If you’ve been a service provider for quite a while, you’ll know that the quality of your clients heavily determines the future of your business. Client-provider relationships are the foundation that businesses build on, and the quality of that foundation affects the quality of your work and company health.
We’ve definitely seen that to be true at our business. But the good news is that we’ve found so many clients that we love. And we’d like to think that they love us too! Right, clients?
We know what it’s like to have clients that you don’t enjoy working with. They’re not necessarily bad people. It just doesn’t work out. And in the years we’ve been in the storytelling and filmmaking business, we’d like to think we’ve found the way to working with clients that we love working with.
All About The Money?
What’s the number one thing that comes into mind when we describe the ideal client? Most will agree that it has to do with the cheques they’re writing. It’s not sleazy and shallow to think that. A business is run by cash flow after all. Money might not be everything when running a business, but it’s a great indicator of your success.
When a client is willing to pay for your services at the rate that you’re going for, you know that you’re off to a good start. Sadly, not everyone will be willing to take your services at your rate. And that’s fine. That’s because you have to realize that you can’t please everyone. You were meant to work for some people and not for others. That’s how business goes.
Find Clients who Share Your Values
So how do you find clients that will want to pay for your rate and work with you long term? t But to begin with, do you know what your business values are? What do you believe in? Where do you invest most of your time, money and effort?
At Pluggas, for instance, we put a lot of weight on pre-production. That’s because we value preparation and proactivity. We don’t want to wing the stories we tell. We want to as deliberate as possible when coming up with the storyline. So we look for clients who value preparation just as much as we do. And in the end, it always turns out great most of the time.
Fewer Revisions, More Agreements
A while back, we had one project where there were zero revisions. I kid you not! The client found it to be spot on right away. One thing about that client is that we were sure that their values aligned with ours. So in the end, we were able to come up with a product that hit the mark at the first try.
Do you know what your values are? More importantly, are you acting on those values? And are you actively looking for people and putting them through a strict value filter? If you work only with people who share your values, you’ll have to say “no” a lot. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In the end, you’ll be happy you said “no” to people who you shouldn’t be working with so you can make room for those who you should be.
