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The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field
Each year Americans start one million new businesses, nearly 80 percent of which fail within the first five years. Under such pressure to stay alive—let alone grow—it’s easy for entrepreneurs to get caught up in a never-ending cycle of “sell it—do it, sell it—do it” that leaves them exhausted, frustrated, and unable to get ahead no matter how hard they try.
This is the exact situation Mike Michalowicz found himself in when he was trying to grow his first company. Although it was making steady money, there was never very much left over and he was chasing customers left and right, putting in twenty-eight-hour days, eight days a week. The punishing grind never let up. His company was alive but stunted, and he was barely breathing. That’s when he discovered an unlikely source of inspiration—pumpkin farmers.
After reading an article about a local farmer who had dedicated his life to growing giant pumpkins, Michalowicz realized the same process could apply to growing a business. He tested the Pumpkin Plan on his own company and transformed it into a remarkable, multimillion-dollar industry leader. First he did it for himself. Then for others. And now you. So what is the Pumpkin Plan?
Plant the right Don’t waste time doing a bunch of different things just to please your customers. Instead, identify the thing you do better than anyone else and focus all of your attention, money, and time on figuring out how to grow your company doing it. Weed out the In a pumpkin patch small, rotten pumpkins stunt the growth of the robust, healthy ones. The same is true of customers. Figure out which customers add the most value and provide the best opportunities for sustained growth. Then ditch the worst of the worst. Nurture the Once you figure out who your best customers are, blow their minds with care. Discover their unfulfilled needs, innovate to make their wishes come true, and overdeliver on every single promise.
Full of stories of other successful entrepreneurs, The Pumpkin Plan guides you through unconventional strategies to help you build a truly profitable blue-ribbon company that is the best in its field.
This is the exact situation Mike Michalowicz found himself in when he was trying to grow his first company. Although it was making steady money, there was never very much left over and he was chasing customers left and right, putting in twenty-eight-hour days, eight days a week. The punishing grind never let up. His company was alive but stunted, and he was barely breathing. That’s when he discovered an unlikely source of inspiration—pumpkin farmers.
After reading an article about a local farmer who had dedicated his life to growing giant pumpkins, Michalowicz realized the same process could apply to growing a business. He tested the Pumpkin Plan on his own company and transformed it into a remarkable, multimillion-dollar industry leader. First he did it for himself. Then for others. And now you. So what is the Pumpkin Plan?
Plant the right Don’t waste time doing a bunch of different things just to please your customers. Instead, identify the thing you do better than anyone else and focus all of your attention, money, and time on figuring out how to grow your company doing it. Weed out the In a pumpkin patch small, rotten pumpkins stunt the growth of the robust, healthy ones. The same is true of customers. Figure out which customers add the most value and provide the best opportunities for sustained growth. Then ditch the worst of the worst. Nurture the Once you figure out who your best customers are, blow their minds with care. Discover their unfulfilled needs, innovate to make their wishes come true, and overdeliver on every single promise.
Full of stories of other successful entrepreneurs, The Pumpkin Plan guides you through unconventional strategies to help you build a truly profitable blue-ribbon company that is the best in its field.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 299 reviews
November 12, 2020
This book is useful for entrepreneurs. The concepts aren't new but the author provides good examples of how different types of businesses can grow. First, you should be doing something that is better, faster, or cheaper than your competitors. You can't grow a business unless you have a competitive advantage. The next step is focusing on the best clients and getting rid of the bad clients. Analogous to growing a prize-winning giant pumpkin, you need to be an expert on growing large pumpkins, focus on the few big pumpkins in your patch, and prune away the other pumpkins that are taking resources away from the best.
September 20, 2015
Mike Michalowicz has a knack for putting things in a certain way - and The Pumpkin Plan is one of those examples. I first came to this author through his latest work (Profit First). And I am paying serious attention to The Pumpkin Plan as a result of the fact that Profit First radically changed my business.
It's a simple work, one that you can read quickly and easily. While, like a lot of business books there are exercises to do before you go to the next piece, I don't work that way. I read it once, absorb it, think on it, and reflect. Then I go back to the beginning and start again, and then do the pieces once I know the big picture.
Currently working through the Plan for my own business, I can verify that the no-bullshit nature of the Planreally does work. It's a long process, and I'm not yet finished - but take this as an indication that you should read this book and apply its principles, if in fact you haven't done either.
So then why only three stars? It's very American, which grates sometimes. Also, I haven't totally verified it. If the Plan turns out to rock things the way it appears to be doing so, then the rating will change.
Either way, highly recommended.
It's a simple work, one that you can read quickly and easily. While, like a lot of business books there are exercises to do before you go to the next piece, I don't work that way. I read it once, absorb it, think on it, and reflect. Then I go back to the beginning and start again, and then do the pieces once I know the big picture.
Currently working through the Plan for my own business, I can verify that the no-bullshit nature of the Planreally does work. It's a long process, and I'm not yet finished - but take this as an indication that you should read this book and apply its principles, if in fact you haven't done either.
So then why only three stars? It's very American, which grates sometimes. Also, I haven't totally verified it. If the Plan turns out to rock things the way it appears to be doing so, then the rating will change.
Either way, highly recommended.
April 24, 2013
1. Книга будет явно послабее чем "Стартап без бюджета..." :(
2. Основная идея проста: оптимизируйте свою клиентскую базу; избавьтесь от низкоприбыльных и неудобных клиентов; работайте с теми 20%, которые приносят вам 80% прибыли.
Идея дофига оригинальна :( , она есть в любом учебнике по менеджменту/маркетингу торговли.
3. "Плюсы" книги:
- написано задорно и весло, мотивирует на подвиги :) , легко читается
- много кейсов по оптимизации этой самой клиентской базы, причём на примерах очень разнопланового малого бизнеса
- есть оригинальные идеи/советы о том, как именно эту самую оптимизацию проводить (кстати, если отжать из книги всю "воду", этих самых советов страниц на 5 наберется).
4. Главный "минус" книги: автор много писал про свой опыт и свои идеи, но как-то немного за скобками оказалось понимание правильного контекста для применения "метода тыквы".
Во-первых, метод актуален только для зрелого бизнеса. Есть кривая ЖЦФ (жизненного цикла фирмы); вот как только мы преодолели плато, и наметился спад, то тогда чистка клиентской базы - оч.эффективная штука.
Во всех остальных случаях, пока издержки на новых клиентов остаются допустимо низкими, то почему бы не продолжать наращивать (а не сокращать) клиентскую базу?
Во-вторых, автор описывает банальную маркетинговую стратегию фокусировки - концентрации на предельно узком и прибыльном сегменте. Но забывает сделать важные замечания: сегмент должен быть растущим и потенциально большим.
Т.е. в стране с относительно низким уровнем потребления (угу, это мы) такие сегменты ещё крепко поискать надо :( Разумеется, в стране с высочайшим в мире уровнем потребления (в США, откуда сам автор), можно и дифференцироваться, и концентрироваться до посинения :), зарабатывая свои миллионы. У нас особо не порезвишься; особенно в малом бизнесе.
PS Книга неплохая, но применять без фанатизма ;)
January 1, 2013
Kill your darlings and streamline success with The Pumpkin Plan
The writers out there will understand the reference to killing your darlings. We've all had to do it. We spend hours, days sometimes, lovingly crafting the perfect scene, or the perfect line, only to have to delete it in revision. Sometimes we kill it because it is overly purple, sometimes because it just doesn't fit the book anymore no matter how much we try to round the edges - it's still a square peg and we've written a round hole.
The Pumpkin Plan is a blueprint for killing your real world darlings and streamlining your business (or life, as I'll demonstrate.)
Mike Michalowicz takes a "bro" tone, puts his arm around your shoulder, buys you a drink at the bar and dishes the secret to living the good life, the easy way.
As we enter this new year, it's a book well worth taking a look at, here's why.
First - Mike doesn't just tell you what to do, he gives you practical steps for actually doing it. Every chapter ends with a 30 minute action plan - how to put that piece of the plan to work on 30 minutes or less. As a business owner who is always overwhelmed, underwater and trying to catch a break, or at least a breath - being able to take action in under 30 minutes and get that rush of accomplishment is absolutely critical. It builds confidence and lets us know right away that yes, we can do this.
Second - Mike takes the time to give both real world examples of people and businesses who have rocked each step of the plan, as well as craft industry specific examples of the Pumpkin Plan in action to demonstrate not only that the plan can work for any type of business, but also ways that it might work. He flexes his imagination in a way that shows us multiple paths that we could take to grow our own giant pumpkin of a business (or life).
Third - And this is where Mike's book, for me, went from "just another business book" to the business book I'll be recommending to everyone who could use a little boost, nudge or step up in life this year - Mike does the one thing that no one else I've read has been brave enough to do - he gives us a detailed, direct plan for killing your darlings.
Darlings are those customers, clients, people (or in writing - sections of prose) who are sucking your time, energy, brain power, money or other resources and not delivering any return on that investment.
As an entrepreneur from a long line of entrepreneurs this is something I know we all need. Again, in business and in life and in writing. To be successful by any measure we have to get rid of the "drainbows" as my husband calls them. But how? How do we know who to keep and who to cut? And... How do we cut the soul-suckers without burning the bridge completely or pissing them off and having them turn on us? This is the small business owner's dilemma. We know we can't be all things to everyone, but how do we say no to money?
I'm not going to tell you Mike's plan - I'm only going to tell you that I am implementing it actively right now. I started with Facebook - culling that crazy herd. Now I'm going through my client list. His steps not only make sense, they are a validation of everything I believed when I started my business, but started to neglect in the quest to say yes and serve more people. As Mike reminded me - "More isn't better. Better is better." Don't understand? Get the book. And then get started killing your darlings and streamlining success.
Ostensibly a book about growing your business - there is much more to be gained in the Pumpkin Plan than just a successful business and more time and money on your hands.
Disclaimer - Mike gifted me a copy of this book after he read my review of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg. Because I'm in the middle of a re-branding and re-structuring of my business, I accepted the gift but warned him I'd be brutally honest in my review. So... Here's the brutal piece of the review - While the bro-down tone might work for some, I found it a little overly chummy and grating. I don't know this guy from Adam and I kind of resented him thinking we were pals. However, after a while it kind of clicked - that's just who this guy is. The Pumpkin Plan is written in his voice, and he just happens to be one of those outgoing nice guys who really would buy you a drink at the bar and tell you how you too could be living the good life, because after all, shouldn't everyone be happy?
The writers out there will understand the reference to killing your darlings. We've all had to do it. We spend hours, days sometimes, lovingly crafting the perfect scene, or the perfect line, only to have to delete it in revision. Sometimes we kill it because it is overly purple, sometimes because it just doesn't fit the book anymore no matter how much we try to round the edges - it's still a square peg and we've written a round hole.
The Pumpkin Plan is a blueprint for killing your real world darlings and streamlining your business (or life, as I'll demonstrate.)
Mike Michalowicz takes a "bro" tone, puts his arm around your shoulder, buys you a drink at the bar and dishes the secret to living the good life, the easy way.
As we enter this new year, it's a book well worth taking a look at, here's why.
First - Mike doesn't just tell you what to do, he gives you practical steps for actually doing it. Every chapter ends with a 30 minute action plan - how to put that piece of the plan to work on 30 minutes or less. As a business owner who is always overwhelmed, underwater and trying to catch a break, or at least a breath - being able to take action in under 30 minutes and get that rush of accomplishment is absolutely critical. It builds confidence and lets us know right away that yes, we can do this.
Second - Mike takes the time to give both real world examples of people and businesses who have rocked each step of the plan, as well as craft industry specific examples of the Pumpkin Plan in action to demonstrate not only that the plan can work for any type of business, but also ways that it might work. He flexes his imagination in a way that shows us multiple paths that we could take to grow our own giant pumpkin of a business (or life).
Third - And this is where Mike's book, for me, went from "just another business book" to the business book I'll be recommending to everyone who could use a little boost, nudge or step up in life this year - Mike does the one thing that no one else I've read has been brave enough to do - he gives us a detailed, direct plan for killing your darlings.
Darlings are those customers, clients, people (or in writing - sections of prose) who are sucking your time, energy, brain power, money or other resources and not delivering any return on that investment.
As an entrepreneur from a long line of entrepreneurs this is something I know we all need. Again, in business and in life and in writing. To be successful by any measure we have to get rid of the "drainbows" as my husband calls them. But how? How do we know who to keep and who to cut? And... How do we cut the soul-suckers without burning the bridge completely or pissing them off and having them turn on us? This is the small business owner's dilemma. We know we can't be all things to everyone, but how do we say no to money?
I'm not going to tell you Mike's plan - I'm only going to tell you that I am implementing it actively right now. I started with Facebook - culling that crazy herd. Now I'm going through my client list. His steps not only make sense, they are a validation of everything I believed when I started my business, but started to neglect in the quest to say yes and serve more people. As Mike reminded me - "More isn't better. Better is better." Don't understand? Get the book. And then get started killing your darlings and streamlining success.
Ostensibly a book about growing your business - there is much more to be gained in the Pumpkin Plan than just a successful business and more time and money on your hands.
Disclaimer - Mike gifted me a copy of this book after he read my review of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg. Because I'm in the middle of a re-branding and re-structuring of my business, I accepted the gift but warned him I'd be brutally honest in my review. So... Here's the brutal piece of the review - While the bro-down tone might work for some, I found it a little overly chummy and grating. I don't know this guy from Adam and I kind of resented him thinking we were pals. However, after a while it kind of clicked - that's just who this guy is. The Pumpkin Plan is written in his voice, and he just happens to be one of those outgoing nice guys who really would buy you a drink at the bar and tell you how you too could be living the good life, because after all, shouldn't everyone be happy?
January 19, 2022
Am really lovin' this book! This author is a fave of mine. He has a previous book, writes for the Wall Street Journal as well as other pub's, and has several great videos on YouTube. I was asked to read and critique this book before it's July 5 release.
Oh NO! Haven't finished the book and it's already July 5th! Well, it's just too "meaty"! Why read a great book if you're not going to implement what you learn from it? www.ThePumpkinPlan.com
The Pumpkin Plan is a well written and fun read. The content was extraordinary, reminiscent of Good to Great and Great by Choice (Jim Collins) without all of the empirical mumbo jumbo that can bog a reader down. The author has distilled entrepreneurial skills down to a simple to understand brew. My husband and I have started 5 businesses from scratch, not every one successful. "If only" we had The Pumpkin Plan BEFORE or during some of them, we'd be better off. C'est la vie!
You don't need a degree from Princeton to be an entrepreneur. Many others have gone before us and we have the opportunity to learn from them! Mike Michalowicz has definitely given a simple plan to help us out. Remember, just because it's simple doesn't necessarily mean it's easy. If it was easy, everybody would be able to do it. Learning from Mike can improve your advance toward success.
Oh NO! Haven't finished the book and it's already July 5th! Well, it's just too "meaty"! Why read a great book if you're not going to implement what you learn from it? www.ThePumpkinPlan.com
The Pumpkin Plan is a well written and fun read. The content was extraordinary, reminiscent of Good to Great and Great by Choice (Jim Collins) without all of the empirical mumbo jumbo that can bog a reader down. The author has distilled entrepreneurial skills down to a simple to understand brew. My husband and I have started 5 businesses from scratch, not every one successful. "If only" we had The Pumpkin Plan BEFORE or during some of them, we'd be better off. C'est la vie!
You don't need a degree from Princeton to be an entrepreneur. Many others have gone before us and we have the opportunity to learn from them! Mike Michalowicz has definitely given a simple plan to help us out. Remember, just because it's simple doesn't necessarily mean it's easy. If it was easy, everybody would be able to do it. Learning from Mike can improve your advance toward success.
August 23, 2017
Hilarious book and very applicable to all businesses, believe it or not. This one teaches you to "fire your worst customers so that the best ones get the most attention." It's a simple business strategy but has proven effective.
January 20, 2026
I read Mike Michalowicz's, Profit First a couple of years ago and was blown away by it. After finishing this one, it's clear I'll be reading ALL of his books.
Mike, if you ever read this: thank you so much for all of the information you give away for free. 🙏
Mike, if you ever read this: thank you so much for all of the information you give away for free. 🙏
September 4, 2021
I read this as part of the book club of a business group that I am in.
Halfway through, I wasn't sure about it as it seemed to repeat the same idea (albeit a good one but one that I have already put into practice), of dropping bad customers (rotten pumpkins) to concentrate on the best ones (prize pumpkins). The second half contained a whole lot of other great ideas though - I particularly like the one of finding out who your dream customer's other favourite suppliers are and then getting in touch with them and speaking to their other customers who may also be dream customers for you.
I messaged Mike Michalowicz and told him that we were reading the book and loved his response:
"Awesome. I hope it truly serves you. Rock on!"
Bettered only by his response when I thanked him for the video that he sent our group:
"My joy! I'm glad it worked out. I appreciate you."
What a cool guy!
Halfway through, I wasn't sure about it as it seemed to repeat the same idea (albeit a good one but one that I have already put into practice), of dropping bad customers (rotten pumpkins) to concentrate on the best ones (prize pumpkins). The second half contained a whole lot of other great ideas though - I particularly like the one of finding out who your dream customer's other favourite suppliers are and then getting in touch with them and speaking to their other customers who may also be dream customers for you.
I messaged Mike Michalowicz and told him that we were reading the book and loved his response:
"Awesome. I hope it truly serves you. Rock on!"
Bettered only by his response when I thanked him for the video that he sent our group:
"My joy! I'm glad it worked out. I appreciate you."
What a cool guy!
March 20, 2019
This book, as well as being entertaining, cuts right to the core of what you can do to improve your company's effectiveness in the world by implementing The Pumpkin Plan.
This guy is so much fun to read that you can put down the book, and you can't help but learn very important concepts along the way. Mike is energetic and down to earth and such a cool dude, that he gives you his email address in the book and says to email him. He promises to respond (eventually) and I'm pretty certain it's actually him who responds back. I've done it and I've struck up a short conversation with him, and his energy pervades even his short email replies. It's hard to mimic that! Really hard.
At any rate, the info delivered in this book on improving your business is indeed invaluable. In it he breaks down key steps (not in a dorky overused 12-step plan style) to improve your business by reshaping the way you think about and do things.
I highly recommend this as a small business owner who has lots to learn and little time for the tedium of textbook style "how tos"! Great work Mike! Now get busy with another book!
This guy is so much fun to read that you can put down the book, and you can't help but learn very important concepts along the way. Mike is energetic and down to earth and such a cool dude, that he gives you his email address in the book and says to email him. He promises to respond (eventually) and I'm pretty certain it's actually him who responds back. I've done it and I've struck up a short conversation with him, and his energy pervades even his short email replies. It's hard to mimic that! Really hard.
At any rate, the info delivered in this book on improving your business is indeed invaluable. In it he breaks down key steps (not in a dorky overused 12-step plan style) to improve your business by reshaping the way you think about and do things.
I highly recommend this as a small business owner who has lots to learn and little time for the tedium of textbook style "how tos"! Great work Mike! Now get busy with another book!
October 1, 2016
A must-read for any small business owner or entrepreneur. The Pumpkin Plan is also a great resource for freelancers like myself. I found many of his tips about clients (i.e. attracting the right clients, weeding out the bad clients) to be applicable to my work as a freelance writer. Michalowicz outlines The Pumpkin Plan in clear, actionable steps. He also gives lots of industry-specific tips and backs up all of his points with concise, relevant stories from his own experience as a business owner and stories of other real businesses and how they've become so successful.
Many people write books of this nature without any real experience, which leaves you wondering about the credibility of their advice. Michalowicz has built several extremely successful businesses from the ground up. He's not afraid to share his failures and successes alike and clearly has a passion for helping other entrepreneurs and business owners achieve the same level of success.
Many people write books of this nature without any real experience, which leaves you wondering about the credibility of their advice. Michalowicz has built several extremely successful businesses from the ground up. He's not afraid to share his failures and successes alike and clearly has a passion for helping other entrepreneurs and business owners achieve the same level of success.
November 7, 2018
I picked this up after reading Michalowicz’s other book, Profit First. In Pumpkin Plan, Mike draws on the process for growing a large pumpkin and extends that process to growing a large business. The steps (paraphrased) are:
1. Identify your top clients
2. Weed out all of the other clients
3. Focus all of your effort on nurturing the top clients
I enjoyed the read and came away with a handful of earmarked pages to return to later. A few strategies really stuck with me like taking your top clients out for coffee and the idea that business is not a popularity contest (“Don’t worry about having the most clients. Worry about having the best clients...).
1. Identify your top clients
2. Weed out all of the other clients
3. Focus all of your effort on nurturing the top clients
I enjoyed the read and came away with a handful of earmarked pages to return to later. A few strategies really stuck with me like taking your top clients out for coffee and the idea that business is not a popularity contest (“Don’t worry about having the most clients. Worry about having the best clients...).
March 8, 2013
Очевидная идея концентрации внимания и усилий на максимально прибыльных и минимально "напряжных" для предпринимателя направлениях. Основную мысль можно изложить в нескольких предложениях. Ценных материалов на пару-тройку страниц. Остальное - живописные примеры, размышления и убеждения, что методы работают. Стиль изложения традиционен.
Я не любитель подобной бизнес-литературы, но время от времени обращаю внимание на хвалебные отзывы и некоторые книги даже читаю. Тем не менее, думаю, что ценителям жанра книга придётся по вкусу.
Я не любитель подобной бизнес-литературы, но время от времени обращаю внимание на хвалебные отзывы и некоторые книги даже читаю. Тем не менее, думаю, что ценителям жанра книга придётся по вкусу.
November 9, 2019
เล่มฟักทองยักษ์ เพิ่งจบตะกี้ อ่านแล้วเฉยๆ น่าเบื่อ อาจจะไกลตัวสายงานของผม แต่บางประเด็นก็หยิบมาใช้ได้
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รีวิวเล่มฟักทอง 🎃🎃🎃
.
รู้สึกว่าไม่มีอะไรต่างจากเล่ม ทำน้อยได้มาก(Less is more)หรือ สิ่งเดียว(One thing) แนวคิดเหมือนๆกัน
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สิ่งที่ได้จากในเล่มฟักทองคือ
1. จงตัดสิ่งที่ไม่จำเป็นออกไป โฟกัสสิ่งที่สำคัญ(ลูกค้าอันดับต้นๆ)และสิ่งนั้นมีผลกระทบต่อเรา(ในที่นี้คือรายได้)จริงๆ
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2.วิธีการจัดการลูกค้าให้อยู่หมัด ตัดลูกค้าพวกเรื่องมาก(และไม่ส่งผลต่อรายได้หลัก)ออกไป สรุปเป็นข้อในส่วน ลงมือทำใน30นาที
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จบการรีวิว #อ่านHardThingต่อ(กำลังอ่านเล่ม Hard thing ฯ อ่านไปห้าสิบหน้า สนุกมากๆ)
.
รีวิวเล่มฟักทอง 🎃🎃🎃
.
รู้สึกว่าไม่มีอะไรต่างจากเล่ม ทำน้อยได้มาก(Less is more)หรือ สิ่งเดียว(One thing) แนวคิดเหมือนๆกัน
.
สิ่งที่ได้จากในเล่มฟักทองคือ
1. จงตัดสิ่งที่ไม่จำเป็นออกไป โฟกัสสิ่งที่สำคัญ(ลูกค้าอันดับต้นๆ)และสิ่งนั้นมีผลกระทบต่อเรา(ในที่นี้คือรายได้)จริงๆ
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2.วิธีการจัดการลูกค้าให้อยู่หมัด ตัดลูกค้าพวกเรื่องมาก(และไม่ส่งผลต่อรายได้หลัก)ออกไป สรุปเป็นข้อในส่วน ลงมือทำใน30นาที
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จบการรีวิว #อ่านHardThingต่อ(กำลังอ่านเล่ม Hard thing ฯ อ่านไปห้าสิบหน้า สนุกมากๆ)
December 2, 2018
Great simple to follow plan. Love the analogy of growing pumpkins. I have been doing something like this for years. Great, advise to refocus and implement the strategies.
April 11, 2021
Một cuốn sách hay, vừa đọc vừa sợ hết.
April 16, 2020
The Pumpkin Plan is a brilliant book based on a powerful analogy that every business leader should read. True to form, Mike Michaolowicz offers pointed and practical advice that will help businesses grow larger and healthier at the same time. I highly endorse this book.
I firmly believe that the way to grow a business is to focus on Ideal Clients. In The Pumpkin Plan, Mike Michalowicz offers clear direction on how to find your best clients and weed out the other clients so you can focus your energy on exceeding their expectations and attracting more clients. In Revenue Growth Engine, I call this building the Ideal Client Experience.
The analogy behind the title, The Pumpkin Plan, is simple: if you want to grow prize-winning pumpkins you must get rid of the small pumpkins so all of the energy from the vine can go to growing the big pumpkins.
My first encounter with Mike's writing was in his book, Profit First. This was a lifesaver for my mindset as a business owner. The book was unconventional and practical. The Pumpkin plan offers that same level of unconventional thinking and practical application. At the end of every chapter, you’ll find applications to specific businesses. I guarantee you will get ideas from this book that will help you focus on your Ideal Client.
I highly recommend every business owner, sales leader, and marketing professional read the whole book. To whet your appetite, here are some of my favorite takeaways.
Find Your Sweet Spot
Every business has a sweet spot. Mike defines this spot in a Venn diagram where three things intersect:
Top Clients--the Ideal Clients you love to work with, spend lots of money, trust you, pay their bills on time, and give references generously.
Unique Offering--Your Area of Innovation (AOI) the place where your business uniquely shines.
Systemetization--the parts of your business that have defined processes.
Every company has a sweet spot. It’s the place where you can uniquely and predictably get results for ideal clients. In the book, Mike walks you through how to identify your sweet spot.
Three Types of Clients
This is where the book starts becoming uncomfortable for most business owners. Mike says that there are three types of clients ranked in order of importance:
Good Clients
Non-Existent Clients
Bad Clients
He argues that bad clients are worse than no clients at all. These clients suck away energy, resources, and passion in exchange for low amounts of revenue, lots of handholding, excessive complaining, and low loyalty. Mike says we should assess all of our clients and get rid of the bad ones. To help, he offers four strategies to gracefully fire bad clients.
Part of defining whether a client is good or bad is based on what Mike calls the “immutable laws.” These are company values on steroids. As an example,, he shares two of his top immutable laws: “give to give and don’t be a dick.” If a client violates these laws, no matter how big they are, they need to go.
Then, you can use the energy, time, and money this frees up to focus on serving your Good Clients. Mike says, “If you could bring one client to a desert island, who would it be?” He then helps you identify these clients.
Not all clients are created equally. It’s the Ideal Clients that deserve your focus. They are the path to growth, happiness, and sustained success. Focus on them.
The Customer Isn’t Always Right
What? That’s not what I’ve been told my entire business career. Mike reframes the statement: “The RIGHT customer is always right”. In other words, you need to pay very close attention to what your Ideal Clients are saying. I love this.
Play Favorites
What we were taught on the playground doesn’t transfer to business. To drive exponential revenue growth, we must play favorites. Who are our favorites? By now, I suspect you’re catching on to the answer: your Ideal Clients.
To be clear, Mike is not saying to ignore your average clients. But he does advocate for developing a different approach for top clients. “Push them to the front of the line. Drop everything for them. Interrupt meetings to deal with their crises. Dream up new and better ways to serve them. Give them first dibs on new products and services. Accommodate their special requests.” Above all, work on finding ways to help them grow their businesses.
With Ideal Clients, Mike says we should always “UPOD--Under Promise, Over Deliver.” We need to become obsessed with what these ideal clients want. This is the key to growing big pumpkins.
You may be thinking, “What about my average clients--won’t this type of focus ignore them?” Mike brilliantly asserts that the opposite is true. “The improvements you make for your best clients will inevitably help the other guys too.” After all, many of your average clients want to become like your best clients.
Wish Lists
How do you determine what your Ideal Clients really want? Ask! Mike calls this the wish list. He recommends that we go talk with our Ideal Clients and ask about their business:
"One of the single most effective strategies I use as part of my own Pumpkin Plan is something I call the ‘Wish List.’ I interview my top clients to find out what they wish they could change about my industry, what they wish I could do for them… what they wish someone could solve for them… Then I play fairy godfather and fulfill every possible wish.”
The key here is good questions about their business. When you talk about yourself, talk at the level of your industry, not your business. In these conversations, you will be handed the keys to explosive growth.
One Pound Heavier Wins the Prize
To win a pumpkin competition your pumpkin only needs to be one pound heavier than your closest competitor. Mike says that the key to explosive growth is “competing reasonably well in every area your competition competes in and then blowing them away in one category.” In the book, he helps you define that category.
I firmly believe that the way to grow a business is to focus on Ideal Clients. In The Pumpkin Plan, Mike Michalowicz offers clear direction on how to find your best clients and weed out the other clients so you can focus your energy on exceeding their expectations and attracting more clients. In Revenue Growth Engine, I call this building the Ideal Client Experience.
The analogy behind the title, The Pumpkin Plan, is simple: if you want to grow prize-winning pumpkins you must get rid of the small pumpkins so all of the energy from the vine can go to growing the big pumpkins.
My first encounter with Mike's writing was in his book, Profit First. This was a lifesaver for my mindset as a business owner. The book was unconventional and practical. The Pumpkin plan offers that same level of unconventional thinking and practical application. At the end of every chapter, you’ll find applications to specific businesses. I guarantee you will get ideas from this book that will help you focus on your Ideal Client.
I highly recommend every business owner, sales leader, and marketing professional read the whole book. To whet your appetite, here are some of my favorite takeaways.
Find Your Sweet Spot
Every business has a sweet spot. Mike defines this spot in a Venn diagram where three things intersect:
Top Clients--the Ideal Clients you love to work with, spend lots of money, trust you, pay their bills on time, and give references generously.
Unique Offering--Your Area of Innovation (AOI) the place where your business uniquely shines.
Systemetization--the parts of your business that have defined processes.
Every company has a sweet spot. It’s the place where you can uniquely and predictably get results for ideal clients. In the book, Mike walks you through how to identify your sweet spot.
Three Types of Clients
This is where the book starts becoming uncomfortable for most business owners. Mike says that there are three types of clients ranked in order of importance:
Good Clients
Non-Existent Clients
Bad Clients
He argues that bad clients are worse than no clients at all. These clients suck away energy, resources, and passion in exchange for low amounts of revenue, lots of handholding, excessive complaining, and low loyalty. Mike says we should assess all of our clients and get rid of the bad ones. To help, he offers four strategies to gracefully fire bad clients.
Part of defining whether a client is good or bad is based on what Mike calls the “immutable laws.” These are company values on steroids. As an example,, he shares two of his top immutable laws: “give to give and don’t be a dick.” If a client violates these laws, no matter how big they are, they need to go.
Then, you can use the energy, time, and money this frees up to focus on serving your Good Clients. Mike says, “If you could bring one client to a desert island, who would it be?” He then helps you identify these clients.
Not all clients are created equally. It’s the Ideal Clients that deserve your focus. They are the path to growth, happiness, and sustained success. Focus on them.
The Customer Isn’t Always Right
What? That’s not what I’ve been told my entire business career. Mike reframes the statement: “The RIGHT customer is always right”. In other words, you need to pay very close attention to what your Ideal Clients are saying. I love this.
Play Favorites
What we were taught on the playground doesn’t transfer to business. To drive exponential revenue growth, we must play favorites. Who are our favorites? By now, I suspect you’re catching on to the answer: your Ideal Clients.
To be clear, Mike is not saying to ignore your average clients. But he does advocate for developing a different approach for top clients. “Push them to the front of the line. Drop everything for them. Interrupt meetings to deal with their crises. Dream up new and better ways to serve them. Give them first dibs on new products and services. Accommodate their special requests.” Above all, work on finding ways to help them grow their businesses.
With Ideal Clients, Mike says we should always “UPOD--Under Promise, Over Deliver.” We need to become obsessed with what these ideal clients want. This is the key to growing big pumpkins.
You may be thinking, “What about my average clients--won’t this type of focus ignore them?” Mike brilliantly asserts that the opposite is true. “The improvements you make for your best clients will inevitably help the other guys too.” After all, many of your average clients want to become like your best clients.
Wish Lists
How do you determine what your Ideal Clients really want? Ask! Mike calls this the wish list. He recommends that we go talk with our Ideal Clients and ask about their business:
"One of the single most effective strategies I use as part of my own Pumpkin Plan is something I call the ‘Wish List.’ I interview my top clients to find out what they wish they could change about my industry, what they wish I could do for them… what they wish someone could solve for them… Then I play fairy godfather and fulfill every possible wish.”
The key here is good questions about their business. When you talk about yourself, talk at the level of your industry, not your business. In these conversations, you will be handed the keys to explosive growth.
One Pound Heavier Wins the Prize
To win a pumpkin competition your pumpkin only needs to be one pound heavier than your closest competitor. Mike says that the key to explosive growth is “competing reasonably well in every area your competition competes in and then blowing them away in one category.” In the book, he helps you define that category.
October 3, 2012
The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field
by Mike Michalowicz (author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur) is an excellent book about achieving success as an entrepreneur in any field.
*Full disclosure, I was given a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.*
Now, this book is definitely aimed primarily at entrepreneurs, secondarily at everyone else in charge of running a business. However, there's still a lot of great points that are valuable to the rest of us.
The main idea behind The Pumpkin Plan, is that we ought to focus on our top clients - i.e., our giant pumpkin. The way a farmer grows a huge, prize-winning giant pumpkin, is by carefully selecting a premium seed (i.e., the idea for a business), then weeding everything else away (including all the small, diseased pumpkin and even "ordinary" pumpkins) focusing only on the pumpkin with the most potential, continuing with watering and tending to the pumpkin until it has grown to huge proportions - then reaping the benefits.
Too often we run ourselves ragged, trying to please everyone instead of playing to our strengths. By focusing on our strong suits - and on doing great work for the customers most suited to us, it is much easier to distinguish yourself from the competition and make your work easier and of a higher quality.
This is a lesson I believe is incredibly valuable to all of us, to leverage our strengths rather than trying to please everyone (which is impossible anyway.
Even more so, the following quote is incredibly thought-provoking and useful in all areas of life:
In conclusion, I greatly recommend this to everyone, but especially to those who are running - or thinking about running a business.
by Mike Michalowicz (author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur) is an excellent book about achieving success as an entrepreneur in any field.
*Full disclosure, I was given a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.*
Now, this book is definitely aimed primarily at entrepreneurs, secondarily at everyone else in charge of running a business. However, there's still a lot of great points that are valuable to the rest of us.
The main idea behind The Pumpkin Plan
, is that we ought to focus on our top clients - i.e., our giant pumpkin. The way a farmer grows a huge, prize-winning giant pumpkin, is by carefully selecting a premium seed (i.e., the idea for a business), then weeding everything else away (including all the small, diseased pumpkin and even "ordinary" pumpkins) focusing only on the pumpkin with the most potential, continuing with watering and tending to the pumpkin until it has grown to huge proportions - then reaping the benefits.There is something extremely irresistible, something magnetic about being the extreme. Be it the strongest, or the fastest, or the most unique. The farmer with the most extraordinary pumpkin in the field wins. Ever. Single. Time.
The same is true for entrepreneurs. Yet most entrepreneurs work their tails off, only to end up with small, ordinary, unremarkable pumpkins. Compared to the giant pumpkin, the companies these struggling entrepreneurs grow are insignificant, so insignificant that customers often don't see them, or squash them, or leave them to rot in the field without a second thought.
Too often we run ourselves ragged, trying to please everyone instead of playing to our strengths. By focusing on our strong suits - and on doing great work for the customers most suited to us, it is much easier to distinguish yourself from the competition and make your work easier and of a higher quality.
More is not better, people. Better is better.
You need to shift your mindset away from the quantity game. You need to stop killing yourself for scraps. I want you to kick your fears in the teeth and start focusing on the clients who, when you love them (and others just like them), will make your wildest revenue dreams possible.
This is a lesson I believe is incredibly valuable to all of us, to leverage our strengths rather than trying to please everyone (which is impossible anyway.
Even more so, the following quote is incredibly thought-provoking and useful in all areas of life:
The key here is that your brain goes to work on any question you ask it. Good, bad or indifferent... your brain keeps plugging away. You need to be very aware of the questions you ask yourself, because the quality of your question will directly influence the quality of your answer.
If you ask, "Why do I always struggle?" your brain will answer: "Because you suck." Okay, usually your brain comes up with specific answers, like "Because you're not well-educated," or "Because you don't have enough money," or "Because you're not good at sales."
Conversely, if you ask, "How do I achieve success?" your brain will come back with an answer: "Try this, do that..." If you consistently ask enabling questions, your brain will find enabling answers - solutions toward progress. Pumpkin Planners consistently ask better questions, get better answers and, ultimately, get better results.
In conclusion, I greatly recommend this to everyone, but especially to those who are running - or thinking about running a business.
October 17, 2021
Every entrepreneur NEEDS to read this. There is some truth telling that will scare you and you’ll disagree with, but it’s absolutely vital to follow this advice. Michalowicz uses his humor wisely and it’s even more fun to hear him talk about it live. I bet this is even better on audio.
November 1, 2021
Maravilloso en su simplicidad y aplicabilidad. Algunos consejos ya los había empezado a aplicar hace poco, pero ahora tengo muchas más herramientas para mi negocio. Fue una lectura rápida y enriquecedora.
February 16, 2026
(The English review is placed beneath the Russian one)
Довольно неплохая книга одной идеи, которая меня бы удивила, если бы я до этого не ознакомился с книгами таких известных маркетологов XX века как Джек Траут и Эл Райс. Впрочем, и до этих двух авторов в маркетинговой и даже учебной литературе можно было встретить понятие «80/20» или правило Парето. Смысл этого в том, что 20% клиентов приносят 80% прибыли, что в свою очередь означает, что компании нужно фокусировать внимание именно на этих 20% самых высокоприбыльных клиентов. Эта информация не новая и в университетских учебниках по маркетингу правилу Парето 80/20 уделяют лишь один небольшой абзац. И да, вся книга посвящается исключительно одной этой теме. Несмотря на это книга написана на редкость хорошо и интересно, а если учесть что сегодня появляется всё больше и больше книг, в которых авторы пишут о важности максимально полного удовлетворения потребностей клиентов, то такая книга становится особенно актуальной, ибо говорит, что не всех клиенты короли и не всем им нужно оказывать королевские почести (только тем клиентам, кто приносит максимально высокую прибыль).
Шаг первый. Определите и используйте ваши самые сильные природные стороны.
Шаг второй. Продавайте, продавайте, продавайте.
Шаг третий. По мере роста вашего бизнеса удаляйте всех мелких, «гнилых» клиентов.
Шаг четвертый. Никогда не позволяйте никому и ничему отвлекать вас. Пусть иногда это кажется «новыми возможностями» — будьте тверды: немедленно устраняйте их.
Шаг пятый. Определите своих лучших клиентов и уберите остальных, малообещающих.
Шаг шестой. Сконцентрируйте все внимание на лучших клиентах. «Удобряйте» и защищайте их, выясните, чего они хотят больше всего, и, если это сочетается с тем, что вы лучше всего умеете делать, дайте им это. Затем повторите то же самое — услугу или продукт — для максимально возможного числа таких же хороших клиентов.
Шаг седьмой. Наблюдайте, как ваша компания растет до гигантских размеров.
Впрочем, я ошибся, сказав, что всё сводится исключительно к правилу Парето. Второй важной составляющей, так же не являющейся секретом для сотрудников отдела маркетинга, является важность инноваций и нахождения УТП, т.е. того, что компания делает лучше всех остальных конкурентов.
В книге «Стартап без бюджета» я говорил о том, как важно сосредоточиться на одной области инноваций (ОИ), и выделил три пункта: качество, цена и удобство. Никто не может быть официальным лидером во всех трех областях одновременно. Многие пытаются, но все терпят неудачу. Вы не можете обеспечивать высшее качество супербыстро по минимальным ценам. Такого просто не может быть.
<…>
Ваша ОИ — это только один компонент вашего уникального предложения. Другой — это ваша самая сильная сторона, то, что вы делаете действительно очень-очень хорошо.
<…>
А поскольку вы, вероятно, играете роль мастера на все руки, то это то, чего вам так не хватает, то, что вы хотели бы делать, если бы только могли перестать делать все остальное.
Опять же, об этом особенно хорошо писали в своё время Джек Траут и Эл Райс, но если книга написана хорошо, и если читать книгу интересно, то почему бы не повторить «урок». Тут нужно заметить, что каких-то радикально новых идей в маркетинговой литературе начиная с 2000-ых годов просто не появилось, и поэтому мы снова и снова читаем о том же самом, что писали маркетологи в книгах, изданных в XX веке. С тех самых пор только обложка изменилась, став более красивой и порой даже яркой. В остальном же это всё те же идеи. К тому же многие маркетологи продолжают игнорировать эти правила, думая, что можно стать «всем для всех».
Вам лучше не иметь клиентов вовсе, чем иметь плохих клиентов, потому что, когда у вас нет никаких клиентов, вы, по крайней мере, можете искать хорошего клиента, вместо того чтобы приспосабливаться, меняться и изгибаться, пытаясь удовлетворить нужды плохого клиента.
<…>
Вам не нужно увольнять любого, кто не попадает в верхние строчки вашего списка. Вы просто должны уволить тех, кто находится в самом низу списка, тех, из-за кого вам действительно трудно взять клиентов, приносящих 15 тысяч долларов в месяц. Клиенты из середины таблицы с абсолютно приемлемыми средними показателями могут остаться. Они просто не могут получить ваше нераздельное внимание прямо сейчас.
А вот тут мы уже видим такой классический инструмент маркетинга как Анализ Прибыльности Потребителей, когда, как писал Филип Котлер в своём монументальном труде «Маркетинг Менеджмент», потребители делятся на платиновых, золотых, серебряных и бронзовых (деревянных) клиентов, где первым двум категориям нужно уделять больше всего внимания, серебряных пытаться перевести в золотые или платиновые, а от бронзовых (деревянных) нужно избавляться.
It's a pretty good book with one idea that would have surprised me if I hadn't read books by such famous 20th-century marketers as Jack Trout and Al Ries before. However, even before these two authors, the concept of “80/20” or the Pareto principle could be found in marketing and even educational literature. The idea is that 20% of customers bring in 80% of profits, which in turn means that companies need to focus their attention on these 20% of the most profitable customers. This information is not new, and university marketing textbooks devote only one small paragraph to the Pareto 80/20 rule. And yes, the entire book is devoted exclusively to this one topic. Despite this, the book is exceptionally well written and interesting, and considering that today there are more and more books in which authors write about the importance of satisfying customer needs as fully as possible, such a book becomes particularly relevant, because it says that not all customers are kings and not all of them need to be treated with royal honors (only those customers who bring the highest profits).
" Step one. Identify and utilize your strongest natural strengths.
Step two. Sell, sell, sell.
Step three. As your business grows, eliminate all minor, “rotten” customers.
Step four. Never let anyone or anything distract you. Even if it seems like a “new opportunity,” be firm: eliminate it immediately.
Step five. Identify your best customers and get rid of the rest, the ones with little promise.
Step six. Focus all your attention on your best customers. “Fertilize” and protect them, find out what they want most, and if it matches what you do best, give it to them. Then repeat the same thing — the service or product — for as many other good customers as possible.
Step seven. Watch your company grow to enormous proportions. "
However, I was wrong to say that it all boils down exclusively to the Pareto principle. The second important component, which is also no secret to marketing department employees, is the importance of innovation and finding a USP, i.e., what the company does better than all its competitors.
" In my book Startup Without a Budget, I talked about how important it is to focus on one area of innovation (AI) and highlighted three points: quality, price, and convenience. No one can be the official leader in all three areas at the same time. Many try, but all fail. You cannot provide the highest quality super fast at the lowest prices. It's simply not possible.
<…>
Your AI is only one component of your unique offering. Another is your greatest strength, the thing you do really, really well.
<…>
And since you probably play the role of a jack of all trades, this is what you lack so much, what you would like to do if only you could stop doing everything else. "
Again, Jack Trout and Al Ries wrote about this particularly well in their time, but if the book is well written and interesting to read, why not repeat the “lesson”? It should be noted that there have been no radically new ideas in marketing literature since the 2000s, which is why we keep reading about the same things that marketers wrote about in books published in the 20th century. Since then, only the covers have changed, becoming more beautiful and sometimes even brighter. Otherwise, it's all the same ideas. In addition, many marketers continue to ignore these rules, thinking that it is possible to be “everything to everyone.”
" It is better to have no clients at all than to have bad clients, because when you have no clients, you can at least look for a good client, instead of adapting, changing, and bending over backwards trying to satisfy the needs of a bad client.
<...>
You don't need to fire everyone who isn't at the top of your list. You just have to fire those at the bottom of the list, those who make it really difficult for you to take on clients who bring in $15,000 a month. Clients in the middle of the table with perfectly acceptable average scores can stay. They just can't get your undivided attention right now. "
Here we see a classic marketing tool such as Customer Profitability Analysis, where, as Philip Kotler wrote in his monumental work Marketing Management, consumers are divided into platinum, gold, silver, and bronze (wooden) customers, where the first two categories need to be given the most attention, silver ones should be converted into gold or platinum ones, and bronze (wooden) ones should be eliminated.
Довольно неплохая книга одной идеи, которая меня бы удивила, если бы я до этого не ознакомился с книгами таких известных маркетологов XX века как Джек Траут и Эл Райс. Впрочем, и до этих двух авторов в маркетинговой и даже учебной литературе можно было встретить понятие «80/20» или правило Парето. Смысл этого в том, что 20% клиентов приносят 80% прибыли, что в свою очередь означает, что компании нужно фокусировать внимание именно на этих 20% самых высокоприбыльных клиентов. Эта информация не новая и в университетских учебниках по маркетингу правилу Парето 80/20 уделяют лишь один небольшой абзац. И да, вся книга посвящается исключительно одной этой теме. Несмотря на это книга написана на редкость хорошо и интересно, а если учесть что сегодня появляется всё больше и больше книг, в которых авторы пишут о важности максимально полного удовлетворения потребностей клиентов, то такая книга становится особенно актуальной, ибо говорит, что не всех клиенты короли и не всем им нужно оказывать королевские почести (только тем клиентам, кто приносит максимально высокую прибыль).
Шаг первый. Определите и используйте ваши самые сильные природные стороны.
Шаг второй. Продавайте, продавайте, продавайте.
Шаг третий. По мере роста вашего бизнеса удаляйте всех мелких, «гнилых» клиентов.
Шаг четвертый. Никогда не позволяйте никому и ничему отвлекать вас. Пусть иногда это кажется «новыми возможностями» — будьте тверды: немедленно устраняйте их.
Шаг пятый. Определите своих лучших клиентов и уберите остальных, малообещающих.
Шаг шестой. Сконцентрируйте все внимание на лучших клиентах. «Удобряйте» и защищайте их, выясните, чего они хотят больше всего, и, если это сочетается с тем, что вы лучше всего умеете делать, дайте им это. Затем повторите то же самое — услугу или продукт — для максимально возможного числа таких же хороших клиентов.
Шаг седьмой. Наблюдайте, как ваша компания растет до гигантских размеров.
Впрочем, я ошибся, сказав, что всё сводится исключительно к правилу Парето. Второй важной составляющей, так же не являющейся секретом для сотрудников отдела маркетинга, является важность инноваций и нахождения УТП, т.е. того, что компания делает лучше всех остальных конкурентов.
В книге «Стартап без бюджета» я говорил о том, как важно сосредоточиться на одной области инноваций (ОИ), и выделил три пункта: качество, цена и удобство. Никто не может быть официальным лидером во всех трех областях одновременно. Многие пытаются, но все терпят неудачу. Вы не можете обеспечивать высшее качество супербыстро по минимальным ценам. Такого просто не может быть.
<…>
Ваша ОИ — это только один компонент вашего уникального предложения. Другой — это ваша самая сильная сторона, то, что вы делаете действительно очень-очень хорошо.
<…>
А поскольку вы, вероятно, играете роль мастера на все руки, то это то, чего вам так не хватает, то, что вы хотели бы делать, если бы только могли перестать делать все остальное.
Опять же, об этом особенно хорошо писали в своё время Джек Траут и Эл Райс, но если книга написана хорошо, и если читать книгу интересно, то почему бы не повторить «урок». Тут нужно заметить, что каких-то радикально новых идей в маркетинговой литературе начиная с 2000-ых годов просто не появилось, и поэтому мы снова и снова читаем о том же самом, что писали маркетологи в книгах, изданных в XX веке. С тех самых пор только обложка изменилась, став более красивой и порой даже яркой. В остальном же это всё те же идеи. К тому же многие маркетологи продолжают игнорировать эти правила, думая, что можно стать «всем для всех».
Вам лучше не иметь клиентов вовсе, чем иметь плохих клиентов, потому что, когда у вас нет никаких клиентов, вы, по крайней мере, можете искать хорошего клиента, вместо того чтобы приспосабливаться, меняться и изгибаться, пытаясь удовлетворить нужды плохого клиента.
<…>
Вам не нужно увольнять любого, кто не попадает в верхние строчки вашего списка. Вы просто должны уволить тех, кто находится в самом низу списка, тех, из-за кого вам действительно трудно взять клиентов, приносящих 15 тысяч долларов в месяц. Клиенты из середины таблицы с абсолютно приемлемыми средними показателями могут остаться. Они просто не могут получить ваше нераздельное внимание прямо сейчас.
А вот тут мы уже видим такой классический инструмент маркетинга как Анализ Прибыльности Потребителей, когда, как писал Филип Котлер в своём монументальном труде «Маркетинг Менеджмент», потребители делятся на платиновых, золотых, серебряных и бронзовых (деревянных) клиентов, где первым двум категориям нужно уделять больше всего внимания, серебряных пытаться перевести в золотые или платиновые, а от бронзовых (деревянных) нужно избавляться.
It's a pretty good book with one idea that would have surprised me if I hadn't read books by such famous 20th-century marketers as Jack Trout and Al Ries before. However, even before these two authors, the concept of “80/20” or the Pareto principle could be found in marketing and even educational literature. The idea is that 20% of customers bring in 80% of profits, which in turn means that companies need to focus their attention on these 20% of the most profitable customers. This information is not new, and university marketing textbooks devote only one small paragraph to the Pareto 80/20 rule. And yes, the entire book is devoted exclusively to this one topic. Despite this, the book is exceptionally well written and interesting, and considering that today there are more and more books in which authors write about the importance of satisfying customer needs as fully as possible, such a book becomes particularly relevant, because it says that not all customers are kings and not all of them need to be treated with royal honors (only those customers who bring the highest profits).
" Step one. Identify and utilize your strongest natural strengths.
Step two. Sell, sell, sell.
Step three. As your business grows, eliminate all minor, “rotten” customers.
Step four. Never let anyone or anything distract you. Even if it seems like a “new opportunity,” be firm: eliminate it immediately.
Step five. Identify your best customers and get rid of the rest, the ones with little promise.
Step six. Focus all your attention on your best customers. “Fertilize” and protect them, find out what they want most, and if it matches what you do best, give it to them. Then repeat the same thing — the service or product — for as many other good customers as possible.
Step seven. Watch your company grow to enormous proportions. "
However, I was wrong to say that it all boils down exclusively to the Pareto principle. The second important component, which is also no secret to marketing department employees, is the importance of innovation and finding a USP, i.e., what the company does better than all its competitors.
" In my book Startup Without a Budget, I talked about how important it is to focus on one area of innovation (AI) and highlighted three points: quality, price, and convenience. No one can be the official leader in all three areas at the same time. Many try, but all fail. You cannot provide the highest quality super fast at the lowest prices. It's simply not possible.
<…>
Your AI is only one component of your unique offering. Another is your greatest strength, the thing you do really, really well.
<…>
And since you probably play the role of a jack of all trades, this is what you lack so much, what you would like to do if only you could stop doing everything else. "
Again, Jack Trout and Al Ries wrote about this particularly well in their time, but if the book is well written and interesting to read, why not repeat the “lesson”? It should be noted that there have been no radically new ideas in marketing literature since the 2000s, which is why we keep reading about the same things that marketers wrote about in books published in the 20th century. Since then, only the covers have changed, becoming more beautiful and sometimes even brighter. Otherwise, it's all the same ideas. In addition, many marketers continue to ignore these rules, thinking that it is possible to be “everything to everyone.”
" It is better to have no clients at all than to have bad clients, because when you have no clients, you can at least look for a good client, instead of adapting, changing, and bending over backwards trying to satisfy the needs of a bad client.
<...>
You don't need to fire everyone who isn't at the top of your list. You just have to fire those at the bottom of the list, those who make it really difficult for you to take on clients who bring in $15,000 a month. Clients in the middle of the table with perfectly acceptable average scores can stay. They just can't get your undivided attention right now. "
Here we see a classic marketing tool such as Customer Profitability Analysis, where, as Philip Kotler wrote in his monumental work Marketing Management, consumers are divided into platinum, gold, silver, and bronze (wooden) customers, where the first two categories need to be given the most attention, silver ones should be converted into gold or platinum ones, and bronze (wooden) ones should be eliminated.
October 15, 2012
I enjoyed Michalowicz's “The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur” even with it's bit of potty talk. If you've read that, you know that Michalowicz isn't afraid to say it like he sees it, have some fun, and bluntly tell you no-holds-barred how he succeeded in business and how you can too.
Mike Michalowicz is back with “The Pumpkin Plan.” Using the strategies pumpkin farmers use to grow enormous prize winning pumpkins, the author provides a simple strategy to grow a remarkable business in any field. Is the book a bit unconventional? Yes, but so is Michalowicz, and it's paid off tremendously for him, so why couldn't it work for you too?
I enjoy the author's humor, and you will have to as well to enjoy this book. While the book is filled with serious lessons, Michalowicz does like to have fun, and he interjects this throughout the text. I mean, how can't you like a guy who's immutable laws include “Give to Give” and “No Dicks Allowed.” And who can't like a guy who puts this endorsement on the back cover: “'He's a very handsome young man.' - Ursula Michalowicz, Mike's mom” When you see that, you know it's not going to be dry and super serious. (Even though the lessons and wisdom are serious!)
While the lessons in this book are titled with “pumpkin farmer” names like “The Seed,” “Assess the Vine,” and “How We Do Things Down on the Farm,” the principles really are universal and the author does a great job of relating them to various business. Many chapters contain an ending section of how to pumpkin plan certain industries and each of these are different. The chapters also have action items for you to do at the end of each chapter called “Work the Plan – Take Action in 30 minutes (or less).
Overall, this is a fun book, as well as a book full of important business ideas. It's not some boring theoretical business textbook, but rather an engaging blend of humor and business from someone who's been in the trenches and has the success to prove it. It's hard-hitting at times, but that might be just the wake-up call some need to get over the hump toward more success. Regardless if you are getting ready to plant the seed for your business, or you've already planted it but are tired of struggling to help it grow to no avail, read this book, “The Pumpkin Plan” to watch your business grow to award winning proportions.
Mike Michalowicz is back with “The Pumpkin Plan.” Using the strategies pumpkin farmers use to grow enormous prize winning pumpkins, the author provides a simple strategy to grow a remarkable business in any field. Is the book a bit unconventional? Yes, but so is Michalowicz, and it's paid off tremendously for him, so why couldn't it work for you too?
I enjoy the author's humor, and you will have to as well to enjoy this book. While the book is filled with serious lessons, Michalowicz does like to have fun, and he interjects this throughout the text. I mean, how can't you like a guy who's immutable laws include “Give to Give” and “No Dicks Allowed.” And who can't like a guy who puts this endorsement on the back cover: “'He's a very handsome young man.' - Ursula Michalowicz, Mike's mom” When you see that, you know it's not going to be dry and super serious. (Even though the lessons and wisdom are serious!)
While the lessons in this book are titled with “pumpkin farmer” names like “The Seed,” “Assess the Vine,” and “How We Do Things Down on the Farm,” the principles really are universal and the author does a great job of relating them to various business. Many chapters contain an ending section of how to pumpkin plan certain industries and each of these are different. The chapters also have action items for you to do at the end of each chapter called “Work the Plan – Take Action in 30 minutes (or less).
Overall, this is a fun book, as well as a book full of important business ideas. It's not some boring theoretical business textbook, but rather an engaging blend of humor and business from someone who's been in the trenches and has the success to prove it. It's hard-hitting at times, but that might be just the wake-up call some need to get over the hump toward more success. Regardless if you are getting ready to plant the seed for your business, or you've already planted it but are tired of struggling to help it grow to no avail, read this book, “The Pumpkin Plan” to watch your business grow to award winning proportions.
May 14, 2016
I grabbed this one when it was the daily deal at audible, thought it sounded interesting. When I first started listening to it I thought it was odd that the author narrated it, didn't expect him to be good, but he did a great job. You could tell he truly believed what he was talking about.
The concepts in this book were good ones, easy, yet I can see where people would have a hard time to "firing" clients, it does seem counter productive.
I think if you are an entrepreneur this would be a good book to read.
The concepts in this book were good ones, easy, yet I can see where people would have a hard time to "firing" clients, it does seem counter productive.
I think if you are an entrepreneur this would be a good book to read.
July 29, 2020
Good book for people with struggling established businesses looking to succeed. The basic plan is to cut off the bad pumpkins(clients) and nurture the really big ones until you become a hyper specialized niche that can charge top dollar for your service to your lookalike top clients.
Before making a decision he encourages his employees to think about these three questions:
Here are the Three Questions, in order:
1. Does this decision better serve our top clients?
2. Does this decision improve or maintain our Area of Innovation?
3. Does this decision grow or maintain our profitability?
Before making a decision he encourages his employees to think about these three questions:
Here are the Three Questions, in order:
1. Does this decision better serve our top clients?
2. Does this decision improve or maintain our Area of Innovation?
3. Does this decision grow or maintain our profitability?
September 6, 2025
So inspired to Pumpkin Plan my Biz!
A colleague that I admire recommended this book and I'm so glad she did! I learned that it's okay to prune the roses, not everyone is a top client, and for the sake of my business it's absolutely necessary. Highly recommend to entrepreneurs in any field. He makes it so relatable regardless of your industry. Seeing all the examples helped me envision the possibilities within my own field. And it's a spunky read that kept me turning the page.
A colleague that I admire recommended this book and I'm so glad she did! I learned that it's okay to prune the roses, not everyone is a top client, and for the sake of my business it's absolutely necessary. Highly recommend to entrepreneurs in any field. He makes it so relatable regardless of your industry. Seeing all the examples helped me envision the possibilities within my own field. And it's a spunky read that kept me turning the page.
May 12, 2024
Good book if you are trying to build a business. Lots of good concepts and practical applications. This is one of those books that you probably want to reread every couple of years to stay sharp. If you found this book helpful, probably helpful to read $100M Offer by Hormozi. It was helpful for me to hear a similar message to different ways to reinforce it.
June 7, 2018
Read this is one sitting tonight, loved so many points in this book. I read a library copy but I’m headed out to buy my own copy tomorrow. Worth the read if you’re an entrepreneur trying to learn growth strategies!
April 28, 2022
I really enjoy Mike’s books. They are usually an easy read, fun audiobook, and have helpful practical advice for smaller niche businesses.
This book reminded me of the strategies in Blue Ocean Shift that have helped me up level in business but with a different twist and style of learning.
This book reminded me of the strategies in Blue Ocean Shift that have helped me up level in business but with a different twist and style of learning.
August 4, 2023
Horrendous name. I’m almost embarrassed to recommend this as a business book but I feel the wisdom inside it perfectly described the problems of my business over the years. I wish I had discovered this book 10 years ago.
August 12, 2018
very nice book for people that start up business, every chapter has its own lesson that need to be taken off!
September 6, 2019
It’s short, it’s fun, it has reasonable advices. Worth reading
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