Ideal Clients - Who are They and Where Do You Find Them?

Ideal clients are the ones who are perfect for you. They are the clients who understand your offering, are happy with your services, are willing to refer you to their friends, return for repeat appointments themselves (where appropriate), who pay their bills on time, who show up on time for their appointments, who give you 24 hours notice when they need to cancel their appointment.

We all have our own criteria to define the perfect client. What are yours? If you are not clear about this aspect of your business you will spend an extraordinary amount of time chasing the wrong people and, if you do enroll them as clients, the relationship will always struggle.

The not-ideal client will not show up for appointments, they will be late payers, they will not refer business to you. In short, they will be difficult to deal with.

In their book "Attracting Perfect Customers" Hall and Brogniez use the metaphor of a lighthouse. The lighthouse does not chase ships up and down the shore line in an attempt to serve them. It stands firm and is clear about its purpose. The ships know where the lighthouse is and come to rely on it being there.

Once you are clear about who your ideal clients are, focus everything around these clients and stand still, let them find you. Stand firm around your boundaries and your offer. As soon as you begin to try to accommodate client needs which are not aligned with your own standards and values you are on a slippery slope.

Think about it. If you call one of your own professional advisers for an appointment you expect to be given a choice of a couple of times and dates from which to choose. Is that not so? Why then, when clients call you would you be tempted to see them out of hours, change your rate or jump through any other kind of hoop they care to throw at you? Clients will not respect you more for accommodating them.

So an exercise to work on is around who would be your ideal client?

Describe their attributes and characteristics, think about their needs and also make a declaration about your own requirements. Write all of this down and review it after a couple of days, refine it if necessary. This is one of the foundation stones of building a successful practice. You may think you have done this already and maybe you have, but indulge me, do it again. Be clear about your offer, who would want to benefit from that offer, who you will work with, what you do not do and who you do not work with. If you do not have this clarity how are you going to be able to discern your ideal clients from the not-ideal?

Donnie Harrison is a Coach and Business Mentor working primarily with clients who are setting up or building a Professional Practice in the healthcare sector - be it traditional, complementary or alternative. Further information from http://donnieharrison.com

---

Cross-selling for Increased Sales, Profits, and Customer Satisfaction

Cross-selling - the art of selling for non-salespeopleCross-selling is the... Read More

How To Attract Buyers Using The Right Sales Terminology

It is always important that you use the right terms... Read More

One Simple Persuasion Secret That Will Blow The Roof Off Your Sales

The next time you're shopping for clothes in a department... Read More

10 Killer Ways To Multiply Your Sales

Would you like to multiply your web site sales? Or... Read More

Probe Before You Sell

When selling a product to a customer, it is very... Read More

Just Ask

For the 'big three' automobile sales consultants, the 'employee discount... Read More

5 Small Steps To Ultimate Sales Success

"Selling worth doing is worth doing badly ? at first!"... Read More

Increase Your Sales With an Incredible Offer

What are you selling?Coaching? Consulting? Professional services? A product? Information?To... Read More

Get Over Your Resistance to Sales

I have found that there are two best ways to... Read More

Sales Techniques to Help the Customer to Buy

Three times I have revisited Turkey after living in the... Read More

The Canned Sales Pitch Myth

Canned or scripted sales approaches are rarely successful, because one... Read More

Maximize Sales and Minimize Returns with Learning Styles

In the day-to-day operation of an online business we can... Read More

The Myth of the Natural Born Sales Wonder

When I researched the field of using personality inventories to... Read More

Smart Discounting: The Right Way To Discount Your Products

If a store had a great discount in the middle... Read More

The Multiplying Factor In Sales Success

Mark has an attitude! Mark had worked in an operational... Read More

Being Politically Correct When Selling Can Cost You Sales

In our culture it is basically un-American for a prospective... Read More

Sales: The Secrets Of Super Salesmanship Exposed

Most people tremble when they hear the word "sales".This explains... Read More

What You Can Learn From The Movie Business

Maybe everything you need to know you can learn from... Read More

Equal Chance of Winning The Sale? Bah!

Are you going to win this deal? With just less... Read More

Customers Do Not Know How To Ask Good Questions ? That Is Your Job

Customers will ask you a question and you'll proceed to... Read More

How Pareto?s Principle Impacts Your Sales Success

Pareto's Principle {the 80/20 rule) is vividly illustrated in the... Read More

Boost Your Sales With These Proven Responses

When five years ago I was faced with having to... Read More

Close More Sales With This Very Simple 3 Step Sales Process.

As Financial Services Sales Professional you need to build trust... Read More

Objections Are Buying Signals? Usually!

How well do you handle objections?The fact is, most people... Read More

Sales Discipline: Five Steps To Recover From A Lost Sale

Ever lost a sale? Of course you have, we all... Read More

11 Proven Sales Strategies to Help You Close The Deal

There are a number of sales closing strategies that you... Read More

Follow-Up Marketing: How to Win More Sales with Less Effort

A study done by the Association of Sales Executives revealed... Read More

Shout At Your Customers - Theyre Hard of Hearing!

Some people say we live in the Information Age.I call... Read More

The Dos and Donts of an Elevator Pitch

The dreaded question: "What exactly does your company do?" It's... Read More

Sales Skills for the Non Sales Professional

Have you ever wondered how in the heck you're going... Read More

The Makings of a Salesman

Salesmanship is the force that moves business. Without it all... Read More

Build Rapport by Mirroring

Traditionally, salespeople look for something in the office that begs... Read More

Sales and the City

It's all about relationships!Here is how a popular TV show... Read More