Courting Customers - From First Date to Marriage
Landing a new client is like courting a potential spouse. The
first date is usually a make or break situation and if the door is
still open, the work has just begun. Like dating, you'd better give
your prospect a pretty good reason to meet with you again, because
there is usually more than one suitor.
Getting the Next Date
The key to getting that next date or meeting with a prospect is to
deliver enough value to make a subsequent get-together attractive.
At our company, our first meeting consists of a thorough
questionnaire. Some of the questions we cover are:
What is the nature of the problem as you understand it?
What are the most urgent aspects of the problem?
What impact does this have on your organization?
Are you willing to make investments in technology when there is a
clear ROI?
Who will be involved with making these decisions?
What other areas of your organization are you considering technology
solutions?
What qualities do you look for in a vendor?
What will be the key factors driving your decision on this project?
We follow-up with a letter and summarize the client's problems, the
cost of the problems and the solutions we can bring to solve them.
This gives the client a clearly articulated assessment of their
situation based on the information they've disclosed to us. It's
often a more accurate and precise appraisal then before they met
with us.
We try to complement their understanding of the problem with our
understanding of the technology solutions. The prospect appreciates
this new tool they have to move forward with solving the problems
and we've gotten permission in almost every case to continue the
conversation.
Making Your "Proposal"
The next step is a proposal, and we focus on educating the client
throughout this process. We go beyond quoting a price; we send links
to relevant articles, case studies and other content that expands
the prospects understanding of their problems.
Many of these are included in the proposal as an appendix and we
strive to deliver a document that is highly educational and includes
diagrams and drawings to make the project more easily understood.
Our strategy is that our prospect will use this as a tool to educate
the internal decision making team, putting our companies name in
front of them.
Once we get a preliminary approval on a contract, it's like getting
engaged. The intent is to create a permanent relationship, but any
number of circumstances could send the deal south. We go the extra
mile in everything we do. And like marriage, the real effort begins
when the contract is signed and the honeymoon is over.
We also pay attention to how we're being treated to ensure we're
making the right choice for a partner as well; do they meet their
commitments for returned phone calls, decisions, meeting times. We
try and get a sense of the culture; do people like working there,
are the people friendly, is there a sense of mission.
A Happy Marriage
Great relationships generally have a number of common elements:
Mutual respect and trust
Congruency, integrity and accountability
Common interests and goals
Common cultural backgrounds
Financial stability
Renew Your Vows
We're always focused on a long-term relationship, because it takes
significantly less effort and cost to keep a client, then to gain a
new one. Below is a list of things we strive to achieve in order to
create a positive relationship with a client:
Deliver more value than we're paid for and do things right the first
time.
Become a respected and valuable member of the internal team.
Do the little extras without expecting extra compensation.
Meet or exceed every commitment we've made in the contract,
including delivering on schedule.
Adapt to the nuances of the client, rather than making them conform
to ours.
Be accessible and create an exceptional communication channel with
the client.
Be likable and anticipate the client's needs.
When we've done all this we're in a prime position to renew the vows
for the next project. We've developed a quality relationship and the
client has no reason to look elsewhere.
The Bottom Line
Whether you're getting married or acquiring a new customer, use
common sense; find somebody that's compatible and attractive to you,
consistently give more than you get and be a positive force in their
lives.
About The Author
Bryan Brandenburg has published 5 books as well as a number of
articles both in print and on the internet. He has published almost
30 software programs both for consumers and business. More
information can be found at
www.vmmmg.net
b.brandenburg@vmmg.net
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