Your best customers are your competitors’ best prospects. At The Center for Sales Strategy, we have long said that it’s much easier to fill the bucket if it’s not leaking from the bottom. Many companies have an incredibly large need to go out and get new business every month—mainly because they're losing 33% or more of their current business.
It's true, and while new business is certainly one of the solutions for curing the problem of not retaining existing business, it’s really only a bandage. The problem of account attrition needs to be addressed and quickly solved.
Churning through clients quickly and not getting any sort of renewal will fatigue your sales team. Over time, they will lose confidence in what they are selling. Just imagine the revenue growth you'll experience without attrition and keeping the same amount of new business coming in.
Retaining Business During Times of Uncertainty
It’s easy to blame the economy, the category, or the competitive landscape as the reason your business is suffering, but the true sales professional doesn't just look at the external factors that might be causing this situation.
They also look inward at their own systems and priorities to determine what could be done differently to retain business.
There will always be a certain amount of business that might renew or go away—that's really out of your control. However, there is a lot of business that is absolutely in your control. It’s up to you to make sure you're taking care of your best clients, letting them know that they are important and, of course, helping them to overcome business challenges with the product or service your company offers.
5 Things You Can Do to Pay Attention to Your Best Customers
1. Set an appointment with them today to review what you have done for them over the last 90 days and what you're currently working on.3. Schedule a meeting with them to talk about new goals, objectives, and challenges they foresee.
4. Bring them new ideas. Not the same old ones that you have always brought (and that they have always bought) but different ones that show them you are thinking about their business. You can do this by sharing resources with them that you find online.
5. Read a book that is directly related to their industry, and share your notes and thoughts, as this will position you as a resource to them.
You can have the most efficient experience in the industry, but if your customers don’t feel like you care about them, they won’t stay loyal. What are some of the things that you're doing to show your best customers that they're important?
*Editor's Note: this blog was originally published in 2020 and has since been updated.
