Thou shalt cultivate A-Grade Customers
A few years ago, on the same day, I worked with two different owners and members of their team. I started the morning with a cranky owner and his discontented team. As a result of our work together their operations had become smooth-running and profits had gone up. Not a single one of them smiled, greeted me, or showed any acknowledgement for the new results they were getting. A lot of the changes had taken repetitive pushing and convincing to make it happen.
I’m Linda Feinholz. I work with business owners who want to create more Control, Value and Freedom in their businesses.
In the afternoon, I walked into a busy cube setting. The owner was on the phone, but three members of his leadership team looked up, smiled, waved if they were on the phone or said “HEY! You’re here!” Often, in our meetings, whether one-on-one or as a group, the light would go off when I shared a new idea and by the end of the meeting they were sorting out an action plan for how to take steps to try it on and test it out.
When I finished my day I made a really simple decision about who I work with and who I want when it comes to my highest priced consulting. The answer is really simple. To only work with smart, generous, appreciative people. Those who come with batteries included and who are turned ON.
When I say batteries included, for me that includes participating in discussions, taking responsibility for themselves, for collaborating and assisting others. They are hungry to learn so they see new opportunities and possibilities. They implement fast. They send referrals. They pay on time. They express their appreciation. These are the criteria that make somebody a great client.
There are 2 reasons YOU need A—grade clients
The First is for the pleasure of helping them with what they need solving.
Over the past 20 years I’ve had clients who are accountants, lawyers, manufacturers, product importers, technology developers, more than 200 clients. Each has given me examples of customers that were a distraction and they were able to track just how much time their staff spent on them.
So what are YOUR criteria for what makes a great client? Can you list the 5 to 10 characteristics?
Anyone who wants to work with you who scores 80% and above They’re a great client. If they’re between 60 and 80, they get in – you can work out how to work with them. If they’re below 60, can you identify when they’d be a misery to work with? You don’t want to let them in your door as customers.
I can promise you that the old 80-20 rule WILL come into play and you and your team will have way too much of your time diverted to dealing with the miserable clients rather than on pleasing your great ones.
The Second reason you want to work with A-Grade clients is that they are PROVEN to predict the growth of your business.
What do I mean by that?
It turns out that when you survey your clients and get a specific score called The Net Promoter Score, it just happens to be PROVEN to predict the upcoming growth of your business. That’s why you see so many companies using these days.
It’s not about customer loyalty, or how nicely your customer service folks answered customer questions. It’s asking clients to score one specific question on a scale of 1 to 10, and to answer one specific open ended question. You get a calculated number from the first question and from the answers to the second question you know what you’d better be working on in the next six months.
There are more than enough fish in the sea, opportunities for you to work with great clients and help A-Grade customers get A-Grade results.
If you’d like to see other strategies for creating predictable growth with wonderful clients in your business, go to OnDay91.com/growth
I look forward to cheering you on!
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P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways we can help you stabilize and grow your business:
1. Grab a free copy of our Guide and Checklist
It’s the roadmap to creating a stable, scalable, valuable business that is so healthy you could be absent for ninety days and it would continue to thrive. — Click Here
2. Join the On Day 91 group and connect with business owners who are resetting and scaling too
It’s our new Facebook community where smart business owners learn to get more control of their business, value for their company, and freedom in how they use their time. — Click Here
3. Join our Momentum Program and be a Case Study
We’re putting together a new case study group at On Day 91 this month… stay tuned for details. If you’d like to work with Linda on your business-pivoting and growth plans… just send her a message with the words “Case Study”. — Click Here
4. Work with Linda and her team privately
If you’d like to work directly with Linda and the On Day 91 team to take you and your business to it’s next level… just send Linda a message and with the word “Private”… tell her a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and we’ll get you all the details! — Click Here
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