Past clients–stocks you did well with but no longer own: These might be good for you again-call all of your past clients who could be meaningful in the future.Think about your clients as an investment portfolio. Segment your client base and employ distinct strategies for each segment. The practical implications of this are beautifully illustrated in “The Strategic Power of Saying No” (Susan Bishop, HBR, 11/1/99).Ĥ. Knowing which clients are right for you, and having the discipline to turn down those who aren’t, can really unlock the growth of your business–especially if you’re small. Clarify whom you do and do not want as a client. Set out options and contingency plans that you periodically review togetherģ.Shower prospective clients with testimonials and offer twice as many references as they’d like.Offer flexibility in structuring projects and invoicing. Invest extra time and energy to understand your client’s environment and the different ways it may impact his business. Here are some tips for reducing your client’s uncertainty: Most clients I work with are having great difficulty planning and budgeting right now–depending on which newspaper I read, for example, we are either emerging from a recession or still deeply mired in one (I hope the former!). Why shouldn’t you do this as an individual professional? At the beginning of each year, leading firms like McKinsey and Goldman Sachs set up formal Ask yourself a simple question: What new knowledge–insight and wisdom that I will ultimately offer to my clients and embed in my day-to-day work with them–am I going to create this year? This “knowledge” could derive from many different things, including: an article that you write, new research that you conduct, a particularly interesting or different piece of client work that you undertake, a significant course or workshop you attend, etc. Virtually all professional services are knowledge businesses, and the profit in most product businesses comes from knowledge-based services that are sold alongside the product (Jack Welch was no dummy, and began pushing the growth of GE’s services years ago Gerstner has done the same at IBM). Here are 6 suggestions to consider as you think about making this year a success: This approach usually produces results that not only exceed any reasonable goals I could have imagined, but which are often different and more creative than anything envisioned by a written plan-such is the nature of client relationships. Creating quantitative goals and detailed plans can be useful but also dry and limiting I focus instead on trying to do a few things extremely well. January is a good time to reflect on ways to grow your client base during the coming year. Steps You Should Take Now to Grow Your Client Base IDEAS FOR ADDING VALUE AND BUILDING LOYALTY ← Back Steps to Grow Your Client Base Now
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