Why the Ten Commandments Will Save Your Business
04.02.10
One of the first homework assignments I give my new clients is also the most crucial - to write their "Ten Commandments". Most people's reaction is "Oh, yeah - you mean the ten promises I will make to my client, right? Wrong. Well, half wrong, anyway. The Ten Commandments are inviolable deal-breaking promises - but made to yourself, not your clients.
They are the bottom-line requirements you set about the clients you choose to take on. As an entrepreneur, it's very important to screen IN the right people so that your investment in building a sale with them, a.k.a., "a relationship", is going to be the result that you were hoping for. In creating this list, you are crafting situations to allow yourself to prosper and do your best work.
Nine times out of ten, when an entrepreneur gets caught in a messy situation loaded with bad juju, it stems from having ignored a commandment by choosing a client whose core values clashed with his/her own. In contrast, when you share common values there's no situation so awkward you can't work through.
As an outsourced sales and marketing consultant, I learned the hard way that my first client was an unreliable payer - not just with me, but everyone he worked with. I travelled all the way to Taiwan to oversee a new product development and after and hour and a half meeting, the production team said, "We'll get started on it - as soon as you pay what you owe us from the last job." That was an important lesson to learn. I like to say the TCs help you separate the prospects from the suspects.
There may be times, especially when starting out, when you are tempted to gloss over a commandment or two, afraid to let the client slip away. Be strong; the job fee will not cover the energy you spend repairing the consequences of a bad situation - instead, focus your attention on finding the winning prospect coming your way.
Your list may cover working conditions, client personalities and values, payment procedures, or anything that, if missing, would really make you miserable.
As an example, here is the latest version of my list.
My Ten Commandments
1. I must work with the owner or founder of the company.
2. I must be in control of the process.
3. I must be paid for the value of my contribution.
4. Pre-engagement time for prospects must be limited.
5. The client's level of intelligence and talent must be high.
6. The client must be ready to integrate the work we are doing into their lives.
7. The client must trust me.
8. The client's partners (in business and/or life) must be on board with the process.
9. Our work must result in measureable, sustainable revenue for the client.
10. The client must have a high emotional intelligence, in other words, play well with others.
