Getting back in front of old client

[orion_joel]

A little over a year ago i stopped getting orders from what had been my best client. The primary reason was that the main person i had contact with their left for another position elsewhere.

Since then my business has really just carried on with minimal if any sales most month, and at the current rate i will be lucky to turnover $5000 revenue with about $400 in profit this financial year.

Well i have been trying to think of the best way to try and approach this old client to attempt to have them start placing orders again. While i know what product's they may want, i don't really know how to best go about marketing these products to them, as i need to first find out how to best contact the new person who makes the buying decisions.

[Steve B]

Why not just make an appointment with the new person? I would think you would be able to do this fairly easily since you were already a supplier of theirs. When you get the appointment, be prepared to do most of the listening.

[orion_joel]

This is possible i think. The problem i see is the contrast, at the time i was dealing with them i was still only providing a little part of what they were purchasing, and in reality they are one of Australia's largest retailers, where as i am probably one of Australia's smallest IT suppliers.

I had initially been thinking of a letter, that i could follow up with a phone call. However as you mentioned i think an appointment may be a bit more getting in their.

[KristineS]

I'd try for an appointment and just lay it out for them. Tell them you used to get a certain portion of their business and you'd like to know what you can do to get that portion back or to get a bigger portion. The worst they can do is tell you it's not going to happen, and then at least you'll know.

If you don't ask, you won't get. You really don't have anything to lose.

[vangogh]

Joel were there any other people in the company that you knew. I realize you mainly dealt with the one person, but did you have contact info for anyone else? Maybe you could think of a question not directly related to business you could ask that other person as a way to start a conversation.

Otherwise I see no reason why you couldn't make an appointment with the current person who'd be responsible for ordering. You could always ask for the person's name from whoever answers their phone.

Out of curiosity did the person you used to contact take a similar position with another company? If so could you contact him or her.

[orion_joel]

I did have contact with one or two other people in the company, however they were mostly just once or twice to answer specific questions. The person i used to have contact with their did move on to a similar position and i am doing some sales with them at the new company they are with however, nothing compared to what the other companyw as buying.

[vangogh]

If you're still friendly with those other people it might be worth an email or a call even if just to find out the name of the new person to contact. Sounds like you probably didn't know them too well, but if you did at all there's no reason why you can't try to get in touch now.

[Paul Elliott]

Why not just make an appointment with the new person? I would think you would be able to do this fairly easily since you were already a supplier of theirs. When you get the appointment, be prepared to do most of the listening.

Ask that person what particular problems he or she has in the areas you supply and work to frame your service/products to solve those problems.

Ask for the 2 things their current suppliers are not doing well enough to suit their company's needs and what they would like to see in terms of better, smoother service.

Rather than looking for the homerun, select a small portion of their needs to deliver telling them, "I'd like to show you what I'm able to do to solve your xyz problem. In 2 months, if I've done what I'm promising, I'll contact you to solve your next problem." Focus not on your features, but on the benefits of your services to them and the solution to their problems.

IMMEDIATELY when you leave that meeting, drop a thank-you card in the mail with their proper name, title, and routing on the envelope. Follow that up with regular (every 3 months) mailed contacts to continue the relationship regardless of whether you get any business.

Paul

[greenoak]

is there some area you are great at? that you have a fairly deep interest in? i think a tekk person like yourself...would look a lot better to a potential customer like me if they also were interested in my industry/area of commerce.....that might be an angle that your competition might not be working.... every industry has special standards and style,,,
if there is a field you are really interested in and like it might really be real impressive to potential customers....you could show interest in obvious problems they face...then your advice wouldnt be so generic....
a tek guy for pet stores
for truckers
for shabby stores
.for outback tourism......
hairdressers
etc etc
if i was buying a new site or hiring someone for anything like that i wouldnt want to have to educate the company about my world......i would think i needed someone who would have some knowledge of what looked good in my world and what the nice words were.......if a tek guy showed me something that showed he had a feel for my world that would be a big plus....and probably rare...
like if i was inthe market i would need someone with the understanding and skill like vangogh who looks like mmp or avalon rose....and i cant tell what they really know in a tek way.but i know how good their sites look......being almost unfit to run 4 remotes at once...
good luck

[orion_joel]

That is actually pretty good advice Ann. I know one company i used to work for one of the sales people did so many computer installations for dentists, it wasn't funny. But this was because he had taken the time to learn the needs of dentists with technology and was able to provide them exactly what they needed and expand or compact the solution depending on the size of their practice. His average install was about $30K with almost 20% margin. But they came to him because he knew what they needed.

Unfortunately i am kind of an odd one out tech guy, i know some industries a little from working in them, but have not really get the full grasp of any one industry i could really take this approach. While i do have some skills on certain area's of technology, eg printers, and small PC's it isn't something that i can apply as a great specific to an industry. The closest i think i could get is machine embroidery, but have not even got that in depth there yet.

[Paul Elliott]

Ann, I guess you're talking to me, since mine is the post just above yours.


is there some area you are great at? that you have a fairly deep interest in?

I have done marketing for over 25 years for many businesses in many industries and professional practices--book publishing, printing, physicians, dentists, swimming pool companies, attorneys, accountants, lawn care, landscaping, authors, restaurants, home builders, flooring companies, furniture stores, online businesses, photographers, hairdressers, magazine publishers, fishing guides, fencing manufacturers, cooking schools, consultants' practices in a variety of fields, software publishers, propane dealers, automobile dealerships, mail order, pest control, executive assistants, court reporters, educational trainers, public speakers, veterinary practices, etc. No antique dealers, yet. :)

I look for small businesses with fire in their bellies--hungry (not financially desperate)--with a desire and the ability to grow rapidly with a vision for their companies that embraces greatness. A candidate who qualifies will already have good management and a well-run operation (small is certainly no problem). I look for businesses who understand or who can come to understand that good, well-run marketing is an asset, not a liability or simply an expense.

Too often, small business owners or managers don't yet have the vision to tolerate what I do well. I certainly don't have any particularly talent. I have studied under Jay Abraham and Jay Conrad Levinson of "Guerrilla Marketing" fame.

I prefer a pay-as-you-go (or close) process initially, since I want to prove the value of the programs I design before investing more aggressively. Therefore, I begin looking for the business's unmined assets and deploy those. The company's mailing list is usually the quickest and most readily lucrative asset.

My interest, therefore, is a well-designed, comprehensive marketing program that is rapidly scalable with perpetuation designed in. Since about 95% of decision making occurs at the subconscious/subliminal level, I focus on the psychology of the business's customer. That's where the money and loyalty is!


i think a tekk person like yourself...would look a lot better to a potential customer like me if they also were interested in my industry/area of commerce.....that might be an angle that your competition might not be working.... every industry has special standards and style,,,

Indeed! I understand your point well. I am obligated to understand your point well, otherwise I would not have had such a diversity of clients.

I've seen so many small businesses struggling with rather simple marketing obstacles. My purpose on this forum is to help smooth out some rough spots for those interested in learning.

You may find this observation curiously interesting. Many business owners do NOT truly wish to learn. They come to me to tell them how well they're doing; to confirm to them that what they want to do is best for them. I will do that only if it is true. More often, they need substantial reworking and redirection. When I advise them of what they CAN do with what they have, they resist it apparently because they didn't think of it. I realize there are other likely answers, but this one fits most situations best.

Yes, I've spent too many years trying to convince such owners that they should re-evaluate their positions. The yield is too small for me to be interested in that any longer. That's why I stated early that I'm looking for those businesses ready and able to move. There are plenty of those out there, though a little harder to find.

However, my purpose here is to help small businesses interested in learning with NO anticipation whatsoever that any will turn into clients of mine. Of course, I would not turn any down. :D


if there is a field you are really interested in and like it might really be real impressive to potential customers....you could show interest in obvious problems they face...then your advice wouldnt be so generic....
a tek guy for pet stores
for truckers
for shabby stores
.for outback tourism......
hairdressers
etc etc

ALL marketing fundamentals are generic!! That is the beauty of a "fundamental"--it can be applied to nearly any business you can think of.


if i was buying a new site or hiring someone for anything like that i wouldnt want to have to educate the company about my world......i would think i needed someone who would have some knowledge of what looked good in my world and what the nice words were.......if a tek guy showed me something that showed he had a feel for my world that would be a big plus....and probably rare...
like if i was inthe market i would need someone with the understanding and skill like vangogh who looks like mmp or avalon rose....and i cant tell what they really know in a tek way.but i know how good their sites look......being almost unfit to run 4 remotes at once...
good luck

Well, if you contract with a marketing service that doesn't learn about your business extensively before designing a plan for you, you're paying too much for too little no matter what they propose to deliver.

If you hire a company that does only a narrow segment, that company will not be able to innovate well enough for your best interest. Sure they can give you a glitzy package that looks great. Beware, these have a low ceiliing of performance--to limited an offering and too narrow a scope--though you may not recognize it.

People have accused me of giving away too much. Frankly, I take the attitude that it is difficult to give away too much . . . IF it is done properly.

I work with companies for 24-36 months leaving them with a variety of successful marketing campaigns they can continue to implement--no one-hit-wonders. This model allows them to grow and return to me later with new marketing challenges and larger budgets.

Yes, where time permits, I do smaller, more limited programs where it appears that they company will be interested in deploying them and then look toward broader vistas.

Perhaps you will conclude from this explanation that I am arrogantly dismissive of small businesses. That could not be farther from the truth! I love small businesses and am empathetic with them AND want to see every one of them succeed. I'm often tearful seeing the struggles with which some business owners contend who are unwilling to implement what is obvious to nearly any extenal observer.

Here are some examples of businesses I'm describing.

1) A lawn care and landscaping business with 250 yards under contract. In 10 months they had 1,500 yards under contract. Of course, they were ready and able to absorb this 7-fold expansion in a very short time as well as sustain the service of their new business. They were hoping to sell to another company and had a very attractive record and financials to do so.

2) A specialized attorney's practice we were able to double in 2.5 months' time. He stopped at his goal which we had anticipated would take 6 months because he had one partner and they didn't want to expand their practice.

3) A printing company that went from $500,000 in annual sales to $3,000,000 in 2 years. It could have happened faster, but the owner had to buy and install new printing presses to handle the new business.

This shows you what is easily possible with well-designed, properly deployed marketing.

Unfortunately, I have to shut down about 70% of my marketing programs prematurely because they deliver too much business too rapidly. Of course, both my clients and I had felt the clients could properly service that amount of business as we designed the programs. However, there can be many a slip twixt cup and lip, so I have "escape hatches" built into all my marketing programs.

The one thing worse than too little business is too much business. If a marketing program delivers more business than a company can properly servce, this yields a lot of bad press in the market place. Bad press takes a 10-fold amount of favorable press to overcome.

But I digress.

Keep up your excellent work!

Paul

[greenoak]

no, i was talking to orion...apparantly i dont get the reply parts exactly..... but as usual you made great points....
what i dont get is why you guys dont hang out at the other places like where all the petstores hang out , or the truckers, or in the shabby web world.... etc etc....
here it seems to me you are kind of all in the same field..and probably dont actually buy from each other.... i really enjoy it here and get a lot out of....but if one of you showed up on a retail forum, they would swoon over you....if you get my drift...you would be rare...
take the shabby web world...those girls are starting websites like mad...and spending a lot of money on them...see on make mine pink or etsy or avalon rose .... ...they really care about seo and google etc etc...
ann

[Paul Elliott]

no, i was talking to orion...apparantly i dont get the reply parts exactly..... but as usual you made great points....
what i dont get is why you guys dont hang out at the other places like where all the petstores hang out , or the truckers, or in the shabby web world.... etc etc....

When replying you can click the "quote" button, then, break up the reply with the
ended with the tag.

When I need something else to do, I may. ;)


here it seems to me you are kind of all in the same field..and probably dont actually buy from each other.... i really enjoy it here and get a lot out of....but if one of you showed up on a retail forum, they would swoon over you....if you get my drift...you would be rare...
take the shabby web world...those girls are starting websites like mad...and spending a lot of money on them...see on make mine pink or etsy or avalon rose .... ...they really care about seo and google etc etc...
ann

If I were actively looking for customers, I'd go to similar places. Might do it sometime just out of curiosity. Thanks for the thought.

Paul

[orion_joel]

I find that the biggest problem for me is getting local enough. Like for me coming here is not a business decision it is a personal interest to come and discuss things here. While i list my websites in my signature i am not really expecting to generate much if any new business while here. I mean there is always the chance that another business person from Australia may come along and see my posts and contact me, however that is a nice if it happens, but unexpected.

I think i would find similar tails on other forums business, web or other topics, as few i have found that are busy forums actually seem to have a local Australian focus. While i am sure some do i have not been able to find to many really. Mostly the Australian ones that i have found are kind of strange really, some make it a cryptic painful puzzle to become a member others dont get much traffic. Maybe it is time i have another look see if there is any that are getting better or have improved.