SalesMotivation.net

by Julie Thomas of ValueSelling Associates Inc.

The current economic environment brings upon us circumstances that are outside of the control of many sales executives. While there still is quite a bit that can be learned from 2008, our first task should be to determine what we can do differently to make a positive impact, despite the economic downturn.

Building, managing and improving our relationships with current customers and prospects is absolutely one area that can be improved to make a positive impact.

Customers are an asset. They have current and future value to our companies and to individuals. Ask yourself; is your customer an appreciating asset or a depreciating one? Now is the perfect time to begin investing in your customer assets ensuring that those relationships are appreciating and ultimately paying you dividends.

Like any asset, if it is to appreciate, it cannot be ignored and must be managed. Your customer relationships are no different. One key objective of sales professionals is to keep their current customers and to find or create opportunities to up sell and resell them your products and services. Key aspects of your customer investments include:

Time: Are you spending adequate and effective time with your existing clients? The time you spend with your clients is crucial to build and maintain relationships. This is a good time to look at the year ahead and calendar times to call and schedule meetings with your current clients. To make that time valuable, not just for you, but also for your client, create a relationship plan. Be respectful of their time and don’t waste it – have a strategy for what you want to accomplish that’s in both your interest and your clients.

Resources: With the current economic environment in 2009, we can forge stronger partnerships with our clients by exceeding their expectations and adding unexpected value to their business and their lives. Think about ways that you can provide low cost, yet high value extra deliverables to your clients. These additional resources may provide enough impact to lock out the competition and enable you to solidify your relationships.

Avoid the trap of taking your customers for granted. Just because you have sold them once, does not guarantee the sale in the future. It’s important to approach renewal sales with the same rigor that you approach new business. Create current and updated VisionMatches with your clients that link your solutions to the issues and problems that they are facing today. Do you understand the key business issues your customers face in 2009 and how to connect your solutions and capabilities to resolve those identified issues?

A fundamental tenet of customer relationship management is to build multiple relationships and coalitions within your customer companies. Cast your net broad and deep within your customers. This will provide you not only greater opportunity to expand the value you can bring to your customers; it will also mitigate the risk you would face if you only have a relationship with a single individual in an account.

Finally, within your customer strategy should be the ability to reinforce and support the previous purchases that have been made with you. Your ability to document and focus on realized value and gain from their current investments with you will help pave the way for future investments. If your current customers cannot tell you the impact of doing business with you, your opportunity is to make that connection real and relevant to your customers.

To ensure that your customers are appreciating assets – keep your customer investment and relationship strategy in focus. You can add value to your customers during every interaction if you have a plan and a strategy. Every sales professional should have a clear strategy for improving their customer relationships and building new ones.

About Julie Thomas
Julie Thomas, president and chief executive officer of ValueSelling Associates, is a noted speaker, author and consultant. In a career spanning more than 20 years, she credits her mastery of the ValueSelling Framework® for her own meteoric rise through the ranks of sales, sales management and corporate leadership positions. www.valueselling.com