Creating exclusivity in developing your customer base seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? Especially at the beginning of the new sales year.
You, and everyone else in the sales community, are out there churning and burning. Your goal is to identify, nurture, develop and close customers.
That’s why you want to focus on creating exclusivity in your customer base. Why be like everyone else?
Sales organizations are cracking the whips and motivating sales teams to make their numbers. Sales reps are responding by doubling down on their efforts.
About this time of year, you are beginning to look like every other salesperson out there. Congratulations, you’ve just commoditized yourself. Again.
Creating exclusivity in your customer base wards off the tendency of your sales organization to turn your efforts into a perceived commodity, from your customers’ perspective.
While this is generally a 3rd quarter activity, I strongly recommend you engage in it now. If you are a new sales rep, this will become your go-to sales habit that keeps your sales head on straight throughout the year.
Grade Your Customers. Create exclusivity in your customer base. Here’s why.
Take a good hard look at your customer base: either the one you inherited from your predecessor or the one you’ve grown on your own.
What does it look like? A gmish of customers who resemble the bar scene from the first Star Wars® movie? (I can see you smiling as you read these words.)
Be honest with yourself. Would you do business with these folks? Are these the folks you want to sell to?
The exclusivity of your customer base allows you to accomplish things that your competitors’ can’t. Exclusivity of your customer base creates opportunities to deliver customized offerings, webinars, seminars, white papers.
When you have exclusivity in your customer base, you differentiate yourself. You also have more time to cultivate, develop, close and retain that customer.
When you have a customer base created via exclusivity, your customers will have your back. They will refer you. There is constant back-and-forth, give-and-take.
Early in the fiscal calendar year, there’s a lot of sales frenzy going on. Take a step back from what’s going on in your organization. Gain some perspective. Think about grading your customers and developing a strategy of exclusivity in your customer base.
Provide a compelling reason for your customers to contract with you in the first place, and continue to do business with you.
The difference is in your business and sales outcome, this year and in subsequent years. You will differentiate yourself to your customer base as well: as a Businessperson of Worth.
Babette N. Ten Haken, President of Sales Aerobics for Engineers®, LLC, is a management consultant and business coach. Babette develops business, technical and engineering professionals of worth. She remodels startups and small-to-medium manufacturing and service companies experiencing difficulty with unpredictable revenue streams.
A recognized Top 50 Marketing & Sales Influencer, Babette’s blog won the 2014 Bronze Medal, Top Sales & Marketing Awards, Top Sales World. Her book on communication and collaboration strategies and tools, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon.com.
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