It’s happened to all of us at one point. We have a long time client or customer whose business we have cultivated. It has grown into a significant slice of our business – maybe even our top client! Sometimes it feels like it’s on autopilot.
The orders keep coming in. You’ve assigned an account manager or customer service associate to handle the business.
If you are the owner of the business, perhaps you are the one who closed this client, and you kept in touch at the beginning. And then, after you handed it over to an account manager, it seemed like everything was going well.
Until the orders stopped coming. Or maybe it’s a client on an annual contract, and they notify you that they are not going to renew.
It’s like a giant punch to the gut.
What went wrong? What can you do to prevent this from happening again?
First thing, you should gather your team together to do a deep dive to uncover the root cause. It is easy to be in denial about your own culpability and blame it on outside factors, like:
- They got a new buyer or decision maker
- Someone offered them a better price
- A competitor offered them tickets or other perks as a lure
Sometimes you and your team cannot see the obvious cause of this big loss, so it is helpful to bring in an outsider who knows a bit about your company and how it works (utilizing your CEO’s business coach can be a good choice).
This exact situation has happened to multiple clients. As the business owner or the sales leader, you may be perplexed about what happened. Sometimes it’s not obvious if you are deep in the weeds – you cannot see the forest for the trees.
Based both on personal experiences when I ran my own company and those with my clients, there seem to be three interconnected causes:
- You let the salespeople “use their own style” in selling and servicing the customer. They call it “We’re flexible! We can do whatever you want.” There is no established standardized system or process for servicing the client. There were no ground rules explained to the client about the way the company does business to make sure the client and supplier were aligned in the beginning, so the salespeople just “do their own thing”. That looks disorganized and inconsistent from the client’s viewpoint.
- Although ones’ company services may generate significant savings and revenue for your client, the company does not regularly report the positive ROI on their services. You assume the client knows. Whenever you happen to have meetings with your client, you focus on socializing and rapport building, instead of making a regular business case (demonstrating a positive ROI).
- And most importantly, as CEO/President, there was a lack of top-to-top contact with the client. You, the CEO don’t want to interfere with your sales team, and took a hands-off approach. Unfortunately, the client sees this as “we are not that important”..
Does this situation sound familiar to you?
One of my favorite mantras has always been: The client doesn’t know what you do for them unless you tell them.
My suggestion is to be sure you have written systems and processes for sales (called a Sales Playbook), so that your company’s sales and service to your clients are consistent. That way, when you have a change in staff at your company or at your clients’, you can continue to deliver the same service. No blips.
What is the benefit or ROI of your product or service? Quantify it and on a regular basis, be sure to report the facts to your client. That does not mean a fancy, multi-slide PowerPoint deck. Most clients HATE PowerPoint presentations, and will appreciate a brief, factual, positive report on what you are doing for them. This puts you top of mind on a regular (quarterly?) basis.
And finally, although the CEO should not be the functioning sales manager, the CEO should have ongoing contact with top clients. Clients love it when the owner or CEO pays attention to them and knows their business. Years ago, when I first started doing business with Walmart, I was impressed that Walmart required the CEO/President to attend all business meetings along with the sales rep. Walmart wanted to be top of mind with the owners of their vendor partners.
It is never too soon to put this process in place within your own company. Remember, your clients don’t know what you do for them unless you tell them. Be sure to talk in terms of the facts, the measurable ROI. Not fluff.
Onward and upward,
If you’re enjoying what you’re reading, please consider recommending it to others. They can sign up here.
