How Do You Know If a Client is Right for You?

The right client is the one who you can provide the results they seek. They are the ones who understand the purpose of your time together is to focus on their goals and objectives, and thoughtfully accept solutions. 

Maybe this is the right client in theory, but when you are prospecting, it can be difficult to know if the prospect you meet is right for your consulting services. You might be tempted to accept every new prospect that comes your way, even if they are not always the best fit.  

Before accepting a new client, here are a few questions you might want to ask yourself.  

How will your time be spent?

Think about how much time you have available to give this new prospect and what they expect of your time. Some clients are very demanding. They seem overwhelmed by little things that typically delay achieving results. Your success as their consultant relies on you providing results. Therefore, it is essential that you both commit to spending your time together to focus on getting the results they want.  

Does your service match their needs?

It is important that the prospect is a match for what you are offering. Besides being appropriate for your niche, your ideal client should be in a certain development stage of their business that matches your skills, expertise and services. If they are not, consider what it would take to get them to that point and whether their unmatched needs would dilute your value and retainer fees.  

Other prospects might seem demanding because their needs require different skills and specialties that will overtly challenge you, even if they are in your niche. Therefore, you must clearly understand the results they want and feel comfortable that you can help them achieve the results. 

Do you feel they are the right client? 

Sometimes, the best gauge of a prospect is by your level of excitement. Your instinct is a good indicator of whether you feel you are working with the right client. For example, you must consider time commitment and how you will be treated. You want the easiest client, yet you should be realistic that not all clients are going to be easy to work with. A challenge is one thing that you can accept, even be excited about. But that does not mean you want to work with someone who is disrespectful and demanding.  

Be aware of red flags that indicate added stress, such as contacting you past normal business hours, expecting special attention, scope creeping and telling you how to do your job. It is important that you can establish clear boundaries and mutual respect.  As a consultant you work with your client not for your client. Make sure this distinction is clear.

Have a vetting process.

It is critical that you vet clients before you accept them. Your reputation is at stake. So, is your peace of mind.

Once you verify that they are a match for your services and company, you will need a basic understanding of their business and insight into their personality. Consider what you need to learn upfront and meet with them to review the process and share your principles and expectations for a healthy working relationship.  

You are going to spend a lot of time and energy understanding their business, so they must be worth it. In addition, your results are largely based on creating improvement, so they must be willing to change to improve.  

You want to be able to visualize your working together long-term and you will need shared principles up front.  

Finding the right client is easier with the Profit Enhancer Analysis. We have developed a tool that helps evaluate whether your prospect is ideal based on a set of standard assessments and algorithms. These standards help determine if they have the mindset to change and are a match for your company. Subscribe to the Profit Enhancer Analysis today to experience the power of prospecting with precision.