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[Video] What If You Couldn't Get Any New Customers?

  
  
  
  

Thinking About SalesToday's video is designed to get you thinking. Seriously thinking. If you're on a sales team, talk about it together. If you're on your own, explore the ramifications. What you discover may have a huge impact on your success this year.

And when you're done, please add your thoughts & comments below. Your ideas may stimulate us all to think at a higher level. Check out the video now >>

Video Script: If you've been in the sale profession for any length of time, you probably have a whole laundry list of assumptions about what it takes to be successful. But our marketplace is undergoing radical change. Our customers expect different things from us. In fact, they barely need us because everything they need to know is online.

These are the kinds of sales situations that get me thinking. Are we missing anything? Are we capitalizing on the trends? Should we be changing anything so that we can have a greater impact and more success with less effort?

So one of the things I want to do in the upcoming months is to pose some questions that'll get us thinking about our jobs differently. And the first question I'm going to pose is around new client acquisition. Now this is something I'm personally really good at. And it's where I do the bulk of my work with sales organizations.

But, what if -- next year -- you were told that you couldn't get any new clients. I'm serious. What if your income next year was 100% dependent on sales you generated from your customer base?

If that were the case -- if all you could do was work with your existing customers:

  • What would you do differently?
  • How would you approach your job in new ways?
  • What would you stop doing?
  • What would you do more of?

Think about it. What if you could only earn your income in the next 12 months from your existing customers? How would that change things?

And then, how could you take those insights and leverage them today to be even more successful? Think about it. It's a good idea.

What ideas did today's video stimulate for you? How can they help you get more business?

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For more fresh sales strategies, subscribe to the RSS Feed for this blog and sign up for for my Email Newsletter. Follow me on Twitter, connect on LinkedIn or friend me on Facebook. And, if your sales force needs help cracking into new accounts, check out my sales workshops at JillKonrath.com, email me or call me at 651-429-1922.
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Comments

Good provocative question Jill, 
 
It gets me thinking :-) 
 
Thanks, 
Koos
Posted @ Wednesday, January 04, 2012 8:05 AM by Koos
Great idea! I always send Christmas gifts to my top clients and am getting better about adding their emails to my newsletter to send exclusive promotiions just for them. But, will keep thinking of new and better ways.  
 
In this economy, existing customers has kept this Interior Designer afloat.
Posted @ Wednesday, January 04, 2012 8:21 AM by donna
I love this because I was hired for New Business Development in 2010 but my focus is shifting in 2012 to spending more time connecting with clients who haven't done business with us in over a year. It will be interesting to track results!
Posted @ Wednesday, January 04, 2012 8:50 AM by Michelle Falling
I would do everything I could to insure my existing customers are getting their desired results (and more!) from my products and services. Adopting more of a consultative approach to identify and solve new client problems in new ways.
Posted @ Wednesday, January 04, 2012 9:27 AM by Pat McPherson
Ask them how are we doing and be sure to learn why they selected us in the first place. And, then ask them if their needs have changed since we first started. Maybe current clients aren't that different from future clients.
Posted @ Wednesday, January 04, 2012 10:59 AM by Cindy Pileski
I would thank the gods, take a big breath, say so-long-it's-been-good-to-know-you to the sales manager, and go to work for my customers. Throughout my career, I've been rather two-faced about selling: to my customers, I live and breathe their needs. Actually, my day -- my head -- is filled with getting new business because that's the line-of-command is driving. It's expected that I'll quickly transition customers to the "project mananement team," and get back on the phone lining up lunches with prospects. Actually, my satisfaction in sales comes from helping customers achieve goals. This desire is considered a misperception by many ("If you want to help people, go into nursing."), so, in reality, I would probably answer this "what if" like this: I'd visit my sales manager and say, "So long, it's been good to know you," and find a company that wants to drive sales in order to make more money. That's the name of the game. In a public company, it's a legal requirement. I'd follow my head; I have no desire to simply manage another person's opportunity.
Posted @ Wednesday, January 04, 2012 12:40 PM by Bill
Jill, you are an outstanding thought leader. Quality video with engaging questions that gets us all thinking. I love the look of your newsletter - crisp, clean and no caffeine... just quality content to help us all to sell more effectively. Big fan, I am.
Posted @ Wednesday, January 04, 2012 3:21 PM by Kevin Graham
Excellent idea! Got me to thinking how easier it can possibly be selling an existing customer providing you have something else to solve his problems. Got to do your homework, ask probing questions, understand his budget process and convince everyone involved in the purchase decision.
Posted @ Wednesday, January 04, 2012 6:08 PM by Wayne Vaughn
You are very right, Jill. The whole sales industry is changing because the clients don't need us to tell them about their problems and provide solutions - they can find all of that info on the internet. What the clients need from us now is to provide them with what they ask for and exceed expectations.
Posted @ Wednesday, January 04, 2012 7:13 PM by John
Finding what they need on the internet and making buying decisions is discussed in a very interesting book written by Google called ZMOT Zero Moment of Truth  
======Read it ASAP========= 
 
http://www.zeromomentoftruth.com/
Posted @ Wednesday, January 04, 2012 8:00 PM by Becky Smith
It's a great question. The answer of course will be different for all, but it highlights both the value of our clients and the quality of our engagements with them. I find that as the relationship deepens we become a trusted advisor and as such our clients may turn to us for help beyond our existing offerings.
Posted @ Wednesday, January 04, 2012 8:40 PM by Derick
This thought is very real.The internet is the new market place therefore we should put more investment in improving our websites so we continue to attract new clients. If new business is no longer coming thru its a sign of slow death of the business and you should take remedial measures quickly especially in product development area.Today's public are well informed and know what they want, the key like you always say is help them make the decision.
Posted @ Thursday, January 05, 2012 6:57 AM by Jeremiah Nyachuru
Jill, 
Enjoyed this provocative question about whether or not one could survive in 2013 on commissions dependent on the client base carried over from 2012. You really get at the concept of customer retention (which companies do not reward in the same manner as new sales), service quality delivery and, of course, customer experience. I hope this shakes up some of the hit-and-run sales types!
Posted @ Thursday, January 05, 2012 7:39 AM by Babette Ten Haken
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