When clients determine if your business sails along or dies

There is apparently a moment of revelation in Zen Buddhism known as ‘Kensho’ when you suddenly see something you never understood before, opening up a path to freedom.

And there is surely one particular ‘Kensho’ in business, an enlightenment that marks the difference between businesses that sail along, and those mired in troubles.

It’s the moment when the entrepreneur realises that his business is as good as his clients.

So decisive is it, that now I think about it, I cannot comprehend that so little is written on the subject.

We all read plenty about quality in our product, systems, inspiring our teams, marketing, understanding ourselves, and so on.

But whoever points out that a row of awful clients is a path to misery? And a set of great clients close to bliss.

On which basis, it seems time to offer up a real, from-the-coalface guide to client bliss.

For here in Kenya, the first client test, and the one about four-fifths fail, is: do they pay?

Listen carefully: if they do not, then recommend a supplier the other side of town.

Another supplier so much cheaper, more effective, more anything… and definitely more interested in lending services to this client, possibly indefinitely.

However, you do it (we’re awfully sorry, the company is relocating to New Zealand), get them off your books, so you can stop lending to them.

This, alone, starts to change everything.

It’s the ‘no free credit’ moment that means you move, inexorably, towards the simple equation of being paid for the work you do. Step one to heaven.

And a step that equally means valuing prompt payers highly. These are the clients you want. Yes, squeeze the margin for them. Yes, put in extra time and effort.

From where, onto client test two, which becomes variations related to the word ‘demanding’.