It’s a costly and hard-learned lesson in the advisory business: declining to work with an interested prospect who neither fits your ideal client profile, nor qualifies as a B or C client. This may be counter-intuitive, but indiscriminately accepting clients generates frustration, costs you money, and wastes your time—a lot of time. Alternatively, choosing a specific niche of clients and becoming an expert in that realm is more pleasant—and profitable. Think about it in terms of quantity versus quality. The extra revenue generated by less-than-ideal clients is usually not enough to cover the extra costs associated with servicing those accounts. Read more of this article at http://www.RIABiz.com Missed the webinar on Feb 16, 2012  Register to

Originally written by Maria Marsala as a guest columnist for RIA Biz. "Choosing a niche helps identify an ideal prospect quickly." It’s a costly and hard-learned lesson in the advisory business: declining to work with an interested prospect who neither fits your ideal client profile or qualifies as a “B” or “C” client. This may be counterintuitive, but indiscriminately accepting clients generates frustration, costs you money, and wastes a lot of your time. Alternatively, choosing a specific niche of clients and becoming an expert in that realm is more pleasant—and profitable. Think about it in terms of quantity versus quality. The extra revenue generated by less-than-ideal clients is usually not enough to cover the extra costs

We do our best to avoid it—the dreaded NO. No usually means we didn't lock in the business we wanted, or didn't make a deal. Chances are, however, you really want to hear certain people say NO—you just don't realize it! Why? Because your success depends on spending time with quality prospects who fit within your ideal client niche. Consider the following seven prospect types, and learn why sometimes hearing NO—or saying NO to a prospect—can save you money, time, and a nasty headache (or lawsuit). Prospects You Want to Say NO To Before They Become Clients From Hell   Type 1 - Freebie Seekers Freebie Seekers attend every free event you offer, take notes, and

Listen to this informative audio interview! Gary Kaskowitz (www.marketingfour.com) interviewed me (Maria Marsala) in June 2011. We discussed how to identify your ideal client or customer for your business. -- Maria Listen to Gary and Maria as they discuss how to identify the best customers that you can serve and who can best serve you in turn. Learn how to identify and FIRE the “client from hell” so that you don’t waste any more of your time, resources, and energy pursuing customers who are only going to cause you aggravation. Gary Kaskowitz and Maria Marsala will discuss specific tactics you can use today to begin growing your business. You will learn why most small business owners

In establishing a new ideal client profile, there is much to think about. We usually start wide and over time narrow things down. Example: There are approx. 155.6 million women in the United States. If your niche is women, that is a WIDE target. You'll drive yourself nuts seeking out clients, through networking, social marketing, speaking, etc. But let's say that instead of "women", we started narrowing your market -- just a bit. How about women, ages 30-55, who are financial advisors, planners including accountants and CPA's? Does that narrow it down? Does that give you a clearer picture of who to market to? And over time you can narrow that market down even more. OR