I am in the final stages of selling one of my businesses and
will be focusing all my energy on my consulting and professional speaking
business, going forward. This new focus has made me take a really hard look at
the strategy I have employed to date, to effectively grow my consulting and
speaking business. It has highlighted the need for me to focus on building a
core of clients or what I refer to as my “Magnificent
50”. These are 50 carefully selected clients, who I will focus most, if not
all of my attention on going forward.
Prioritise Your Efforts
When you focus your energy on a few priorities, or in this case
a few carefully selected clients, you are able to dramatically improve your
productivity, efficiency and effectiveness. In other words your carefully selected
“Magnificent 50” clients, who give
you 100 times more than your average client in sales revenue, cost you a lot
less headaches and are easier to service, offer you a far greater return for
the amount of time you spend working for and with them. When you are able to
narrow the universe of available clients down to only your magnificent 50, you
will get to give and get far more value from each client.
How do you Identify your
“Magnificent 50”
The
best way I have found to identify and filter the perfect client, to become one
of my 50 priority clients is to look at three criteria:
·
Do
they need the product or service you have to offer and when presented with your
product or service solution, can they quickly recognise the value you bring.
·
Do
they see the great value proposition you offer and once converted, do they
present you with a huge lifetime sales value, because of their transaction
size, frequency of purchases, upsell opportunities and potential to offer you
great referrals to other qualified clients.
·
Are
they are easy to reach, resulting in low marketing, advertising and sales time
and effort. (This is less important than the first two)
How do you Select and
Service a “Magnificent 50” Client
Action Idea: Explore every
potential prospect, using the three criteria above and narrow your list of
prospects and clients down to only 50. This prioritisation will allow you to
focus your energy and will allow you to not only get these perfect clients to know,
like, trust and see your product or service offering as the perfect value
proposition, but because you are focused, you will consistently exceed their
expectations. Effectively closing the door on anyone else, who may want to take
one of these clients from you.
Making This Work for You
Action Idea: Once you have identified your
“Magnificent 50” client list. The next step is to start the process of building
a mutually beneficial relationship with them. Put yourself in their shoes and
ask yourself the following questions:
- What are they lying awake at night thinking about, how can you help them to stop worrying?
- What challenges, concerns, fears or worries do they experience, which you could eliminate for them?
- What outcomes are they trying to achieve and how can your product or service assist them to achieve their goals?
- What needs do they have, which you can satisfy, with your product or service? It is crucial that you identify their real need, not one you perceive them to have.
Offer them a Tailor Made
Solution
After
exploring all the elements described above, develop a tailor made solution for
their unique challenges, pains and desires, offering specific solutions, by
focusing on what matters most to them. This customised approach will allow you
to dazzle them with your understanding of their unique needs and drive them to
choose you as a preferred supplier and partner in their business.
No Need to Ever Make Cold
Calls Again
Cold
calls are for rookies and are a very ineffectual way of working with any new
prospects. The way to begin working with any new prospect is to first discover
a relationship bridge, between you and your new prospect. Use LinkedIn or some
other credible networking source to get referred to any of your “Magnificent
50” clients.
The
more trusted the source, who is referring you, the easier it will be to start
building the relationship. If you brainstorm and think about any prospect
enough, there is always someone who can refer you. Explore your LinkedIn
connections and see if there is a connection. Try to identify who their vendors
are (accountants, attorneys, or any other clients you may have in common). The
secret to make this work for you is to find someone credible to get you
personally introduced.
Knock Their Socks off
Once
the door is open, make sure that you have researched them and that you have
identified their specific needs. Now simply present them with a really unique,
tailor made package, which will wow them. Stay focused and work on your
priorities daily. As you grow your “Magnificent 50” you will dramatically
increase your profitability and reduce your stress levels. This is an
incredibly valuable strategy, which will serve you going forward. The time and
energy you put into this now, will offer you massive returns in the future.
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