Existing Clients Make The Best Prospects
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Free Download - Be Easy To Do Business With - Turning Your Prospects Into Clients By Meridith Elliott Powell |
Let me share a secret - the easiest prospects to sell to already buy from you. The best prospects are your existing clients, and the only reason they are not buying more is because you are not selling. If you want to make selling "easy" (I am all about making things easy) then sell deeper, wider and more to your existing clients. I know it sounds crazy, but most sales people sell one product or service to a prospect then move on to the next. Leaving the total needs of the prospect unmet, and the door wide open for their competitors to come in and steal the relationship.
Take a moment, and sit down right now, pull out a pen and make list of all the products and services you offer. Then make a list of your top thirty customers. Then match the products or services they need to the number they buy from you. I will bet, for most of us, the number of needs they have far outweighs the number of products and services they buy from you. Ouch! Wait - there is good news! It is not too late - you have just created a great prospect list. One that is going to be easy to sell. Again, I love easy!
First, these "prospects" already know your company and consider themselves your customer. Two, they already know you and would welcome a call from you. Three, they have purchased from you in the past, and most likely trust and value what you tell them - closing the next deal should be a piece of cake!
Why create a prospect list full of your existing customers?
There are a number of reasons, but here are the best:
- One, your bottom line. My personal favorite! It is expensive to attract new customers and there is no guarantee you will land their business. The cost of attracting new customers can be as high as seven to nine times as expensive as to sell to an existing client. In addition, by selling more to existing clients you are assured that they will remain your customers. The more products and services they buy, the deeper the relationship, the deeper the relationship the less likelihood they will move their business. This is the difference between production and growth. Production is nice, but it does not sustain the company!
- Two, your personal fear or distaste for cold calling. For most sales people, the most stressful part of the call is the beginning. Getting in the door and establishing the relationship. Making that first sale. With existing clients that part is over. You already did all the hard work, why not sit back and reap the rewards. Why not make selling easier by calling on your existing clients? Let your competitors cold call, let them get stressed out and burned out, you call on your existing customers.
- Three, your reputation. As a sales person your customers place their trust in you. If you continue to share information with them and offer them products and services that benefit their business that trust and value will grow. You will move from just their sales person to their advocate and trusted advisor. Plus, there is nothing more embarrassing for a sales person, then to have a customer tell you that one of your competitors offered them a product (that you offer yourself) that would benefit their business, and they wonder why you never mentioned it.
- Four, because they will start to call you. The better you take care of your existing customers, the better your reputation. The better your reputation, the more your customers will call you. They will actually be trained to do that. You will have taught them that when they have a need it is you they need to work with to fill it. Why shouldn't they, you seem to have all the answers. Then, this gets even easier, they start telling their friends, their neighbors, perfect strangers to call you. Next thing you know you show up at the office everyday, and you are covered in business all without making a single sales call. Life is good!
The top half of your prospect list should be filled with your existing customers. There is "gold" in those relationships, and it is your decision whether you want to hit the jackpot or whether you want to leave it all on the table for your competitor! If you want to turn your prospects into customers, then start by calling on your existing customers.
Existing Clients Make The Best Prospects - To learn more about this author, visit Meridith Elliott Powell's Website.
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| Article Tags: business sales strategies, existing clients, prospects, sell more, selling strategies |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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