Great Client Retention hints and tips

Have you listened lately?

http://bit.ly/KSgtyr

Winners of the Women in LAVA Pitching Event

Women in LAVA worked with 12 candidates on their pitches for VC, Angels and private equity investors. Five were chosen to present at the final event held March 8th competition. 

Women in LAVA will be holding this event on an annual basis and offering free classes to members during the course of the year.

I am pleased to announce that three of the candidates I coached were picked as one finalist (Caroline Hall of Loyaltopia) and two alternates, (Yael Benamour of Your Music Corporation and Grace Chang of Event Sorbet). 

Here are the results. http://bit.ly/xRYlrw

Thank you for spreading the word.

PERSISTENCE!

If at first you don't succeed, try try again.

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

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. 

Clients want the "What's in it for ME" factor

Do you know your  'what's-in-it-for-my-clients factor'?  If not, get to know it intimately, inside and out, upside down and sideways and be able to recite it in your sleep.

Fact:  The longer a company is in business the more they get away from knowing, understanding and explaining the 'what's-in-it-for-my-clients' factor.

SFG asks our clients a key question during the intake process:  What do you offer your clients?  This allows us to look at what executives or business owners think they offer their clients. More importantly we learn how they present themselves to their existing and potential clients. And generally they don't articulate it well.

No surprise to us when the UGLY client category has more names than the GOOD category.

Solution Suggestion:  Ask yourself what you can reasonably deliver to your potential and current clients that align with your current resources and personnel. Then stick to that concept.  Stay focused and repetitive and state it clearly to your clients in terms that has meaning for them.

Example:  SFG helps you identify the Good, the Bad and the Ugly clients of your business.  We work with you to convert the Bad to Good, fire the Ugly and create a good client program that keeps the cash flow positive.

So - What in it for YOUR clients?

Client Retention Program

As most of my readers are aware, I have developed a  program called The Good The Bad and The Ugly Client Retention Program.  Focused on service firms that are in need of a client management program that is NOT computer-based, GBU creates a process to convert the bad clients to good, manage the good with first-class service and fire the ugly.

The reams of information on good client relationships, managing those relationships, and keeping those good clients fills a giga-bite-plus of internet space. Popular CRM software cannot classify the organic nature of client management.  This huge gap leads to mis-communication, bad feelings AND loss of revenue.

Client relationships are built between human beings. A Client Retention Program is a execution plan.  Plain, simple and straightforward, it allows a firm to deploy precious  resources to the good, convert the bad and fire the ugly.

Time to ask your service firm the following questions:

How do you manage your clients?  What relationships do you actively maintain and why?  What revenue is stuck behind a difficult relationship?

Feel free to comment on your current state of clients: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

Book Recommendation

Am reading a great book I picked up at a book fair for $7.00.  Brought it home and have been working my way through it voraciously.  I am terribly impressed by how these authors put into words that which is so challenging to us humans that we muck it constantly: communication with our clients.

The complexity of communications has ended up with muffling, bashing, confusing our clients and peers alike.  Communication is so complex that it's like walking a tightrope every time we open out mouths. Then we spend hours blaming ourselves for a job badly done!

Service professionals need to be able to really listen to their clients and help untangle the challenges of the business while offering solutions without minimizing or insulting the dignity of the client. This book creates such a road map of "how to's" so well I've made it my carry-it-everywhere-with-me book.

I have posted access to the book via Amazon link in the box at the left. Enjoy!

Lunchtime Dreamers

I worked for a busy Fortune 500 corporation from the age of 24 to 40something.  I rarely looked up from my desk from 7AM-10PM that the job and promotions demanded.  But on the weekends I turned into the outdoor adventuressI wanted to be in high school.   Why did I not pursue this path full time?  'Cause of the money honey.  There was NO money in adventuring in those days.  You took a vow of poverty and that was that.

Well I like to inhabit nice, clean places and wanted to own a home of my own. So off to work I went on Monday mornings, tired, exhausted from the all-night driving when coming back from a high energy weekend in some distant California outpost.  I kayaked, skied, climbed, backpacked every weekend and had a blast.

During the week, I ate lunch at my desk and plotted with my travel agent adventure buddy where to go next.  I wished I had had the internet then to keep me company.  I could have viewed all manner of places with out leaving my desk and reduce my stress. Check this link out and you'll know what I mean.

http://bit.ly/cWUI72

Happy Lunchtime Dreaming!

The Brand Within, By Daymond John, Shark Tank Investor

Sarah Shaw of Entreprenette interviewed billionaire Daymond John on the secrets of his success.  He is known for the creation of the FUBU clothing line and one of the investors on 'Shark Tank.' It is a riveting, powerful 30 minutes of direct, honest answers about starting up companies, investing and continuing the success from company to company.  Sarah Shaw is a member of my mastermind group and one very smart seasoned entrepreneur.  Take a moment to listen to this interview as I think you will find the lessons useful to your enterprise.

http://bit.ly/cH6xK2

Enjoy!

The Ugly

We all have clients.  We love our 'good' clients, we work hard with our 'bad' clients.  But no matter what we do, we can never seem to make the 'ugly' happy!  They are impossible to coach, yell back or are unreachable or nasty on the phone when we do reach them. I define the ugly as non-paying, unreasonably demanding and rude. 

I like to categorize my clients so I know what to expect each time I speak with them. I made a vow, when I started Innerwealth Communications that I would  jettison those that are out to make my life miserable. I always assess the 'why' of the ugly - did I miss something, is there an issue they are not sharing with me,  cannot vocalize their dissatisfaction, etc.  Once I have determined I have done everything for them I can do and it's still not good enough, I do not hesitate to FIRE them quickly.  It frees up my time to find a 'good' client.   

How you deal with your 'ugly' clients?  Comments welcome!

IP Tragedies

The creation of a great idea has intrinsic value, meaning that in and of itself it creates revenue.

Scissors - these were invented to cut with more accuracy than a knife.  Sharp, small and large scissors will cut through just about anything.  So scissors have an intrinsic value that no matter how you color them, package them, sell them, they still cut.  A patent protects the invention, the license creates the money.

So why do inventors give away the patent? 

I worked with a company owner 4 years ago to help her raise money for her start up.  She had a patent  that was the "unique value proposition" of her business.  Fast forward 4 years, $10 million raised in Venture Capital, a languishing economy and less revenue coming in.  The VC's (fondly referred to as Vulture Capitalists) stepped in and ousted her and her top management team.

And they now own her patent!

Her patent had intrinsic value with a wide application across a variety of business segments outside her own company that it resembled a permit to print money.

Her buyout included options, stock and a cash buyout.  But not her patent. The company holds the patent and the venture capitalists own the company. 

Should the company fail, she will lose the value of all her options and stock, which means she will be left with - NOTHING.  The VC's own the patent and they will make the money by licensing it out.
 
May I mention that she is a brilliant experienced serial entrepreneur and had created her most recent company to help WOMEN?

I would like to opt on the side of success.  That the VC's will appoint a new CEO with the passion and focus to make the company successful.

But the lesson remains the same:

If you thought of it, if you invented it, file a patent for it.  As Jane Wurwand, founder of Dermalogica says "I own it all and thank god for that!"