You Can’t Compete With Everyone: Choose Your Ideal Client

You can’t compete with everyone. There is no point in competing with everyone.

The trap of competing with everyone

Sometimes we fall for the trap of wanting to compete with everyone. At times, when things are slow, you start to feel that maybe you have to do something else and try.

Understand how your market thinks

Once you begin to understand the market, you understand the variety of thinking that exists. Some people want an ERP simply for invoicing and maybe stock control. For them, nothing else matters, and there is a high chance they just want the cheapest option.

Who I target: visionaries

I have slowly shifted to targeting people I like to call visionaries. By visionary, I mean someone who wants to use a system their way and not change their ways for the system. I go out of my way to give my ideal client solutions the way they want them, not the way a system is intended to be used.

A client who only wants the cheapest option is a poor fit for how I work. They want everything, for the lowest price, with my full time, and the next cheaper option will take them away from me.

Being selective

So I have slowly started to be selective about the clients I take on. I have even said no when someone tried to negotiate the price down too far.

Peace of mind keeps clients for the long run

When someone gets my system, they get an experience: a system, an analyst, a well-wisher and someone they can count on. People underestimate how much peace of mind counts. Knowing there is someone to go to when something goes wrong makes a world of difference to a business owner.

Those are the clients I try to have: the ones who will not leave for the next cheap thing and are there for the long run.

This is my analysis of the situation so far, and it may refine and develop over time. A year ago, I had a different idea.

Who is your ideal client, and what have you learnt to say no to?