| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Who is Your Perfect Client
When I started my coaching practice I believed that I could coach anyone. My marketing wasn't targeted. Taking a few clients that were "wrong" for me cured me of that. I began to define my "perfect client" and then started to notice flags that told me that someone didn't fit my definition. Have you ever had a premonition that someone wouldn't be a good client for you? Today the person I hired to paint my house dropped by to pick up his check. He asked me about a neighbor to whom he had given a quote. He said, "She seems like a nice lady but something is telling me she'll be a problem." He went on to say that she wanted a guarantee that the paint wouldn't peel. He said with all the plants around her house and her irrigation system he didn't feel comfortable doing that. Although he would like the work and was confident in his ability to do a great job for her, he decided to pass on the job. Bob has owned his own painting business for 25 years and really knows who his "perfect customer" is. He sees warning signs that tell him when the work will cost him more than he will make. Large businesses often take all customers as long as they believe they have the ability to pay. They don't use a screening method. I remember thinking while I was at AT&T that some customers were more of a headache than they were worth. One customer I remember started her weekend early on Friday afternoon and came back to her office after lunch inebriated. In that condition everything annoyed her so she would start calling us for immediate service on her equipment or adjustments on her bill. She knew all the numbers to call (including the president of the company!). If she didn't get attention she called the person's boss. She sounded pretty normal on the phone so she was taken very seriously. She consistently drained resources. Do you get an inkling that a prospective client will be a problem? What are the warning signs? I know for example that people who believe they know everything and never make a mistake are not good clients for me. I listen for that when I talk to potential clients. Also if someone comes to me for a marriage issue, I know that is not my area of expertise. I could coach the person but because I don't work in this area much it takes me longer to get up to speed on it. Better to refer that client to someone else and to find the lawyers and other professionals that I have a specific business development program for and experience in coaching. It is more profitable for me and more satisfying for my clients. One exercise I do with my clients is to ask them to rate their current clients as A, B, C and D clients. They come up with their own criteria for A (the dream client), B (the dream client in training) C (the average client) and D (the client from hell). The goal is to find a way to have only A and B clients in their practice. Can you see that getting rid of C and D clients would give you extra time to work with the clients you enjoy? By doing this you aren't wasting precious time trying to please someone who needs lots of special attention. Think too about the kind of referrals you will get from C and D clients. We attract people to us that are very much like us so C and D clients probably will refer C and D clients. If you want to have a thriving practice with clients you enjoy working with the first step is to get very clear about your "perfect client". What makes him/her perfect and then what tells you that the prospect sitting in front of you or the one on the phone is that perfect client? Take Action 1. Read Attracting Perfect Customers by Stacey Hall and Jan Brogneiz 2. What are your criteria for A, B, C and D clients? 3. Classify your current and past clients as A, B, C and D clients. What did you learn from the exercise? 4. Can you create a script with several questions for your staff to use so that you don't have to talk to any potential client that is clearly not an A or B client? Do you have a list of other attorneys, doctors, painters etc that they can refer the C and D clients to? About Alvah Parker Alvah Parker is a Business and Career Coach as well as publisher of Parker's Points, an email tip list and Road to Success, an ezine. Parker's Value Program© enables her clients to find their own way to work that is more fulfilling and profitable. Her clients are managers, business owners, sole practioners, attorneys and people in transition. Alvah is found on the web at http://www.asparker.com. She may also be reached at 781-598-0388.
MORE RESOURCES:
Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Power of Thank You Sometimes we loose site of the small things in life that are incredibly important. As a child growing up in America, most people are taught from a very young age to say Thank You in appreciation of a courtesy extended by someone. Creative Emulation In business we have a number of ways or tools that we use to stimulate improvement. Most of us could recite these in our sleep:? Brainstorming? Benchmarking? Problem solvingWhen these things fail, or we realize that perhaps there are better ways to do these approaches, we do the next likely thing and hire a consultant. 10 Tips to Grow Your Business Plain & Simple "Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value." Albert EinsteinRecently I heard a statistic that the majority of businesses operate at 60% of their potential. Top Five 2004 Required Marketing Tips Needed to Succeed When marketing your practice, as well as designing yourbrochure, web site, business card, flier, advertisement, orother marketing effort, we recommend investing the time andeffort needed to effectively address all these tips. Notone of them can be omitted. Niche with Passion and Reap Your Financial Rewards One of the keys to creating a successful business is finding a market niche that is small enough to corner the market but big enough to make money. Let me tell you about a few people who have done that well, and why it works for them. Knowing When To Charge More and To Charge Less More And MoreIt was notable that when I started my business twenty years ago, I came up with a certain "minimum" profit I wanted to make. Within a very short time I didn't feel that profit was enough and I gingerly started to charge more. Good News Travels Fast This newsletter is full of opportunities staring you in the face. If you don't believe me, write and tell me so--and by doing that you'd be proving me right. Promote your Business and Products through Submitting Articles to Top Web Sites Articles submitted to online publishers bring your site new visitors and increase your ezine subscribers. You can also get these benefits by submitting your articles to top Web sites that not only promote your products, but also your services. Fundraising Letters Are Easier To Write With AIDA Learn a lesson from professional direct mail copywriters. They follow a time-tested format in their sales letters, a format that you can also follow when writing direct mail fundraising letters for your non-for-profit organization. Wooing Women With Packaging In just one month three California vineyards have introduced new wine product lines specifically targeted to women. The product offerings are intriguing with names such as "White Lie" and "Mad Housewife" to the latest introduction "Working Girl White. Free or Not Free - That is the Question You may be in business for yourself or as a small company, but no matter what, especially if you just started this business, you need publicity! It's great that your spouse or best friend believes in you. You may even have total strangers tell you what a great idea you have. Make More Money with Marketing Metrics Do you know how effective each of your individual marketing tactics is? Many small business owners market in a vacuum. They spend money on brochures, advertisements and web sites with no real way to tie specific results to specific endeavors. Voice Mail Can Be Your Buddy Voice Mail is a classy name for "answer Machine".Problem is, people at home had answer machineslong before most businesses. B2B Marketing - Why it Should be Subtle Subtle adj. Showing or making, or capable of showing or making, fine distinctions of meaning. How Do You Get Past The Gatekeeper? The best joint ventures are with people in your own network - those that already know, like and trust you. However, there's nothing to stop you from partnering with "cold" contacts - those you've never associated with before, and you would therefore need to build a relationship with. 2 Great, Free Techniques to Get Customers to Come to You, Not the Other Way Around Here is a powerful tip on how to substantially increase the traffic to your business weather it's online or bricks & mortar. The best news is that it's totally free! You will get more targeted traffic to your website and more customers through your front door. The Name Game Pop quiz! If you have to say goodbye to your hard earned money to purchase something you've always wanted, who would you rather trust: an unknown provider or one who has an established name in the industry?The answer to that question shows how important branding has become in recent years. And consequently, brand building has taken an equal significance. Promotional Bags: Your Company Details on Parade The trick to a good promotion is to attach your company details to something useful. Now, there is "private useful" like the promotional toothbrush you use in the privacy of your own bathroom, and there is "public useful" that you use out there where everyone sees you inadvertently parading the promotion. Three Ways to Put Fresh Spins on Old Marketing Concepts Are you struggling to find a new twist for old advertising or marketing campaigns? If you're a small business owner or a copywriter/coach/other creative professional, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Having to come up with new ideas for a long-term client (or even your own business) can be overwhelming. Marketing Copy - Brand Identity Guru Tips on writing great copy for your marketing efforts.It's just four steps that I call the Writing Path1.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
