Making the first sale to a customer is just the beginning of your business relationship with them. This three-step series shows you how to use this ‘platform’ to grow sales (after that first sale) with medium and large sized companies. Here is step 3 of 3.

Step 3 - Approach internal prospects through relationships and referrals

Once you have assessed the Incremental Revenue Opportunity (IRO), map this against the existing tiers of customer spend. Focus a good part of your time on those accounts which have the highest potential for increase (H1 to H3 in the table below), regardless of the size of current spend. This approach also helps you avoid ‘over-servicing’ large customers from who you already enjoy maximum ‘share-of-wallet’.

In 2008, James began a new role (as an Account Executive) on the team which reported, through his Manager, to me. In his portfolio of medium and large corporates, one of the inactive clients was Australian Consolidated Press in Sydney CBD. Within the first six weeks, he secured an opportunity to meet with the Brand Manager of one of the publications. At that meeting, he built good rapport as well as developed a clear value proposition for his target buyers. He was invited back in a fortnight to present to a team of 14 Brand Managers. That led to the developing of new relationships with individual decision makers in business units and getting a clear understanding of their needs. Within six months, this account went from being inactive to being a highly active relationship.

In a world that is increasingly aware of the power of social media and networking, it is imperative to maximise leverage from our existing relationships. They enable us to establish trust quickly and build new relationships to develop new opportunities.

Here’s to your continued success!

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The Christmas and New Year Season is just around the corner. For most businesses, things slow down and people prepare to take time off and travel, perhaps do some home renovation or just relax. People have more time on their hands.

You might recall my definition of the three things that characterise today’s customers – they are short of Time, Attention and Trust. If your potential customers don’t have time, they won’t pay attention to your attempts to engage them and unless they buy something from you, you will not have the opportunity to build trust and a strong relationship.

So, if December and January are the ‘slow months’, they actually present you with a great opportunity! Your customers and target prospects have more time! It is the best time to meet, reflect on the year gone by and talk with them about their plans for the year ahead.

In addition to them having time, you have a reason to meet. This is when most people welcome ‘tokens’ of appreciation from those they have done business with in the past year – cards, gift hampers, luncheons....

Do you see what I see?

Here is my sales formula for the Silly Season:

Customer has time + You have a reason to meet = Strategic opportunity to discover their unmet needs

If you can discover the unmet needs or gaps that your customers and target prospects face within their current state, you could become the bridge to help them cross over to their desired state. Or simply put, if you can find and solve their problems, you win the relationship.

So, get ready to step up your sales activity during December and January! Begin preparing lists of active and inactive customers, lost customers and target prospects. Contact them and start booking out meetings so that you can start the new calendar year with a strong pipeline of prospects and opportunities. That’s why the season is not silly, its strategic!

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“I’m sorry, we decided to go ahead with your competitor.”

Thump! That’s the sound of hopes being dashed to the ground as we realise we have lost an opportunity. What should the next step be?

Often, our disappointment is communicated to the prospect, who has just given us the bad news. Some of us get flustered and quickly end the conversation, while others allow their disappointment and subsequent annoyance get the better of them and become evident. One way or the other, most never re-engage lost opportunities again!

Unless your customer is going out of business or signing an irrevocable long-term contract , there is hope yet. No is simply, ‘Not now’. Be gracious and thank them for the opportunity to participate. Then ask them these three, important questions:

1. “To offer you greater value the next time, where would we need to improve and by how much?” Make notes of this for future reference.
2. “When are similar opportunities likely to present themselves next?”
3. “May I keep in touch in the future, to offer you improved value?”

If you leave well, you will have earned the right to enter again. People may forget what you say, but they will not forget how you made them feel.

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