Commit to Customer Retention, Not Just Acquisition

When sales is the power core, you have a well-oiled machine that knows how to target customers and position your product with differentiation that causes people to want to have it.

Great sales organizations have perfected the way to get customer feedback efficiently into the pipeline and they know how to turn it into actionable steps.

However, the connectivity between the sale and the overall customer experience can be an Achilles’ heel. The metrics that employees are conditioned to perform tend to be short-term and offer immediate gratification.

It’s a challenge for companies with sales as the power core  to get used to a new world where the work pay off is not in months but sometimes in years.

If sales is your power core:

• What is the process to ensure that customers receive the information they need for the optimum use and operation of the product?
• If there are questions between the closing of the sale and the receipt of the product, to whom do they turn?
• What are the linkages between the sales department and the other parts of the organization to ensure that a smooth transi- tion occurs as someone moves from prospect to customer?
• How do you foster a long-term relationship with customers who have been in the system for a while?
• Does the sales team consider it their job to resell the company and products when subscriptions, services, and products are up for renewal?
• Is the sales force rewarded as heavily for continuing sources of revenue as bringing in a new source?