It’s easy to talk about building client loyalty and discredit others for not doing so. But we need to examine how we operate ourselves. The planning and strategic execution are to be precise before the desired results become visible.
At the core of loyalty are delivering value beyond expectation and excellence in customer care.
In the corporate sales environment, representatives are usually given some guidance for achieving their quotas. It’s up to each person to decide which suggestion fits within her-her boundaries.
Listening to client concerns and delivering value beyond expectations yield a robust pipeline.
On the other side of the spectrum, entrepreneurs sometimes feel as if they are isolated. They face the need to dig in further to maintain motivation. The collaborative effort becomes an essential strategy for business owners. We exchange insights and share our best content with the audiences of one another. Combining forces and delivering our best help build a thriving business.
Collaborative methods I’ve used to reach broader audiences include:
Each effort results in a professional program for our combined audience to benefit. Moreover, Josh and his team went the extra mile by creating a beautiful web page ( take a look! )
Another colleague, Stefan Johansson, hosts the Sales Scenario Podcast . A sales pro himself, he seeks out sales leaders to share their insights with his audience. I’m happy to say I’m one of his contributors.
Some people question if it’s worthwhile to give away information for free. There are several benefits to the process:
Related: Trust Is the Soul of Sales
The Deciding Factor for Client Loyalty
In the sales environment, an outcome that produces benefit for all participants is referred to as a win-win. Adhering to the principle establishes continuing loyalty.
The effort in building client loyalty begins with your mindset. Do you awake with the thought of how you may improve the client situation, or do you focus solely on making money? You can see that one’s attitude affects the business development process. Most often, the projects that do not materialize well are the ones that are self-serving.
Speaking of attitude, reflect on previous experiences that were not to your liking.
When meeting with clients do you:
When suggesting collaborative projects do you:
It’s a delicate balancing act to handle the stress of making your numbers or bring in the desired income while trying to accommodate clients. However, the effort to make a decent income will not end well when clients aren’t adequately appreciated.
A good starting point is to ask your prospective clientele why they decided to meet with you. Specifically, ask what changes they would make to the previous vendor-client relationship. And when someone asks to partner or collaborate, similarly ask what it is about your experience that caught their attention.
Once you understand client and partner experiences, it will be far easier to move forward together. And so begins the Smooth Sale!