Who Are Your Elite Clients?

A no brainer desire for business is owners is to be able to create maximum impact with minimum effort.  This may seem like a fairy tale, but when it comes to your clients, where you focus your energy can have that maximum impact on your business.
To help identify your elite clients, think of the concept of Pareto’s Law.  The law states that 80% of effects  stem from 20% of causes.  This principle has also shown to be true for business; typically 80% of our business comes from 20% of our customers (your elite).
Knowing this is one thing.  How we deal with it is another.  Typically, how we treat our elite clients is by taking them for granted. They are low maintenance and provide a lot of value.  Conversely we tend to spend a lot of time with the customers who complain a lot, never appreciate what you do, and demand a lot of our time.  Ironically, these customers have spent very little on your product or service.

Rather than spend time with your problem clients, shift your focus.  This is done by first firing customers who just don’t seem to have an appreciation for what you do, or at the very least, calling them to inform them that the relationship will be different.  Then take that energy and focus it where it needs to be, your elite clients.
If you are not sure who your elite clients are, here are some questions to help you with that, as well developing the key relationships that you already know about:

• List 5 business relationships or clients that you believe offer the most untapped potential, along with your first step or plan of action to turn that potential into production.
• Describe your ideal client.
• What areas/sources of your business is generating the majority of my profits?
• From what areas/sources do most of your “headaches” in business come from?
• What kind of people have you attracted and enjoyed working with up to date?
• Which clients do you find that you have developed a relationship with beyond business?

These are just some of the questions to help you uncover a niche or specific group of clients that you can start focusing your relationship efforts on.  When you identify these key client relationships, you can create opportunities for maximum impact and with less effort.  Identify these elite customers as soon as possible.

How have you been able to identify key relationships in your business?  What were the results?

By Brandon Allen - Jan 20 , 2011

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