Here’s why: while most sales professionals effectively cultivate their top-rung clients, they assume that they’ve thoroughly worked their lower-rung -- and even lowest-rung -- clients, as well. This is often an error!
Many smaller clients aren’t as small as they appear; they’re merely small in terms of the volume of business that they’re doing with a particular sales professional (such as yourself). There’s every reason to expect, however, that smaller clients are in fact doing business with other sales professionals (such as your competition).
And the consequences?
Well, besides the obvious loss of business that’s on the table, there’s the very serious problem that one of your smaller clients is doing business with your competition…which means that your competition -- and not you! -- may be more aggressive in their sales techniques and ultimately win all of the business.
Or, even if your competition is passive, your smaller client may decide -- unilaterally and without notice -- to consolidate their vendors. If you’re a smaller piece of the pie, expect to be on the outside of the inner circle.
Regardless of how this plays out, the result here is that you don’t merely lose your small client, you waste a prime opportunity to do more business with an existing client. You’ve heard of win-win situations? This is lose-lose.
Here’s how to keep this from happening in the first place (which is always the most efficient strategy):
- Screen and qualify your lower-rung clients; discover additional sales potential.
- Produce business collateral such as newsletters, white papers, and brochures -- and target your lower rung-clients (don’t do a “one-size-fits-all” document!).
- Investigate why your smaller clients may be doing business with other sales professionals; there may be no strategic reason for this (in which case the situation is perfect for your consolidated, cost-effective, quality-assured, and risk-reduced solution).
Why? If you find additional sales opportunities, you increase your revenue and reduce your risk of being outpaced by a competitor. Alternatively, if you don’t find any additional sales opportunities, then you can stop assuming and start knowing this -- and confidently implement a touch-point program designed for your lower-rung clients.
About the Author
Adrian Miller is a speaker, consultant, and the president of Adrian Miller Sales Training. Her firm works nationwide providing highly customized sales training solutions and business development consulting to companies across a wide diversity of industries. Adrian works with companies that range in size from solopreneurs to Fortune 500 firms, and her high-energy programs are well known to be practical, informative, results-driven, and fun. Widely read in business publications, Adrian is also the author of The Blatant Truth: 50 Ways to Sales Success, and she is currently at work on her next book. She can be reached at 516-767-9288 or amiller@adrianmiller.com.
