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There are many reasons why accounts whither and die. Of these, the worst has to be apathy on the part of the sales person. Without periodical attention, the most loyal accounts can drift away to be rescued by a competitor.

“But if the client isn’t one of my most important”, you rationalize, “It’s not worth the time and effort keeping in touch”.

WRONG!

It’s thinking like this that stalls many promising careers and eats away at healthy client bases. If you don’t think that the smaller, less influential customers deserve contact from you regularly think about this:

What about the time and effort you put into getting that client in the first place?

How much time and effort goes into securing new customers?

Have you considered the multiple ways in which you can maintain a link with customers besides regular visits?

Particularly in challenging times like these with longer sales cycles, sales professionals generate more business from the customers they have rather than from new sources. The savvy ones don’t limit their focus on the big accounts only; they develop systems so that they have current information on and regular contact with all of their clients.

This reminds me of a story from a number of years ago –which illustrates the point very well. There was a young man who was selling photocopiers for a major manufacturer and he was very successful – every single month – for the two years I worked with him – he never missed plan – not one single month – through family issues, the birth of a child and a subsequent divorce – never an excuse to fail.

His secret? Clearly, he had some talent – but every single day from 4:30 to 5:00pm he pulled out his manual files (today it would be pull up the files on your computer) and would begin “checking in” with the clients he sold 90 days ago or some dormant accounts. He could make 15-20 calls in 30 minutes – since it was just a (no pressure) “checking in” call it did not take much time with each client.

So what happened? Invariably, he found a new opportunity almost every day. Sometimes it was a new sale, or some new supplies that were needed. Almost every time! When you add up this consistent effort over time you can do the math – close to 100 calls a week or 400 a month! – That is staying in touch the old fashioned way.

Today we have more options to stay in touch – think of your own business and how you can nurture your client relationships – there are many ways – be creative but always have a reason to call.

Ask your self a few questions to see if you are missing opportunities within your customer base.

What is the customers ordering pattern?

Do I know the reasons for any deviations in this pattern?

Has the client changed quantity/type in their orders and why?

Who at the company do I contact to find these answers?

How many contacts do I have at the company?

Who might be tomorrow decision makers if there are staff changes at the company?

When was the last time I contacted them?

How can I be a true valued add provider for them?

Do they know about all of our products and services?

What type of contact does the customer prefer – have I asked them?

These are just a sample of the questions you need to ask so you can being working on the systems and methods for nurturing your client relationships.

Clearly, this takes time and effort. But as a Sales Person – this is your job.

And wouldn’t be great to never miss plan? Think about it…