Pick your clients

"You don't want to do business with people who eat breakfast together at 7 am" – my longtime friend told me, referring to an invitation to a morning networking event for entrepreneurs... and I agreed with him. But why?

Let's start with the fact that I see nothing wrong with consuming the most important meal of the day at that time, and I wholeheartedly support good networking. I have nothing against those entrepreneurs who combine these activities. Simply put, navigating through the dark landscape of the January capital to expand potential contacts is not in my nature. In other words, I assumed that I would not meet people like me there.

The above example is a kind of simplification, yet we all primarily do business with people we like—those who are on the same wavelength as us.

Here, you are free to disagree with me, as in business, there is no place for emotions by design; what matters is delivering the promised solution and the financial result of the company. Businesses must earn to exist. Yes, exactly, in the broader perspective that's true.

However, at the level of interpersonal cooperation, it looks a bit different, and after all, it is people who cooperate with each other, not brands per se. This is also very clear in the case of micro and small businesses, where the owners are often directly involved in sales and collaborations.

For chemistry to occur, there must be some common ground, shared interests, rituals, or beliefs. Of course, it's not always possible, but in the end, we would like to work with fantastic people—from our point of view.

But is that really the case?

In pure theory, we cannot be romantic about business. By romanticism, I mean attributing too many additional emotions to our work. For example, we should not give another chance to our supplier after he screwed up again, simply because he's a great guy and we like him as a person.

Reversing the situation to where we are the sellers, in pure theory, we should always aim for the transaction. No matter who the client is and what they are like, we should be solely focused on making the sale. After all, every business is based on earning money, and according to the oldest legends, the customer is our boss.

Certain industries do just fine operating under these assumptions, with your neighborhood grocery store being the most down-to-earth example. Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether regular customers, such as Mr. Joe, who often buys cigarettes, are nasty people or not.

For this reason, this text is primarily addressed to those who sell services, though in the case of B2B, the product often requires close cooperation and service as well.

Pick your customers

Picking customers is crucial primarily because the most valuable capital for all of us is time. When we collaborate with someone completely different from us, many aspects make our work difficult. We lose many hours even on simple communication, and in such projects, even formalities can be a nightmare.

Everyone has encountered someone with whom, despite efforts, it simply didn't work. Hours were spent doing everything as best as we could until we reached the point where the project was simply no longer profitable, and the amount of additional work significantly outweighed the potential benefits. This is exactly what we should avoid.

Business is about relationships, and those should be right for us. When people who agree with our life-business philosophy come to us, work is a pure pleasure. The atmosphere and openness mean that projects are completed in the blink of an eye. For such customers, we happily do something extra, work faster, and still always find time for a bit of privacy, which only strengthens our relationships. In short, both parties win.

So how do we ensure that the right people come to us?

The brand is the answer. Remember that with every project, ad, or ordinary conversation with a client, you and the other employees continuously build the image of one brand. And the image you create will influence the type of customers you attract.

This happens whether you want it or not—so it's worth having full control over it.

Therefore, to build the brand consciously and coherently, you first need a common denominator for all your actions. Here, the number one tool comes to the rescue, namely the brand archetype. Archetypes are sets of characteristics that aim to give your brand a human face. With them, you will more easily evoke the right emotions in your audience, and they will be able to identify with your brand much faster.

Understanding the archetype of your own brand can take many hours, and there's no point in going into detail here, as there is a wealth of literature on the subject. I have long relied on the division proposed in the book "The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes." If you need help with this, I warmly invite you to my dedicated workshop.

In my work, I've encountered situations where two co-owners had completely different views on how their brand should be perceived. Literally, their visions were at opposite ends, and they realized this only when we started discussing the archetype of the brand. If such differences appear at the top of management, you can imagine what it looks like among the rest of the employees when this matter is unattended.

Extreme and simple examples illustrate best. Imagine a sales department where an employee answers the phone saying, "Hey, what's up?" (which may be completely fine depending on the brand, product, and target group). However, the call is from a potential client acquired in a campaign for exclusive watches aimed at CEOs in the FinTech industry. The situation can immediately embarrass the customer and weaken their trust in the brand.

A common denominator, in the form of an archetype, consciously implemented at every level, especially in sales and marketing departments, helps avoid such discrepancies.

That is just the first benefit and not the essence of this text.

Additional magic happens when our communication is consistent and aligned with our vision. We apply a sort of filter to the business.

When someone completely disagrees with our approach, they will decide not to move forward with us and will find someone else closer to their ideology. Natural selection of customers—we attract those similar to us and repel those from a completely different story.

As a result, we spend our precious time almost exclusively with customers who resonate with us, which is an undervalued saving of money as well.

But what should we do with customers who got through the filter and we feel the journey will be challenging?

Never kick anyone out. Just because we don't want to cooperate directly with someone doesn't mean we can't help them. You know your industry, the competition, and other related companies. Why not direct the needy to someone else? A person whom you don't serve personally but suggest someone who will remember that you helped. In the future, they will likely want to reciprocate in some way—perhaps even by recommending your services/products. And they will certainly have a good opinion of your brand.

Also, I cannot overlook the aspect of employment—this approach will not only help attract the right customers but also the right employees.

In summary, don't waste valuable time on clients who won't appreciate it. Focus on building deeper relationships with those who understand your way of working and show who you are to attract the right characters to your business.

And now, think about your favorite customers with whom you haven't had the chance to collaborate recently, and give them a call to catch up.