Over the last few months my client base has grown by 20%. I am proud to say that a majority of my existing client base has come from referrals from existing clients and agency partners. However, I am embarrassed to admit that I took my referrals for granted.
Towards the end of the June, I made it a point to call my 10 largest clients personally, make sure that all was well and you guessed it, ask for referrals. It is not surprising that because I called them directly, addressed any issues and then in turn ask them if any of their vendors, partners or clients might be in need of any of my services many of them had people I could call. Fast forward 6 weeks and my business is no longer on a “flat” but rather on a steady climb.
This was a reminder of why I need to continue to be proactive in keeping my pipeline full. I am a sales person and I have been all of my life. Still, like many of us have done in the past I forgot what has made me successful in sales. and got lazy. It’s easy to do when times are good.
In an earlier post, I spoke about change and referenced the book Who moved my cheese?. When I wrote that piece I was really speaking to myself. Staying relevant takes dedication and repetitive tasks that work.
What is my lesson out of this? If customers aren’t coming in. Go get them. I am now setting up an outbound lead team to compliment outside sales and my company’s overall growth. Back to basics.
Good selling.
Byron
