R.E.S.P.E.C.T. - Your Client's Communications Preferences | Lydia Ramsey | Sales Gravy Articles

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R.E.S.P.E.C.T. - Your Client's Communications Preferences

Written by Lydia Ramsey

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Client Communication as Easy as A-B-C

I pride myself on my follow-up skills and strive to maintain relationships with clients long after projects have been completed. But, the longer I’m in sales, or working with a particular account, the more contacts I have. Suddenly my simple approach to calling when someone comes to mind, or when my CRM system says I should, no longer works. This is the dilemma facing many of us as successful sellers. What to do? The answer: a two-pronged strategy leveraging today’s technology.

To be a successful consultative seller, you need to grow and maintain a broad base of client contacts. Before you know it, you have hundreds, even thousands of people on your contact list. Obviously it’s impossible to maintain personal contact, yet personal contact is a key to building and strengthening your client relationships.

How do you maintain and strengthen relationships with all of these people so you will be among the first – if not the first – person they remember when they have a business issue that requires your expertise?

Begin with a “divide and conquer” approach, categorizing your contacts into tiers. The ‘A’ tier can include top contacts or recommenders you stay in touch with regularly. These are the people least likely to slip from our sights because they will probably buy from you soon. It’s the ‘B’ and ‘C’ tiers that are the challenge.

The ‘B’ tier are contacts that don’t have an immediate need, but may have one in the next 12 months. You may have done work for them before, or discussed places you can assist, but frequent communication at this point is not required.

The ‘C’ tier are contacts that may someday appreciate your services, but not in the foreseeable future.

While both ‘B’ and ‘C’ tier clients know you are there, you don’t want to count on them to remember to call when a need arises that you can assist with. Yet our schedules are busy and often we don’t have the luxury of calling every ‘B’ and ‘C’ client regularly to check in.

Some sellers feel it is enough to hope that their paths will cross again in the future. That’s not definitive enough for me. As I look at it, there are two prongs to a strategy for staying connected and strengthening relationships with our legion of client contacts.

Keep our clients current on what we are focused on
Provide our clients with new ideas

The first prong is easy. LinkedIn, the online business networking site, shows your network “what you are working on”, updating it every week, even emailing it out to your whole network of contacts you have registered. Make sure all your ‘B’ contacts are linked to you, and they can follow your activities every week as long as you keep it updated. As you speak with or think of them, link to your ‘C’ contacts.

Client relationship manager and email database technologies can help with the second prong. Use the tools in your CRM to create a nearly automated communication strategy. Queue emails to connect with ‘B’ contacts every 60, 90 or 120 days. Write an email that shares a new thought, a related issue a client had and solved that would be of interest, a return on investment another client achieved and how.

As your ‘B’ contacts reply, call to connect voice-to-voice.

The ‘C’ tier shouldn’t require a lot of time and effort. Add them to your newsletter list, or emails you might send out regarding updates in their industry. Plan to communicate with them every 4 - 6 months.

Improve Networking Skills | The Sales Store

Imagine this: you've worked for hours putting together the proposal that your prospective client requested and are finally ready to hit the send button. You envision the recipient checking e-mail immediately and contacting you within a few hours to seal the deal. You have a mental picture of yourself signing the contract and depositing a nice check into your account.

What you don't know is that your prospect doesn't check e-mail everyday. You failed to ask what form of communication this person prefers. Sadly for you, your competitor was on the ball and asked, "How would you like to receive this information?" By the time your e-mail proposal is opened and read, the deal is done, but not with you.

Maybe you called the prospect, who was not in, so you left the information on voice mail and waited all day for a response. As it turns out, this person only checks voice mail at the end of the day. Once again, your competitor knew this.

We are absolutely overwhelmed with ways to transmit information. Current studies indicate that e-mail is the business communication tool of choice. However, many people still prefer the telephone which has been an office staple since Alexander Graham Bell spoke to Mr. Watson from another room. That device is no longer fixed to the wall nor does it reside only on the desk. We can have our cell phones with us wherever we go and use them whenever we feel like it. Some people live by their cell phones so you can forget the office line.

The phone, whichever type it is, comes with all sorts of features and options including voice mail, caller ID and calling waiting. An added bonus to cell phones is text messaging. There are people rarely speak directly to others. They just send or leave messages.

There is the fax machine, which only a short time ago was absolutely revolutionary. Many fax machines only gather dust these days as a result of e-mail, but for some people, fax is more convenient for transmitting certain information. For a few souls, snail or old- fashioned postal mail continues to serve a useful purpose. They like originals.

We all have our preferred means of communication. If you want to be successful, grow your business and develop good client relationships, find out how your clients want to communicate. Just because you think that e-mail is the most efficient tool doesn't mean that your clients and prospects like to sit in front of a computer all day. Some may prefer to use the phone so that they can discuss issues and gauge reactions - something that is hard to do with e-mail. Others may be more comfortable getting your proposal in person.

Respecting your client's communication preferences is not just a courtesy, it's good business. It's not about you; it's about your client.

Lydia Ramsey
		About the author:
		Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert, professional speaker, corporate trainer and author of Manners That Sell - Adding The Polish That Builds Profits. She has been quoted or featured in The New York Times, Investors' Business Daily, Entrepreneur, Inc., Real Simple and Woman's Day. For more information about her featured presentations and products visit www.mannersthatsell.com. .