When a Customer Becomes Too Important (via NYTimes.com)
But how do you know if a customer has become too important to you? The federation offers these two crucial warning signs:
¶When one customer is responsible for 30 percent or more of your revenue.
¶If cash flow would be badly disrupted if one customer were to suddenly cancel all orders or even cut back sharply. “Expenses would continue, but suddenly there wouldn’t be enough to cover them.”
I have done an informal study of small businesspeople over the last several years. I think at least 75% fall into the trap of servicing the one big customer they have while neglecting the daily business development tasks needed to land the next big customer. It’s really hard to make a daily habit of the BD stuff when there is paying work to be done, but unbelievably important.
