Are you a business owner, entrepreneur or solopreneur you have to deal with customers. We all know the saying that a customer is always right, but before that, we are in control to choose what kind of customers we are working with.
We can have customers that are cheap, complain a lot, and are a pain to deal with or we can choose to work with ones who know what they want, respect their and our business, have enough money and is a pleasure to deal with. It is in our control to choose. If we choose to deal with problematic ones they can eat our time, cash or even our business.
So, how to choose the rights ones or how to attract better customers?
Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves… – Brene Brown
Even a big companies time to time have to deal with some projects and clients that are not profitable or not fun to work with. The Same problem has small businesses and individual entrepreneurs. And sooner or later the problem escalates to the level that project should be closed and a relationship may be damaged.
Lately, I started to look for more information about this problem how to fix that and prevent it from ever happening again. So we could only deal with cool people, cool companies that we like.
And if you are looking for the information you will find one. So, by listening several podcasts one day I’ve tuned to Ray Edward Show (http://rayedwards.com) and on one of his episodes he also talked to 10 step plan to attract better customers. Following I will describe that plan, it is worth to think about and to implement in your organization.
A 10-Step Plan To Attract Better Customers
On his podcast, Ray Edward told the story how he finally got relief from his dire situation when he fired the clients who were the big trouble-makers and got really clear about who He WANTED to work with. And long story short it was done simply by following this 10-step plan:
1. Set the Criteria for Being a “Good” Client.
Define the qualities of your ideal customer. Be absolutely clear what kind of customers you want and go out and look for them.
2. Set the Criteria for Being a “Bad” Client.
Define the qualities that make you miserable or stressed with clients. Swear that you will never take another client, nor keep a client, who has ANY of these qualities.
3. Tell the world your “Do’s and Don’ts”
Publish your “Do’s and Don’ts” clearly, frequently and boldly. Visit conferences, seminars, use your social network to inform the world what is your focus and what you do not want to do.
4. Develop a “Bad Client Mythology.”
Usually, we are collecting user testimonials and our success stories to attract more clients, but same important is to tell client horror stories and make them part of your Company Mythology. So your prospective clients know how you identify “bad apples” – and let them know what happens to bad apples.
5. Purge the Scourge.
Examine your existing client base and get rid of any stinkers. Remember 20/80 rule, 20% of your customers will make you 80% money. Focus on the right part of your client base.
6. Trust your gut.
Every time we are preparing a deal with a bad client, always there is that nagging feeling deep inside. Do not ignore it. Trust your sensors.
7. Listen to Your Team.
Sometimes, when your own sensors are not working, it is important to listen to your team, they will tell. More sensors, more opinions you will have, better your client base will grow.
8. Be Expensive.
While this alone can be a good filter, it is not 100% effective. There are some nasty, needy, broken, and/or crazy people who have lots of money. To be 100% sure use step 6 and 7
9. Make them work for it.
If they really want to work with you, make them prove it. Put some hurdles in place. Weed out the clients who ignore, break, or try to circumvent the rules of being accepted as your client.
10. Know and praise your value.
Do not compromise on your core values for lesser values of someone else. When you are skilled, when you know your value, you do not need to compromise your value to meet other lower expectations. You attract the kind of people you wanna do business with, you attract people like you. This will cause the Good Clients to want you even more.
The client is not always right. – Enzo Ferrari
Very powerful 10-step plan, it is now time to put it into action. Just enter your best email below and click Download to get a nice checklist / infographic and start to use it tomorrow in your organization.
