Step One: Focus. Don't try to be everything to everyone. I call this the duck approach to business - ducks can run, walk, fly, and swim...none of them world-class. In an animal world decathlon, a duck might be the entry to bet on, but there are few to no decathlons in business.

Know who your customer is, focus on serving their needs, and don't worry about the people you can't serve. Be the go to company or professional for your area of expertise.

Step Two: Pick your customers. Heeding the lesson of step 1, don't take on just any customer because they have money and are willing to be your customer. The fact is, there are many customers you simply don't want. If you take on a customer that doesn't match your area of expertise you're prime for disappointments, high cost of support, and confused employees.

You don't want your portfolio of customers to look like ducks anymore than you want to be one.

Kevin Stirtz inspired this post with his post titled Marketing without really trying. In his post, Kevin highlights how a local bank uses these very principles to build a their highly successful business. Over time, they have become so well known in their specific lending niche that they are the first choice for many referral sources in this market. So they can afford to be picky.

Read his post and let Kevin know what you think.