In an ideal world, each client wants to feel like the most important person in your world. Yet as we never want to be dependent on one client, building client diversity is vital.

Is the question, how much of our attention should be paid to our current clients and how much to building new ones? Or is the question how can we both delight our customers and build at the same time?

Not all actions are equal: 20% of actions produce 80% of results, and 80% of profits often come from 20% of customers. Success lies in being effective, not simply busy.

So, the three steps to high-impact client care:

1. Nurture: Which clients are most valuable to us, and why? Apply your energy to nurture profitable, long-term relationships and those that are a joy to work with
2. Let go: Let go of clients that are energy draining for little return, and those that pay late, or not at all!
3. Delight: Increase actions that delight your valued clients. If a personal phone call with your client builds trust more than an impersonal survey, increase the calls and reduce the survey

And three steps to successful client building:

1. Identify: Use data insights (your own experience and market research) to find ideal clients.
2. Qualify: Not everyone is your client! Look for “The MAN” – those who have the Money, the Authority to buy and the Need for your products. Target them and stay away from the rest.
3. Action: Increase successful sales with targeted actions. Focus energy on opportunities that are a match for your niche business. Pick’n Pay might run blanket adverts to a national audience, but you want to only target those who are a match for what you sell.

So yes, we must both delight our current clients and build new ones. The skill is getting the balance right and being effective with the time and resources we have.

How much time and energy do YOU give to caring for the old and bringing in the new?