Thank goodness that we have closed the chapter on the 1990's and the 2000's! We are in the 2010's now. New decade. New year. New thoughts. New focus.
We do it every year. We gather around tables and desks and brainstorm about "what to change so we can do better this year." You've probably already done it. And you left the meeting with a list of things to change. These things are probably on your list:
1. Make more cold calls;
2. Write stronger proposals;
3. Close sales faster and with more vigor;
4. Increase new business and contacts by 11%;
5. Work internally to get your client's work turned quicker;
6. Work on team building skills.
OK. We've all done that list. Thank goodness that list is completed! I want you to add one more goal on your list for 2010:
Build a real relationship with your clients.
"But, Jay, I already do that!" Really? How many clients do you really know? Do you know their real challenges? Do you celebrate their victories and console them in their losses? Do you help them learn? Do you help them plan? Do you know their goals? Do you know their real story?
This is the trend for selling and marketing in 2010. Building real relationships with your clients. You have to go beyond the basic client-vendor relationship if you want to really help people long-term. This is where the real value of you and your product come into play.
Have your clients written a testimonial about the product or service that you provide them? Do they use your personal name in the testimonial or the company name? The difference is the relationship. Do your clients recommend "you" or your company as referrals? The difference is the relationship.
I recently had a client pass through some very challenging financial and business problems at the end of 2009. I knew the problems were happening. I saw the problems form. We had discussions about the problems that were forming, but viable solutions seemed to fall on deaf ears (as they do with headstrong entrepreneurs on occasion!) Anyway, everything crashed at the end of 2009. Their focus was off of the very thing that gave them success and growth. Their focus was on "fancy" or "cutting-edge" business toys and processes. "I can't grow my business without investing several thousand dollars in this irresistible shiny new sales tool," I would hear. "I must and shall have it!"
The very thing that this business forgot was the very thing that propelled them to success in the first place. It was their client relationships. Clients helped them grow their business. End of discussion. I remember when we use to talk about the projects they were working on with the Smiths, the Joneses, the Byrds, and the McMillians. And those clients invited them over to their houses for dinners and playing with each other's children. It was the stuff that small business dreams are made of.
As their business grew, the client stories and client names fell by the wayside. There were no fun client success stories to share. But there sure were problems. I heard about those! Employees who handled the various jobs stole tools, or ruined client yards, or smoked and drank alcohol during work hours. You know the drill. The owners were busy with their shiny new sales tools and processes. No time for real client relationships. No time to do the very thing that made us successful. We've all made this mistake.
And that mistake is deadly to a small business. As soon as you start saying things like, "we don't need those kind of customers to grow our business," you're in trouble.
So, our client ended up 2009 with none of their clients in hand. They sold all of their shiny new toys and cut out their overhead. And we helped them navigate through this. They did a great job at it, too. We just recently sat down to talk about "how they can continue their business and how to make it a success again." I told them that they can't forget about forming relationships.
I don't know if that important piece of advice fell on deaf ears or not. I hope it didn't. I value my relationship with this particular client. We did very good work for them. And they earned quite a bit of new business from our work. I hope they will re-focus on building real client relationships with their customers this time around. I hope that the fancy, new networking and "sales toys" will not distract them from the real basis of sales: building a relationship.
At any rate, I urge you to focus on relationships in 2010. Go ahead and make more cold calls. Cold calls will always be cold! I have an idea...instead of making more cold calls, why don't you pick up the phone and call a real client relationship and ask them where they can refer you for new prospects. I bet that will be better than cold calling.
