20+ years ago I was being considered for what I thought would be a pretty cool job. "You should see a contract offer coming your way in the next 24 hours." Those were the last words that I ever heard from the person who would have been my boss. Crickets... After realizing the job wasn't going to happen I spoke to a very close friend who it turns out got the job that I so coveted. No hard feelings. In fact, my friend and I spoke often and they shared with me various stories that told me God did not make a mistake. That was not the job for me but my friend was perfectly suited. What a great life and business lesson. Every opportunity is not the right opportunity. As a business owner you should know that every customer is not the right customer. You have to know your ideal customer.
I had a conversation with a business leader recently that made me recall the job that thankfully got away. We discussed the importance of choosing with whom we work and a few points every business owner should consider.
Know Your Ideal Customer
Do you know exactly who you want to do business with? Can you articulate who constitutes the ideal customer to whom you want to sell? If a customer walked into your place of business do your employees know the first few questions to ask that will tell them immediately if this is the perfect customer? If you can't identify your ideal customer you have work to be done. I remember years ago I was facilitating a session with a home services client and we had the Owner along with the General Sales Manager in the room. The owner was describing their ideal customer and after about 10 minutes the General Sales Manager couldn't take it any longer. "Wait a minute, that's not our customer at all." Then the GSM proceeded to describe to us their true customer. Everybody on the team must be able to identify the true ideal customer because if you can't, you will waste lots of time, energy, and money chasing after the wrong customers.
Know What Customers You Don't Want
Sticking with the job narrative, remember the "want ads" in the newspaper. We would go through a page filled with hundreds of jobs but you would only circle 3 or 4 because you knew which ones to pursue. There's no difference in that and knowing which clients/customers you want to take on. Countless times I've heard business owners say they want every customer who walks in the door or calls on the phone. Let me say this loud and clear "You Do Not Want Every Customer And That's Okay!" First there are customers for whom your way of doing business is not a good fit. If you are a business built on premium value and the corresponding premium pricing structure, you will never be able to satisfy a customer who is looking for the low cost provider. In fact, when I have told people "I can't take your money because this is not the right fit" they are grateful. Save yourself and your team the time, know what customers you don't want and don't take their business.
Ignore Red Herring Customers
I love a good red herring in a movie. The movie opens and a character seems so important to the plot and 10 minutes into the movie the character is killed off, never to be heard from again. In movies red herrings are great devices but Red Herring Customers are horrible in a business setting. A Red Herring Customer is an exception and not the rule. The big whale of a client that one of your reps closed. They're ready to spend 10 times your average ticket. The only problem is your margin has to be so tight that you're loosing money on the deal. On top of that you can't keep up with your typical white glove level of service and your team is so distracted with this customer that it impacts your service to your most consistent and most profitable customers. This happens more than we realize. Be aware of the Red Herring Customers and respectfully avoid their business.
Stay Focused
It's important that you and your team know the customers that you want, know what customers you don't want, and ignore the red herring customers. That's easier said than done. So the last tip is Stay Focused! Staying focused on the customers you want is challenging for the business owner. It's even more challenging for the sales person on your team who may be down on their numbers and needs to make a sale. They will look at that customer you don't want or look at that red herring customer with full throated commission breath that can be smelled a mile away. It's important that you keep your team focused on your ideal customer. Reward the behavior that you want to duplicate with compensation structures that reward going after the right customers. Make sure that your marketing efforts are geared towards attracting the right customers and no one else. Make sure your meetings and trainings focus on that ideal customer. In other words make sure that your structure and your sales culture reflects the pursuit of the ideal customer.
The Joy Of This Blog
The Joy of this Blog is that there are only so many hours in the day and only so many customers you can pursue. That means it's okay spend your precious time with prospects worth the time, energy, and capital that it takes to be successful. Need help finding the right customers? The Joy Of Business Strategy can help you Plan - Focus - Win!