Free Tips on Solutions Selling

12 Tips for Mining More Business From Existing Accounts

You may already know that your best customers are your existing customers. In fact, because they already know and trust you, they are more readily open to buying additional products and services from your college. Here are 12 tips for mining more business from existing accounts:

1. Place your college web link on the customer’s intranet. This will make it easy for the employees to click on your website and check on current listings. It also helps to build brand identity as employees see your logo and website link on their intranet daily.

2. Schedule quarterly “check-up meetings” with existing customers to see what changes have occurred in the organization because of the economy. These Turbo Meetings keep you current with the customer’s specific needs.

3. Offer “good customer” discounts for purchasing new products or services

4. Offer to pilot a new program just for their company. The company is selected as one of the first to learn about the new program, and has the opportunity of purchasing the program before everyone else.

5. Hold Executive Briefings for the top management of a good customer so they can learn new management techniques or leadership skills

6. Offer tiered pricing to a customer if they train larger numbers of people or schedule more classes.

7. Ask for internal referrals to other departments. Once you have a good relationship with a specific contact, ask that person to refer you to other key decision-makers within the company for additional business.

8. As the economy changes, identify the “pain” areas of a specific vertical market and be aware that your existing customers may have shifted their needs. Just because you identified a specific need six months ago with this customer, doesn’t mean their needs are the same today.

9. Tell stories about successes you’ve had with other companies with certain products. Plant the seeds of what additional services you have already provided to companies in the same market as your current customer.

10. Conduct an Education Fair at your current customer’s location. This will help spread brand awareness of your college’s products and services. It also helps their employees to understand that you offer more than just training.

11. Listen to your customer’s needs and sell in phases in the proposal. Selling in phases over 1-2 years always helps you sell more products and services rather than contracting for just one class.

12. Make a “Team Sales Call” on your customer. Take along another sales person from your college to talk about new products and listen for need. Brainstorm after the meeting of creative solutions to situations/needs you uncovered at the meeting. Two sets of ears and two creative brains will always come up with better ideas/solutions for the current customer.