I have yet to meet one person who started a real business without expecting to make a profit. Even if you’re not one to obsess over money or material wealth, and you actually have a great emotional investment in the venture, you still need to make profits if you plan to keep going for the long term.

Most people know this. And yet many repeatedly do the opposite, basically sabotaging themselves, by failing to do business in ways that enhance their ability to make profits, and not just money.

I used to struggle with this problem of making every transaction I had with clients profitable. Especially in the early years when I was still not sure if turning down any client, no matter how poorly he offered to pay, could ever be a wise thing to do.

Over the years, I’ve arrived at what I consider a balanced approach to dealing with the challenge.

Below I offer some insights based on my experiences since 2002 till date.

Making Yourself Popular By Being “Price Flexible”: How Far Should You Go?

It’s a known fact that finding clients willing to pay well can be a difficult feat to accomplish on a regular basis.

That’s why some people argue that you have to take bread and butter jobs at times, if business is slow.

When one is starting up, or yet to fully establish, doing that could help to keep things going.

However, at some point you’d need to draw the line.

Even if you badly need new business, it’s crucial that you do not give clients the impression that they can get your services for almost any amount they propose to you because your fees are “flexible”!

Taking on projects without showing consistency in the way you price your offers will damage your credibility, and make the client lose respect for you.

Let me explain.

I’ve never had problems learning new stuff. And that’s because I’m very comfortable asking questions when I don’t know.

Winging it never crosses my mind because I know it often yields more costly and painful outcome later on, after the initial short term benefit.

So, when I struggled in the first few years after I became an entrepreneur, to find clients willing to pay me profitably to develop custom spreadsheet software for them for instance, I asked service providers I knew for help with ideas.

One thing most of them emphasized was the need to avoid being rigid in setting one’s fees, especially when dealing with potential clients.

One way to do this is to use a low risk entry offer to get them on board, and then sell them on your main profit generating offer.

The problem I found with doing the above is that it only works well when you’re dealing with prospects or clients who are fair minded and sincere.

Those who are not are rarely satisfied with any concessions you give them. Rather, they’ll push to get you to do more without offering equivalent benefit to you.

You’re Better Off Setting Standards & Guidelines for Choosing Clients to Work With

After having the unpleasant experience mentioned above more times than I could endure, I decided it was time to find a new way.

So I read widely about methods used and recommended by other service providers mainly online, and made an interesting discovery: the problem I was having was common everywhere!

Clients behave in strangely similar ways in many different parts of the world

Ultimately, each person has to adopt a procedure that ensures he ends up working with the right kind of client at the right kind of rate (read: profitable).

But it does not end there. Being confident of your resolve to deliver on your promise to the client, you must also make her aware of the terms and conditions under which she can reasonably expect you to continue honouring that commitment.

Some people describe the above process as “training their clients”. And in a sense, that’s what it implies.

The clients you choose to work with will be those who accept that you have the competence to give them the results they want.

Such individuals will by implication appreciate that they cannot, for instance, dictate how you should do your work for them. Instead, they’ll abide by agreements reached with you, and gladly follow your lead as you implement the solution.

The interesting thing is that since you are committed and competent, clients who make it easy for you to serve them as outline above, will (all things being equal)
always get what they want from you i.e satisfactory service.

What’s more, since your client recruitment process would have confirmed they are fair minded, there’s a good chance therefore that they’ll openly acknowledge your contributions via testimonials, word of mouth referrals and possibly repeat business as well.

When you think about it, such rewards are bound to eventually make you popular in the market you serve.

Only in this case you would not be popular for being a cheap alternative service provider.

Instead clients would rave about your ability to reliably make their problems go away, or to produce a benefit they desire at a fee that they are happy to pay.

Final Words

Getting clients to work with you as described above won’t be easy.

But if you’re serious about doing business more predictably, it’s a step you need to take.

By the time you have your own method in place, you’ll discover that handling clients and prospects will become almost effortless for you.

And then doing the work you enjoy so much will really be fun – just as it earns you both profits and popularity.

There is absolutely no reason why you cannot have all three benefits (i.e fun, profits and popularity), if you consistently do a good job.

Don’t settle for less.