How often should you contact your customers to stay in touch?

Over my 25-plus years in sales, the most important thing to remember is that people buy from people. People will buy from people that they like, and people that they trust. Listen more than you speak. Always be available for your prospect, customer, colleague, whomever needs you. - "Rickey, always tell the truth. It's the easiest thing to remember." - Fred Crum

During my 25 years selling, across varying sectors, one thing has always remained. I always ask the best time to speak with clients. We book the next time period in on that call, I take the time to understand their pain points, how they want to receive communication from us and fulfil that. Not everyone wants to be bombarded but its important to keep the lines of communication open, you don't want to go too quiet, there needs to be a good balance. Above all else, I listen, respond, support and will always be open and transparent with all our clients, even if its something they don't want to hear. It's important to be that reliable source, that go to person, if our client retention is anything to go by, our clients agree with these values.

"The best way to know your customer is to ask them." This is spot on. Too often sales professionals focus on making the sale and forget to focus on making the connection and to follow common sense. If you want to know something, just ask. Bring genuine curiousity and humanity back to sales and make that personal connection to foster your collaborative relationship.

Follow-up has been an big part of how I manage my business, both past and future. If you are a "prospective client" i will continue to follow up (on schedule) to check in with you even if its just to say hello. The whole point of that is keeping my name front of mind as frequent as possible. Once you become an existing customer of mine and we have done business together, i will regularly check in. I cannot tell you how many times i will call/email someone to see how their week is going and i get a "i have a project for you" in return. Do not follow up with customers expecting a new deal, because if you do so you will be angered/disappointed when you don't receive one. Go in with no strings attached and work on forming the relationship.

There are no cookie cutter customers, and there is no cookie cutter way to communicate with them. Build a relationship with them and get to know their needs and preferences. Then, communicate with them accordingly based on how they prefer to work, not your own needs. Utilize newsletters, emails, social media and other methods to provide new information, answer questions, and to prospect for new customers and new projects with current customers. Some items are fine to communicate in a blast format such as new hours, new services, and a new location. However, many things need to be individualized such as order fulfillment. Ask your clients how they want you to communicate with them. They'll answer honestly and will appreciate you!

It's not enough to simply stay in touch with your customers - you also need to provide value in every interaction. By offering helpful tips, relevant offers, testimonials, or referrals, you can demonstrate that you genuinely care about their needs and goals. Additionally, it's important to listen to their feedback and show a willingness to help them in any way you can.

You should be very up-to-date with your customers needs and have them give you dates and that way you won’t be bothering them too much. They will either tell you to not call or they will tell you when they think they might need your services.

I agree with both colleagues that just "checking-in" does not add value. Our customers are overwhelmed with so much information coming at them from different channels. They are looking for reps that can help them make sense of that information, "sense-making approach" as highlighted in an HBR article. So to add value, every time we reach out, we have to ask ourselves, 'how am I adding value, how am I helping my customers navigate all this overwhelming information?' when we adjust the lens and put ourselves in their shoes, we stand out and add value!

Knowing your own product or service is not enough. You need to know the market and be honest about competitors. By knowing the market you show that you understand the sector and your clients needs. There are other ways of adding value for example, the classic go out for a coffee or lunch. Everyone likes to feel special or at least feel like they are treated well. Taking a client for a coffee (or beer) every now and again will only enhance the relationship. In a less formal setting it is ok to talk about their kids, their new car, their hobbies or mutual interests. (This point links to my previous point Know Your Customer)

Establishing personal connections with clients is crucial for building meaningful and productive business relationships. By recognizing the importance of human engagement, we create a foundation of trust and understanding that benefits both parties. These connections also provide a rewarding and fulfilling aspect to our professional lives.

I have always taught a 3-prong client quarterly call method for customer satisfaction and service. In these 4x per year conversations we are checking in as well as answering any questions or concerns the client may have. We end the call by asking for 1-2 introductions as referrals. There is no one in my business that consistently contacts every customer 4x per year without building a successful business and satisfied client base while creating a business that literally builds itself over time.

Consistency will make you or break you in any customer interaction, sales or otherwise. You should always know as much as you can about your customers and your clients because you should be talking to them on a regular basis, and while everyone is busy, even a 1-minute email check-in can change a relationship.

I use the method of 4x a year min. There are 26 letters in the alphabet and 52wks a year. 13wks per quarter so I contact my customers with AB last names first week of each quarter CD 2nd week of the quarter and so on. Plus an extra touch on a special occasion birthday or something important to them.

The following is another cliché but also very true. Treat your customers/clients how you want top be treated. In my accounting practice we offered all clients a 30 minute monthly catch-up call, free of charge and the client could bring forward 2 agenda points/questions. Even if the client didn't have any particular business related questions we still conducted some of the calls just to stay in touch, many clients appreciated this. We always gave the option for the client to cancel the call.

Establishing a good relationship was key to the success of the sale- but the ongoing relationship is key to long term success working with the same customer, wherever you go, with whatever you may sell- you’re a trusted advisor at that point which drives repeat business. Ensure you follow their content and be consistent in engaging with it, checking “celebrations” and sending a note based on the celebration, delivers a sense of value for that individual and their business. In addition, if you are in a community together, send a quick “how are you? How’s {{insert something personal about them that you learned and they shared}}? This overall is key to strengthening your relationship, and showing up where they “live” most.

I think that sometimes customers expect you to just offer the service and don't know what they are missing out on. I think following up with your customer and adding value can really change the game. An example I like to use is - a lot of people go to Chic-Fil-A over various other restaurants, but they are actually a little more expensive in comparison. As someone who never use to go, I can say a big reason I go there is because of consistent quality and great customer service. I use to expect service to be off every once in awhile, or the drinks to not be the best because of different people working. Once I was showed that there is something better out there than what I was use to, I couldn't turn back.

“No matter how badly your manager wants it to be” Love it! I recently turned down a job where the metrics required 100 calls a day. I’ve been at it for almost 20 years. I’m great at what I do because I do get to know my customers. It is impossible and disrespectful to the customer to think you will develop a real sincere relationship when you are speed dialing to make those metrics. Not to mention annoying the heck out of people. Recipe for bad relationships!! My numbers will always reflect my success for self, said business and customer without working 6 days a week 12 hours a day. Yay sales ????♀? When a position asks this of you ask the hiring manager when is the last time they did it?

While CRM usage is almost required by most companies at this point, do not let it become your focus (no matter how badly your manager wants it to be). It is a tool - utilize it as such. I speak to hundreds of people in a week, literally, and having a good CRM tool that I can utilize helps me stay organized. The key thing to remember is TO USE IT!

The frequency with which you should contact your customers will depend on your business and your customers' preferences. It's important to find the right balance between staying in touch and being intrusive.

Building relationships with customers means you should know their needs, including how often they need to hear from you. If you have new information pertaining to them, that is always worth an update, but sometimes just checking in on your customers is useful and valuable also. Don't be afraid to call or email them just to see how they're doing and if anything new is going in their world, both personally and professionally. Making your customers your friends is not bad business, it's how you build customers for life.