Have you ever had a power outage in your home? Even for just a few minutes? It can be very unnerving. Utilities are supposed to work – all of the time. And when they don’t it creates a major disruption in our lives. Food can spoil. We can’t prepare meals, keep warm or maybe stay cool enough. We spend very little if any time thinking about our utilities until they don’t work. We also have customers that we tend to take for granted, and when they leave it can create havoc in our professional lives.
You may think that your product or service is relied upon by your customer to such an extent that you don’t need to worry. You are so tightly integrated in to their workflow and systems that it would cause a major disruption for them to unplug you. Or, you may have such a huge competitive advantage that there’s just nobody else that can provide what you can. But beware. Your product or service may be under attack within the customer's organization as you read this article. A new, unheard of competitor may be calling on your account today.
Blog continued below
If you like my blog, you’ll love my book, Click Send and Sell! Three Unconventional Emails with Extraordinary Sales Results.
If you have ever had a prospect “go dark” this book is for you. It has proven email techniques to “wake up” your prospect. While unconventional, these emails are authentic and professional, and almost always work. And , for only $3.99 you can put them to work for you today.
Also included are email techniques for following up on leads (these emails typically gets a 20% response rate!) and for planning your next prospect meeting. Proven through years of use and honed for you, these emails will help you stand apart from the crowd.
The book is available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at the iTunes store.
No eReader? No problem! Click HERE to download and print the book in any format you want.
What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!
Customers are not like utilities. We can’t take them for granted – ever. Competitive pressures from inside and outside of the organization are putting you at risk every day. Where do those threats come from?
1. The original buyers for your product/service have long since moved on. People have inherited a solution and don’t know why it was purchased in the first place. It’s your job to make them understand.
2. A new, smaller, and more nimble competitor just got another round of funding and is making a strong play for the business. Years ago that might have been unthinkable, but today it is a new reality.
3. The macroeconomic environment is causing your customer to re-think everything. Yes, even your plugged-in solution is at-risk.
4. Your customer’s business is evolving in ways that were unforeseen just a few years ago. Is your company evolving with it?
You need to stay in front of these long-standing and reliable customers and never take them for granted. Understand their use-case for your product. Make sure that new users, buyers, administrators, and executives have a clear cut understanding of your value proposition. Position yourself for their next business model transformation.
Never, ever, take customers for granted. Make it a habit to visit them on a regular basis - monthly or quarterly depending on your product or solution. Bring them new information that will help their business. Make sure that you always have a champion in case things start to turn negative for you somewhere in their organization. Stay top of mind or risk losing this long-standing customer. It is a very bad day at the office when one of these “utilities” gets shut off.
No comments:
Post a Comment