Loyal Customers are Your Biggest Asset

Distributor owners know, without a doubt, that people
are their biggest asset.  They are correct in that nearly 60 percent of all gross margin dollars go to paying employees, but that’s not what I have in mind.  People are important to salespeople and often the importance transcends a purely business relationship.  Long-term customers often become friends, allies, and occasionally future business partners. 

 

Moving a person from a stranger to an important customer, business ally, or even a personal friend, is a time-consuming and difficult process.  Here is a rough and simplified outline:

1.     Identify the person who might have the ability to influence the purchase.

2.     Gather background information on this prospect.

3.     Determine the points/product features the prospect considers important.

4.     Provide information and answer questions to build credibility.

5.     Serve as the potential customer’s personal trainer and coach.

6.     Deliver on promises on early orders.

7.     Build a sense of trust with the customer.

8.     Continue to help the customer achieve their own goals.

9.     Reinforce trust through ethical behavior over time and countless transactions.

 

Since salespeople often serve as the “point person” in a team sale approach, sellers often find themselves coaching other team members on how to further the customer relationship.  Sometimes they become the fixer of issues when other team members make errors in judgment or omission. 

 

Building and maintaining a list of happy, trusting customers is the seller’s stock and trade.  A customer who trusts your work is an asset.  Period.

 

Now for some questions about how you handle customers:

·        Since most people use their work email, and phone, would you be able to reach these customers if they left their current employer?

·         Have you asked these people if you can use them as references with new potential customers?  It works in other industries, and it would work for us.

·        Have you asked these customers to give you guidance on what they feel are the most important trends in their industry?

·        Do you know what technologies they feel might be important in the future? 

·        Which products do they have that could use your service?

·        Does the customer have similar relationships with competitors?  What do they feel that competitor does better than you?

·        Have you had customers of this caliber who, for one reason or another, left your sphere of friendship and influence?  What happened?

 

A final point and Public Service Message:

Do you know all the people you meet and collect their information?  You call some of them your friends.  Others might just be good customers.  Regardless of the words you use, many courts have ruled this information belongs to your company – not to you. 

 

Downloading the contact files from your outlook or CRM system could be viewed dimly.  However, the people you are connected to on LinkedIn or similar social media sites may be easier to defend.  This is not a legal opinion.  I am not an attorney, but as they say, I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.  Consult with a real legal beagle.

 

 

Frank Hurtte, Founding Partner of River Heights Consulting, shares his personal experiences with 28

years of "in the trenches" training and 17 years as a consultant.  He serves as a personal coach to industry leaders across many lines of distribution.  He has authored 5.5 books (one is almost done) and has written hundreds of articles for national trade magazines, including Industrial Supply Magazine.

Frank is also a sought-after copywriter of marketing materials for technology companies.  His charismatic, yet laid-back, easy-to-follow manner makes him a favorite among public speakers.

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