We’ve all heard the saying that we need to have the right employees on our commercial bus, have you ever thought that you also need to have the right customers on the bus? Just like having the wrong employees on your team, the wrong customers can hurt your business and create a lifestyle you don’t enjoy.
Many of us in our small business IT practices start by screening every possible piece of business that crossed the threshold of our business in the early days; we call this picking the low-hanging fruit. We needed to do this to pay our employees, bills, and maybe even have a salary left over. Unfortunately for many IT professionals they have never matured in their thinking and after several years of being in business they are still working for clients who don’t value them, their own investments in technology, they haggle over every bill, you can never satisfy them no matter what. what happens you do or may even abuse you and your staff.
What separates IT companies that are doing successful business from those that are struggling? It’s one thing that successful firms understand exactly what clients they’re looking for and who they want to do business with. This message is posted everywhere in your business, on your website, and every employee knows exactly what the ideal customer looks like. However, they continually strive to improve their customer qualification process to attract only the right type of customers that fit their business model. What can your business do to attract the customers you want so you can have a fulfilling and fulfilling business life?
Do your homework – Before you even commit to an initial meeting or interview, it is very important that you do your homework on the prospect you are going to see. Research their company on the web, check your local Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau to see if there is anything published about them. Find out what community involvement they have, ask your friends in the industry, or check your local yellow pages.
History – What if they are a new business or a startup? Entrepreneurs and business owners are always on the go, check out the track record of the company’s directors or management team. Research previous corporations the management team has been involved with, interview former employees or team members from the previous corporations, discuss their experiences with the previous management team with industry experts and other companies.
Ask questions – During the initial meeting ask some very basic questions. Remember that in the initial meeting you are not there to find solutions to your problems, you are there to qualify the opportunity for your business. Ask questions like “Why did you and your last provider part ways?”, “If the existing provider changed something, what would it be?”, “Who was the previous provider?” or “How do you value technology?” There are many questions you can ask during the first meeting. What you are looking to achieve is a trend that can be repeated with you. There are many small businesses that rotate through IT vendors and it may be your turn.
FinancialCheck – It is essential to do your financial research. The only thing I have learned in business is to prepare a simple financial questionnaire. This could be a customer request form that the potential customer must return before doing business with you. Tip: Always look for a complete form, if it’s not complete you need to dig into what the prospect may be hiding.
Set Qualification Criteria – Set up a scorecard system to qualify your prospects or qualification criteria and then be firm on what it takes to become a customer of your corporation. Never make exceptions, special circumstances, variables or specific cases. You must be firm when determining the clients you want in your business. If you get this wrong, you will immediately lose the trust of your staff and equipment.
Stick to your guns – Never compromise your values! Once your company has come up with best practices and other standard ways of doing business, stick with them. Don’t change the way you do business once you’ve proven that you’re successful. Yes, you need to tweak things from time to time, however, don’t change what you do to win the business of a potential new customer. If they’re serious about working with you, they’ll understand why you make recommendations based on your proven solutions and best practices.
Business in handshakes means nothing – Business can no longer be done with a handshake. As much as it pains me to say this, it is true. The days of one person’s word are gone. Get everything in writing. IT agreements, purchase orders, and other forms of written confirmation and approval are a must in today’s world. Don’t get caught up in a “they said/we said” debate. You will always end up with the shortest straw.
To grow a sustainable small business IT practice, you need to be very selective in the business you want to work with. When you can become selective and know exactly what you want, these doors will begin to open for you. You will find yourself in situations where these opportunities will appear, you will connect with the right people who will introduce you to the right people, and your business will thrive.
To get there you have to know what you want. Are you willing to take this step to achieve the life you want in your business? Do you have what it takes to reach higher on the tree for the least picked fruit? What will you need to take this next step?
“The client is always right, not every client is right for us,” said Vlad Mazek of Orlando’s Ownwebnow on his blog on March 30, 2008. This is very true; There is nothing wrong with claiming that the customer is always right when you have the right customers in your business. Do your homework in advance and qualify everyone you want to do business with to limit bad apples in the future.
