I once read a Gartner whitepaper that stated it takes 80 percent more time, money and sales-related labor to gain a new client than it does to sell additional services to existing clients.
It seems simple enough, but it’s a truth that is often overlooked in today’s marketplace.
Most companies work hard to get a signature on a contract for services and then move on, forgetting that as they develop new service offerings – and if they’ve served their existing clients well – that they have a ripe base of support to which they can more easily sell those new service offerings.
It’s a fundamentally flawed process. To serve clients well is to continually educate them about the services and products that will improve their business and protect their bottom line. By not focusing on an existing customer base, service providers deny their clients the ability to improve their businesses with new and innovative products and in turn, set themselves up to invest large sums of time and money to convince someone else (the prospective customer) all over again.
This is not to say that businesses shouldn’t be networking and prospecting outside their customer base. But today’s market conditions demand, very simply, two things from businesses across the nation: cash preservation and aggressively growing your business. Preserving cash and growing your business in this market is paramount and both can be done at the same time by looking to those that already trust you and believe in the value proposition your new services/products will bring to their businesses.
About the Author
Brooks A. Brown is the founder and principal of Shout Out LLC, a Knoxville, Tennessee-based marketing, public relations, and communications firm serving clients throughout the nation.
