6 Questions to Ask to Identify Your Ideal Client
In a perfect world, every aspect of your business, from your elevator pitch to your website, would connect with customers who need you most and are willing to pay for your services. Yet, identifying and speaking directly to your ideal client is not always easy.
CPAs are numbers people, so they tend to take a quantitative approach to identifying their ideal client. They may create a spreadsheet of their current clients, sort by industry or service line and then select their ideal client based on who rises to the top. The problem is that this approach doesn’t facilitate discussion, and it can lead firms to select “ideal” clients from dwindling industries, unprofitable service lines and areas that nobody in the firm is actually passionate about.
To clarify who your ideal client is and make better marketing and business development decisions, ask yourself these six questions.
1. Which types of clients do you want more of?
If I could give you 10 clients today who you were excited to bring on, how would you describe them? Again, these aren’t necessarily the top-dollar clients, although they could be. Maybe someone in your firm is passionate about helping restaurants with cash flow or providing strategic planning to mature businesses. Maybe your ideal client has at least $5 million in annual revenues and could benefit from outsourced CFO services. Whatever it is, articulate it. When I ask our clients this question, I usually find that firm leaders have a lot of clarity.
2. What are the best and worst characteristics of your ideal client?
Make a two-column list on a sheet of paper or a whiteboard and write them out. After all, even ideal clients can be challenging.
Here’s a sample:
| BEST CHARACTERISTICS | WORST CHARACTERISTICS |
|---|---|
| Doesn’t argue about invoices | Forces you to bring your A-game to every interaction |
| Takes your advice | Wants us to bring new solutions to the table |
| Comes to us proactively when they’re considering a major transaction or initiative | Requires us to get better every year |
3. What do your ideal clients value?
What your ideal clients value may not be what you’re selling or delivering on. For example, your client might be paying you for a tax return and audited financial statements, but value that you answer when they call. Or perhaps they value that the technology you use to collaborate and exchange documents is easy to use. These might not be bullet points in your engagement or service agreement, but they’re important to the client.
4. How much revenue do these clients generate for your firm?
Here’s an interesting way to tackle this: Separate the members of your management team or committee into small groups and have them answer this question together before sharing their answers with the larger group. We recently did this with a firm, and it led to eye-opening results. One group said their ideal client generates $12,000 per year in revenue, while another said $100,000 in revenue. Of course, neither answer is right or wrong, but it’s helpful to discuss why there is such a vast difference.
Sometimes, we find that the group or individual that chooses a low revenue amount simply does so to protect their existing clients. It’s much better to have a productive discussion about how much revenue your ideal client would generate than setting the threshold low for all the wrong reasons, thereby bringing in more clients who aren’t ideal.
5. What are three common services the ideal client buys from the firm?
What three services make up your relationship with your ideal client? For example, your firm may offer 30 different services, but perhaps your ideal client buys client accounting services (CAS), tax and cash flow management. This question may help you spot new areas of opportunity within your current service offerings.
6. What are three additional services this client could grow into?
After you identify three common services, think about which three services naturally follow from those. If an existing client is only buying tax preparation from you, it’s unlikely they’re going to jump right into buying IT consulting or strategic planning. However, if they’re already buying CAS, tax and cash flow management, then budget vs. actual reviews, wealth management services and strategic planning could be natural next steps.
Getting your leadership team together to ask these questions will allow you to make better decisions about how you invest in marketing and business development, technology, talent and process to attract your ideal client.
The original article appeard on the Boomer Consulting site.