I’m reading a great Sales book at the moment. Sales is not my area of expertise and I am always up for learning!
There is a section in it called “Loving your customer”. That does sound rather strange, but I get it!
When you start a relationship with a customer, you are telling them “you are great, we love what you do, we want to make you happy, tell me about your needs”
Then over time, maybe you stop showing them the same amount of attention, you take your loyal customer for granted and at the same time your competitors are telling them “you are great, we love what you do, we want to make you happy, tell me about your needs”
Guess what, your customer leaves you for a competitor.
You need to keep loving your customer to keep them happy, and if you love them, they will love you back, giving you more work and referring you to their friends and colleagues.
We have all felt that we are unloved by some of our suppliers – the banks, the service providers all busy courting new customers and forgetting about the people who have been reliably paying (more) for their services over the years.
So what about you? How do you show your customers that you love them? A newsletter is great at keeping in touch, but you wouldn’t just communicate by email with someone that you love, would you? Think about the personal touches. Get to know your clients well and it may give you the competitive advantage that you need. ( I don’t mean take them out for steak on valentine’s day!)
The Book is “How to be Great at the Stuff You Hate: The Straight-Talking Guide to Networking, Persuading and Selling” By Nick Davies
