For most any salesperson developing relationships with potential clients is the key to success. Yes, there are still order takers out there, but most everyone is looking toward the long-term. I am very fortunate that we have formed great long-term relationships with most of our clients.
For instance, we still have the very first client I secured more than 25 years ago. Granted, their sales have gone up and down over the years, but they have never left us. And as you can imagine, their personnel has changed several times during that period of time.
When we see personnel changes we don't panic as I've heard others do. We are typically quite happy. Because we not only keep the existing client, but we gain the client where the employee goes!
Relationship Starts at First Meeting
Each of my account managers has specific goals related to bringing in new clients this year. And one, in particular, has been on a great trend towards that goal. And surprisingly, many of these clients are moving to us because their previous vendor wasn't being attentive to their needs.
In one instance, the client told us that the vendor had made promises that they knew they couldn't keep. The client felt as if they had been lied to on a number of levels.
And because of that, one of the client employees was fired because they weren't "monitoring" the vendor properly. When we first secured the account, we didn't understand why they were questioning our every move and communication. Once we heard their story, we understood.
Honesty and Integrity are Key
Just yesterday, the primary client contact said to the account manager, "thank you for being so reliable and available". Now, this will be a very good client for her. They have already spent in excess of $50,000 in the first six weeks of the year.
My account manager commented after the compliment, well now we have to maintain our level of service. And my response was, "we always do".
No matter the size of the client, they all get the same level of attention to their orders. Everyone deserves their orders to be delivered correctly, on-time and on budget. We've had clients tell us that they know they are a small client but we never make them feel that way. They have always felt that we cared. And we do.
Procedures Keep Clients Informed
It's one of the many ways we stand out from some of our competition. We never treat our clients as an order. We are partners in their success. We hate being called a vendor. That's too impersonal.
We are able to provide the level of service we do because we have systems and procedures in place to make sure the production process proceeds smoothly. There is someone that monitors all the jobs in production, makes sure that layouts are approved timely, and that the vendor stays on schedule. (Trust me it's important – they can drop the ball if you aren't carefully watching). And she makes sure the client is aware of all the delivery information.
I know there are many automated processes now. I have tried a number of them. Unfortunately, those systems are only as good as the human updating the data. I've had orders that showed they were in production when they weren't, I've had orders disappear off the "status" for no reason and I've had orders miss their ship date because someone wasn't paying attention.
Our team has a stake in the success of every order, so we are always paying attention. Now, it's not to say we never have a mistake. We're human. It happens, but we try so hard to keep them to a minimum.
Consistency in Connections
The processes also go to staying in touch with the clients on a regular basis. Our clients are divided into categories: A, B, C. If they are a D client, they really aren't a client.
The A clients are those that we are under contract with and are giving us business on a weekly/daily basis. The B clients are those that have great potential. And the C clients are those that have good potential.
We have a certain number of touches that we want to achieve on a quarterly basis for each client depending on their category. Granted, it doesn't always work out that way but having a target really makes a difference.
A number of my friendly competitors have an annual evaluation meeting with their clients. That is great as long as that's not the only meeting you have with a client. I learned that lesson a long time ago when a client told me they learn what's going on from our newsletter. I realized then that I had lost touch with being consistently engaged with my client.
What’s the Benefit?
Right now, I am on a new product showcase tour with our clients. I went to the PPAI show in January and have appointments scheduled through March with clients to show them what's new and discuss their 2019 plans.
In these meetings, we agree on upcoming program needs, timing and budget. Our clients realize that by taking the time now to develop these plans that we will keep them on track. Typically it lowers their stress levels and we are able to keep them on-budget (none of those last minute rush charge projects).
In the second quarter, we have a spec sample or two done for each of our key clients and then visit them with the sample. Typically, in the third quarter, there are some new items introduced that we share with clients and discuss their end of year plans. And of course, close to the holidays, we travel to our clients with thank you gifts.
Obviously, there are other meetings for specific needs that arise, but we found that if we are seeing them in person on a quarterly basis then we cement that personal relationship. Out of sight, out of mind is very true in business.
In-person Sales Calls Still Work
While having more in-person meetings is a higher cost sales model, it has worked for us. Many of our clients have ventured onto our online competition. And many got burned. They realized that having us available to see them, bring them samples and help them make the right decisions is worth spending a few pennies more.
There is no one way to approach developing a relationship with your clients. Every client is different. And even though we have a plan for each client, they may not have the time or want to meet with us on a quarterly basis. But at least we are "touching" them that often. The last thing we want is for them to forget we are their partner!
Danette Gossett is the founder of Gossett Marketing, co-founder of Promotions Rescource LLC and co-author of the best-selling book “Transform” with Brian Tracy. Danette utilizes her more than 30 years of advertising agency and corporate marketing experience to develop effective promotional campaigns and products for her clients. Visit GossettMktg.com or SalesPromo.org and follow us on twitter @MarketngTidbits.