"It
is much more profitable and effective to maintain a client, and increase your
business within our company, than to acquire a new client."
Harry
Beckwith
Ok
Harry, but, how do we do
it?
In my last trainings focused
on the topic of "Relationship Accounting", I´ve aimed to create
reflection spaces on how to keep customers happy, and develop factors that help
strengthen the relationship and improve every “touch point” with them.
But earlier this year, during
the first annual meeting with my team, someone raised the question of how we
could transform that relationship into greater sales and better profitability
for the business. Luckily by chance,(or simply confirming that cell phones
listen to us 24/7), a few days later I got an email whose subject was "10
tips to improve the sales strategy". I had that mail open a few days,
until my laptop decided to updat unexpectedly and the email disappeared back
into the matrix. I never found it again, so I decided to take the initiative to
personally define those 10 tips.
Beyond looking for general concepts, I decided to base
myself on practical examples that have helped me throughout my career, and that
I have been learning since my arrival in Panama. When I started with the branch
I only had a degree under my arm and the energy of any 23 year old teenager who
had just arrived in a new country. Since 2010, many situations happened that led
us to our current situation of being among the 10 audit firms in Panama, and
that is just a springboard for everything that will come in the future. Let's
start!
2)
Commercial Allies: there is always the popular myth that lawyers and
accountants did not get along. For me they became my best allies. A person who
goes for a legal issue is very likely to trigger an accounting, tax or audit
issue. Check your contacts or companies whose clients may need an accountant.
(Not only lawyers, but consultants, investors, financial advisers, notaries and
development companies). Being part of clubs, civil societies and NGOs also
helps to strengthen networking and make us known.
3)
Form your own sales team: It is not necessary to go out and hire a born salesman.
In our companies it is key that 100% of the staff knows what we do, and
projects confidence. Each collaborator must be able to identify sales areas in
their clients, and anticipate to their needs. Knowing what each department of
the company does is key at this point. Invest time to communicate to your team
the services your company offers and how to identify them! And do not stop
offering training in different areas so they can identify new business
opportunities.
4)
Digitization: Keep your website and your social networks updated. Making
newsletters with calendars or tax news attracts the attention of new clients
and builds loyalty of current ones. Today it is easier to promote your business
in Google, Facebook or Instagram, since they allow you to identify the target
audience and segregate by interests and zones. The main challenge is the
creation of content. For this you can share notes from other pages and
colleagues or encourage your team to write and be published!
5)
International Networks: the potential of sale when being part of a larger
network of professionals, increases and consolidates your position in the
market. Obviously, it is not easy to choose a network and measure the annual
return on that investment. Before closing the deal, ask for the data of the members
in the countries with which you can have a relationship. Review the profile of
the partners, clients, services they offer and clients they have attended. You
can even start by building your own network with trusted allies in other
countries or areas. Achieving to offer an integral service to the client,
considering its regional scope, is a plus that consolidates the sales
portfolio.
6) Direct
contact with your client: The fact of focusing on purely financial aspects leads
to the dehumanization of the treament with the client. Most of us started with
small clients who surely trusted us because we managed to understand their
needs, we created empathy with them or we simply sold security and trust. Many
times I like to think of the office as a neighborhood store, where clients go
because they feel comfortable, there is a friendly and personalized service (boutique service) and staff smile
despite the stress. Clients go there because they know we are going to listen
to them, give they what they want and slowly a feeling of familiarity is
generated.
7)
Update your presentation: Having a good “to-the-point” and friendly presentation is
key to attract the customer's attention. It should be dynamic explaining briefly
about the company, its customers, the experience of the partners and the team,
the scope of the service, and the additional services you could offer. Focus on
the benefits that the client will get when they hire you. Use few words, short
paragraphs, bulletpoints, more images or graphics. Even the option of making
short videos that circulate in our social media facilitates the understanding
of our services. In relation to customers, in addition to naming them, you can
add customer and staff retention statistics. That can make you stand out from
the competition.
8)
Analyze the profitability of your clients: Companies generally want to
increase their client base because we think that this will automatically lead
us to sell more. But this objective is not always fulfilled. Consider that 20%
of your customers generate 80% of your sales. Therefore, concentrate and
replace bad clients with good ones. How to achieve it? Invest time in analyzing
the staff's hours in each client, value them and compare them with the scope of
hours of each proposal. Customers whose profitability is less than 50%, require
you to stop to think about action plans: you can modify the work team, increase
the fee by selling additional services or, unfortunately, let them go.
9)
Keep your promises: The word is the most important gift that we have, and
respecting it makes us integral professionals. Beyond the contracts or the
"engagement letters" that we can sign, being faithful to our words
intensifies the relationship with the client. Make sure your this permeates
your work team. Bear in mind that customers take the service according to what
they see, hear and believe. The credibility and power of conviction is what
separates a leading auditor from the competition. Fulfilling the deadlines, answering
mail in less than 24 hours, returning phone calls, answering messages, issuing
quality reports, and working with integrity are some of the promises we make to
our clients when they hire us. Make sure you meet them.
10)
Follow up: when we deliver a job or a proposal we usually think
"ready, done". But that does not end there. Tracking clients (both
potential and current) is vital to close a sale or maintain a customer. Most of
the time, proposals are closed only because we are on top of each client, and
at least we make weekly reminders (with the exception, of course, when they are
“urgent”, as most of our work). In turn, current clients like to continue
feeling that they are important and are in the top of mind of managers and
partners. Remember to always provide an accurate and timely follow-up: Before,
during and after the service.
And as always, there is a bonus
(or “ñapa” in good Panamanian),
"Always offers the extra mile",
and work with all members of the organization to learn to do the same. You have
already given the clients what they want, now show them a little love. Maybe
you can offer some planning for next year's fiscal strategy, or a tip on its
profitability. Or how about an additional analysis? The point is to offer a
little more value without increasing the price. Who does not want that?
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