Michael Hyatt blogger and CEO of Thomas Nelson the world’s largest Christian Publisher talks about something people in sales often learn by hard experience with customers (and some people learn it in marriage much to their dismay!)… high maintenance clients probably aren’t worth the hassle.
We fantasize about that “big score”… the client whose business is going to “make us rich”. But sometimes getting the order is the worst thing that can happen.
Take the business that “wants Wal Mart’s account”… if you get that account you will be squeezed to the extreme to make sure you can provide a product that meets minimal quality standards but fits in with Wal Mart’s pricing strategy.
One local dairy, the story goes, wanted that account. In theory, there’d be enough business from Wal Mart to underwrite the expenses of their operation and make other lines more profitable.
In reality, the demands of that one account made them go out and buy another dairy entirely. They made the “Wal Mart” brand there and kept their original business intact. Why? The end product was so different it couldn’t be accommodated by their normal procedures.
If you don’t have enough money lying around to go out and buy an extra manufacturing plant to accommodate a high maintenance client, read this: 3 Reasons You Can’t Afford That High Maintenance Client
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