Have you ever accepted a client you knew was not good for you or your business?
Your reasons could have been anything from the need for positive cash flow, a favor to family or friends, boredom… A few days or weeks pass and you regret not listening to your gut instinct not to take the particular client that is now driving you up the wall. I am asking you this because I have made that same mistake before.
A classic new business owners mistake is to take on every and any client because of the shear excitement of a new start and because a new business is in need of money. You say yes to everyone who walks through the door. But every great now and then, you know the moment someone walks in the door that they are going to be impossible. You ignore your better judgment and forge ahead. Then the problems start. It can be anything: negative energy, late payments, tardy appointments, last minute cancellations, a complete lack of respect for you or your services or just a constant stream of complaints. What ever it is, it is taking up way too much of your time and you are too deep in to get out.
Why not just choose clients you will enjoy working with?
1. Determine your niche, so you won’t promote to everybody and will attract only the people that you really want. The people you can serve because you know what they need, you know their pain, and you know how to solve their problem.
You can’t help anyone else. You can only help the people who have problems you can solve.
2. Price your services according to your value. Don’t under-price your services and expect to attract more clients. It just doesn’t work that way. Don’t let the news dictate your price. Today, some coaches charge up to $100,000/year and still run at full capacity. People have money to spend (yes, even in this economy), you just need to reach your right target.
3. Charge your services up front, so you won’t have to deal with the money issue in the future. If a client is not ready to pay you up front or try to negotiate before you even start working with him/her, you can be sure that this same client will always be trouble and will not be committed because he/she is looking for a price of your service or product, not for the quality or value of the service.
4. Learn to say NO to a client if he/she doesn’t fit your requirement. You can create a questionnaire or pre-qualify your potential clients before you start working with them to make sure they are the right fit. That ensures you have the same motivation, passion to access success and you know that you will enjoy working together.
It took me years, before I understood this concept but as soon as I finally decided to raise my price, and refuse people that were uncommitted or were looking for a price more than a valuable service, I was able to attract a lot more qualify clients. This meant less clients, but more positive cash flow because I had to work less to get clients, I now charged what the service was actually worth and the clients I did get were very loyal and referred other like minded people to me. In the end, I have more free time having a business working for me and not me working for my business.
5. Stop worrying, or complaining about the situation. Become very confident in what you do. You are an expert in your field. If you are not convinced about it, people won’t be convinced either and won’t be ready to pay you for your value. Don’t underestimate yourself. Don’t under price your services.
If you are confident about yourself and show it, you will attract the right clients who will understand the value of your knowledge and your product. They will pay for your services. Take action NOW, raise your price, select your clients, and learn to say NO if he/she is not the right fit for you and your business 100%. Working with the right clients also means getting the right referrals, because your clients will love to work with you so much that they will refer you to their friends, family, colleagues or partners, and will promote the business for you. Learn to say NO, fasten your seat belt and watch you business grow.
To learn more strategies like this one, on How To Turn More Contacts Into Business Boosting Clients In 7 Simple Steps, check Power of Networking Secrets
Thank you for laying this out in black & white!
Last year I dropped a client purely because I was just sick of the attitude. Nothing was ever good enough, he was always “over” everything, every phone call was met with a sigh and, the words “please” and “thank you” were foreign to his vocabulary, and after a few phone calls that began with a parental, “ANDY, How many times have I told you…” I knew that was it. That and coming back to me with smaller and smaller budgets when I knew the value of the pr I was delivering was at least 4x what he was currently paying. I knew what he was like before I took him on as a client, but found the artists he managed to be so colorful, fun and pr perfect, that I dove in.
After two years, it wasn’t enough and I diplomatically said I thought it’d be best if I no longer represent his company. (I later found out that there were many others with the same complaint.) It was a sickening decision, as I needed the cashflow, but at the same time, a great relief, as it freed up time to seek and work with less prickly, better paying clients.
While I’m a good all-round publicist–give me a project, I’ll see where it fits–I have indeed focussed, and am now an expert in my particular niche, which is gay and lesbian media, worldwide. It does indeed make life easier, as there are few experts in this area (and if they are they are marketing/statistics companies) and I’m not competing with major PR firms who’ve already got mainstream media locked up.
And thanks for the bit about fees. Yes, stand by your fees. Scary to do, at times, but rather have fewer clients paying a proper fee, than having to spread myself so thin to cover more clients. In my book, the work takes the same effort. It’s very difficult to scale back to the constraints of a tiny budget and to have to let a great PR opportunity go because the client’s budget wont’ cover the work. (I usually go for it, regardless, just to score.)
Enough. Just wanted to say, thanks for the post. Now I say NO and the minute I do my energy doubles, knowing I’m free to go for the perfect client.
Andy Reynolds
Popular Publicity
http://www.linkedin.com/in/andyreynoldsnyc
Fabulous stuff- I have already forwarded to others.
Thank you for putting this out- we need to keep hearing and reading it, over and over again.
THANKS!