I have a client, let’s call her Krissy.

She’s a life coach of sorts.

She provides self-help and personal development counseling, guidance, other advice all with a spiritual bent. She also sells courses and training programs through her website.

Additionally, Krissy’s married, with a husband and 7yr old son. So, she’s knee deep in managing her own business, whilst doing her best to stay on top of a busy family life.

Her clients break down into three categories:

The first group are clients she works with on a regular basis and has done so for an extended period of the time.

The second group are clients she’s worked with for an extended period of time, but drop in and out, and don’t maintain a regular schedule.

The third group are new clients, who either come through referrals or find her through her website or videos she publishes on YouTube.

This third group, “new clients,” breaks down even further. They may end up in one of the first two categories — regular client or semi-regular clients that drop in and out. Or they may wind up as one-off clients that do a single appointment and are never heard from again.

Folks in this third group, the one-off appointments, have a habit of contacting Krissy in CRISIS MODE. They NEED an appointment RIGHT NOW!

Problem is, given Krissy’s aforementioned “busy life” as a business owner, homemaker, wife + mom, her scheduled general booked about a week in advance.

Thus, accommodating same-day or even next day appointments is often impossible. Which is beyond frustrating for Krissy. Of course, she wants to help people in “crisis.” That’s why she’s doing what she’s doing. But moreover, she hates to miss out on the money. Because, well, we ALL need money, right?

And I say “miss out” because if she can’t accommodate prospective clients in “crisis mode” immediately, she typically loses those prospects.

Offers to “set an appointment at a later date” are generally rejected. And later inquires are almost always ignored. And those who do respond are “better” or “OK” now or found some other avenue to avert their “crisis.”

In other words, “crisis mode” prospects can only be converted to paying customers if Krissy is available ON DEMAND. Which she typically isn’t.

As such, she often tears her hair out trying to accommodate genuinely unrealistic appointment requests.

But here’s the thing. Krissy should just ignore these requests. Well, maybe not ” ignore” them. But make it clear, in no uncertain terms, she doesn’t do same-day (AKA “crisis mode” appointments.

Why? Is that counter to the yarn I’ve spun detailing Krissy frustration of missing out on both a helping opportunity and potential income?

Actually, no.

Why come, you may be asking yourself?

Because accommodating this appointment is a lose-lose-lose proposition.

Still confused?

Allow me to elaborate…

First, “crisis mode” folks, Krissy has discovered (the hard way, unfortunately) usually can’t be helped. They’re too “in it” amid their crisis. They’ve tossed all rationality out the window. And they’re clawing, like a savage beast, for a foothold before they careen over an emotional cliff.

That’s why these folks are always “now or nothing” clients.

They’re also highly likely to be dissatisfied with the results. And it makes sense… “Crisis mode.” Lacking all rationality. Clawing like a savage beast. A person in this state of mind is not an ideal prospect.

And then you run the risk of this dissatisfied client bad mouthing you. Either in an online review or directly to other members of your potential client pool.

Second, “crisis mode” clients are almost always one-off clients. And one-off clients are your least valuable asset. Stressing over a one-time fee from a client that’s likely to be dissatisfied with your services is far from the highest and best use of your time. Your efforts are better served focusing on existing clients and nurturing leads that become long-term clients.

And finally, considering the less than ideal nature of “crisis clients” and their lower economic value, the stress simply is not worth it.

Hence, chasing crisis clients is a lose-lose-lose proposition.

OK, so of just prattled on with (what seems like) a zillion words of text in the defacto case study above.

How come?

Because you’ve probably experienced some variation of Krissy’s dilemma in your business. And likely in a couple of ways…

A prospect calls you up out of the blue at 5:59pm and wants to know: “Can you turnaround project XYZ by 6am tomorrow morning?”

And why shouldn’t prospects expect this? Because, hey, your time has no value. And of course you’re sitting around all day, just waiting for random yahoos to call you up, so you can respond “how high?” when they shout “jump!”

Yeah, no. Nope. No thanks.

The “Can You Handle This (Service You Don’t Offer) Project?” Scenario

A prospect calls you up out of the blue (or in this case, it could be a legit and even long-time client) and wants to know: “Can your handle project XYZ (that’s outside your realm of expertise)?

This is perhaps a bit more forgivable, particularly if the project is related to your specialty. But never-the-less, it’s NOT what you do. And you’ve invested a LOT of time and effort into serving your niche. I mean, you’ve built your entire marketing strategy around this focus, right?

The “Comparison Price (AKA Bargain Basement) Shopper” Scenario

A prospect calls you up out of the blue and demands a price for your services on the spot. What, exactly, do they need? Maybe, if you’re lucky, they offer a vauge, two or three sentence description.

Obviously, this person is “comparison shopping.” They’re simply running down a list of service providers the searched up in Google. Contacting each business in a hunt for the lowest price they can find.

Meanwhile, your services are NOT the lowest cost option. And that’s because you don’t provide “bare bones services.”

You’re not the Ross Dress For Less discount provider of your industry. You’re the sophisticated, upscale boutique provider.

And much like the owner of an exclusive boutique — who often works directly with customers, offering unique garments choices and expert style advice — you offer similar personalized care. Not the templated services of a discount provider.

Undoubtedly, you don’t want to be tearing your hair out in frustration with unrealistic prospects, like Krissy. Or wasting your time with comparison shopping price-grinders.

In other words, use your marketing to Pre-Qualify prospects. And toward that end, here are three pre-qualification strategies that can help:

Dress The Part — Ever stroll down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hill or 5th Avenue in Manhattan or a similar thoroughfare of exclusive, high-end retail outlets? What’s apparent about the shops lining these streets? They look and feel EXPENSIVE. Like $$$$$. And as a result, only an utter boob walk in and try to negotiate a discount (not that such things haven’t happened in these sort of stores, but the incidence is low).

The point being, if you’re not offering discount services, make sure marketing projects an exclusive, $$$$$ aura.

This means… Create an elegant, super-clean website, populated sharp, professional photos and graphics, and thoughtful, concise language. And do the same with your social media pages, email campaigns, and other marketing media.

Outline Your Process — On your website and email inquiry responses, provide a CLEAR outline of the way you work. Otherwise known as: TIHWDIH (This Is How We Do It Here).

This could an FAQ page on your website or PDF you can attach to a response email.

Let’s say a prospect contacts you with a question that makes it clear they haven’t read you process outline or is pushing from a discount or looking for services outside your scope of work. Rather than engage in an unproductive dialog, simply refer them to your website’s FAQ page. Or better yet, keep an email template with your process outline FAQ PDF attached (that closes with a note indicating your process is also outlined in detail on your website).

Don’t Trade On Price — Price shoppers are almost always terrible clients. They grind you down on price in exchange for cutting aspects of your services. Then, wouldn’t ya know, they turn around and ask for the elements they negotiated out to added back in later on, at the discounted price (or course!). And ultimately they wind up complaining about not receiving top-flight service, despite paying bargain basement prices.

One strategy is to omit pricing and the let your aura of “exclusivity” speak for you. This is the approach expensive restaurants take in leaving prices off their menus. The implication being, if you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it.

Another strategy is to list your pricing, in detail. This approach immediately dissuades those looking to pay less than your going rate.

I’ve outlined a few of the more common examples above, but my list is by no means comprehensive.

If you’ve been in business for any length of time, no doubt you’ve struggled with qualifying prospects in some fashion or another.

Swing by my LinkedIn page and share some of your biggest prospect qualifying struggles!