Back
PM Forum - Leeds
Building a dream client base
Developing a dream client base was the subject for the latest PM Forum Yorkshire seminar, given by Stephen Holgate from PACE Partners International.
Stephen, who has spent more than 20 years helping businesses to grow with 95% of his work being with professional services, told an audience of marketers and business development managers in Leeds that “focus, target and “future” were their key words. He also said the end-game was to for them to identify actions that would help their firm “win more of the right work from the right clients at the right fee”.
He introduced the PACE Pipeline, which gave five actions required to reach that goal, which were prospecting, promoting, projecting, protecting and pruning.
Steve described prospecting or the search for new clients, as a “numbers game” with too many lists and a scattergun approach. Marketing and business development needed to be in sharp focus and ensure there was no disconnect between their ambitions and the fee-earners’ time.
He reminded his audience of a PM Magazine survey that showed managing partners felt it was most important for marketing to develop relationships with clients. This, he said, could only be done with limited numbers, hence the need for being discerning and making the best use of valuable time.
Steve then turned his thoughts to the fifth element of the Pipeline, which was pruning – the reduction in the client list. This was required, to allow space for growth and to influence the design of the client base for the future. Pruning was about having a vision for the business and focussing on that vision because there was “no point getting somewhere quickly if it’s the wrong place”.
To help formulate what the perfect client base would look like in two to three years time, Stephen suggested the audience send themselves a “postcard from the future” which would include the number of clients, the type of clients, the type of projects, fee levels and profitability, even location.
Developing the theme, Stephen said the pruning process required filters, ie the factors that make a client more attractive or easier to approach and triggers, the factors that make a target client more likely to meet with and ultimately buy from a new adviser. Success in this area would come from marketers supporting fee earners and sharing.
Using a chess analogy of kings, queen, knights, bishops and pawns, he also said it was important to think about who to contact in the client’s organisation and engage with decision-makers and influencers.
Stephen concluded with six points for his audience to remember when building that dream client list: send a postcard from the future, be discerning, prune for growth, define the prospects, think like clients and partner with fee-earners to create maximum impact.
Gideon Fireman
Appeal PR
Back
