From the time you book an airline flight until that plane lands, your pecking order in the airline's customer hierarchy determines your travel experience. To the airlines, all customers are not equal—they are segmented and managed according to profitability, loyalty, and frequency of travel.

Like the airlines, consultants and other professional service providers have embraced the concept of client relationship management, yet many professionals struggle with execution. Client relationship management is based on the premise that a subset of your clients will purchase the majority of your services, and that you should manage them differently. All clients are important, but some are more so than others.

Jack Trout, consultant and coauthor of Positioning, says that many consultants have a misguided client relationship strategy, which “…is simply to stay on at their clients, no matter what problem needs to be solved. “ Hanging on, hoping for more work from your current clients is not so much a strategy as the lack of a coherent one.

Members-Only Premium Content   

• Free Webinars: Access all recorded webinars (full members attend all live webinars free).
• Free Tools and Guides: Receive all how-to guides and tools sold in the RainToday Store free.
• Research and Reports: Receive 20% off all research and benchmark reports.
• 1,000+ Articles: Access over 1,000 professional services marketing, sales, and leadership articles.
• Exclusive Premium Content: Access members-only interviews, templates, and case studies.