Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of a series of articles about The Pumpkin Plan and how this plan can apply to reprographics firms. Click here to read the previous installment.
By Ed Avis
A key part of the Pumpkin Plan is determining who your ideal clients are. In this installment, we’ll talk about how you can do this.
The author of the book suggests you start the process by thinking about your favorite client and identifying why they are your favorite – is it their attitude? The quantity of work they bring you? How well the work fits your capabilities?
What if you can’t identify a favorite? Then imagine one. Write down all the characteristics of the client you would love to have, even if no current client has all those characteristics.
The author suggests some key characteristics of good clients regardless of the industry:
- They pay their bills on time
- They refer other clients to you
- They tell you if you make a mistake and let you fix it
- They tell you what they need
- They have lots of work to give you
Add your own key characteristics – for example, maybe some clients give you work that you particularly enjoy doing, or you like working with non-profits or serving digital-only clients – and create a list of all of these characteristics.
Now list your clients on a chart in descending order of revenue, with room for a number of columns to the right (an Excel chart would work for this). Immediately cross out any clients who make you cringe when you think about them, because they should be the first to go.
Now create columns for each of the following essentials:
- Pays Fast
- Repeat Revenue
- Revenue Potential
- Communication
- Fix it (do they let you fix errors?)
Honestly grade each client A to F in these areas. These are probably the most important characteristics for success, and if a client seriously fails in one or more of these areas, they are candidates for removal.
Now create three columns for these characteristics:
- Opportunity (does the client open interesting new routes for your business?)
- Referrals (do you get new clients through this client?)
- History (do you have deep, positive history with this client?)
Add more columns for other characteristics that you feel are important. List as many as you want – everything you think is important is worth including.
Now rate each client with a simple Yes or No in all of the columns besides those top five, which you filled with grades of A to F. These additional columns are tie-breakers.
A key point: Resist the temptation to tweak your answers for clients you just don’t want to give up, even if they really are not worth your time anymore. You need an honest assessment of which of your clients are truly benefiting the long-term goals of your business.
Now create columns for what the author calls “Immutable Laws.” These are values that you adhere to and want your clients to adhere to. For example, if you don’t like whiny complainers, that might be an immutable law. Another might be that you don’t like people who waste money. Or people who act like they are superior to everyone else.
Obviously, most of a reprographics shop’s clients are not individuals, and the immutable laws you select may not apply to the whole company. But you should be able to apply them to the people you deal with most often, and that’s worth doing.
You ultimately will do better working with clients who match your immutable laws, the author asserts, because these values touch on how they run their business.
For example, the author says one of his immutable laws is that he is frugal. Consequently, he believes he would not work well with a client who orders the flashy, expensive version of a product instead of the sturdy, practical version. Their values simply would not mesh, making both unhappy.
The bottom line with the immutable laws concept is that you are more likely to succeed – and you will definitely be happier – when your clients match your values and you enjoy working with them. Both sides will be happier with the relationship.
So add a rating in the immutable laws columns of each of your clients, honestly noting if they appear to share those values with you.
Once you have graded all of your clients according to all of these characteristics, you’re ready to start weeding out those who are not helping you. We’ll dive into that in the next installment.
If you don’t want to wait for my subsequent articles, obviously you can find the Pumpkin Plan in any bookstore or library. If you read it, please let me know if – and how – you are applying it to your business.