I need to keep this short and sweet tonight because I'm swamped with quotes that need to go out tomorrow for possible closes next week. My quarter ends next Friday on the 23rd.
Today I was out prospecting with the rest of our reps. Each of us had a partner however my partner had to disengage at the last minute. No worries because in most cases I tend to fare better with prospecting alone.
Today was an exceptional day since two of my stops turned into on-site meetings with two DMs. Both meetings went well and I need to provide a quote for color A3 MFP (yes the client was 11x17 print) for a church. The other meeting turned into a decent opportunity for a Light Production Color device, in addition the client wants to see a demo and print samples. Yay, not a bad day with putting in about ten stops.
It's easy to prospect for net new when you don't have a client base and the hits can be fast and furious. I mean what else is there to do when you don't have a client base to answer emails, perform QBRs for existing clients or follow up with your existing clients (end of lease, referrals, existing proposals).
"Out of sight, equals out of mind", thus it's easy to lose track of existing clients if you're not contacting them on a regular basis.
Sometime ago and I can't remember who told me or where I heard this, but it went somewhat like this, you will lose 25% (every few years) of your clients due to no fault of your own.
Lost could be for many reasons
- company is being sold
- company is being acquired
- company is closing their business
- catastrophic loss
- bankrupt
- death
- your DM leaves the company
The need to prospect daily, weekly and monthly is constant.
Just this week I meet with an existing 25 year client, there were three MFP upgrades on the table. I was told he accepted an offer to sell the company and was not sure if he could renew the existing leases. Of course I won't give up with not presenting the upgrades, but my chances of closing goes down dramatically.
The Unexpected
If you've read prior blogs or we've chatted I've told others, "as long as you work hard you never know what tomorrow will bring you".
Today one of those tomorrows turned came in the form of an email from a net new prospect. The client stated that so and so gave me your contact information and I'd like to meet to discuss our needs. No biggie right? It happens all of the time when you so the right things for your clients. Here's the unexpected part of the email, that so and so person (the referral) was from a net new client that I lost last year. That's right! I believe this has only happened a few times in my career.
Which all goes back to "as long as you work hard you never know what tomorrow will bring you". One other note, prospecting hard during June, July and August will give you the edge for meeting your 3rd and 4th quarter goals.
-=Good Selling=-
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