Clients' diet

At a board meeting, my chairman once told me, "Let's look at the profit and explanations." (in Hebrew it sounds similar to "loss") I wanted to correct him, saying "profit and loss," but he smiled and said, "When there's a profit, everything is clear. When there's a loss, the explanations begin..."

I recently met the CEO of a company with many clients and projects, but small profits at the bottom. We started walking through the list and I got a lot of "explanations": This is a large company so it's worth losing, this is a cutting-edge technology so we're actually investing, this is an unhappy customer so we're giving more than we planned, etc., etc.

So let's clarify, and compare our clients or projects portfolio to food staples:

Proteins

These are the customers who build the organization. The ones with whom you can grow, the ones who allow you to try new things, the ones whose name on the website brings in other customers. These are truly strategic customers and they are truly worth investing in. You should be able to state the ROI of this investment. 

Surprisingly, you will find that most of the time these clients will also be profitable and want you to make a profit (except perhaps at the beginning or at specific points along the way). They value you and are fun to work with.

Carbohydrates

Energy. Or in the business world - money. These are standard customers, and our goal with them is primarily to make a good profit. There is no reason to lose when you work with such a customer, and you have to follow standard procedures. If we lose, something is wrong and we need to change it immediately, and maybe even part ways.

Unlike our bodies, a company is an outstanding athlete who can and should consume as much carbohydrates as possible. We'll find something to do with all the excess energy :)

Fats

Nutritionists will disagree, but for the sake of the allegory, this is the group of toxic customers. The ones who drag us down. They are usually neither satisfied nor profitable. They have no growth prospects. They are the ones who usually make our employees resentful, our reputation stained, and block the company from taking on better projects and clients.

I often find that senior managers run to put out fires with a "Fat" noisy customer. They divert resources from treating a "Protein" customer with whom they could grow.

Double the damage!

How balanced is your diet?

Bon-apetit.