Trust Me, You Don’t Want All Of The Clients

It’s an entrepreneur’s nature to hustle for every last drop of potential revenue. When I’m building something all I can think of is making it work at all costs. That means saying yes to a lot of things that I should probably have said no to.

Why do I do this? Because survival.

The problem with saying yes to every possible client is that some of them just wont fit in with my business model or skillset. I end developing a healthy disdain for the client and they end up hating me and the service that I provide.

This is a huge mistake.

You don’t want all of the clients. Even in the most difficult times. Even when you are pinched for cash. Even when your back is up against the wall. You don’t want all of the clients.

You should focus on the right clients.

I often work with businesses that are looking for strategy around their digital platforms and marketing spend. Sometimes I meet with the founders of the business and talk about their readiness. Recently I have met with a few business who are keen to make 2018 the year they get serious about digital. This is fantastic news and means the industry is growing more and more. However just because they think they are ready does not mean they are actually ready to make use of my services. I don’t do the nitty gritty building, tweaking, SEO-ing. I help to develop a strategy for businesses to use when they are rolling out the nitty gritty. I find it extremely hard to separate “I can do it all for you” and “I can offer you this specific service”. It’s really tough to turn away easy work that pays well.

I have learned that the easy money is often the wrong money and down the line will lead to more pain than it’s worth.

Here’s what happens when I work with the wrong kind of business:

1. They want my best but don’t want to pay for it because they don’t understand the value.
2. If they do pay me, they do it begrudgingly.
3. They fight through our time together because we just aren’t a good fit.

When I find the client that is right for the kind of work that I do it is an immediate fit and the pitch process becomes non-existent. There is often a clear meeting of minds and a gap that my skillset can fill. This should be true for the products you are pitching. If there is a gap that you can fill then there’s a clear reason to work with you and buy your product. If there’s no clear value proposition then you are trying to fit your product or service into a business that probably doesn’t need you. But you don’t want to lose the business and they don’t want to keep looking. So you settle for the cash and they settle for the solution.

Often it’s the work you say no to that will define your business. This is easier said than done when you’re staring down the barrel of the broke gun. Try as hard as you can to define your target customers and go after them with vicious intent.

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