Many entrepreneurs are so hungry for business that they cost themselves income by working with problem clients or clients that don’t fit their profile and cause more problems than they’re worth.
On today’s Black Entrepreneur Blueprint podcast episode # 492, Jay discusses and dissects how to increase your income by strategically getting rid of problem clients or customers.
CLICK THE LINK TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE
BLACK ENTREPRENEUR BLUEPRINT SHOW NOTES – EPISODE # 492
What’s The Problem?
You have too many problem customers or clients that are holding your business back by sucking too much time. energy and/or resources from you and/or your business. Clients that aren’t worth the headache.
Signs You Have A Problem
- When the client/customer calls or contacts you, and you don’t want to talk to them
- The client/customer always has a problem with something and is never satisfied
- The work you do for the client/customer is not worth the time and aggravation
Why Do You Have The Problem
- You don’t have enough of the right prospects, so you work with anybody (you’re desperate)
- You haven’t devised a system to attract the right type of prospects
- You haven’t told enough people what you do and who you can serve (go in your phone and send 10 voice recordings per day just to let people know what to do with a short elevator pitch and a call to action) Ex: “I help people living in apartments buy their first home by showing them a simple system to get approved for a mortgage.” (I help A, do B, by C).
Solutions To The Problem (attract the right clients or customers)
- Layout your business process up front in a way that will repel problem clients/customers (Ex: who do you work with – your avatar, this is my process, (first I’ll need to ask you some basic questions to see if working together makes sense, next I’ll need to know some basic information to see if I can help you, once that’s determined, here’s what to expect, etc.). CONFIRM THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS AND AGREE TO IT.
- Give them realistic expectations of the process what you expect from them and what they can expect from you. Also, try to provide realistic timelines.
- Identify the true value of a client/customer and decide if the client meets or exceeds your revenue standards (Ex: loan amount and revenue for small loans)
- Position yourself or your business as the authority and solution to your customers’ problems.
- Create a sales system to weed out bad prospects and attract good prospects – you are sifting and sorting, not selling (selling is repelling). Give your prospects work to show that they are truly interested.
ANALOGY OF ROCKS IN A FUNNEL VS WATER IN A FUNNEL – YOU WANT TO OPTIMIZE YOUR CLIENT PORTFOLIO
