Clarify the criteria that you use to determine prospects who are potential clients for your services. You want to identify candidates who are both interested in your services and have the most success working with you. While you can ignore the former, your business will benefit if it is able to identify the right clients and make them happy. Let’s look at some ways you can clarify your qualifications criteria.
1. Take a moment to think back on your greatest successes.
What were the commonalities which led to these clients’ great success? What were their key characteristics? What would you say about these clients if you could duplicate them? What was their contribution to their success? What was it that they did differently than clients who had average results?
2. Clarify the characteristics that make a client less successful or unhappy.
What were the “early warning indicators” that these clients might be in trouble with? What were their actions? And what did they do or say? Your marketing copy should not attract less successful clients. Marketing language that is too empathic or has misguided intentions can lead to more complex clients. While I don’t recommend that you reject these clients outright, it is essential to be aware of their identities and how to recognize them. This type of client often causes us to lose our time and create drama. It can also not bring us the joy and profit that we get from working with successful clients.
3. Determine the problems and groups of issues you are looking to address.
It is unlikely that you will be able to solve every problem. You are more likely to specialize in complex issues that involve multiple types of clients. It is essential to identify the details of the problems that you are working with and the people with whom you work. Do not try to be with everyone. You should focus on one segment of the market and allow for variations. All variations have the same problem. This is how they connect. You should provide enough information that the targeted prospect can quickly identify your descriptions and understand your situation.
4. Consider the market segment you wish to expand.
What criteria should you add to your qualification process to increase your client base in this market when you consider the most rewarding clients? You may need to take additional training or improve your credentials. But if that were the case, what criteria would be added to your client qualification process for this market? What is it that makes this segment unique? What makes their problems unique? What are their needs that you can include in your qualification criteria?
5. Do not be afraid to target specific client prospects.
It is easy to allow our fears and doubts to influence us and to let our descriptions reflect those negative feelings. Use criteria that accurately represent your target market prospects. This will help you create a qualification process to attract and close the best clients. Realistic and authentic. Your target market should reflect your qualifications and experience. Do not target a market your background is not familiar with. Focus on the problems that you are most prepared to solve.
Accepting everyone as a client is not necessary. You will end up with dissatisfied or unhappy clients if you get everyone as a client. It is essential to identify the criteria that will allow you to qualify potential clients for your services. How will you remember the people you are looking to work with?
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