Last week, I suggested that after Labor Day, you need to bet on the ball and develop your marketing and business plans for 2023. And hopefully, you have started that or are planning to shortly. Today, I have another task for you once that is done. Time to clean house!
While this is a perfect time to get rid of all the older paper stuff you have been accumulating and thin out the prospective trip files that never materialized. But it is also a great time to get rid of some clients!
Huh?
Yes. You need to toss some of them away. Look, we all have clients that are a pain in the butt for any number of reasons. Maybe they always kick tires but never buy; they are simply too needy or just are not the type of client you want. No matter the reason, you know you cringe when you see their name pop up in the caller-ID. So, why not zap them and start working with clients you do like?
I am not suggesting a massive purge because a client’s status can change, but I am suggesting that you take a long hard look at your existing database and see where you can trim. Get rid of the bad and the unprofitable.
The Bad
What’s a bad client? Bad clients are different for all of us, but for me, they are the ones that can never commit in a reasonable timeframe. You know the ones—you quote them on a flight today, and they get back to you three weeks later, shocked that the price changed. I don’t mind handholding. That’s part of what we do, but the ones that will require ridiculous and unreasonable amounts of handholding can go. I also want to ditch the ones that don’t respect my time and call demanding answers yet never bother to return my call. In my CRM, I tag these clients “MID”–Maybe If Desperate.
The Unprofitable
I hate losing money. And I did not go into business to lose money! Each year, I take some time and calculate the true cost of a booking. I consider the sales process and the follow-up after the sale. And I always find that the $75 commission check from the “cheap of the week supplier” costs you more than that! Look at your clients and see which ones are unprofitable. Sure, some profitable ones will book a loser here and there. Leave them alone and look for the ones where you consistently spend hours and hours to meet an unrealistic budget with a non-preferred supplier. Get rid of them, or at least tag them in your CRM as a money loser, so at least you know what you are getting yourself into the next time!
Now ALL clients are valuable to varying degrees. But if their value has diminished, you need to know it.
So, after you are done finalizing that marketing plan—think about pruning your clients—just a little!
