If you work in an industry where you deal with clients then I'm
sure you've had a few clients that were more trouble then what they
were worth. If you're ready to learn how to find more clients that
are your ideal client then read over the article below. It is packed
full of great advice to finding your ideal client.
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is
trying to please everybody."--Bill Cosby
Have you ever had clients that were more trouble than they were
worth? Maybe they were always late to pay, or didn't do what they
said they'd do. Maybe you just had a personality clash, or they
expected more than you were able to offer. Whatever the situation,
chances are you had an inkling when you first met that client...a
tiny voice that you didn't listen to, that was probably overshadowed
by the bigger voice that said, "Hey, it's business; I'll take it"
Drawing The Line
Learn to say no to those clients, before they start draining your
energy! The key to being able to do this is to understand Your Ideal
Client. Once you know how to recognize who is ideal and who is not,
you can practice turning down business from the latter. If you have
trouble saying no, you'll need to learn this critical business
skill, and what to do to get rid of problem clients you already
have. If you have a coach, ask them to help you complete the Ideal
Client exercise, or to role-play those saying no conversations.
How to discover YOUR Ideal Client
There are many ways to approach the Ideal Client/Customer Profile.
You can sit down and imagine the best, most wonderful client you
could have--whether that is an abstract entity, a celebrity (what
writer wouldn't want Oprah as a customer, for example), or a
specific demographic profile. If your customers are more likely to
be companies, you could look at your current client list, and pick
the company that gives you the most business, the most joy, the
least heartburn.
The Ideal Client Profile
Whoever you pick, start a profile matrix with two columns: My Ideal
Client Is: on the left; My Ideal Client is Not:, on the right. In
the column on the left, list all the characteristics of that type of
person or company. Use the questions below as prompts to get you
thinking about all the different aspects of each client.
Then, either think of the opposite of all those aspects, or pick the
client from hell; and fill in corresponding traits in the right-hand
column. Be really honest with this exercise! If you'd rather only
have clients who make over $500,000, put that down! Your clients who
don't fit your Ideal characteristics, whether you write them down or
not, will eventually know it. May as well get that over with early!
Prompts: Consider these aspects of your Ideal Customer or Client:
What career or business are they in?
What demographics do they fit? (age, sex, race, religion, income,
marital status, etc.)
What do they think is important in business? In life?
What do they like most about you and your business, products and
services?
What is the nature of their relationship with you? (transactional,
long-time customer, acquaintance, friend, refers others to you,
etc.)
How do they do business with you? (by phone, in person, on the Web;
quick transactions, takes time to negotiate; pays early, on-time, at
30 days; etc.)
What personality characteristics do they have?
What do you get from them (besides payment)?
Now What?
Compare your current client list to the two columns in The Ideal
Client Profile. How many have the characteristics of your Ideal
Client? If the answer is not many; you may need to work on firing
some of your clients!
Next, post your Ideal Client Profile somewhere you will see it
often. Every time a new potential client comes along, start looking
for those Ideal characteristics...and beware the non-ideal! If that
little voice starts to tell you something might be wrong, check in
with the non-ideal list--and be ready with some ways to turn away
non-ideal clients. Offer them other options--refer them to someone
else who is a better fit, and make two people happier!
Ideal Clients--For Life
There are many ways to leverage the work you have just done with the
Ideal Client Profile. Here are some ideas:
--Audit your marketing materials. Do your business cards, brochures,
ads and website appeal to your Ideal Client? Are you sending the
right message, to the right potential clients? Hone your materials,
and start seeing better-qualified potential clients walk in the
door.
--Consider your marketing channels. Based on your Ideal Client
profile, where would you expect to find these clients? Is that where
your marketing efforts are focused? If not, figure out a way to get
in front of them!
--Review your contracts, policies, terms and conditions. Are they
set up to be friendly to your Ideal Clients? Do they give you clear
avenues for dealing with non-ideal clients? If not, update them, and
you might see non-ideal clients take care of themselves.
Start attracting your Ideal Clients today!
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Terri Zwierzynski is a coach to small business owners and Solo
Entrepreneurs. She is also the CEI (Conductor of Extraordinary
Ideas) at Solo-E.com. Contact her at:
http://www.FastLaneDreams.com
