Marketing Your Business Through Staff/Customer Relationships

Dan Kahl is an American sales trainer, and he recently suggested that we: Broaden the relationship with good customers by proactively introducing them to other employees in your business.The best salespeople understand that the more comfortable your customer is with your company, the less risk they see in dealing with you, and the more likely they will be to prefer your company as a supplier.

That means that they should be comfortable with more people in your organization than just you (or your sales rep). By proactively introducing your good customers to others in your organization, you broaden the relationship between the two, and tie your customer to you via those additional relationships.

Make sure that your boss or personal assistant or partner has been introduced to your customers. Bring a customer service person or two to visit your good customers. Invite them into your facility to meet the people who make things happen inside your business.

Each relationship makes your customer more comfortable in dealing with your organisation, and increases the likelihood that you will be their preferred supplier.

Self-Assessment Exercise

List all of the key people in your “A” accounts in the first column of a spreadsheet.

Across the tops of the columns, list each of the key people in your organization.

Next place an “X” in the cell where the two people have connected. For example, if customer John Smith knows your customer service person “Jenny,” then put an “X” in that cell.

When you have completed that, use the empty cells as a guide, and plan to remedy the situation.
Over the next few months, proactively introduce those customers with the key internal people until all the cells are “X’d.”

Peter Rowe