When you became a self-employed service professional, what criteria did you apply in accepting clients?
Like most of us, you probably accepted as clients whoever wanted whatever service you could provide.
Good, So-So & Not-So-Good Clients
As a result, you would have generated a mixed bag of clients. Some were good clients. Others were so-so and still others were not so good.
Good clients are those people you love to serve. They keep coming back for more services, willingly pay your fees, and also refer friends and acquaintances to you. And if that’s not enough, serving good clients helps you feel good about yourself and your work. For service professionals, few things are better than good clients with whom you enjoy mutually beneficial relationships.
So-so clients are …well, they’re so-so. They’re pleasant enough to interact with and easily satisfied. Serving them neither energizes nor drains you. Overall, you hardly think about them between their infrequent appearances. As bored employees describe their jobs, these clients help pay the bills.
Your not-so-good clients are those people you rather not even associate with, let alone serve. They drain your energy, frustrate you, or bring out the worst side of your otherwise likeable nature.
Ideal Clients
Successfully marketing professional services involves making many decisions about a wide range of issues. Deciding the kinds of clients that you would like to serve is one such issue.
Since it’s your choice as to which kinds of clients that you want to serve, why not choose to serve good clients? In fact, why not take this choice one step further and choose to serve ideal clients?
Think of ideal clients as good clients with friend benefits. Ideal clients offer the same benefits outlined above for good clients. Ideal clients relationships also include the joy of interacting with like-minded people who share common values and interests.
When serving ideal clients, not only will you love what you are doing, you will get even better at doing it. And besides, life is too short to settle for anything less than the best.
