5 Ways to Gain Clients You Actually Like - BQE Software
Gaining more clients is one thing. Gaining more clients that you actually like is something else entirely. Before you start to see dollar signs when you think about accepting any new client, you need to consider the other side of the proverbial coin. Doing work or providing a service for a client that you don’t like has a number of very important disadvantages.
For starters, you likely won’t enjoy even a moment of your interaction with these people. While nobody is arguing that work should be a picnic, you still need to maintain some level of happiness to get through the day. Clients that you don’t like also seem to take up the most amount of your time for whatever reason. Finding clients that you like will lead to better-quality work and easier interactions, which will ultimately lead to increased productivity and revenues down the road.
Identify Qualities of an Ideal Client
Before you begin the processes of finding more clients that you actually like, one thing that you need to do is determine the qualities that people you want to work with need to have. No two clients are alike, and one can react completely differently from another when presented with the same circumstances. Consider all the factors that make someone easy to work with and keep those in mind when going after potential business. Doing so is an excellent way to actually be able to quickly identify a client from the moment they walk through the door of your office.
Market Yourself
Once you have identified the type of people that you consider to be quality clients, the next thing you need to do is go after those types of people. Market yourself in a very unique way toward the types of people that you actually enjoy producing work for. Make sure that the quality of your work is always up to that level and you will quickly find yourself attracting clients that are as good as possible.
Be Confident
When attracting new clients, it is always important to make sure that you have the utmost confidence in both yourself and the work you do. Clients will be able to tell immediately if you have a high or low value of yourself and may act accordingly. People respect self-confidence. Putting your best foot forward and letting someone know that you truly believe that you are producing the highest quality work possible will go a long way toward making sure that the clients who come along for the ride are people that you will enjoy doing business with.
Show Flexibility
Another important characteristic that you’ll need to explore when gaining positive new clients is the ability to be flexible. Oftentimes, clients will come through the door with a very specific idea in mind, even if that idea isn't necessarily based in any type of reality that you’re familiar with. That idea could be the polar opposite of what you had in mind, but you need to consider the fact that you work for the client and not vice versa. Sticking to your principles on a very important issue is one thing. Refusing to budge, even a little, to meet a client’s expectations is something else. If you are more than willing to meet a client on solid middle ground with regards to how work is progressing, you will find yourself attracting more and more clients that you are actually happy to deal with on a consistent basis.
Fulfill Expectations
You also need to always be sure that you’re actually meeting a client’s needs. Clients enter into a business agreement under the assumption that you’ll be able to service a particular need or fix a particular problem that they have. If you aren’t actually fulfilling your end of that bargain, you’ll find yourself with lower quality clients that you don’t actually like being around. Hence, try to not only meet but also exceed the expectations of your clients.
With these tips in mind, go ahead and perfect the art of attracting and retaining clients that you actually enjoy working with.
About the Author: Bob Wolff is an accountant-turned-Channel Manager at BQE who helps to offer consulting and software solutions for BQE customers. He likes to share his business expertise here on the blog whenever he can.