A trip to the summit of Mont Blanc in July 2006 was exhausting. The view from the top into Italy and Switzerland was exhilarating. The trip back to Les Houches in Chamonix was exasperating.
They say that the fun and games are only starting once you’ve summited. My mistake was to wear a pair of boots that were a half size too big. Once we began our descent my toes began to slam into the front of them. Thirty minutes of discomfort switched into three hours of torment. Each step led to a jolt of pain and by the time I removed the damn things they were full of blood. My feet were in bits, and I had to wear flip flops to the nightclub for the post-climb celebrations as well as on the flight home. Over the following weeks I lost four toenails. Yuck.
I never made that mistake again in my sports pursuits, but it took a while before I stopped working with organisations and people that weren’t a good fit.
With luck, your business activities are unlikely to be as physically gruesome as my mountaineering exploits, but what areas should you consider as you determine whether a prospect is a good fit or not?
1. Brand
“It’s deep beneath the skin,
It’s what I major in,
It’s what I do.”
– Donald Fagen
Does the prospect fit into your overall business development strategy? Is it on brand? You have already constituted and resourced your business to consistently deliver an outcome for a certain type of client. If you try to please everyone you will develop what I call a “Frankenstein” portfolio that stresses your organisation and confuses the market. The stress in your organisation will come from the variety of demands and alternative processes required to address them. The confusion stems from the market not knowing what you stand for.
2. Values
A difference in beliefs, particularly with regard to ethics of certain business activities, will lead to a transactional relationship which will flounder at the first sight of difficulty. If you’re rabidly anti-smoking and gambling, would it be a good idea to work for Philip Morris and Paddy Power? Which contracts will you cannibalise for resources if other accounts in your portfolio are struggling?
3. Behaviour
Some clients are polite and behave themselves when dealing with others. This also applies when the going gets tough. Some are not, and by this I mean they bully, gaslight and are unpleasant. Tolerating nasty behaviour from your client will lead to illness and resignations among your own delivery team. This will eventually infect the wider organisation too. I’ve addressed the impact of nightmare clients in an earlier piece.
4. Process
At the beginning of a contract, you and your new client will iron out a number of contractual details. This should include process, governance and communication. I’ve seen organisations neglect this and pay a big price later on due to clients moving goalposts, holding them to standards that were not originally agreed to and making unfair demands of their time. If a client is not willing to agree to and respect rigorous work, governance and communications processes you should give them a wide berth.
5. Financial
Will you make a return on investment that is in line with what you have set out in your business development strategy? Some organisations are happy to take a financial hit in order to build reputation and references. In general, people usually resent working with organisations if they feel that they are not being paid what they are worth. Only work with organisations that appreciate that you too require a fair exchange for the value that you are delivering.
So, if the work is on brand, their values are congruent with your own, your staff are energised at the prospect of working with them, they have a good reputation for fairness and you’re going to make a decent return, sign that contract! Otherwise, run a mile.
What happens now?
If you are struggling to work out whether or not a prospect is the right fit and want to have a chat about it click on the link below. You can connect with me on LinkedIn. Also, you can assess your own business development fundamentals by filling out this scorecard.
