DO YOU WANT TO BE A BANANA OR DO YOU WANT TO BE CHIQUITA?
By Jennifer Brown Wegman
“Treat your prospects like clients and your clients like prospects.”
When you sell a service, you have to convince your target customers that you are worth their hard-earned money. So, in order to build up your “like, know, trust” factor, you offer loads of free value in the hope that potential clients will see it, like it and be impressed enough with it that they will sign on the dotted line when they’re ready to buy. While this is a great method of developing new business, it is also an easy way to get distracted from keeping your current clients fully engaged in their experience. When you leave your current clients on autopilot, you risk losing out on opportunities for future revenue.
A great way to guard against these missed opportunities is to make it a point to periodically review your client files. After reading your internal notes to refresh your memory on the work you’ve done, take some time to check their websites and social media accounts, which will give you insight on how they view themselves and remind you of which markets and industries they are actively involved in. Then, find out what is happening in those markets and industries. Have they changed since you last did work for the client? What are the top opportunities and threats and how will they affect your clients’ businesses? Once you’ve finished your research, you can use it two ways to benefit your business.
First, you can call your clients in order to get their perspectives on what you found out. Either the client will be glad you cared enough to call and ask for an opinion or he or she will be grateful for the update. It’s a win-win. You get to show off your expertise without being salesy and you’ll move back to the forefront of the client’s mind. Even if you don’t get new work now, the deeper relationship could result in new work or a referral later.
Second, monitoring the current state of client markets and industries will give you a chance to see if your offerings are still meeting their needs. If not, you may need to tweak your services to keep them coming back for more. Pay close attention to new opportunities on the horizon or significant threats sneaking up from behind. Both of these give you the chance to be first-to-market with a solution they don’t even realize they need – yet.
In order to create a greater connection with your customers and focus your resources on the most lucrative opportunities that will grow your business, your periodic industry research should not just be a quick Google search. If you only rely on Google, you risk missing out on key information you can use to get a comprehensive picture of the industry. The top five sources I recommend always including on your checklist when looking for market and industry information include:
Industry Associations
Industry associations are an incredible (and often free!) resource for information on the current state of an industry. Many associations publish an annual “State of the Industry” report or provide resources on the issues impacting their members. Additionally, some associations offer member directories that are packed full of information on companies operating in the space. These listings provide you with valuable data on your clients’ competition.
Industry Publications
Industry publications are an excellent way to get a feel for the industry and what’s going on within it in greater detail than what’s generally reported in major newspapers. Additionally, these publications will often focus on sub-sectors of an industry or print special features loaded with usable insights.
Consulting Firms & Think Tanks
Big accounting and consulting firms like Deloitte, PWC, Ernst &Young, KPMG, Bain, McKinsey, and Boston Consulting Group, as well as smaller specialized consulting firms and think tanks will often publish studies and reports on topics that are having significant impacts in an industry.
Public Companies
Public companies who operate in the same space as your clients provide extremely useful information on industries in their public filings and investor presentations.
Government Sources
Government sources are treasure troves of information on industries, especially if your client operates in a regulated market. You should be sure to look at the federal, state and local levels whenever possible.
It is far easier to keep current clients than to hook new ones. By carving time out of your schedule regularly to focus on the needs of your existing clients, you can quickly capitalize on changes in the marketplace and stay top-of-mind. That way, when they or a person they know needs your skills, you will be the one they think of first – making you the Chiquita of bananas.
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Jennifer Brown Wegman (jennifer@insightinfosolutions.com) is the founder of Insight Information Solutions, LLC, a firm harnessing the power of information to help businesses get new clients, keep current clients and make smarter decisions.