Profile Your Preferred Client

Who are the clients you prefer working for? You know, the ones who really like your work and pay you good money, and who you really like working for. Imagine you had an address book full of such people, and only such people—no timewasters! You’d be laughing and business would be booming!

Profile your preferred, ideal client. This will not only direct you towards the diverse people you need to meet, but will also help you mould your message—that is, how you describe your business when you introduce yourself to someone in a networking encounter.

Ask yourself what a preferred client organisation or individual looks like and why they are a perfect fit for you. It’s not that you won’t work for other clients that don’t quite fit the bill, but this particular type of client is your favourite. It may be that this is the kind of client you wish you had, but haven’t managed yet to connect with.

For a concrete example, here’s the profile of my preferred client, with some key words/phrases highlighted.

My preferred client is a life sciences start-up company in the Oxford–Cambridge–London triangle, taking some piece of university research and turning it into a business. The company has a product that is in late preclinical or early-stage clinical trials. It is pre-revenue but has some initial seed funding, so it can spend money doing things right—and can pay me for my services!—but it is looking to raise more funds for further trials. The company’s entire workforce can fit around a boardroom table (ie, I can engage with the whole company all at once). The CEO is my main contact. He is intelligent, numerate and has good leadership skills. He is humble enough to acknowledge that his past success is due in large part to luck and the hard work of others, rather than entirely his own ability. He leads by asking good questions, rather than barking orders. He has some appetite for risk, but is not a reckless gambler with his or other people’s money. He gets it when I talk about managing uncertainty being the key factor for the success of his business.

Action this week! Now create your own profile. If you serve consumer clients, you might start with the following characteristics:

• Gender
• Family structure
• Marital status
• Household income
• Location
• Education
• Children/no children
• Size/kind of dwelling, owned or rented
• Etc.

For business clients, think about:

• Location
• Years in business
• Size of company (revenue)
• Number of employees
• Number of departments
• Speciality or type of business
• Industry
• Public or private
• Etc.

Don’t limit yourself to these lists. Start with demographics and expand to include all elements that apply to you.

You will be much more effective if you can be specific in your description of your preferred client. Anyone listening to you will find it much easier to recognise a potential match within their address book. And when the listener identifies such a match, there’s a good chance you will get a referral.

This article is similar to an educational talk I gave at a BNI Premier networking breakfast. It is based on material in The 29% Solution by Ivan Misner.