Stop Bragging: Client Lists are Boring and Miss the Point

David from 37signals had this to say, during their live Q&A session, about why they don’t list their big name clients on their web site:

(paraphrasing, mind you) “We care about the small teams within those companies and the thousands of other small companies using our software. We don’t feel the need to brag about the size of our clients.”

Personally, I don’t see the value in showing off your client list as a sales tool. The potential customer cares about their project, not someone else’s. Maybe some of you will say that a case study or portfolio might give them an insight into what kind of work we do, and influence them to buy. And maybe some of you are right sometimes.

I say that being personable, genuine, caring and passionate about the work that you do will drive the right customers into your office. You can tout statistics, testimonials and corporate buzz words like “e-business” all day. But unless you can relate to the person that represents your potential sale, build trust and communicate how much you care about their business, you’ll either get no sale or an unsatisfying, uncooperative working relationship.

So, focus your time and energy on caring about the sort of people you want to work for. 37signals gains its success by caring about small teams and businesses, the kind of people they want to work for.