The Spaghetti Strategy

"Let's see what sticks." said my client during our most recent coaching call.  I lost my professional demeanor and burst out laughing.  Images of clients being thrown up against a wall like a string of spaghetti danced through my head. 

The Spaghetti Strategy is where a company attacks the marketplace, addressing all types of clients with one message point and sees 'what sticks'.  I remember that strategy well. The corporation I had worked for used this strategy over and over again.  And I remember how costly it was and how little ROI it produced.

Strategies for Growth understands how to assess and create the best strategy for clients as we have deployed them all - including The Spaghetti Strategy.  What we have learned over the years is:  the strategy is set by the client.

When deciding which strategy you want to deploy for your sales efforts, work backwards.

• High end clients need high touch 
• Middle market with growth opportunities need continued touch.  As they grow, you grow.
• High visibility clients need upper management touch

My client decided against the Spaghetti Strategy.  She is now deploying a much more high touch approach that will yield 'her 5 dripping roasts' of clients.

What strategies do you use with your high end clients? Comments welcome.

Clients want the "What's in it for ME" factor

Do you know your  'what's-in-it-for-my-clients factor'?  If not, get to know it intimately, inside and out, upside down and sideways and be able to recite it in your sleep.

Fact:  The longer a company is in business the more they get away from knowing, understanding and explaining the 'what's-in-it-for-my-clients' factor.

SFG asks our clients a key question during the intake process:  What do you offer your clients?  This allows us to look at what executives or business owners think they offer their clients. More importantly we learn how they present themselves to their existing and potential clients. And generally they don't articulate it well.

No surprise to us when the UGLY client category has more names than the GOOD category.

Solution Suggestion:  Ask yourself what you can reasonably deliver to your potential and current clients that align with your current resources and personnel. Then stick to that concept.  Stay focused and repetitive and state it clearly to your clients in terms that has meaning for them.

Example:  SFG helps you identify the Good, the Bad and the Ugly clients of your business.  We work with you to convert the Bad to Good, fire the Ugly and create a good client program that keeps the cash flow positive.

So - What in it for YOUR clients?

Top 3 Ways to Fire the Client From Hell*

A large part of my practice is creating strategies to help professional service firms fire their "Ugly" clients. When seeking the payment of an outstanding invoice, it is better to be "two on one." It keeps the focus on getting a check versus a disintegration of the conversation. Having played the role of the 'second' for my clients, I find these tips dead on.

Re-printed from an article at InsideCRM.com*

1) The one who's never satisfied: Even if you come in under budget and over-deliver, this client just isn't happy with your work. He may have something in his mind that he just can't communicate to you, and when you don't deliver this idea that lives in his head, he's disappointed.

How to get out: Ask the client to clearly describe or sketch out what he's looking for, or even send you an example. He may want a product that looks like his friend's, but he's afraid to say so. If you're already done with the project and you've done a great job, don't sweat it. Make it clear to the client, citing any agreements that you've made, that you conformed to the scope of the project and delivered exactly what he asked for.

2) The client who wants you to be something you're not: Some clients have a clear idea in their heads of what they’d like to see from your work. Often, this is good news, but if their specifics don’t line up with the way you like to operate, you may end up butting heads.

How to get out: To reason with this client, you can explain why you prefer to do things the way you do. After all, you're the expert. If he simply doesn't understand or refuses to accept your methods, it's time to cut ties. Explain to him the problems that his requests create for you and let him down easy.

3) The know-it-all: The know-it-all thinks he understands how to do your job because last weekend, his cousin showed him the basics of the computer program you use. Of course, he doesn't realize that he needs your expert skills to use this tool to do the things he really wants to do. He'll tell you exactly what to do and how to do it, turning you into a production house instead of letting you do what you do best.

How to get out: First of all, do your best to remove any references to your name or company on work you've done for this client. Why? Because he'll probably try to tinker around on his own and completely mess up your work in the process. Then, stop the project, get caught up on invoices and give him whatever you've done so far. He'll probably hand it off to his cousin to see if he can finish it.

Strategies for Growth works with service companies on creating Client Retention Programs designed to convert Bad clients to Good and fire the Ugly with an eye on increasing the bottom line. 

*pending reprint approval from InsideCRM.com from their article "Top 10 Ways to Fire the Client from Hell."