Book Available in Pre-Release: Chapter 5 Excerpt

One of my most favorite subjects and chapters in the second edition B.Y.O.B.- Build Your Own Business, Don't Be Your Own Boss book is on Client Management. Clients are truly the biggest asset of a service and consulting oriented business as they typically represent over 90% of tangible value to this type of business.

It's sad but understandable how this important piece and system to a business is often overlooked, under-appreciated and outright unknown by many technology consulting and service business owners. That’s why I spend considerable time in the book breaking down the different sections of this system.

Today a quick excerpt of one of the longest chapters in the second edition B.Y.O.B.- Build Your Own Business, Don't Be Your Own Boss book:

Chapter 5
Client Management: Protect & Utilize Your Biggest Business Asset
What exactly is client management? What we are talking about is how to handle customers or clients that you are currently working with as well as those you have previously worked with.

It seems as though we may be jumping the gun here because we haven’t discussed marketing and getting clients but there is a reason for it. Part of it is preparation for your new clients and the other reason is to show you that if you already have 1 or 100 clients, this subject is going to make the need to get new clients not as important.

That may be a lot to handle now so let’s just keep moving along and you will see where I’m going soon.

The Start of the Relationship

Whether it’s part of your responsibility or someone else’s in your business, making the first contact with a potential client count is huge. This often sets the tone for the rest of the relationship… if it ever even gets to that point.

When you first start courting a potential client that has shown interest in having you work with them, it’s important to get to know their business as much as possible. This is necessary even before you or your salespeople or whoever first contacts them for a person to person conversation makes that move.

At this point, all your business and their business have in common is you knowing their background so it shows your interest in them as something other than the next buck in the bank.

Again, whether this is your business responsibility or someone else’s it’s extremely important to start off a new project, even with an old client, by making the whole job as clear as possible.

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This first part of the chapter continues on with how to establish a relationship with a potential client and moves on to other sections such as:

Keeping Clients & You Happy While You Are Working With Them
What to Do When Things Go Wrong
Keeping In Touch & Making the Most of It
80/20 Rule

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Although all chapters in this book are essential and not about any fluff or BS, this chapter is especially important. Important enough that it comes before Marketing as it is a system that, when done right, cuts your marketing costs significantly. Read the book and find out why.

Our next venture into the book will be about Chapter 6 on Employees & Subcontractors that are in place to help you maximize your business's earning potential.

More information on grabbing a copy of the book is found here http://consultantscoach.com/byobbook.php



To Your Business Success-

George J Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach