They're looking for a strategicpartner who leads with clarity,
calm, and confidence.
So this episode is going toshift everything because
high-level clients, they're notshopping for perfection.
They're searching forpartnership.

(01:01):
Welcome to the OBM Show, thepodcast that pulls back the
curtain on what it really takesto thrive as an online business
manager and help businessesscale without burning out.
I'm your host, Sarah Noked,agency owner, OBM mentor, and
founder of OBM School.
I've been working in the backend of online businesses since

(01:25):
2009, building systems, managingremote teams, and mentoring
OBMs who make businesses runlike clockwork.
Now, I've seen what works, whatdoesn't, and the messy middle
that no one talks about.
Here, we get real about thetools, strategies, and stories
that drive sustainable success,plus the tech mishaps, growing

(01:49):
pains, and lessons learned alongthe way.
If you're ready to stopspinning your wheels, step into
your leadership role, and seewhat actually happens behind the
scenes of thriving businesses,you're in the right place.
Let's get started.
Let's get started.
Now let's bust this myth wideopen, right?
There's this belief thatclients are only going to hire

(02:10):
you if your backend is pristine,right?
That they chose you becauseyour Notion dashboard is color
coded or because you areorganized and your Asana
workflows have 12 nestedautomations.
Like look, clean systems aregreat, but they are not why
clients stay.
What do high level clientsactually want?

(02:30):
They want leadership.
They want clarity.
They want someone who can bringthe calm to the chaos and
solutions to the bottlenecks,right?
Because usually they're thebottleneck.
They don't want more noise.
They don't want morechecklists.
They really want actual supportthat they can trust.
Strategic thinking, confidence,direction.
So let's be real here.
There's a huge disconnectbetween what a lot of OBMs think

(02:53):
clients want and what highlevel clients actually crave.
Here's what most OBMs thinkthat they need to deliver.
Perfect SOPs, endlessavailability, beautiful
Beautiful dashboards,lightning-fast response times.
But if you ask a client who'sscaled a seven-figure business
what they really value in anOBM, you will hear words like

(03:14):
leadership, clarity,decisiveness, ownership,
accountability.
They don't want somebody tomanage their Trello board.
They want somebody who says,this isn't working, and here's
how we're going to fix it.
Let's dive into what high-levelclients are actually looking
for, okay, what they are reallylooking for.
First, strategic thinking.

(03:35):
Clients want an OBM who can seebeyond the task list, right?
They want a second brain.
Someone who's connecting thedots and someone who sees risks
before they become issues andtakes initiatives, okay?
And this was actually somethingI learned the hard way when I
was a more junior OBM because Iwas very task focused until the

(03:56):
client said to me, hey, you areoverlooking the big picture here
and you are just getting thingsdone.
I need somebody who canobjectively look or subjectively
look at this task list, right?
And connect the dots and pivotor change things as they need be

(04:17):
and not just stay on a paththat isn't going in the right
direction.
You can't be a reactive OBM andexpect to be seen as
indispensable.
You got to show up with ideas,not just updates.
Second, decision support.
They're not looking for someoneto rubber stamp their every
move, right?
Your clients don't care aboutthat.
They want a partner like youwho can validate or challenge

(04:40):
their decisions, who understandthe vision and can help vet
priorities, plan projects, andcourse correct.
That's the key here.
Course correct when needed.
Now, the third thing they'relooking for is team leadership.
And this is a big one, okay?
High-level clients don't wantto manage the team.
They're not good at managingthe team.

(05:01):
Now, if you're still passingdecisions back back to the CEO,
back to your client, or dodgingthe people management piece,
you're leaving ownership on thetable.
Great OBMs own team onboarding.
They own the accountability andthe culture building in the
business.
That's a huge part of what wedo as OBMs.
Now, the fourth thing ismeasurable progress.

(05:22):
These clients want to seeresults, whether that's
consistent project delivery,data-backed reporting, or
improved team performance.
They want to know that thingsare getting done and they want
it without And finally,emotional regulation.
Yes, I said it.
Emotional regulation.
Your calm energy in a stressfulmoment can be the difference

(05:45):
between a client spiraling orstaying focused.
High level CEOs, just like manyof us, are juggling a million
things.
They need an OBM who bringsclarity and stability, not more
chaos.
Now let's talk about whatdrives clients away.
So the first big thing is overoverpromising and under
delivering.
This is a huge rookie OBMmistake that we make and there

(06:08):
is no faster way to lose aclient's trust than failing to
follow through, needing to bemicromanaged, right?
So if you are waiting fordirection instead of stepping
into your role with confidence,your clients are going to start
to question why they brought youon the team, where your value
is stemming from.
Now the next piece aftermicromanaging is staying too

(06:31):
tasky.
That's a trap.
If If you've only ever operatedat the task level, you're not
going to be seen as a strategicpartner.
And the last piece is poorcommunication of your value.
If you can't clearly articulatehow your work drives growth,
how it supports leadership, howit reduces stress on the team,

(06:51):
high level clients won't get itand they won't invest in your
services.
So how do you position yourselfthen as the OBM that they are
actually craving?
You need to start by auditingyour messaging first.
your website, or your LinkedIn,your social media profiles, you
know, highlighting checklists,tools, and support?
Or are you speaking directly tooutcomes?

(07:12):
Remember, clients hire OBMs forsystems, but they stay for
leadership.
So the next thing is reworkingyour onboarding.
I really want you guys to focuson setting the tone of
leadership in your OBM businesswith the client from day one.
And that, my friends, meansclear boundaries, proactive
planning, and strongcommunication.
And that is why in OBM School,we teach all of our students our

(07:37):
Breakthrough Strategy Sessionframework because it sets the
tone for strategic leadership.
And the most important piece isalso framing every conversation
around outcomes.
Not just, here's what I'mdoing, but here's what this will
accomplish for your business,my dear client.
Now, before I get into a story,I want to ask you something.

(08:00):
When was the last time youwalked into a client and meeting
with a clear agenda.
Not a status update, but aplan, a proposal, even a
strategic pivot.
If you are still waiting forpermission to lead, you're
already behind.
The OBMs who rise are the oneswho stop waiting and start
owning.
Okay, now on to my story.

(08:21):
So one of our OBM school grads,her name is Tanya.
She came into accreditationafter years of being the best
kept secret in her clients'businesses.
Now you might feel that way.
too.
She was reliable, she got stuffdone, but she was charging
under $2,000 a month for aretainer and constantly being

(08:42):
overlooked in strategicmeetings.
Now throughout theaccreditation program, she
realized that she wasn't beingtreated like a leader because
she wasn't positioning herselfas one.
So she went back to her longestrunning client and reframed
their entire relationship.
So when you ask me if it'spossible to make the shift, it
certainly is.
So instead of telling Pastsupport, she proposed a new

(09:05):
role, operations leadership.
She mapped out quarterlypriorities, introduced a weekly
leadership dashboard, andstepped into managing the team
fully.
Now, before I tell you whathappens next, I want you to
pause for a second.
If you were Tanya, what wouldthat conversation feel like?
Would it feel exciting?
Would it feel terrifying?
Maybe liberating?

(09:26):
Because here's the thing.
Every OBM has a moment whenthey decide to stop shrinking
and to start showing up andbeing the strategic partner that
they are.
So when Tanya shared thatproposal with her client during
the quarterly planning session,she was nervous, but she was
grounded.
And guess what?

(09:46):
The client didn't hesitate.
They doubled her retainer onthe spot.
Not only that, they referredher two peers in their
mastermind who were alsodesperate for strategic
leadership.
It was a ripple effect thatliterally makes my hair on my
arms stand.
It is a ripple effect ofrecognition, of respect, of
results.

(10:06):
And today she's working fewerhours and making double the
income and being introduced onZoom calls as the client's right
hand.
Now that shift didn't come froma new template.
It came from confidence.
It came from clarity and itcame from leadership.
So here's my challenge to you.
What's one high level behaviorthat you could bring to your

(10:26):
client relationship this week?
Where can you take moreownership?
Where can you communicate moreclearly or lead more boldly.
If you are just getting yourbusiness started, I'm leaving a
whole bunch of practical, easyto use resources linked below
this video or in the podcastshow notes, or you can head
straight on over toobmschool.com forward slash

(10:47):
resources to grab them all inone place.
And if you are ready toposition yourself as the go-to
OBM for premium clients, grabthe OBM starter kit.
It is packed with tools toupgrade your messaging, your
onboarding, and your leadershippresence so that high level
clients see you for who youtruly are.
And you can find that over atobmschool.com forward slash

(11:09):
starter.
So you can start getting paidlike a leader and not a helper.
Thank you for tuning in to theOBM show.
If this episode helped shiftyour mindset, gave you a fresh
lens on perhaps how to show upin your client relationships, or
has it reminded you thatleadership, not perfection, is
what actually drives OBMsuccess, I'd love it if you

(11:29):
shared this with a fellow OBMwho is ready to step up.