Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Attract the Right Job or Clientele:
It’s easy to talk about building client loyalty and discredit others for not doing so. But we need to examine how we operate ourselves. The planning and strategic execution are to be precise before the desired results become visible.
At the core of loyalty are delivering value beyond expectation and excellence in customer care.
My Story
In the corporate sales environment, representatives are usually given some guidance for achieving their quotas. It’s up to each person to decide which suggestion fits within her-her boundaries.
Listening to client concerns and delivering value beyond expectations yield a robust pipeline.
On the other side of the spectrum, entrepreneurs sometimes feel as if they are isolated. They face the need to dig in further to maintain motivation. The collaborative effort becomes an essential strategy for business owners. We exchange insights and share our best content with the audiences of one another. Combining forces and delivering our best help build a thriving business.
Collaborative methods I’ve used to reach broader audiences include:
- Speaking at events
- Webinars
- Guest blogs
- Podcast guest Interviews
- Social media sharing
Josh Mastel hosts the Top Down Podcast; click to hear the recording and read the transcript
Each effort results in a professional program for our combined audience to benefit. Moreover, Josh and his team went the extra mile by creating a beautiful web page (take a look!)
Another colleague, Stefan Johansson, hosts the Sales Scenario Podcast. A sales pro himself, he seeks out sales leaders to share their insights with his audience. I’m happy to say I’m one of his contributors.
Some people question if it’s worthwhile to give away information for free. There are several benefits to the process:
- The contributor reaches a new audience
- The listening audience gains insights from a wide variety of professionals
- The show host builds greater popularity over time
The Deciding Factor for Client Loyalty
in the sales environment, an outcome that produces benefit for all participants is referred to as a win-win. Adhering to the princple establishes continuing loyalty.
Your Story About Client Loyalty
The effort in building client loyalty begins with your mindset. Do you awake with the thought of how you may improve the client situation, or do you focus solely on making money? You can see that one’s attitude affects the business development process. Most often, the projects that do not materialize well are the ones that are self-serving.
Speaking of attitude, reflect on previous experiences that were not to your liking.
- What is the reasoning for things not working out well
- What can you do in the future to improve similar efforts
- Will you take action today?
When meeting with clients do you:
- Rush to ask for the sale
- Take your time to understand all reasons why the meeting is taking place
- Speak about variables for a more robust solution
- Ask clients their thought for resolving problems
- Offer ideas by asking insightful questions
- Attempt to arrive at a friendly agreement where everyone sees the benefit?
When suggesting collaborative projects do you:
- Speak solely from your vantage point
- Point out how the other person will benefit
- Define a potential new audience for participants
- Make it easy to work together
- Continue the conversation and ideas for future projects after the first ends?
It’s a delicate balancing act to handle the stress of making your numbers or bring in the desired income while trying to accommodate clients. However, the effort to make a decent income will not end well when clients aren’t adequately appreciated.
A good starting point is to ask your prospective clientele why they decided to meet with you. Specifically, ask what changes they would make to the previous vendor-client relationship. And when someone asks to partner or collaborate, similarly ask what it is about your experience that caught their attention.
Once you understand client and partner experiences, it will be far easier to move forward together. And so begins the Smooth Sale!
Sales Tips for Building Client Loyalty
- Ignore the script handed to you.
- First, learn why you were invited into a meeting.
- Get all of the details out into the open.
- Question and clarify anything you do not thoroughly understand
- Develop an engaged dialogue
- Share experiences with one another
- Don’t just say you offer excellent service – prove it!
- Avoid over-committing your time
- Give 100% for all projects you accept
- Celebrate Success!
Business Agility and Personal Development Are Requirements for Success
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