The Ideal Client – Part 3
(Third in a three-part series)
Finding, cultivating and retaining ideal clients is central to the happy and successful life of the professional.
Finding the ideal client has been the subject of previous Briefings, but by way of review and in simple terms, the trick is in the application of the Law of Professional Attraction, that is, doing what it takes to let the world, and in particular your ideal clients, know exactly what your specific Gifting is and how you can apply your Gifting to satisfy their Need. In a perfect world, your name comes immediately to mind when the ideal client has a need.
Where most of us fall down is in the cultivation and retention of the ideal client. In very simple terms, clients who feel unloved and forgotten will move on, and clients whose situations are not monitored are liability traps.
Cultivating clients is pretty straightforward. Treating them respectfully, communicating in an open, understandable, and timely fashion, being candid about the good and the bad, and not forgetting them when the business is done. Retention flows directly from these habits.
Not surprisingly, good client management habits benefit both the client and the professional. Careful monitoring and documentation, for example, are paramount to safe practice, but are also the foundation of ensuring that client and professional are tightly on the same page.
As always, it’s in the details and the daily habits that excellent client management habits exist. And of course it’s no surprise that the closer the alignment of your Giftings and the clients’ Needs, the more natural will be your happy interaction with clients, and the better your cultivation, retention, and management of clients will be.
If these concepts make sense to you but you feel you need a little guidance or direction in making them apply, drop me a note.