The 80-20 Golden Rule for Winning
More Business
Whether you
are a freelancer or an agency, this is a golden rule that works for both, when
you looking to win more business.
I have, very
often, in my enthusiasm and weak moments spent hours/days/months chasing a new
client. And then in my wakeful hours regretted every such moment; as most of
such chasing turned out to be unfruitful. I chased new clients, they ran away,
I did not get them and I lost work on hand too. At the least, I lost precious
time that I could have spent on ‘work in hand’.
Does it mean I should never chase new
clients?
Nope!
It means
that I should chase old clients.
“Huh? You out of your mind or
something? Why chase old clients? They are yours anyways!!” sneers my inner
voice.
No my dear
Watson, you chase new work from old clients. I can bet you that you will end up
winning quite some work this way.
“How? Why?” – Inner voice
Because, my
dear, a known devil is better than an unknown devil. And you are the known devil
for your old client.
Here’s why the client prefers the
Known Devil:
a) The client knows you well enough to
trust you (the fact he is still sticking with you shows his trust in you amply).
b) The client knows the way you work (he
knows that when you say you will deliver tomorrow, the max you will take is another
day to deliver). But the client does not know about the new agency and is
terrified they may not deliver at all.
c) The client has included you in his
comfort zone and unless it’s an emergency (like when the boss is angling for
another agency), he would choose to stick with you
d) It has been proven that 80% of new
business comes from 20% of your customers/clients and 20% comes from the 80%
whom you have never met or are meeting for the first time.
e) Obviously, there are no prizes for
guessing, whom I will chase – the 20%
who are my special clients- trusted, good old known devils.
f) It has also been found that if the
client is looking for a fresh approach and invites a pitch from new agencies, eventually they will give you part of the work or come back to you in a couple
of years with the whole brand jingbang.
In this
dog-eat-dog word, the known devil wins!
