Selling to Your Existing Customers

Selling to Your Existing Customers Selling to Your Existing Customers Once youve closed a sale with a new customer, the sales process doesnt have to end. Customers arent a one-time resource. Theyre a renewable resource that you can keep selling to over time, benefit them and you as well. Someone whos already bought something from you is much easier to sell to than a complete stranger. An existing customer already has a stake in your company and at least one of your products. He is obviously satisfied with his purchase, or he wouldnt still be a customer now. So your customers present a great opportunity to make some sales with much less effort â€" and rejection â€" than the usual cold pitch. How ?to Maximize Sales The trick to maximizing your sales from current customers is keeping your existence fresh in their minds. After you sell to a new customer, dont just forget about them. Get in touch a couple of weeks after the sale and ask if all is well â€" if they have any questions or concerns about their new purchase, and if theres anything you can do to help. And if the customer is having any problems you can see to it that these issues are ?fixed ASAP, thus leaving them with a good feeling about your company.? You should also reach out to long-time customers on a regular basis. The appropriate frequency will vary depending on your product type, but will usually be about once every 3-6 months. By staying in touch with your customers, you minimize the chances that theyll move away from your company. If youre taking good care of customers and helping them out with any issues, then even if they do have problems with your product theyll be likely to buy from you again. Regular contacts also tend to get your customers to talk with you when theyre ready to buy instead of calling the general sales number or just talking to the first company salesperson they see when they walk in the door.? How to Approach Customers One excellent approach for current customers is the account review pitch. About once a year, call your customer and suggest that you meet briefly to talk about how their circumstances have changed in the past year so that you can determine if their last purchase from you is still the best product for them. Taking the time to write up a standard list of questions ahead of time will help this meeting go smoothly. Even if your review doesnt turn up an opportunity to upsell to that customer, youll still have made a good impression as a helpful expert. And frequently you will find a good reason during the review to either upgrade the customer to a better product or sell him additional products. Another way to approach existing customers is to hold an event once or twice a year. Customers often get annoyed by the fact that new customers qualify for special deals while existing ones dont. You can make a point of bucking this trend with a customer appreciation day at which you offer discounts, coupons, small gifts, food, entertainment, prizes, and anything else that appeals to you. Raffles are a terrific option because it gives you a chance to collect everyones contact information for follow-up purposes after the event. The other major reason to cultivate existing customers is to pick up referrals. Customers are a fantastic source of warm leads, but they usually wont volunteer those leads at random. If you spend a little time training your customers, youll find that they will happily give you leads or even tell their friends and colleagues to call you themselves. A liberal distribution of your business cards will help, as will other branded material with your contact information â€" notepads, refrigerator magnets, sticky notes, etc.