Just like when we were kids, some candies are keepers and others are duds (not the milk kind).  Every kid picks the best stuff out of the pile and concentrates there.  Why can’t we carry that message just as obviously and easily into our Small and Medium Businesses (SMB) as grownups?  We need to learn to separate the candy!

Start by evaluating your current client list.  Separate the clients that drive 80% of your revenue from the rest.  These are the potential “keepers”.  Put the next 5-10% revenue earners on a different list.  These are the “groomers”.  Discard the last 10-15% earners.  These are the “losers”.  Don’t even pick up the phone when those guys call.

Next, understand your lists better.  Make every effort to keep that 80% band happy unless a particular client becomes a nightmare or diverges too far from your business model.  If you’ve got one of these, you’ll need to raise the rates for this client, attempt to change the behavior, fire the client, or put up with the situation (highly unadvisable).  With any option you choose, be prepared to loose this business.  This is where the “groomers” list comes in.

In tandem with your top-tier efforts you should be preparing or grooming that second-tier client list to eventually move them into the keeper category.  This may take some coaxing, yet stick with it.  Ask them what they need and how best to fulfill it.  If a second-tier client doesn’t appear that it will be a long-term fit, move on to the next candidate on that list.  Before long, you will understand your second-tier all well as your top-tier.  Then when you have to fire a top-tier candidate, you can fall back to the second tier for future support.

As you trim your lists down, you are building and maintaining quality relationships.  Further, you are cultivating up-and-coming relationships to become top revenue producers.  A good discipline here allows you to keep your business model in tact.  In addition, it eliminates bad business relationships that hang on to the bottom of your revenue list while draining most of your company resources.

Having trouble getting started?  Contact a Kenesco business consultant today http://kenesco.com.

In brief:

• Identify and service your top-tier clients in the manner they expect.
• Identify and cultivate a list of middle-tier clients that will become top producers as you strengthen your relationship with them.
• Learn how to fire bad clients and immediately ditch under-performers.
• Finally, do not go after business simply because it’s there.  Like the kid that ate all the Halloween candy, you’ll get sick and so will your business.
• Contact Kenesco for help http://kenesco.com.

David Knea

CEO, Kenesco

http://kenesco.com

+1-877-218-1879

Filed under: Small and Medium Business (SMB)

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