How selective are you, regarding the people you work with? Many small business owners make the costly mistake, of working with anyone, who has the ability to pay them.
In this post, I explain why this is a bad idea and how you can avoid wasting YOUR time and money working with low value clients.
Many small business owners attract too few good quality inquiries and end up building a client base that’s of little real value. Even though they know from their conversations with a prospective new client, that this person will be a total nightmare to work with, they still decide to work with them because they need the money.
With a low quality client base, working for people who are a pain in the rear, their work ceases to be enjoyable and their business suffers in every respect, as a direct result.
The answer?
You can increase your income, lower your stress levels and develop a more robust business, by focusing your marketing messages so that they exclusively target inquiries, from people with your ideal client profile.
This means moving away from the mindset that any business is good business and using a more strategic approach to your business development. It means not wasting another minute of your time developing large, untargeted networks and email lists. It means no longer writing your marketing messages, so that they are of some relevance to almost everyone, and focusing them like a laser-beam, so they are 100% directly relevant to your ideal profile of client. Of course, by making the content of your website/blog as relevant to this group as possible, your SEO should also improve, as Google and Co are always looking for the most relevant sites.
What next?
I recommend that you spend some time determining exactly what type of clients or customers you most want to work with, and then shift your marketing focus so that you are as relevant as possible to them.
What are their challenges? Find out and demonstrate that YOU have the answers.
Where are they, online and offline? When you know where they are, you know where to connect. Look for groups, forums etc online and also the exhibitions or conferences they attend offline.
The bottom line: If you want the right people to get in touch with you, you need to motivate them to send you an email or compel them to give you a call or visit your premises. This means that what they see/hear when they connect with you, either on your site, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin etc, needs to be as relevant as possible to them and their needs.
A message that’s designed to appeal to too wide a group, is just not powerful enough to motivate people to take action.
Jim Connolly can help you grow your business and achieve the breakthrough marketing results your hard work deserves. To find out more, simply click here!
Another great piece of advice, Jim.
I see the “work with anyone” trait on so many occassions whilst out networking. It often appears that the ability to fog a mirror is the only criteria for taking a client on.
You’re totally correct my friend – though I did smile with your brilliant description “the ability to fog a mirror”.
Thanks for the feedback Stu!
I couldn’t agree more. I stopped working with low volume, high maintenance clients and learned how to weed them out from all those contacting me.
Now if my tingly sense tells me the person on the other end of the line is not going to be a good fit, I immediately start considering who in my network I can refer them to who might. If I can’t think of anyone, a simple: “I’m sorry, I can’t help you. Good luck.” works well.
You make a really good point there, Andrea. Just because someone is a bad fit for your business does not mean they will not be a better fit for one of your contacts.
Thanks for sharing that!
I have to say Jim that sometimes I’m guilty of working with people that I see they don’t really understand the service I provide. The last client of this kind kept changing the goal so it was strange to keep reminding him what he said a few e-mails ago.
It’s funny when you think back but I also remember the head pain
(and also how hard I got my money)
It’s often the case, Toma, that the people who you work hardest for and try hardest to please, are also least appreciative. By being more selective at the very beginning, it’s possible to weed most of these out (in my experience.)
I have two friends who go through the same process. One of them is too soft for their own good and often rolls over for their clients and gets given the run around.
Finding clients that appreciate what you do is half the battle to begin with I believe, and if they do, then you have got yourself valuable client right there.
It’s amazing how having just 1 or 2 bad clients can ruin a small business owner’s working day.
Like you say Stuart, if you get it right at the beginning, by picking the right people to work with, you make life a great deal easier (and more enjoyable).
More food for thought…
Troublesome clients are also least likely to refer you. All the more reason to focus your marketing efforts on attracting better clients.
Stu
Agree wid d same…everything in world lacks perfection …..better to watch hw much positive aspects it carry in comparison to others….:)
Hi Jim
I run minisite design service and I fire my clients when they are too troublesome and too hard to please — no matter how good a job we do, they still complain.
Thanks for your insights. I’m right with you on this one.
Best,
Welly Mulia
Hi Jim, you really hit the nail on the head here. It can be so hard, especially when just starting out, to define your ideal client and insist on only working on perfect clients. In the end though, it is really worth it.
[...] For marketing to work, it needs to strike a chord with the recipient. It needs to ask a question or make a statement that stops them in their tracks and grabs their attention. To do this, your question or statement needs to be directly relevant. [...]
I agree. As a freelance translator, it can be difficult to weed out some of the less desirable clients. Over time however, it does become a bit easier. Specialisation (in my case, IT, Technology, Business and Finance) is a must in my industry for many reasons. Whilst it also improves our translation quality, it is also vital when marketing for your ideal client. I am working on some specialised materials to help clients choose the right translator for them. I also have a nice-looking website, openly display my support for Open Source technology and explain various tech tips to fellow translators via my blog (http://translatorsteacup.lingocode.com). I think that sort of thing shows customers I know what I am talking about, especially where IT and technology are concerned.