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A good leader knows how difficult, in terms of money and time, it is to revive a dead customer or to get a new one out of a cold list, and a good leadership speaker and coach will tell you the value of a lifetime customer in terms of cash and referrals.

A true leader knows that the key to save money is to sell more to current clients, to the point that the salesperson becomes a part of the client’s team.  Yep!  This kind of positioning is priceless.

So, here we give you 5 tips to sell more to your current clients:

Slow down

Stop to evaluate and make sure you have done the best for your client and that you have earned the right to ask for referrals.

 Get informed

Get as much information as possible about their referral style, if it is aggressive, fast-paced, optimistic, or detail oriented; and learn all you can about their business and their challenges.

Ask

Ask for referrals from key persons and from personal contacts in other departments. 

Make a connection

Find a way to make an emotional connection with your client.  Aim to make friends with them, and for this, forget about emails, voicemail, or direct mail. 

You have to be there, it takes time and effort, but it is worth it.

People prefer to do business with friends, and true friends stick for life, even when the going gets tough.

Communicate regularly

Design a communication model to stay in touch regularly; one that builds top of mind awareness and that portrays you as much more than a salesperson. 

Get in touch at least every 6 weeks, make it short, sweet, benefit driven, and if possible, with an emotional trigger.  For example:

-      Help them learn more

Create white papers, tip sheets, quick columns, or FAQ sheets to help your clients understand what you offer.

 -      Use a quote

Send an appropriate and inspiring quote to your clients and write a few words on it.

-      Clip and send

Make it a habit to clip and send an article, cartoon or quote from any written source you read, or find something on the web that may help or interest your clients.  Send it to them explaining why you thought of them when you read it. 

-      Books

Choose the right book for your client and write a note on the first page.  Identify with a sticky note any special sections you find.

-      Call them

It is always nice to receive a warm greeting call.

-      Feel good things

Tell your clients about a success story related to your product or service that may inspire them.

And always remember to think of your customers as long time friends.