Your Ideal Client -- How to identify who is--and more importantly,
who isn't!
By Terri Zwierzynski
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure
is trying to please everybody."--Bill Cosby
Have you ever had a client/customer that was 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!"
Learn to say no to those clients, before they start draining your
energy! The key to being able to do this is understanding 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 that client might have.
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? (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. Terri is an MBA honors graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Terri has been coaching for over 10 years in a variety of settings,
including 6 years as a senior-level coach and consultant for a Fortune
500 company. She opened her private coaching practice in 2001. Contact
her at:
http://www.FastLaneDreams.com .