| August 21, 2019 | Comments Closed |
Why Aren’t You Doing More Business With Your Existing Clients?
“It never ceases to amaze me that companies spend millions to attract new customers (people they don’t know) and spend next to nothing to keep the ones they’ve got! Seems to me the budgets should be reversed!”
– Tom Peters
My clients often ask me whether there’s a quick and effective way to achieve the growth they want in their business. The answer might be simpler than you think.
Do more business with your existing clients.And often all you need do is ask. That sounds simple, and that’s perhaps because it is.
Strong client retention is a key factorto the long-term success of your business. After all, the more clients you retain, the stronger your business becomes.
Even so, I regularly see businesses with strong client retention rates – sometimes as high as 95%– struggling to grow each year. That’s because not all clients are created equal, and strong retention does not necessarily equal growth.
One of the fundamentals– and one of the most important levers for growth in any business – is to convert your part-time clients into 100% full-time clients:
Full-time clients are those who buy everything from you. You are their trusted advisor.
It is much easier to do more business with an existing client than to bring in new one.
You can easily leverage full-time clients to attract new ones, through referrals and introductions.
Full-time clients allow you to market and sell from within your comfort zone,which means prospecting for new business becomes easy.
Full-time clients are your greatest source of new business. Working with people who know and trust you is an efficient way to grow your business.
There are three obstaclesthat prevent professionals from expanding their relationships with existing clients:
Poor organisation
Fear
‘Order-taker’ attitude
The top professionals that I worked with understand that expanding client relationships is a key leverage point for driving growth. They continually look for ways to develop 100% clients.
Clifton’s client conversion formula
My formula for converting part-time clients into 100% full-time clients is simple:
P+K+E = 100%
P stands for a clear process, which outlines the acquisition, service and retention of your top clients. You must have one, and everyone in your business must follow it.
K stands for knowledge.You need to discover everything about your client’ personal and business aspirations and goals.
E stands for education.Educate your clients about your capabilities and services that will help them achieve their goals.
For many top-performing firms, this formula represents their sole source of growth.Using it to convert your part-time clients into full time 100% clients should be your top growth strategy.
Do more business with your existing clients. It’s often just as simple as asking.
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