Maintaining a business requires a lot of work to gain new clients, and more importantly, to retain current ones. Retention takes keeping your name in front of your current clients. However, many entrepreneurs are so busy with the day-to-day operation of their business that they delay or neglect putting a plan in place to keep their company name in front of their current clients. This inaction threatens the longevity of the business, especially in a tough economy when the pool of business is shrinking and the competition is more aggressive.

Having constant contact, follow-up, and follow-through with customers, prospects, and business alliances should be the mantra of every business owner. Continuous and consistent follow-up enables you to turn prospects into customers, increase the value of each sale, boost buying frequency from existing customers, and build stronger business relationships. Follow-up is essential with your existing customer base, as the real work begins after the sale is made. It’s easy to sell one service, but it takes work to retain customers and keep them coming back.

Here are ten key practices for maintaining the business you have built:

Key #1- Love what you do.

Do you love Monday mornings? Are you excited about the opportunities that will come your way in the next week? Are you filled with new ideas? Do you take time to work “on” your business, instead of just “in” it? Engaging in working on and not just in your business sparks creativity and generates new ideas for your business. Loving what you do keeps you and your business fresh and moving forward.

Key #2- Believe in the purpose of your business.

You must genuinely believe in your business and the services you provide. You must take your business seriously and treat it as a business, not a hobby.

It is challenging to maintain a high level of excitement about anything for an extended period. Eventually, the “honeymoon effect” wears off, and enthusiasm wanes as fatigue sets in. To refresh your excitement about your business, you need to remind yourself frequently –preferably daily – why you started your business. Remind yourself what you are working towards and check to see how you are progressing toward your own goals.

Staying in touch with your goals and accomplishments will remind you of why you want to accomplish them. There is a certain feeling that goal attainment will bring, and you want that feeling. Find a way to remind yourself daily of what feelings you are trying to get into your life.

Key #3- Take the time to master your trade and be a great business person.

Strive to be the best you can be. Invest the time necessary to become a subject matter expert in your field. Take classes, read books from some of the greatest names in your business. Study what they do and then apply it to your own business. The more you become known for your expertise in your business, the more people will seek you out to tap into your expertise, creating more selling and referral opportunities.

Remember, you are a business owner first and an investigator second. Becoming a great business owner takes time and a commitment to learning and to change. It is a never-ending process, but one that is worth the effort. 

Key #4 – Seize Opportunities.

Look for and seize every opportunity to grow your business and maintain your current clients. The more action you take, the more rewards you’ll reap. Don’t allow your business to become stagnant, or you will burn out and open the door for your competition to steal your clientele.

Try new ideas. Whenever an idea comes to mind, write it down. Log all new ideas in a notebook, on your phone, or on your computer. New ideas will help move your business forward and keep you excited.

Have a competitive advantage. You must have a clearly defined, unique selling proposition. This is nothing more than a fancy way of asking the vital question, “Why will people choose to do business with you or purchase your service instead of doing business with a competitor and buying their service?” You need to identify what aspect or aspects separate your business from your competition. Is it better service, availability, longer business hours, more flexible payment options, value-added, personalized service, better customer service, or a combination of several of these?

Sell and promote your business. You will not be found sitting comfortably behind your desk. Remember that nothing happens until a sale is made. Sell the benefits of your service, not your services. Focus on identifying the consumer’s needs and then fulfilling them. Care about the consumer. Do not oversell or try to sell people what they do not need. You must learn the skills of negotiation and asking for the sale. Mastering the art of negotiation means that your sales skills are so finely tuned that you can continually orchestrate a win-win situation. These win-win arrangements mean that everyone involved feels they have won, which is the basis for building long-term, profitable business relationships. If you absolutely cannot sell, then you need to hire someone to sell on your behalf.

Market your business. The more you position yourself as a subject matter expert in your field, and the more you market your company, the more revenue you will generate. You need to market your business constantly. Your advertising, sales presentations, printed marketing materials, packaging, website, newsletters, trade show exhibits, and signage are vital. Every time and every medium used to communicate with your target audience must consistently sell the benefits associated with using your service.

Write. Writing is a valuable marketing tool for gaining new clients and retaining existing ones. Write a blog, articles for a newsletter or magazine, or a book.

Speak. Speaking allows you to meet prospective clients and gives you and your business exposure. Speaking will also help you communicate more effectively with your clients.

Join Associations. Join business associations and clubs to network with other skilled business people to learn their secrets of success and help define your own goals and objectives.

Attend business and marketing seminars, workshops, and training courses. Business training is an ongoing process. Even if you have already mastered the subject matter of the event, go anyway because there are usually ways to do things better, in less time, with less effort. Never stop investing in the most powerful, effective, and best business and marketing tool at your immediate disposal--you.

Key #5 – It is All About the Client.

You must know who your clients are, what their needs are, what is important to them, and how to reach them. Your business is not about the services you sell, the price you charge for your services, or your competition and how to beat them. Your business is all about your clients, period. Everything you do in business must be client-focused, including your policies, payment options, operating hours, presentations, advertising and promotional campaigns, newsletters, and website. Personalize your service to meet their needs.

Key #6 – Provide excellent customer service.

Answer your phone, get to know your clients, provide personal attention, and win over repeat business in the process. It’s a researched fact that most business (80 percent) will come from repeat customers rather than new customers.

Do what you say you will do. Go above and beyond. Provide customer service that your clients will remember. If you have voicemail, establish a policy that calls will be returned within an hour, and then ensure they are. Clients will not only remember this, but they will know that you are serious about serving them and about your business. The more you can do to woo your regular customers, the better off you will be in the long run, and personalized attention is greatly appreciated and remembered in our modern, high-tech world.

Key #7- Build a rock-solid reputation and project a positive business image.

You have one opportunity to make a positive and memorable impression on people with whom you intend to do business. You must go out of your way to always project the most professional business image possible. Be creative and pay attention to even the most minor details when creating and maintaining a professional image for your business.

A good reputation is unquestionably one of the most tangible and marketable assets a business owns. Be consistent. If you cannot come through with the same level of service for clients regularly, they have no reason to trust you . . . and without trust, you won’t have a good reputation. Don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk.

Key #8- Focus on the goal, regardless of the circumstances.

A lack of focus on a defined goal renders subpar results. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted. Use your “peripheral vision” to adjust your course of action, but never take a completely different road because something unexpected happens. Keep your eyes on the prize.

Key #9- Overcome All Obstacles.

Expect things to go wrong, because they will. Expect to try things that do not yield the desired results. Your reaction to both successes and failures will determine whether or not your business succeeds.

If you “roll with the punches” as unexpected things happen, and get back up with a smile on your face, ready to face the next challenge, then every challenge you face will become something that can be overcome.

Key #10- Know when enough is enough

Most business owners tackle as much as they can handle in their business. The habit of multitasking is common to successful entrepreneurs. However, you cannot do everything and do it effectively. Stand back and take a hard look beyond today to determine what’s in the best interest of your business and yourself over the long run. Work to your strengths, delegate the rest.

It is critical to your well-being to establish a regular work schedule that includes time to stretch your legs, take lunch breaks, and observe some days off, as well as scheduled vacations. Create the schedule as soon as possible and stick to it as closely as you can. Don’t schedule every hour; leave a buffer of one to two hours. This will give you time to “put out the fires” that will inevitably start.

All work and no play will burn you out, resulting in a poor work product and poor customer service.

Let True Perceptions help you develop strategies that will help you gain new clients while retaining your current clients. Call us today at 678-583-0401 or email us at diana.garren@trueperceptions.com.