This article has been excerpted from my first book, Business-to-Business Prospecting: Innovative Techniques to Get Your Foot in the Door with Any Prospect.

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."
-- Bill Cosby

Have you ever had clients who were more trouble than they were worth? Oftentimes we're so anxious to close the deal that we don't think about whether we really want that particular client or not. My guess is, for the clients who turn out to be more trouble than they're worth, you had some inkling or gut feeling about them right from the beginning of the sales process. You had intuition that your prospect might be a high-maintenance client or, worse, a nightmare client but, for whatever reason, you didn't pay attention to your inner voice. The fact is, we're better off saying no to an opportunity than taking it based on the hardship and energy drain it may cost us in the long run.

The financial services industry has figured out that creating an "ideal client profile" is the key to success in that business, and I think we should all follow that lead. Not only do financial advisors use the ideal client profile as a tool to help them determine their best clients, they use it as a tool to help prospects determine that they want to be classified as an ideal client for the financial advisor. The financial advisor's ideal client profile is worded in such a way that anyone reading it would like to think of himself or herself as an ideal client for that financial advisor. In other words, the stated ideal client profile is appealing to prospective clients because it uses flattering terminology. Below is an excerpt of one financial services company's ideal client profile that I found on the internet:

"At Canterbury Financial Group, we serve successful individuals who expect excellence and have made a firm commitment to achieving it themselves. In general, the people who benefit most from our services tend to fit the following description:

Recognize the connection between accumulated assets and the freedom to pursue their life vision
Successful in their careers
Respected in the community
Involved in rewarding activities or still employed
Friendly, helpful, open-minded
Consider managing money a burden, not a hobby

Our Clients:

• Share in the realization that the freedom to pursue their compelling life vision is linked to their accumulated assets
• Want to simplify their lives and are willing to enter into a mutually beneficial long-term relationship with a personal wealth manager
• Are highly motivated to work with a fee-only adviser who knows them personally and has only their best interests in mind."
  
  (See the Canterbury Financial Group ideal client profile)

I don't know about you, but after reading this company's ideal client profile, it makes me want to sign up. So not only does the ideal client profile serve as a tool for you to target your prospecting activities, it can also serve as a marketing tool to your prospects, who will want to be considered your ideal client.

Imagine if you had such a tool for your prospects to use to tell you that they would like to be your next ideal client. How powerful would such a tool be to leverage in your marketing materials and prospecting activities? Here's how to create your ideal client profile and then use it as a powerful business-to-business prospecting tool.

How many times have you actually thought about who your ideal client is, vs. just finding the next person you think is willing to buy from you? Think about it. Think about how your business would change if it was made up of "ideal clients."

Think about an ideal client you currently work with. What makes him or her ideal? What are the parameters of, or formula for, your ideal client? What size company is it? How many employees does it have? How much does it do in revenue each year? Who are its clients? What is its product or service? How many locations does it have? How does it go to market (i.e. direct vs. indirect sales, retail, channel sales, etc.)?

How much revenue do you do each year with your ideal client? Do you do repeat business with your ideal client? How many decision makers must you deal with to get a "yes" in working with your ideal client? How much client service is involved in working with your ideal client? Does your ideal client give you referrals to other ideal clients?

These are all questions that should be considered when defining your ideal client profile. This will also lead you to certain industries or specific vertical markets that will make excellent prospects for you, based on the nature of their industry or business, as identified in your ICP. In defining your ICP, you can begin to focus only on those clients who fit your ICP. This also allows you to quickly identify someone who is not an ideal client and move on to someone who is. Think about how much more effective you could be in attracting ideal clients when you're no longer wasting time with prospects who aren't the best fit for what you sell.