A couple weeks ago we talked about how Grunder Landscaping Co. is screening potential clients, and this week we wanted to go into more detail about who you should be looking for during your screening process: your ideal client.
Again and again we see teams struggle with the gap between the sales team, with their single-minded focus on selling work, and the production team, who then has to actually deliver on what the former promised. Our best solution to getting the sales and production teams in sync is to be on the same page about who your company's ideal client is.
We define ideal client as clients who are enjoyable, sustainable, and profitable to work with.
Enjoyable
Our ideal client treats our team like the professionals they are, and the work we're doing on their property is work we're good at and like doing.
Sustainable
Jobs should lead to more jobs, either on this client's property or with the people they know. Typically this looks like our maintenance clients asking us to do enhancements or our design-build clients signing up for maintenance services.
Profitable
If we aren't profitable, we won't be in business long. Sales teams must be able to close the sale at a price that the production team can execute on. If this is a problem at your company, work on standardizing your bidding process. We recommend using an industry-specific software for best results.
This week, work on defining your own ideal client: who is enjoyable, sustainable, and profitable for your company to work with? What are their attributes? The easiest way to do this is to think of your one existing client who fits this mold. How could you find more clients just like them?
Especially this year, when demand is through the roof and we are able to be choosier with which sales fill our schedule, make sure you're spending time with the right clients for your business.
In our upcoming Virtual Sales Bootcamp on June 29-30, I will share more on how we have defined our ideal client at Grunder Landscaping Co., and what we're doing to make sure that we're finding more clients like them. If your sales team needs help prioritizing prospects, screening, or even finding new leads make sure you join us.
Marty Grunder
President & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.