The 7 Surefire Signs of Clients to Avoid

The 7 Surefire Signs of Clients to Avoid
By Fabienne Fredrickson

You’ve heard me get on my soapbox several times about needing to really hone in on your target audience BEFORE you go out there and market yourself extensively. One of the major reasons is that most people try to market to EVERYBODY, fearing that if they niche themselves too much, they’ll narrow down their prospective client pool too much.

We now know that this is actually not true, quite the contrary, because experts make more per hour than generalists, the media is ONLY looking for experts and not jacks-of-all-trades, experts stand out in the marketplace and it’s much easier to market to a specific group than it is to a whole mess of people. Otherwise, our message isn’t compelling enough and we don’t catch anyone’s attention.

Today, I want to take you on a different spin of your “ideal client.” I want to talk to you about the surefire signs of clients to AVOID; at least in my point of view. Some of you may have read on my website www.ClientAttraction.com that I am very selective about whom I work with privately. I cherry-pick my clients and go so far as to state exactly who I work with (personality-wise) and whom I don’t on my website.

I talk about working best with “high achieving go-getters who are super-ready to get going and just want to know exactly what steps to take to get clients” and that “I don't enjoy working with whiners or skeptics or people who make excuses because the results aren't the same.”

I know it’s a little bold, and I’m certain it ticks off some people (usually though, it’s the people who recognize themselves as bad cases of whiners, skeptics, and people with a general bad or negative attitude about everything). The funny thing is; my ideal clients say they LOVE that part of my website and it strengthens their conviction that they want to work with me. Many say they have a “Go girl!” feeling when they read what I wrote. :))

So, if it’s a little bit controversial to some, why do I have this on my site? Because, probably like you, in the beginning, I took on ANY client that was breathing, had some cash, and was remotely interested in working with me, despite sometimes having a strong feeling in my gut that I was doing the wrong thing and might regret it. I was that desperate for clients. (Ever been there? It’s not a good feeling.)

Lo and behold, every single time I took on one of these non-ideal clients, I regretted it. I ignored all the signs, shunned my intuition, and later wished I hadn’t taken on that client. It was always a disaster. Either their attitude made me think “why is this person SO negative!?” or their credit cards declined, or perhaps they stopped working with me after just one month, blaming me for the fact they weren’t getting their work done.

These were the same people who became what I now call “heart-sink” appointments. You know the ones. They’re the people you see on your client appointment schedule for that day and your heart sinks. Instead of being psyched for your call, you dread it, drag your feet on preparing for their stuff and generally get in a bad mood knowing you’ll have to talk to them.

With an average of 10 clients a day, back-to-back, I can’t afford to have my energy brought down by ONE client who’s a chronic crankypants. It’s just not fair to the other clients whom I’m psyched to speak to and work with, those I get off the phone with saying “YESSS! She is doing sooooo well.” (By the way, my practice is full of these people now.)

If you’re not having that “YESSS!!!” feeling with every client, you may need to listen to your intuition more and better yet, make a list of your own surefire signs NOT to pursue a working relationship with someone, no matter how much you want the money.

Here’s what I noticed as surefire signs, in my own experience, of non-ideal clients:

1. People who don’t show up for the call and make up not-so-believable excuses for why they didn’t show up. (I take a no-excuses approach to getting clients and to life in general. I expect the same from my clients.)



2. People who don’t fill out the paperwork or follow instructions sent to them prior to our first call. (I give a lot of useful paperwork during my coaching and if someone’s not going to do it in the beginning, they’ll probably not do it later either.)



3. People who aren’t nice to my client relationship manager, Naomi. (That is a HUGE no-no for me. If someone treats my business partner like less than equal from the get-go, they’ll have ZERO chance of working with me.)



4. People who are rude to me too. (‘nuf said?)



5. People who whine, complain, or resist everything, make excuses, or sometimes even lie. (I prefer to hang out with really fun, upbeat people, and people who are “up” to good things.)



6. People who ask me if I offer a money-back guarantee. (If they’re already thinking it won’t work for them, they’re right; it probably won’t work for them.)



7. People who try to negotiate my fees, despite the fact that I offer different programs at different affordable price points, one for every budget level. (I don’t believe in de-valuing my services. It’s been my experience that people who take an inch will always try to take a mile down the road.)

Have you ever experienced people doing one or more of these things? Perhaps not yet. But it may happen over the years, and after a while, you’ll start recognizing the signs and their consequences.

How go I deal with these situations? If they’re a prospective client, I just don’t go further in the relationship, or explain to them that I’m probably not the right coach for them. If they’re a new client and I didn’t spot this behavior at the beginning, then I find a graceful way to end the relationship. It happens only rarely, but when it needs to happen, I do what it takes.

Let’s face it. Non-ideal clients will never give you referrals (and if they do, those referrals will also be non-ideal), will never write you glowing testimonials, and might even start spreading the word in the marketplace that you’re not that good at what you do. Stay away from them!

At this point in my practice, being that it’s virtually always full and that I have standards for how I want to work, I have no room for people to run their stuff on me anymore. It may sound a little harsh, but whenever I talk about this in seminars, I see a lot of people nodding their heads, who know EXACTLY what I mean, and who wish they didn’t have heart-sink clients either. So, that being said, I’m probably not too far off base talking about this.

Your Assignment:

• Make a list of common denominators among your non-ideal clients (not every client has all of these, sometimes just one or two).



• Set standards in your practice about whom you’ll work with and whom you’ll turn away.



• Then, follow those standards like your practice depends on it (it does).



• Even consider putting it down on your website, for all to see, as I do on mine.

You deserve a practice FULL of “A” clients, not “D” clients. The only one that can let them into your practice is you. You’re the gatekeeper. Besides, when your practice is filled with “D” clients, you become so cranky that you’re not going to BE client attractive. That’s not good for business. So take action on this and don’t break your own standards. You have the ultimate choice, so use it. :)

To find out more about ways to attract only “A” clients in your practice using proven, tried-and-true marketing techniques, check out www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com for more info on the ultimate Client Attraction self-study manual.


© 2006 Fabienne Fredrickson

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™ and www.ClientAttraction.com, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, make more m’oney being self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all. To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit www.ClientAttraction.com.

Focus on the "Low Hanging Fruit"

Focus on the “Low Hanging Fruit”
By Fabienne Fredrickson

Following up on leads is 90% of the game, right? At least that's what we hear. You spend all this time networking, marketing yourself, making cold calls, looking for the right client, but what’s the point of it all if you don’t follow up on the leads you DO have?

This was a major obstacle for one of my nutritionist clients this week and a shift got created when I shared the Low Hanging Fruit List with her.

Let’s think about Low Hanging Fruit on a tree for a moment, as it relates to its counterpart higher up on the tree. The Low Hanging Fruit is heavier, probably riper and because of that, easier to pick. Think of your warm prospects, those that have already expressed an interest in working with you, as this type of fruit. Ready for the picking.

Yet, many of us focus a lot of our energy on the higher fruit, the harder-to-reach fruit or prospect. We spend a lot of time working on far-fetched Client Attraction projects, when we really could be spending the time contacting and closing the deal with people who’ve already said they’d like to work with us but haven’t been turned into clients yet. Logically, this doesn’t make much sense, does it?

Well, starting today, you’re going to change that by putting more focus on Low Hanging Fruit, while you continue to market your practice as a whole. Here’s how…

Your Assignment:

Have a Low Hanging Fruit chart on your desk at all times. It should have several columns:

1. name


2. phone number


3. email address


4. referral source


5. that client’s particular concern


6. status/when to contact them next

Leave this sheet on your desk at all times, in a place where you can refer to it several times per day.

Go through your mental Rolodex or past potential-client notes to see who in your network has expressed interest in working with you over the last 6 months to a year, but hasn’t been converted into a client or patient yet. This could have been either in passing ("Oh, I should work with you one day" to "I want to work with you, but I'm not quite ready yet") or more intently ("Let's set up a time to talk about working together"), via email, verbally, or third-party referral.

Please list all of these people on this sheet. This can also include those who you met with for an initial consultation but who never signed up, for whatever reason.

This will be one of your more important documents you’ll use for getting clients and you should plan on using it for the long haul. This method of keeping track of people who are closest to becoming clients (and then following up with them regularly) is somewhat deceptive because it's so simple, but the good things usually are.

The bottom line is, when my clients use this list, they enthusiastically report they convert more prospects into paying clients. When they stop using this list briefly, prospective clients slip through their fingers. That should tell you something.

If you’re not sure where to start attracting prospects in the first place, everything’s laid out in the Client Attraction Home Study System™, the “bible” for attracting all the clients you need with proven, systematic processes that will help you fill your practice quickly and consistently, guaranteed. Here’s where you can get your own copy: TheClientAttractionSystem.com.


© 2006 Fabienne Fredrickson

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™ and www.ClientAttraction.com, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, make more m’oney being self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all. To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit www.ClientAttraction.com.

Professionals Don't Discount Their Services (and Neither should You)

Professionals Don’t Discount Their Services (and Neither Should You)
By Fabienne Fredrickson

Professionals don’t discount. Period. Your lawyer doesn’t. Neither does your doctor. A set rate is a set rate. At least for them.

But what about you? Having a sale on products you sell to generate interest or say ‘thanks’ is fine, once in a while. It even makes people excited to test out your stuff. But have you ever felt the temptation to discount your services to sign on more clients? Come on, be honest.

Worse, you may be someone who has a “sliding scale,” meaning you determine what to charge once you get that prospective client in front of you. You’ve got to stop doing that! It’s about the worse thing you can do for your reputation, Client Attraction, and practice building.

Now, many people feel the pull to offer discounts to friends and people who can’t seem to afford their services. Here’s my thought about that: it devalues your services dramatically and shows others you’ve given them permission (as well as yourself) to think your services are not worth what you charge for them.

While you’re at it, you’re also giving them a signal to keep taking advantage of you over and over again. I remember when I was doing nutrition counseling, back many years ago, I was “pressured” by a client to give a discount. I was in a place where I “needed” clients, so I gave in, thinking that this person would not have signed up if I hadn’t knocked off those last $200 or $300.

I found I resented that client the entire time we worked together. Somehow, I was a little angry that I was forced into this and I found myself giving less of myself in our sessions. I didn’t like what I was doing. I just felt used. (Has that ever happened to you?)

It became clear that when someone takes an inch (asking for a discount and getting it), they’ll then try to take a mile (not believing the policies and procedures apply to them). I had to set up a whole bunch of boundaries in the relationship. Needless to say, the whole thing was a disaster and if I’d stuck to my original rate the first time (my boundaries around my rates) I wouldn’t have had this problem throughout.

Discounting is not necessarily good news for you and your reputation. Here’s what you can do instead. Offer different options, and different programs to fit all different budget levels. Let there be something for everyone’s budget, that way, you don’t HAVE to discount.

Your assignment:

Make a pact with yourself now that you will never discount. Yes, right now. Trust me on this one.

If the person still cannot afford your services, that’s OK. Avoid the temptation to reduce your rates, even “just this one time, because I like you.” (This is especially important for those who don’t have a full practice and really NEED the money.)

Let them know you’ll be here to help them whenever they’re able to. Most times, people come back to sign up for one of your programs when they can afford it a few weeks later. It’s worth the wait.

Instead, create different offerings at different price points to have something there for different types of clients and different budget levels. Wanna see how I set up different packages and programs with different price points, so there’s something for everyone? It’s easy and it’s all in the Client Attraction Home Study System™, the “bible” for attracting all the clients you need with proven, systematic processes that will help you fill your practice quickly and consistently, guaranteed. Here’s where you can get a copy: TheClientAttractionSystem.com.


© 2006 Fabienne Fredrickson

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™ and www.ClientAttraction.com, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, make more m’oney being self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all. To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit www.ClientAttraction.com.