MARKETING FEATURE
The Secret Of Strategic Client
Selection BY ROBIN ROBINS
Here ’ s a real secret the most successful MSPs and consulting firms know ( and practice ) that nearly every single struggling or mediocre MSP or consulting firm does not : We are very selective about what clients and opportunities we choose .
Willie Sutton , one of the most infamous bank robbers of all time , summed this up perfectly when asked why he robbed banks . He said , “ Because that ’ s where the money is .”
All too often , small MSPs get caught up in the desperate , take-anyone approach to business : If you can fog a mirror and wave a dollar , I ’ ll take you as a client . Then they make the second mistake of not firing any clients out of fear of being unable to replace the income they represent , their desire to avoid the confrontation of firing them , or the guilt brought on by telling a client you need to pay us more or find another IT company . They ’ re “ robbing ” convenience stores , where there ’ s very little money kept in the cash register and the clerk is very likely to have a shotgun and a bad attitude .
Every successful MSP I know who raised themselves from struggle and poverty to big profits and growth went through a process of “ trading up ” their clients as they grew . They were unafraid to go upstream in the size of opportunities they went after as they grew in resources , knowledge base , and capabilities , always looking to go for clients that were slightly out of their comfort zone .
This is the secret to success many don ’ t talk about : only taking clients you can win with . You don ’ t get brownie points for taking difficult clients in impossible situations where success is highly unlikely or will at least take a lot of “ fixing .” An MSP who comes to me looking to add a million in new MRR to their business but has zero marketing systems in place , no list , no marketing automation platform , no sales team to help pull on the oars , no sales process because they ’ ve lived off the low-hanging fruit of referrals for years ( meaning they ’ ve never had to hunt ), and are unwilling or unable to put adequate investment into new client acquisition is not someone I want as a private client . There ’ s just too much disrepair and too many unrealistic expectations to allow me to have guaranteed success . That ’ s why we have programs in place that are one-to-many ; it allows me to develop clients to a point where I can take them on successfully as private consulting clients and have a good foundation to work with .
In fact , I maintain a “ client selection criteria ” checklist to remind me of what I need a client to have or be in order for the relationship to have any chance of being both profitable and enjoyable for both parties . Below are three of the seven things that are on my list — I would urge you to come up with your own list of criteria for what an ideal client is , and then hold yourself accountable by not taking anyone who doesn ’ t meet your criteria .
1 . Size Of Opportunity .
A friend of mine consults restaurant owners on how to make more money with better marketing and adding catering as a profit center . He ’ s brilliant at it , and his systems work . The problem is , most restaurants have very , very low margins . A restaurant owner can have a busy weekend and only make a few thousand dollars . Therefore , if my friend shows them how to grow profits from $ 1,000 a week to $ 2,000 a week , essentially doubling their profits , the opportunity represented only adds up to a $ 52,000 increase over a year . Therefore , he ’ s limited in what he can charge if he sells to the average restaurant owner . If they pay him $ 2,200 a month for whatever it is he ’ s delivering , they lose money . Therefore , what he can charge is capped by the opportunity size relative to his customer .
Compare that to my business , where the average members ’ MRR is roughly $ 2,200 with clients staying well over three years , bringing the total contract worth to $ 100,000 after upgrades , projects , and referrals are added in . If a client pays me $ 2,000 a month and only gets one new client a month , they ’ ve more than paid for the service . Compare that to a sponsor who can spend
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