Peady’s Selling Engagement

A great definition of selling is “finding, keeping and growing the right customer.”

Focus on the five key words in this definition:

• Finding. That’s another way to describe your prospecting process
• Keeping. Actively retaining your current client base
• Growing. How you implement cross-sell and upsell opportunities
• Right Customer. A client who’ll allow you to work toward a mutually beneficial partnership

Keeping

Today I’d like to explore the second word on the list. Keeping.

First up, most of us know that working with current clients is a whole lot more fun than having to prospect for new ones.

Second, retaining existing clients is a whole lot cheaper. Most research studies say that it costs between 4 and 10 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one!

A great way to improve your client retention is to have a clear client service plan – a plan you should share with your client that way they can hold you accountable.

A client service plan could include such things as pre-scheduled regular meetings, provision of industry or market research, ongoing campaign feedback, creative consultations, business referrals etc.

More importantly a client who is happy with your product or service will often pay more than a new customer because they already know and trust you and your business.
If you need more convincing here’s some facts on the importance of client retention:

• 18-20% of your current client base will churn within 12 months
• 80% of future revenue will come from just 20% of your existing clients
• It’s 50% easier to sell to existing clients than to new clients
• Repeat clients spend 33% more compared to new clients

Words of Wisdom

I’ll leave you with a great quote on the subject from Marilyn Suttle “Even your most loyal customers always have a choice about where to take their business” 
 

About the author 

Stephen Pead is a media industry veteran of 30 years with significant experience in direct sales, sales management and general management. He is based in Sydney and specialises in helping SME’s market their businesses more effectively and providing training for salespeople and sales managers.

He can be contacted at [email protected]