Time is your greatest resource in sales, even more so if you’re the business owner. That’s why it helps to prioritise your active clients (paying customers). Our clients vary in their buying frequency and the amount they spend on each purchase, and we group them as A, B, and C accordingly. Right at the end of the alphabet are your Z clients – the ones who just drain your time and resources for little or no reward. We need to watch out for them, because we need that time and those resources for the ABCs.
ABC Clients
Some clients will buy from you often, or in large amounts – ideally both. These are your top 20% and they’re your VIPS. Keep in touch with these people as often as you can and as soon as you recognise who they are. There are other clients who might not spend massive amounts of money with you, but who bring in A-list clients: these are your centres of influence, who we look at later in this chapter, and you’d be wise to group them in with your As.
Give them rewards for buying from you so that they have no reason to look elsewhere. The greater recognition they receive from you, the more likely they are to be reminded of the superior service you give.
Then there are your B clients. These people are good buyers too. They’re your next 30 to 40%, but they don’t buy as often or in the same quantities. If you’re calling or visiting the A clients every month, then you’ll call on these people every six weeks to two months.
Your C clients might not buy very often and they’ll account for your final 40 to 50% of sales, as they buy the least and the least often. You might only stay in touch with these people by phone, every two to three months.
Treat all your clients with respect, but prioritise your time to spend more on the people who are spending more money with you (or consistently bringing in others who do). Look at ways to reward them, as well as ways to bring other clients up to the A or B levels with targeted campaigns. If you find people dropping from one level to the next, get in touch with them and see what’s changed. You need to determine whether they’ve started to spend less with you because of the greater economic landscape or whether it’s something specific about your product or service.
This is an extremely effective strategy for keeping existing clients happy and knowing where to put your energies. Review your A, B, and C clients monthly at the most and quarterly at the least. You’ll gain a constant, clear picture of where your efforts are having the most impact and save your most precious resource, time.
Questions? Thoughts? Experiences?
To your sales success
Michael Neaylon
michael@mcme.com.au
Author of the forthcoming book, 'True Brand Toolkit: How to Bring in Big Money for Your Small Business.'
No comments:
Post a Comment