Editor's Note: In the article, "Along the Path to Refining Your Practice: Identifying the Right Clients," we examined the idea the perhaps some of your clients are not a good fit for your practice and some are simply not profitable. Gale Kirsopp is presenting a session at the "Scaling New Heights®" conference entitled “Revolving Door: Who is Coming to Your Front Door & How to Show Them the Backdoor." In this article, she elaborates on one of the basic concept for this session.
As a small business advisor, we work hard to attract new clients: we network, maintain our website, be active on social media, and the list goes on. So why are you reading an article about how to show some of these prospective clients the door, or better yet have them not show up at your front door.
I want you to bring more profitable clients to your front door and show the less profitable clients the backdoor.
So let’s address the 400-pound gorilla in the room – we want to help people. It’s in our DNA. When we welcome everyone who comes to our door, we have to be a jack-of-all-trades and expert of none. We do not have processes and procedures we can consistently follow.
Our intake process changes with each client because each client wants different services. The process for getting information from the client changes for each client, the schedule of when services will be completed changes for each client, how and when our clients pay us varies.
This is a lot of variances you're trying to balance, all to "help." When we have clearly defined what we do and the processes we use, we establish our expertise.
Anyone coming to us will know: We work in a particular niche. The hidden cost of not having a well-defined niche is how often the ideal client has not called after reviewing your website or LinkedIn profile, because they want an expert in their industry.
There is a skill in turning people away, and in the process, becoming their hero. The first step is knowing where your referrals/cold calls are coming from, how they heard about you in the first place.
The second step is having a short, respectful conversation with the prospect, no more than two to three minutes, and helping them get to where they need to be. This is not an off-the-cuff conversation; this is a well-planned message that leaves the prospect grateful and on their way.
Let me be very clear, what you say and how you say it will directly affect the outcome. If done well, the prospective client you turned away may be the source of your next referral.
You can find more details about each of the sessions in a downloadable document located here: Download Course Descriptions.
Reminder: As your ever-faithful Sherpas, we stand ready to guide and encourage you along your chosen path. If you would like to consult with us about your path, please email me at coliver@woodard.com or Liz at ecolley@woodard.com.
Be sure to tell us your goals and what you hope to learn so we can recommend appropriate paths (i.e., tracks) during your conference experience.
For 18 years Gale Kirsopp has been working with the QuickBooks product line as a back-office business consultant, entrepreneur and national speaker. During this time, Gale has actively participated in the technology driven realignment of the accounting industry. Gale’s goal is to provide her clients a better understanding of what technologies are available and how these technologies can improve productivity. Better processes increase the timeliness of useful data, allowing her clients to make better managerial decisions based on their accounting information and not based on gut assumptions. She is QuickBooks Advanced Certified, Enterprise Solutions Certified, QBO Certified and is a Gold Clio Certified Consultant.