4 undeniable tips to keep clients for life

MAR 17, 2016 | BY BRIAN TRACY

happy and sad face

If you asked your clients to rate their satisfaction with your service, would they give you wonderful reviews?

A direct sale to a customer today can cost more than $400 in terms of time, travel, advertising, lead generation, and other expenses. Acquiring a customer at this cost can put a company out of business unless that customer buys again and again.

The best salespeople and the best companies implement strategies to acquire clients and to keep them for life.

Your goal must be to develop long-term client relationships and then hold on to them in the face of ever more aggressive competition.

When you install a client acquisition and retention strategy, you must do more to build and maintain long-term client relationships than ever before.

By continually thinking in terms of “clients for life,” your success in sales will be assured.

I want to share four of my favorite tips with you, so you can increase client satisfaction and keep them for life.

1) Always focus on the second sale

The first sale with any client is always the hardest and most expensive. But, it is the second that is the most important…

The second sale is the proof that you have delivered on the promises you made during the first sale.

In reality, you actually go out each day and you sell your promises to people in exchange for their money. You promise that your product or service will give them certain benefits that they are not currently enjoying.

When they come back and buy from you again, they are putting their stamp of approval on your offerings and confirming that you did deliver on your promises.

2) Resales and referrals are almost free

Resales to satisfied clients are ten times easier than new sales to new clients. A resale only requires one-tenth of the time and effort to achieve.

This is why most successful companies measure their success by how often their customers buy again.

A referral from a satisfied client is 15 times easier to sell to than a cold call. Selling to a referral requires only one-fifteenth of the time, cost, and effort to make. In fact, if you have a good referral, the sale is 90 percent made before you walk in the door.

3) Create a golden chain of satisfaction and referrals

Once you have made the sale and the customer is happy, develop a “golden chain of referrals” by asking everyone to refer you to other interested prospects.

Ask confidently. Ask expectantly. Ask courteously, but always ask customers – and even non-customers – if they can refer someone else to you.

When asking people for a referral, assure them that you will put no pressure on the person whose name they are providing. People are hesitant about sharing referrals until they are convinced that the friend or associate that they are referring will not be unhappy or angry with them for giving you their name.

4) Generate word-of-mouth advertising

The most powerful method for you to generate referrals in today’s competitive marketplace is by triggering word-of-mouth on the part of your happy customers. Your aim is to make your clients part of your sales force by getting them to actually sell for you when they talk to other prospective customers.

But how can you motivate them to do this? The way that you motivate your clients to sell for you is by giving them outstanding customer service.

The most important element of outstanding customer service is always speed. A speedy response to questions, concerns, and inquiries is a key measure of how many referrals you are likely to get.

Fast, continuous client care are essential tools for getting referrals. And remember to practice the golden rule of selling: Serve your clients the way you would like your suppliers to serve you. Serve your clients the way you would serve your spouse, your mother, or your closest friend.

Go the extra mile.

Always do more than is expected.

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