Time is valuable. Every person who works should be able to quantify what an hour of their time is worth. I oversee two businesses, Merchant Services Inc and Rebel Without Applause LLC. I write, speak, do sales and marketing, and when I have a chance, I answer incoming calls.
Tonight, I had a call come in from “Ted” (not his real name). Ted was looking to save $10 or $15 a month on his credit card processing fees. He processes $800 a month in Visa and MasterCard. Our average customer processes about $15,000 to $20,000 per month. While every existing and potential customer deserves to get the best service and cost-effective pricing, sometimes the clients who consume the majority of your time are those you get the least amount of revenue.
Jack Welch, the former GE CEO, taught me to fire your unprofitable customers. Over the years with Fortune 1000 companies, that simple strategy has saved me millions. Prospects, I have found, can be the same way.
