How to Become More Selective With Your Clients and Protect Your Profitability | Ezo Consulting

How to Become More Selective: The Forgotten Skill of Commercial Performance

In most B2B companies today, the main question is growth.
But there’s a more fundamental one: should everything really grow?

Because what limits commercial performance isn’t always a lack of effort, leads, or tools.
It’s often a lack of selectivity.

Selectivity — the forgotten foundation of commerce

Since the earliest forms of trade, commerce has never been about quantity.
It has always been about choice — choosing your product, your market, your customer, and your price.

Selectivity has been the essence of trade for 3,000 years.

And yet, in today’s B2B world, most companies still try to sell to everyone.
They chase every RFP, serve every type of customer, maintain exhausting service levels…
Then wonder why margins stagnate.

Serving is not always creating value

In a recent project, we applied the Service Intensity Index to one of a client’s top revenue accounts.
The result: 87 out of 100 in service intensity.

After adjusting profitability using our five cost-weighting criteria, the result turned negative.
Every euro billed was actually destroying margin.

For years, the team believed this was a “strategic account.”
In reality, it was a loss engine.

We proposed a price aligned with real costs.
The customer refused.
And the company decided to let them go.

Three months later:

  • margins increased,

  • service workload decreased,

  • teams regained energy and focus.

That decision wasn’t about courage.
It was about clarity.

Selectivity is not elitism

Being selective doesn’t mean saying no to customers.
It means saying yes where your energy creates the most value.

It’s not arrogance — it’s lucidity.
Knowing when a “yes” costs more than it brings back.

But selectivity requires something few organizations cultivate:
➡️ clarity — about the value of your time, your energy, and your team’s attention.

The 5,000 USD method — valuing your time properly

Entrepreneur and thinker Naval Ravikant suggests a simple mental exercise:
imagine that your hour is worth 5,000 USD.

Not because someone pays you that much,
but because that’s the value you assign to it.

Before any commercial action, ask yourself:

“Is this worth 5,000 USD of my time?”

It doesn’t have to produce that amount directly.
But this mindset forces better decision-making:

  • Does this customer truly deserve that level of investment?

  • Does this project justify the time it consumes?

  • Does this negotiation reflect the real value of my effort?

It’s a powerful mental shift — the foundation of true commercial selectivity.

From philosophy to practice: how to apply it

Here’s how to translate this mindset into a practical sales method:

1️⃣ Measure each customer’s service intensity

Use the Service Intensity Index to score your clients on five criteria:

  1. Number of unpaid interactions

  2. Urgency and frequency of requests

  3. Complexity of support

  4. Dependence on your team

  5. Price pressure or discount level

2️⃣ Adjust the real profitability

Recalculate the net adjusted margin by integrating the total cost of service.
You’ll often discover that some “top accounts” actually destroy value.

3️⃣ Segment your customers

  • Ideal clients: profitable, aligned, stable → nurture them.

  • Fixable clients: profitable but negotiable → realign terms.

  • Destructive clients: unprofitable, misaligned → transform or let go.

4️⃣ Reinvest your energy where it matters

This is where selectivity becomes a true performance skill —
deciding consciously where to invest your time and attention.

The paradox of “less”

Every unprofitable client you let go creates room for a better one.
Every “no” opens the door to a more valuable “yes.”

It’s counterintuitive — but it’s the essence of selective growth.
Do less, but better.
Serve fewer, but deeper.
And above all, protect what matters most: your time, your energy, and your margin.

💡 In summary

Selectivity isn’t a posture — it’s a skill.
And like any skill, it can be learned.

It starts the day you stop measuring what you gain
and start observing what you spend to gain it.

📞 Want to go further?

At Ezo Consulting, we help B2B leaders measure the true profitability of their customer portfolios through our Service Intensity Index and decision-support tools linking velocity and adjusted margin.

👉 Let’s connect on LinkedIn
or learn more at www.ezo.consulting