Keeping In Touch With Your Small Business Clients

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


Given that small business accounts are generally smaller than their institutional counterparts, most people who sell to small business need to maintain a large client basis at any particular time. This may possibly raise the structural issue of working on new sales rather than maintaining existing relationship, creating perceived indifference among your clients. Perceived indifference, in turn, is one of the leading causes of client loss. How then do you balance pursuing new accounts while maintaining your existing ones?

I wanted to share a few client retention strategies I have been subject to which I found quite effective in a service provider maintaining a relationship with me. None of them involved anything extraordinary or costly but were all effective since they put the human touch back to the relationship:

1. "Let's do lunch" Simple yet effective, I am often invited to lunch by a particular service provider who also invites his other clients as well. It is done very informally and the purpose of the lunch is to take about business challenges rather than the service the organizer is selling. The lunch is effective for three results: (i) it's a good informal networking opportunity; (ii) it keeps the service provider top of mind; and (iii) everyone has to eat- you may as well network and have fun at the same time. Given that this service provider is the organizer, he becomes a focal point and his name is top of mind without being the need for continuous contact.

2. "Come to a seminar" Many salespeople conduct seminars as a means to educate and sell a product or service. But have you have been invited to a seminar that has nothing to do with the salespeople's good or service? I have been invited several times to educational seminars to improve my business by a consultant who is not selling anything remotely to do with the seminar topic. However, I always think of him fondly because the invitation represents to me recognition that he wants to help me as an owner-manager and not just make a quick buck. Guess who I am going to buy from next time I need something the consultant sells?

3. "This email made me think of you" How many times have you received an email from a service provider trying to help your business? Again, the email had nothing to do with selling a good or service but a general interest topic or some competitive intelligence that you may not have enough time to find. These emails represent the fact that you are being an integral part of your client’s team and not just another account on your list. There are enough internet tools now that searching for topical emails doesn't have to consume so much of your time.

I hope these three simple and effective tips help you continue to nurture your relationship with existing clients.

Hire Sales Reps With a SMB Mentality

Small business owners like to buy from companies that they have a personal connection with and your sales team can often be the only people your SMB prospects meet with before making a purchasing decision.

The difference between getting a sale or not is often how well that salesperson can relate to the entrepreneur. Companies looking to sell to small businesses should therefore hire salespeople who have had direct or indirect entrepreneurial experiences in their careers so they can better connect with their SMB prospects.

Andy Birol explains this concept in an interview with Anita Campbell:

[Y]ou should always give your small business accounts - whether they're prospects or customers - to individuals that have had at least a close encounter of the second kind, if not the first. For example, Lowes and Home Depot always hire individuals in their stores that have been contractors, so that when a contractor comes in, they're speaking to somebody that can identify with what it means to be a small business. So, if you can't hire ex-small business owners yourself, or retired ones, look around and see if you can at least hire their kids. Or hire folks that have already worked in a small business.