Contributed by SBOC Member:
Founder of the Small Business Owners Community
Knowing how to qualify clients before you commit comes down to just two questions.
One of the hardest things about running a business is knowing who to work with. Not like, their reputation or their money or anything like that. I’m talking about whether they’re actually a decent person to work with.
I have two questions that I ask myself about every client. And if they fail these questions, I know it’s going to be a nightmare. You can ask them to their face, or you can just observe.
These are the two questions I use to qualify clients before committing to any working relationship:
If a client can’t tell you no, if they can’t push back on you, if they can’t say “I disagree with that idea,” then you’re not working with a client. You’re working with someone who’s either too scared or too checked out to actually run the relationship.
The best clients I’ve ever worked with are the ones who push back. Who say “I don’t think that’s right.” Who have opinions and aren’t afraid to share them. That’s a client who’s actually thinking about their business, not just wishing someone else would fix it.
If they just say yes to everything, they’re either going to blame you later, or they’re going to disappear and ignore your work. Neither of those is good.
This is the big one. If you say no to a client—if you say “I don’t think that’s the right approach” or “that’s not something I do”—can they handle it? Or do they fall apart? Do they get mean? Do they threaten to leave?
If telling your client no would absolutely torch the relationship, then you’re not really a partner. You’re a servant. And service relationships are bad. They’re exhausting. They’re never profitable. They’re never satisfying.
The adult test is whether the relationship can survive disagreement. Because it will be tested. You will disagree at some point. And if that disagreement is a crisis, then the relationship isn’t built on anything real.
People get weird about sales. They think sales means being pushy or fake or manipulative. But the best sales is just being honest about what you do and who you help.
When I sell something, I’m trying to figure out if this is the right fit. That’s how to qualify clients the right way — not by closing the deal, but by making sure it’s actually a fit. Because if it’s not a fit, the relationship is going to be terrible, and I don’t want to be in terrible relationships.
So I ask questions. I listen to the answers. I tell them what I actually do and what I don’t do. And if they’re still interested, I have some confidence it’s going to work.
The worst salespeople are the ones who are desperate. Who’ll take any client. Who’ll promise anything to make the sale. And then they spend the next six months hating their life because they’re working with someone who shouldn’t be a client.
People also get weird about networking. They think it means working the room at a conference and collecting business cards. But networking is just about knowing people.
If you’re good at relationships—if you’re actually interested in other people, if you remember things about them, if you follow up—then networking is easy. You just… know people. And when someone needs what you do, someone introduces you.
The hard way to grow a business is to constantly be selling. The easy way is to have relationships with people who know you and like you and trust you. And when they need something, they say your name.
Okay so you’ve decided: this client isn’t going to work out. Or they want to do something you don’t think is right. How do you say no without blowing it up?
Be honest. Be kind. But be clear. Say something like: “I don’t think I’m the right fit for this” or “I don’t think that approach is going to work.” And then offer an alternative if you can. Or just recommend someone else.
People respect honesty. People respect boundaries. If you’re kind about it, most people will appreciate it. The ones who don’t aren’t people you want to work with anyway.
Who you work with matters more than most people realize. It matters more than the money, sometimes. Because you’re going to spend a lot of time with these people. And if they’re terrible, that time is going to suck. The most important decision you make in business is who you work with. Learning how to qualify clients early saves you time, money, and a lot of frustration.
So start asking yourself those two questions. Can they push back on me? Can I push back on them? If the answer to both is yes, you’ve got something worth building.
Pat spent two decades in broadcasting management and hosting. After leaving the radio industry, he spent time consulting small businesses and realized the support system for entrepreneurs was broken. Where could you find help for improving small businesses and building real connections with other like-minded people. In June of 2020, the Idea Collective Small Business Community was born.