Inside Strategic Coach with Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller

Topic: The Top 20 and Farm Club Concept

Introduction

• Discussion on managing relationships to handle business complexity.
• Concept: Top 20 and Farm Club.
• Importance of treating clients unequally based on their contribution.

Origin of the Concept

• Derived from real-world experience with large numbers of clients.
• Based on Pareto's Law: 20% of clients produce 80% of results.

Key Points

• Unequal Treatment: Treating all clients equally is impractical.
  • Customers perform differently and contribute variably.
  • Important to identify and focus on the top-performing clients.
• Enjoyment and Opportunities: Easier and more enjoyable to work with certain clients who actively engage and introduce new opportunities.
• Value Creation: Provide equal value to everyone but distinguish top performers for extra attention.
• Strategic Partnerships: Seek long-term, strategic partnerships rather than just vendor-client relationships.

Concept Explanation

• Top 20: 20% of clients to focus extra attention and resources on.
• Farm Club: Potential future top 20 clients to monitor and nurture.
  • Not as much immediate investment but crucial for long-term growth.

Practical Implementation

• Focus: Use the concept to identify biggest opportunities for revenue generation.
  • Existing clients with potential for more business.
  • Prospective clients who show great promise.
• Organizational Structure: Build your organization around the top 20.
  • Allocate more resources and attention to top performers.
  • Use the farm club to identify and develop future top performers.

Real-World Application

• Dan’s experience with Strategic Coach: Evolved coaching practices to focus on top performers.
  • Progressed coaching levels based on client achievement and potential.
  • Example of signature level clients and 10x program.

Benefits and Challenges

• Benefits: More enjoyable and fruitful business relationships, better performance, and higher engagement.
• Challenges: Difficulty in 'leaving people behind' and making tough decisions about client prioritization.
• Continuous Growth: Importance of continually aiming higher; inspiration from clients' innovations and achievements.
• Self-Development: Maintaining energy and enthusiasm by continually seeking new challenges.

Final Thoughts

• Emphasis on truthfully assessing client contributions for better decision-making.
• Cloning top clients as a strategy for business growth.
• Balancing attention between top 20 and the broader client base.

Action Steps

• Identify top 20% of clients and compare their financial impact with the rest.
• Focus on cloning top performers and enhancing their experience.
• Build organizational strategies around these key clients to ensure sustainable growth.

Conclusion

• Recap of the importance and benefits of the Top 20 and Farm Club strategy.
• Encouragement to subscribe to Strategic Coach podcasts for more insights.