It's always a good idea to keep relations with your old satisfied
customers; there will be a good chance that they will give you sales
referrals without you even ask. How many times you "showed up" in any
sort of social gathering where you are known that you are selling that
particular product and suddenly you are approached by someone who asks
for an appointment with you or asking you to call someone who needs your
product or service. In this case you didn't ask for anything, all what
you did is you have just "showed up".
Think about contacting ALL your old customers to "show up" even on the phone, asking sincerely about them, how is the product is working, a good chance - even if you don't ask- is that your old customer will give you a new lead or two!
Make sure they are always satisfied!
Don't think that it's customer service job and not yours. Contacting existing customers periodically is one of the most important techniques that will give a great push to sales department, and the organization as a whole, for many reasons:
1. It keeps you aware of what's happening in the market.
2. It gives you a good chance of up-selling or cross-selling.
3. You might know important information regarding your competitors' moves in the market.
4. You will have some complains too! Un-satisfied customer always complains, but unfortunately not to you! They complain to others which will harm your reputation big time. This will be a very good chance to report internally for the unsatisfied customer immediately and make sure to follow up on the resolution actions taken by your company until they become happy again.
5. If they are satisfied, the chances are you might get a new business from them, or a referral. If you get nothing, at least you will have a golden chance to ask!
3 Reasons why satisfied "old" customers might be of a greater value in prospecting than "new" customers
1. They are confident that you will properly "deliver" to whom they will refer you to
By the definition, they are "old" and "satisfied", this means that they are satisfied for a long time by now; it will be easier for them to give you sales referrals specially if those referrals are close to them. Relatives or close friends.
2. Old customer knows the product well
When your customer advises others about your company and your product, you will be confident that they will deliver the right message and will pave the way for you properly to start your next move.
3. Referrals will not ask you for a reference!
They already have a satisfied reference for a relatively long time; they will not bother you asking for more references. This will definitely shorten your sales cycle.
Old satisfied customers are a goldmine that most sales people don't utilize effectively. They search for sales leads everywhere and pay no attention to look just beneath their feet for the gold!
Think about contacting ALL your old customers to "show up" even on the phone, asking sincerely about them, how is the product is working, a good chance - even if you don't ask- is that your old customer will give you a new lead or two!
Make sure they are always satisfied!
Don't think that it's customer service job and not yours. Contacting existing customers periodically is one of the most important techniques that will give a great push to sales department, and the organization as a whole, for many reasons:
1. It keeps you aware of what's happening in the market.
2. It gives you a good chance of up-selling or cross-selling.
3. You might know important information regarding your competitors' moves in the market.
4. You will have some complains too! Un-satisfied customer always complains, but unfortunately not to you! They complain to others which will harm your reputation big time. This will be a very good chance to report internally for the unsatisfied customer immediately and make sure to follow up on the resolution actions taken by your company until they become happy again.
5. If they are satisfied, the chances are you might get a new business from them, or a referral. If you get nothing, at least you will have a golden chance to ask!
3 Reasons why satisfied "old" customers might be of a greater value in prospecting than "new" customers
1. They are confident that you will properly "deliver" to whom they will refer you to
By the definition, they are "old" and "satisfied", this means that they are satisfied for a long time by now; it will be easier for them to give you sales referrals specially if those referrals are close to them. Relatives or close friends.
2. Old customer knows the product well
When your customer advises others about your company and your product, you will be confident that they will deliver the right message and will pave the way for you properly to start your next move.
3. Referrals will not ask you for a reference!
They already have a satisfied reference for a relatively long time; they will not bother you asking for more references. This will definitely shorten your sales cycle.
Old satisfied customers are a goldmine that most sales people don't utilize effectively. They search for sales leads everywhere and pay no attention to look just beneath their feet for the gold!
Hisham Hanna - hgawly@emeit.com
- has been working in sales and management field for the past 18 years.
His wide sales experience is in the area of selling enterprise software
systems, he received many awards from Microsoft during his career of
selling Microsoft products. Eventually he was hired by Microsoft as a
full time employee then he moved to a management position in a software
company.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hisham_Hanna
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