What do you think of the word tyrekicker?
Recently, we’ve started hearing the word again so this AM WEEK article is designed to help get rid of tyrekickers forever and with your help, remove the word from our professional service community.
Traditionally, a tyrekicker was found in a car yard, walking around, presumably kicking the tyres. They’d spend a bit of time there, ask dumb questions, have little intention of buying and generally were seen to waste the sales person’s time. And if they intended to buy, they would complain and seek to drive the price down, before getting in the car and driving off.
In a professional advice and services environment, it appears ‘tyrekicker behaviour’ occurs in much the same way, either in person or over the telephone. Instead of asking dumb questions, they appear to ask ‘do it yourself’ questions, looking for free advice – and like those of the past have little intention to buy. And when they do buy, they apparently complain a lot and become a thorn in the side of their professional advisor. The advisor spends a lot of time with them, at the expense of other clients who appreciate and pay for the value provided.
Would you agree that tyre kickers hurt your professional service business? Would you agree that when you’ve taken on a tyre kicker, that you’ve really regretted it?
If the answer to either yes to either question, then it’s time to wake up and say good bye to tyre kickers – forever!
Here’s some tough love. Hang on to your hat, this could get ugly…you are about to be challenged.
If you’ve ever had a problem with tyrekickers, it’s your fault. I know I may have just challenged you, but the fact is, it is your fault. It’s called tough love for a reason and in this case, here are the reasons why:
- You might not have defined your ideal client.
- Regardless of whether you have defined your ideal client, you don’t enforce it – they shouldn’t get to a face to face meeting with you.
- And finally, if you’ve attracted a tyrekicker to your business, your marketing isn’t clear about who you work best with and achieve the best outcomes for.
So now you’re armed with the reasons, what are you going to do about it?
Here some ideas on what to do:
- Define your ideal clients. Simply an ideal client is the type of person your business can add value to and charge a fee for, enabling you to meet their needs while running a profitable business. For more information about value and knowing your clients, read Service 7.
- Enforce your ideal clients. Take some time to qualify potential clients before inviting them for an appointment to your business. This could be done over the phone with a pre-appointment questionnaire, by you or a client relationship manager within your business.
- Market your business to your target ideal clients. Have the conviction to say who you want to work with and what you can do for them. If you don’t you’ll continue to get the wrong clients knocking at your door.
So I’m now challenging you to take responsibility for the clients you invite to walk into your office. Your actions will determine what you get. And when you think about it, isn’t that just like the rest of life?
And the next time you hear someone use the word ‘tyrekicker’, I encourage you to pity them out loud and tell them to wake up to themselves. It’s time to wake up and say good bye to tyrekickers… forever!
