It is high time you developed a big, bad case of customer retention attitude. Yup, complete with the swagger.
OK, you will learn how to IIoT swagger, over time. And that time frame is longer than the latest sales quarter or billable engineering hours your employer is tracking.
So, you want to develop IIoT swagger and that big, bad case of customer retention attitude. But how? Well, for starters, target the type of new business clients who will become your most loyal business partners. Also, here’s a hint, these clients just may not be part of your current CRM or on those leads lists your marketing department purchases.
Have I got your attention? Good. Let’s continue our conversation.
Customer Retention Attitude is Ground Zero for IIoT Customer Acquisition.
I know, I know. That phrase flies in the face of a lot of sales training programs. However, in case you or your employer have not noticed, the business environment became far more competitive since 2011. That’s when digital transformation of the workplace became ubiquitous. So, if you still sell or engineer the way you originally learned to sell, you do yourself a tremendous disservice (even if you sell pens).
My bottom line to improve yours: Learn to acquire IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) customers by developing a big, bad customer retention attitude. Then, become successful growing the account and retaining that customer.
Crushing Your Quota is not half as satisfying as growing accounts and retaining customers.
Now, let’s get one thing straight. If you are a seller or engineer who cannot wait to close the sale or complete the project, so you can get the account off your To-Do list, do not read any further. Nothing personal here. However, it appears that the breadth and depth of your customer retention attention span is as along as your level of involvement in the sale or the project. Yes or no?
In my Playbook, I recommend the following: Could your attention span be improved by becoming more engaged with all the folks in your organization who make pre- and post-sale magic happen? These are nice people, folks. To the best of my knowledge, most of them don’t bite (at least not on a regular basis).
In the IIoT ecosystem, customer retention is a never-ending story involving people-technology-equipment.
Ever since the Industrial Internet of Things ecosystem was formally recognized in 2011, machines and software are becoming increasingly connected with their human coworkers. Yes, coworkers. How many times do you check your iPhone or Android device a day, just because that device became embedded as a personal habit? Your portable, wireless, handheld device is one of your closest coworkers. See what I mean?
This people-software-machine interconnectivity creates a continuously evolving playground: for you, your company and your customers. Don’t you want to learn to play? What’s interesting is that the technology constantly shifts and changes. As a result, the humans and machines also update themselves, as well. Sometimes, the change is subconscious (for both?). Hmmm.
Consequently, here’s the way I see things. Business and Technical Professionals of Worth become the foundation of a digitally transforming, cross-functional, IIoT workforce. There is no room for close-minded perspective and professional complacency, no matter how successful you are today. In addition, plenty of opportunities present for business-, as well as technically-, oriented individuals who want to develop a big, bad case of customer retention attitude. Their swagger is called continuous leadership in my Playbook.
Want to learn more about what I’m talking about? Then, let’s talk (of course!). Contact me right here.
Babette Ten Haken is a corporate catalyst and innovative speaker. She serves organizations as a strategist, coach and storyteller. Babette’s One Millimeter Mindset™ Workshops and Speaking programs leverage collaboration to catalyze professional innovation, workforce engagement and customer success for customer retention. Babette’s playbook of technical / non-technical collaboration hacks, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon.
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