How To Increase Your Client Base

I recently moderated a panel discussion titled, "Keys to Success: How to Increase your Client Base." The event was sponsored by the Greater Houston Partnership and the panelists each had an impressive track record of growing their companies. Interestingly, they each succeeded with different strategies:

FOCUS ON RAMPING UP

Steve Latham, President & CEO of Spur Digital found success through a two-pronged strategy - leveraging successes with small companies to build credibility with larger ones, and by focusing on small projects (pilots or proofs of concept) to accelerate sales cycles and build a track record with new clients. In his client focus, he started with smaller clients, proved his solution could make a difference, and then referenced these successes when targeting larger companies. In his solutions focus, he started with less complex solutions, proved the concept, then up-sold larger solutions.

FOCUS ON A MARQUIS CLIENT

Geary Broadnax, President and CEO of Dovarri and former CEO of Allsource and Insync, found success by developing a superior offering, winning one big marquis client, serving that one client with everything they had, then leveraging that relationship to expand the client base.

A marquis client is a large well-known company that lends credibility to your offering. Brookwoods Group has been fortunate since day one to serve great companies such as Hewlett Packard and Shell. This, frankly, has opened the door for us to other technology and energy firms.

FOCUS ON LISTENING TO CUSTOMERS

Cindy Boyd, President of Sentigy and formerly with Paranet and ExecuTrain, found success by asking a lot of questions of her prospective clients and listening carefully to the answers. This not only gave her the raw data and information needed to develop the right service offering, but also laid the foundation for a great long term relationship. In fact, she choose clients who could in some ways be true partners in the development and execution of the solution.

COROLLARY TO HUNTERS/FARMERS/SCOUTS

You may recall that in our last Grapevine newsletter, we talked about the three different roles that sales people have:

1. Account managers ("farmers")... build relationships, address problems, service needs.
2. Sales managers ("hunters")... seek new opportunities, close deals.
3. Business development managers (I call them "scouts")... determine best sales approach, identify prospects.

If you think about it, the three approaches that have been successful for Steve. Geary and Cindy correspond to the three roles of sales people: "Farmers" focus on ramping up and building relationships within a given client; "Hunters" focus on winning the big marquis clients; "Scouts" listen carefully to what the customers are looking for and from that create the best approach.

Hunting, farming and scouting... no matter what, it's all about building relationships!