Weeding Out Clients Will Grow Your Business

Growing a thriving business is a lot like tending a garden. Yes, sometimes even including the mud and the muck. In my years of coaching entrepreneurs build successful businesses, I've noticed many of them spend too much time on less than ideal clients.

Like weeds, less than ideal clients seem to spring up almost overnight. Before you know it, you find yourself spending more and more time trying to please them, or sort through their issues. It isn't long before they've taken over, leaving little time, room, or energy for the easy clients hanging out on the fringes.

This isn't an issue regulated to just newer business owners either. Even well established professionals can easily find themselves tending to weedy (also known as 'needy') clients, rather than to their primary blooming fruit.

One thing is certain, it's a ton easier to keep the weedy clients at bay, than it is to try and eradicate them once they've taken root. Here are my top 3 recommendations on how to keep your client garden full of gorgeous, delightful clients...and the weeds outside:

#1 Be specific about who you work with and who you don't.
It is powerful and confidence building to say to a prospective client, 'I work best with people who (fill in the blank).' Likewise, there is nothing wrong with saying, 'I don't work with (fill in the blank).' You are saving yourself a lot of time and heartache, preventing missed opportunities, and demonstrating respect for the other person's needs as well.

#2 Set clear standards in advance
When I was a new coach, each time I had a client delay and make excuses for not completing their welcome packet forms, I knew the relationship was off to a rocky start. Not saying anything just allowed the situation to continue, and it never worked out positively. I quickly learned to make requests early, be forgiving when 'life happens', and demonstrate by example what I expected with my clients. It worked!

#3 Let prospective clients who want fringe services go
It's tempting when you hear a prospective client say, 'Yes, let's work together...but can you...' My advice? Listen to what they're asking. Then be realistic—is their special request on the fringe of what you offer? Is it for a service you no longer provide? What may seem like a special request to a client may be something you can easily provide. Or not. Very often, prospective clients who start out making obvious special requests end up becoming a big weed in your garden.

You don't need the distraction when there are plenty of other pretty, easy-care, blooming client flowers available. And believe me, there ARE plenty of them out there!