As speculation about the state of the world economy continues, many companies are beginning to think about how to grow their revenues. One of the best places to start is to mine your current roster of clients.
Studies suggest that existing clients are 50% more likely to buy from an existing vendor. Selling to your current clients can reduce your cost of sales, reduce the time of your sales cycle and improve margins. Here are a few ideas on how to grow revenues from your existing clients:
- Stay in constant contact with your client – Frankly, the best way to sell to clients is to stay in continuous contact with them. Understand potential changes to their business and any changes they be undergoing. Changes in personnel, mergers, acquisitions, layoffs, and news items are all “excuses” to check in with your client. Keep abreast of their changing needs and look for ways to provide value to your interactions with them.
- Educate your clients about your offerings – Do not assume that your clients know and understand all of the solutions you offer. Regularly update them on new offering and upgrades to your products and services. Look for opportunities to sell through to other departments of branches of the company. Look for opportunities to be introduced to additional contacts within your client’s organization. Don’t limit your interactions to just your offerings; look for other ways to help your clients with their business challenges.
- Cross-sell/Up-sell – Look for opportunities to introduce new solutions to your clients. Seek ways to provide additional value. If appropriate, offer creative pricing or other incentives to drive incremental revenue. Volume pricing and discount offers are always a good lead-in when trying to up-sell your clients.
- Look for new product/service opportunities – One of the benefits of keeping an open line of communication with your clients is that you can become aware of new, unrealized needs in the marketplace. This can be a great way to identify and develop new business lines and add additional value.
- Ask for referrals – Referrals are a great way to get new business. They can also be a great way to help your current clients. For example, if your client’s customers are having a problem that your solution solves, it’s a great to help your client and their end-customer. Plus, being referred can reduce sales cycle time and cost of sales for new account development. Referrals bring you instant credibility and trust with prospective new clients.
Current customers are a great place to find additional revenue opportunities. The key is to be consistent and follow through with your clients.
Need advice on how to improve your operations, scale your business and improve your bottom line? Let’s talk!