Neil Berman

The adage 'You're known by the company you keep' refers to reputation.

In business the customers you service will impact your reputation but even more important they will determine your fate. How so?

I was contacted recently by an intermediary for a competitor looking to sell their business.  Three customers accounted for 80% of the sellers sales. The risk of losing these customers reduced the value of the business materially to a would be purchaser.

Another example is customer overhead. Some customers are high maintenance but not necessarily high profit. How many demanding, low to no profit customers are draining the cash from your organization?

Lastly, bad customers kill good employees. Who wants to deal with rude, unreasonable or unsavory people? No amount of money can compensate for the negative impact on moral that comes from these situations.

Choose your customers wisely. You live with the company you keep.

Neil Berman | President & CEO