Calling Your Clients

 Let's get real here for a moment and acknowledge that the holidays are upon us.  That crazy time of year when everything seems to annoyingly show up on the 'to-do' list.

A very wise businessman once shared with me that if a fire destroyed his warehouse, it wouldn't matter.  If a fire destroyed his delivery trucks, it wouldn't matter.  BUT if a fire destroyed his client files, his business would be destroyed - finito - ended - finished!

There is only ONE top priority for all businesses to act on this fall season: CLIENT CARE

1) BACK UP CLIENT FILES - if you use a web CRM system of any kind, back it up.
2) BACK UP all client files that are resident on your computers! One client lost a list of 1600 names and with it future business. 
3) BEGIN - calling an established client who did business with you this year - Start with those that signed up with you in January and work your way through the year.
4) SAY THANK YOU to each and every one! 
5) ASK QUESTIONS on how you can help them achieve their business goals for 2012.  You may not be the one to satisfy the request, but if you refer them out, you would be surprised on how well they remember you.
6) BE HAPPY you have clients you can call to say thank you. Let them know how terrific it is to work with them!

Our businesses are built on the loyalty of our clients.  Loyalty is built via relationships that are active and have a feel good factor to them.  So pick up the PHONE and reach out and touch your clients.  They will appreciate it.

Any further questions - contact me and I will be happy to answer your question.
Laurelle Johnson
Strategies for Growth

Steven Jobs

May he rest in peace.  He will be missed.

Consolidate your base revenue with a
‘cradle to grave’ client retention program

A 5% reduction in customer defection rates can increase
profitability by 25-125%

Clients are challenged to maintain their profitability. They want
consistent, trustworthy vendor relationships that become an extension of
their infrastructure.

At Strategies for Growth we work one-on-one with your Business
Development Team members to create strong client relationships with
their clients to

• Create and implement a client-centered road map that gives your clients a strong sense of trust and the knowledge that you understand their business almost better than they do.
• Work with your team members to solidify and stabilize existing high yield accounts for maximum sales and profitability
• Customize a process that accommodates the individual sales style of each Business Development Team member. It becomes organic and part of ‘just the way we do business.’ We reinforce what works best, creating the best-in-breed business development team talent. 

E-mail us or call us at (818) 512 6477 and share your biggest client challenge: We will give you one immediate idea on how to handle it and convert the client to your biggest fan.

The Embedded Strategy

"Embedded" used in a sentence:   "Thick cotton padding embedded the precious vase in its box." 

So what is the embedded strategy?  Think of your client as a precious vase and your company as the cotton padding.   The strategy calls for you to surround your client with positive experience of  your services and keep out the competition.  It pretty simple. 

Clients enjoy consistency. Clients enjoy ease of use.  Clients don't really want to change vendors - too much work for them in an already stressed working life. But if you are not around and I mean SURROUND/SHOW UP/FOLLOW UP, you will be  displaced so fast you won't even know what happened.

Are you embedded with your stellar clients?  Are you familiar with their growth goals and deployment plans.  Are they going through a particularly difficult time and need what you provide to support them through this bad period? 

As a embedded vendor you get a chance to learn which direction the company is going - expansion or contraction, international strategy, long-term or immediate goals, etc.  Often you are invited to a portion of the planning meetings to contribute!  This is a great result of the embedded strategy. 

Think of the competitive edge this gives your company!

Here's the thing, when you show up at your clients place of business, they recognize you.  They welcome you as you are the bearer of problem-solving, money/time saving solutions that translate to their bottom line. They want to talk and laugh with you.  So why not show up?


Never hesitate to embed yourself with your client and surround them with thick cotton padding.  It will pay off for both of you in the process. 

For more information on how to create the right Client Retention Strategy for your business, contact us at:   laurelle@laurellejohnson.com

 

The Spaghetti Strategy

"Let's see what sticks." said my client during our most recent coaching call.  I lost my professional demeanor and burst out laughing.  Images of clients being thrown up against a wall like a string of spaghetti danced through my head. 

The Spaghetti Strategy is where a company attacks the marketplace, addressing all types of clients with one message point and sees 'what sticks'.  I remember that strategy well. The corporation I had worked for used this strategy over and over again.  And I remember how costly it was and how little ROI it produced.

Strategies for Growth understands how to assess and create the best strategy for clients as we have deployed them all - including The Spaghetti Strategy.  What we have learned over the years is:  the strategy is set by the client.

When deciding which strategy you want to deploy for your sales efforts, work backwards.

• High end clients need high touch 
• Middle market with growth opportunities need continued touch.  As they grow, you grow.
• High visibility clients need upper management touch

My client decided against the Spaghetti Strategy.  She is now deploying a much more high touch approach that will yield 'her 5 dripping roasts' of clients.

What strategies do you use with your high end clients? Comments welcome.

Is Your Baby Ugly?

Sounds mean doesn't it?  An idea is born, nurtured and launched to the world with great expectations. And then someone calls it ugly.  Do you curl up and die?

"Get used to having your baby called ugly," says Frank Mastronuzzi of OneGoodLove.com, a dating website for same sex couples.  Frank was helping Regina Lark of  Q2D Speed Dating Service (Q2Dspeeddating.com) map out the growth of her company.  I laughed at that very apt phrase.

I call it Iron Underwear.  The need to have a thick skin and know, beyond knowing, that your 'baby' is beautiful, no matter what. 

Raising two children in today's times, I know how the world dishes out the 'your baby is ugly' message.  Parents react in two ways: Mama Lion or Meek Mouse?

Entrepreneurs are no different.  I've seen the guy get wrung out over a comment on improving his business model.  I've seen business owners fold quickly when the going gets rough.

I like Franks' attitude:  My baby is not ugly,  IT ROCKS!    I am making this my new mantra: My baby is not ugly,  my idea rocks. my business is not ugly, my business rocks.

What do you do when someone calls your baby ugly?  Comments welcome.

Yes! There are five key ways to keep your clients

I have been reading and reading about how customers in today's business environment move from vendor to vendor with a drop of a hat.  No one seems to have a clear idea, but my theory is:  buyers mirror their dating habits. And the younger generation is into 'hook ups' not relationships.. 

But the truth is the truth:  humans are unpredictable.  One day it's the Beatles the next it's The Rolling Stones.  What is a service provider to do? 

I ran across and article by Jim Billington in The Harvard Management Update.  Although written in 1996, it still holds some tried and true ideas that still work today. 

So break out your CRM files and: 

1.  Identify Core Clients: who loves your service and why?
2.  Measure what matters:  Measure your individual customer's satisfaction not  the 'market satisfaction
3. Analyze defections: Why did they leave - only the truth please
4. Mass customize: How can you service each client according to their specific needs 
5. Learn to meet unspoken needs: Need to understand what makes the relationship tick

 At Strategies for Growth we work to consolidate core clients, train and support our clients in the development of client relationships to insure steady revenue streams for company growth and profitability,

There is only one boss!

Keeping the Good client Good.

"There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else." - Sam Walton

Customers are fickle, fickle, fickle.  They jump ship at the drop of cell phone and never look back. Which begs the question, how do you keep your customers loyal?





Answer number one: keep the value of your services foremost in the mind of your clients.

How do I do that you ask?  Here is an example:

During a review of their client list, the managing partner of the law firm, pointed out an account he decided to 'forgive' the outstanding invoice.  It was $6K worth of legal work for the wife of a top client.

I suggested that instead of writing it off quietly and feeling frustrated by loss of the fee,  he could contact the client/husband and let him know the law firm was forgiving the debt.  It would buy good will and show the customer the value of a strong relationship between top client and the law firm.

The managing partner's eyes lit up at the prospect of  the 'miles of good will' he would earn and strengthen the exiting relationship with this client.

Two weeks later, the managing partner relayed that his top client was extremely touched by the gesture and handed the firm another $250k in legal work.

How do you reinforce the value of your services to your best clients?

Tech Coast Angels 6th Annual LA Fast Pitch Competition

 6th Annual Fast Pitch LA 2011

The Tech Coast Angels 6th Annual LA Fast Pitch Competition is February 24th at UCLA Anderson School of Business. CEOs of 8-10 start ups, selected from more than 100 applicants, will have 90 seconds to pitch their companies to a panel of judges. The winner will be invited to present their company and business plan at a Tech Coast Angels deal-screening session.

CEOs of Southern California-based companies who want to apply to be a Fast Pitch competitor should submit an application now at www.pitchtheangels.com. The deadline for applications is February 5th. Applications are already being screened by members of Tech Coast Angels, so apply today. More than 20 CEOs will be invited to participate in pre-event coaching sessions in February where TCA members and other coaches will provide them with tips and guidance on their pitches. The coaches will select the best companies to appear onstage at Fast Pitch on February 24th.

The 6th annual event will include presentations from CEOs and venture capitalists on funding and starting a company, and the Fast Pitch competition. A light dinner and refreshments will be served after the program at a networking event that will be attended by investors, entrepreneurs and other industry experts.

In the meantime, startup CEOs, please submit your application now. The sooner you get your application in the better.


I have been a coach to the start ups for the last 5 years and I encourage all my entrepreneur friends to apply.  If anything, it gives you visibility and ACCESS to investors.  Go for it!!!

What is your best sales coaching story?

Coaching to success

Every sales team has a wide variety of performers, from excellent to laggards.  But the challenge is how to keep your bottom line humming the tune of profitability with non-performers on board. 

I was delighted to hear this story of success from a Director of Sales at Microsoft. She had a non-performer on board that she could no longer 'carry.'

She brought him in to have frank conversation on his performance. It sucked, she shared.  He was at risk of being let go within the month. Was this really what he wanted for himself?

He stated he had no intention of being let go from Microsoft. He was ready to accept her help.

She agreed to coach him weekly, help him with the challenges he faced and get his numbers up above the 'yellow line.'  He agreed.   They met weekly for an hour.  He had accountability, he had goals and most importantly he had the investment of management in his success.  He took her up on her suggestions and started to thrive. His numbers improved greatly and he ENDED UP AS NUMBER ONE on the team.

Finding and hiring the right salesperson is tricky, but once hired, companies need to invest TIME and SUPPORT their sales personnel with the right mix of coaching and accountability.

What type of support do you give your sales personnel to help them bring in the sales and the profits?

Screaming Mimis and Chatty Cathys

Do you give nicknames to your most difficult clients?   I have a client who does.  She assigns names to her clients as it tends to relieve her stress. Monikers such Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Clueless, Obi (obnoxious) and Nobi (knows nothing) and the list goes on.

With the Good, the Bad and the Ugly clients, it's all about relieving the stress.

I use Screaming Mimi to describe the client who always likes to complain at the top of their lungs.  They tend to be a bit elusive, irrational and it usually has nothing do to with you or your company.

I use Chatty Cathy to describe clients who have nothing better to do but take up your time with meaningless chatter.  All designed to torture you slowly, word by word, with a monologue that has nothing to do with the service or product you have provided to them.

So how do you get them off the phone and minimize the flotsam of feelings they leave behind?  Aside from just plain hanging up, gently interrupting them with a request to 'continue the conversation' at another time usually works. They are going to feel privileged to now have an appointment to complain versus just an impulse call.

What do you do to get them off the phone?  Comments most welcome.