Guarantee SME Client Loyalty

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk
Albert's Posts - Albert's Site


In my last post, I shared some sales secrets from a friend of mine on selling technical products/service to SME's. As a provider of legal services, I would classify my services as falling into this category. After all, purchasing legal services is typically not a SME staple consumable.

How, then, does any salesperson selling what is perceived to be an "extra" achieve their sales target much less ensure SME client loyalty?

I have heard many sales/account managers use the term "one-stop shopping" or "full array of solutions for your needs" or some derivative of the above to describe the company/product/service being sold.

Why aren't these salespeople using that same saying to describe themselves?

A crucial step in guaranteeing loyal SME clients is training sales/account managers to think of themselves as advisors for the business as a whole and not just a solution provider for a particular good or service. SME owners are juggling multiple roles daily from CEO to CFO to CIO to Chief Photocopy Officer; you name it, the owner-manager does it.

SME's are OVERWHELMED on a daily basis. SME's also feel like they are ALONE. The last thing that SME's want is a salesperson to increase those feelings by having salespeople who only care about pushing product on them.

Do something to take one thing off the owner-manager's daily plate or be their sounding board for their business. These steps will help win their life-long loyalty, especially if it not connected with the good or service you are selling. Suggest ways for clients to cut costs; Recommend strategies to reduce paperwork; Share some non-confidential industry intelligence with your clients.

Any measure to be their one stop business advisor shows that you care about the owner-manager as a person- and not just another account. Given that people buy on emotions, the empathy that you show will cement the relationship.

Here are two case studies from my own experiences which reinforce my point:

1. I met SME Inc. two years ago. The owner of SME Inc. is successful but over-whelmed and has no one really advising her on her business- she is a one-woman gang who is constantly being sold something. What the owner-manager wants is to increase revenue to fuel expansion. I recommended she increase prices on certain goods that she was certain the market could absorb without any client loss. She followed my suggestion and the owner-manager is happy to report she has more money in the bank.
   
   Here's the catch- SME Inc. was not my client when I gave her this suggestion-it was the first time I met her. The suggestion also had nothing to do with the law. The suggestion was driven more by the fact I wanted to help her as an owner-manager because she was (as simple as it sounds) a great person who needed some suggestions and not someone selling him something. Even though the owner of SME Inc. has said to me that she could retain much larger competitors than me, she retained me several weeks later and has been a very loyal client who I am privileged to help.

2. I once met a SME mirco-lender who really cared about their borrowers beyond the monthly interest payments they received. The lender would visit the borrower before any money was lent and find ways to improve their business- even if that business never became a borrower. They would recommend book-keeping software, suggest ways for their employees to be more productive and advise owner-managers on how to grow their business. Here's the catch- the lender is a one-off lender. In other words, almost all of their borrowers would not use them again because of the nature of the financing. However, they still cared enough to advise their borrowers on how to grow their business knowing that they would not be able to sell any further goods or services to their clients. When was the last time a bank did that? Where does the lender get most of its clients? Good word of mouth based on services which was indirectly related to the good they provided.

If there is one suggestion to take from this post, it would be to understand how a SME business operates on a daily basis and use that understanding to help your clients/potential clients in matters unrelated to what you are selling. It will go a long way to guaranteeing customer loyalty.