Nightmare client? You know you can avoid that, right?
We were onsite with an agency leadership team recently and we spent quite a bit of time defining their ideal client.?(Download our sweet spot client filter here if you want to do the same thing).
Knowing exactly who you want/can serve and delight is a critical step in your biz dev efforts.?Rather than chasing everyone, why wouldn’t you narrow down to those ideal prospects that you have the best shot at winning AND keeping?
This makes the work of finding your next client so much easier, satisfying, and long-term — rewarding.?I’ve never understood why more agencies don’t literally have a checklist of ideal client traits and truths.
But, it is equally important to know who you don’t want to serve.?Whose needs are a bad fit for what you do brilliantly??Who is going to be too demanding or unforgiving? Who is going to be a drain on your resources, time, and most important — yours or your team’s spirit?
We’ve all made the mistake. More than once. We kept working for a client who just made it harder to do the work. Or we could never make them quite happy. Or what they really needed wasn’t our forté.?Or worst of all — they just weren’t who you thought they were as people or as a company.
Have you ever been fired by a client and instead of freaking out, you were relieved??Me too.?That’s why we need the “Not for Us” list as much as we need the list of traits that make someone our ideal match.
Make it your goal to create both in the next 30 days.?I think you’ll be delighted at both the clients it helps you find AND the clients it helps you avoid!
Neora, Brand Partner, Making People Better Look Better, Feel Better, Live Better.
1 年Clarity on what you offer and discernment on the best matches are key!
Director of Strategy and Mad Scientist ?? Think Bill Nye for Predictive ROI
1 年Dang this photo really stopped my scrolling haha
Oh Drew, good post! Sometime the "client from hell" experiences help us gain a better understanding of exactly who our sweet spot clients should be. And they give us some great stories to share, don't they? See you at the BABA Summit!
big tantrum
1 年Well done, Drew. Not every client is the right client. Not every agency is the right agency. Homework does wonders before the marriage.
Built for people in business who Thryv on human connections and growth.
1 年I would love to hear your thoughts on why Video production Agencies continue to get sucked into working with less-than-desirable clients. ICP or lack of is common, In a deeper dive, I have found by many of our clients it is because they feel they have to take them as they are uncertain about their cash. Two-thirds of Businesses don't look forward (Forecast and manage their business development efforts effectively), so fear gets the better of them. Happens even to the best of them. Here is a link to a recent case study Dryrun did with Guy Bauer of Umaul t(Award-winning, top video production agency founder on Clutch) https://www.loom.com/share/d43231f1a70f42f1a1b840bdb33182d0 Drew McLellan a quick thing I have learned about Linkedin articles, they, for some weird reason don't get many views. If you were to take the same article, save it as a PDF, and then attach it as a document to a post, Linkedin gives 10X + more views. Hope this helps. I appreciate your efforts.