MAKING MORE WITH EXISTING CLIENTS
by Charlie Cook
Published on this site: May 5th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
Have you ever put on a jacket you haven't worn in a while and found
a twenty-dollar bill in one of the pockets? You'd forgotten all
about it, so discovering it is like getting a gift. If you've been
in business for a year or longer, you may have gifts in forgotten
pockets — sources of additional revenue waiting to be discovered
and tapped.
There are four ways to increase your net profits: reduce costs,
increase prices, attract more clients or sell more to existing clients.
When you consider that it costs you at least 60% and as much as
600% more to sell to a new client than to an existing one, it's
clear that your best prospects are existing clients.
Are you selling as many of your services or products as you could
to your existing client base? Could you increase your revenue by
doing a better job of marketing to your existing clients?
You've established your credibility and the value of at least one
of your services with existing clients. They made a commitment to
work with you at least once. How can you leverage this trust and
client satisfaction into additional sales?
Tony called me from Washington D.C. with just this problem. He
is an image consultant to politicians and corporate executives and
struggling to increase his revenue. His new clients are happy with
his services, but the engagements rarely extend beyond the initial
contracted project. He is having a tough time getting repeat business.
Tony knows his existing and past clients represent additional revenue
but he doesn't know how to mine it.
Once you have a client, what's the best way to sell them more of
your products or services?
The biggest mistake that most small business owners make is to
think that after they've competed the initial sale, their marketing
job is completed. The opposite is true. Once you've made your first
s.ale to a client and secured a commitment from them with a payment,
you should begin your marketing effort to get them to buy again.
Of course, you don't want to constantly be "selling"
to clients. That would get tedious for you and your customers
and they'd be unlikely to want to maintain the relationship.
Instead, continue to educate them about their areas of need
and how you help clients. Use your products and services to
provide value and to educate clients so they can discover
what they need and want, even if they've n.ever thought about
it before.
For example, I've been working with a sports trainer to complete
my recovery from shoulder surgery. In our first session he
showed me which muscles needed to be reprogrammed with exercise
to return to normal functioning. The obvious conclusion of
his explanation was that I needed to work with him again to
achieve my goals. Just by sharing a little knowledge he successfully
extended the project.
This approach isn't clever or devious; it is based on the notion
that an informed buyer — an educated consumer — is your
best client. Here's how it works in practice:
- Help Prospects Become Clients by Focusing on their Problems
People buy solutions to problems or needs that they know exist.
Get your prospects' attention by focusing your marketing message
on the problem(s) you solve in order to get them to visit your
web site or contact you. Then use your conversation or your marketing
copy to help prospects further define their problems or concerns.
Do this well and they'll clearly see the need for your products
and services.
- Continue to Educate Prospects and Clients
Clients buy from you when they know how you can help them. That's
why they initially contracted with you or bought your products
and services. Once you've signed on a new client, don't assume
that they understand the range of services or products you market.
They may not even fully understand what they've bought. Use each
contact to continue to educate your clients and help them understand
the issues, problems and solutions relative to your area of expertise.
For example if you're a financial advisor and you've been hired
to help a client with their investments, you might ask them a
q.uestion about their estate planning, tax situation, insur.ance
policies or retirement plan and provide them with an idea they
can use. Each time you do this your client will learn how limited
their own knowledge is and understand more about why they need
your assistance in additional areas.
Instead of selling clients on additional services, educate them.
You'll create a perception of need and increase sales.
- Transform Client Satisfaction into Additional Sales
Do you have clients and customers that appreciate your products
and services? Don't wait until your contract is complete
to tap the goodwill you've generated by helping them. Regularly
ask them q.uestions designed to get responses like, "I
couldn't have done it without you", "Worth every
penny", etc. Just after your clients have provided
positive feedback is the perfect time to ask them a couple
of q.uestions to identify needs and to mention the solutions
you provide.
Once you've gone to all the effort to attract a new client don't
walk away from the rest of their needs just because they haven't
identified or clarified them yet. Educate your prospects and clients
at every step of the way about the problems you solve and they'll
understand why they need more of your products and services. You'll
discover pockets of opportunity to help your clients and increase
your revenue.
Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business
owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more
successful. Sign up to receive the F.ree Marketing Plan eBook, '7
Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com
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