Angela Kamanzi My Journey in Entrepreneurship
A matatu crew is one fascinating sales team. They go out of their way to acquire customers; from inviting, cajoling and sweet talking to pulling, pushing, racing to the next bus stage, sometimes coming to blows. Yet after the commuter has boarded their bus, they don’t care whether she is comfortably seated, they play loud music whether she likes it or not, and call her names should she complain. They are a classic, albeit extreme example of a compulsive client acquisition mentality with total ignorance or disregard for client retention rules.
Yet even for more savvy sales executives who are careful about optimising the experience of their new customers, retaining them and cultivating a relationship with them, a crucial step skips their mind. Very few stop to ponder what they’ll do with the new client once the sale is closed.
The process of client acquisition happens in four major steps through which your ideal customers self-select.
- Your future clients are part of a select group that doesn’t trust you yet. They are still uninterested and somewhat suspicious of you. At this stage you don’t sell to them. You just add value through in person seminars, radio or TV interviews, social media postings, videos or blog posts.
- At this stage some prospect identify themselves. They want to play with you a little more. You set up systems where you stay connected and keep them engaged; such as newsletters or e-zines.
- Here you have paying customers. You need to serve better so that they become repeat clients. For this you need systems such as policies, intake practices and packages of services.
- For your loyal customers, you need a system of rewards and bonuses to cultivate their royalty.
What’s your experience with these methods? Please share in the comments below.
