Fire Bad Clients?
Do you know what makes a good customer for your company? I'll
bet you do. You know whether your company is better with the
Fortune 500 or the Inc. 500. You know what product lines your
operations service best and where the quality is the highest.
You know what industries are willing to pay a premium for your
level of customer care. You probably even know which customers
are likely to have a long and profitable relationship with you
and which are just looking for the lowest bidder for this
quarter's supplies.
On the other hand, you know how to identify bad customers, too.
The poor fits, the bad credit risks, and the demanding QA
departments. The ones that ask for expensive prototypes with
little probability of a significant purchase. Unfortunately, we
book these either because they are easy sales or because we
don't have enough good business ready to close. As a result, we
waste valuable personal time and company resources on clients
that will never show a significant return on the investment.
Open up your Daytimer? right now and identify three clients that
you know, in your heart of hearts, are bad fits for your
company. Take this list to your sales manager and operations
director and see if they agree. Now comes the hard part. Fire
the bad clients!
I was facilitating a discussion at one of my clients last week
when this very issue came up. It became clear that too many
scarce engineering resources were being spent on projects that
would never pay back the investment. As we outlined a typical
'bad client', the room erupted in a chorus of "I know which
client that is!" We all agreed that this project had to be ended
for the good of the company and, in fact, for the good of the
client who would eventually be under-served. I asked, "Who's
going to call the client and tell them the bad news?" Without
hesitation the most senior representative in the room raised his
hand. Without one complaint Isaac said, "It's my client. I'll
call them."
We can't focus on the winners until we shed the losers. Help
your company win by understanding what makes a good client. Be
willing to turn down bad business even when it means a big
commission. Help your company win by following Isaac's example.
It's your client. Make the call.
For a free copy of "5 Steps to Firing a Client", email
article7@waterhousegroup.com and ask for article #7.
Now go find some good business for your company!
Stephen Waterhouse is Principal and Founder of Waterhouse Group
(www.waterhousegroup.com). They specialize in helping companies
increase their sales and profits. He can be reached at
1-800-57-LEARN or steve@waterhousegroup.com.
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