BY Jessica Helinski
Are you losing current clients? Sellers often get so focused on chasing new business that they overlook existing accounts.
Nearly 25% of B2B sales reps say it’s getting harder to overcome client churn, according to SalesFuel research. Additionally, 23% say customer retention is a top weakness.
Retaining existing clients is often more cost-
As David Jacoby explains, “The largest growth opportunity in most B2B organizations is already in the book…”.
“…existing customers convert at 60–70% versus 5–20% for new prospects, yet most attention goes to new-
Established relationships can provide a steady source of repeat business and referrals. Prioritizing those relationships is essential to protecting revenue and supporting long-
What can sellers do to keep current clients satisfied?
Client retention requires a thoughtful approach. Those who do work at it often prioritize accounts that don’t have the best growth potential. Or they are having the wrong conversations.
Jacoby points out that this focus on account management rather than account growth is why retention is a struggle for many. He goes on shares disciplines that sellers should adopt if they want to improve their efforts.
Value vs. loudest
Are you prioritizing clients who truly offer future value? Or those who currently demand the most attention from you? It’s easy to get caught up with a busy account but they may not be worth the effort.
Instead, Jacoby suggests categorizing accounts into the following:
High current and high future spend
This type of account deserves a significant investment of time. These high-
High current spend but low future potential
These accounts deserve protection but shouldn’t be the primary focus.
Low current spend but high future potential
“Focus your active growth pursuit in these accounts; the whitespace is there and hasn't been converted yet,” Jacoby explains.
Low current and low future spend
The best choice with these clients is to just give minimum required to maintain the relationship and reinvest the time elsewhere.
Whitespace before growth
Before growing current client accounts, sellers must find the whitespace, the gap between what they have already bought from you and what they could buy. Jacoby points out that sellers shouldn’t just look at the obvious, such as an upgrade or future product.
Instead, he suggests considering “adjacent” whitespaces, like:
- Buyers in the customer’s organization who don’t use the solution yet
- Use cases the solution could support but isn’t being deployed against
- Integrations or services that would extend value but haven’t been discussed
This is where regular research comes into play. Maintaining knowledge about things like the client’s industry, company and employees is essential.
“The discipline here is making whitespace investigation a recurring activity rather than a one-
“Whitespace doesn’t sit still; it’s dynamic.”
Don’t just check in, enage
If you want to keep current clients happy, do more than just the standard check in. Based on your research and a growth strategy and goal for each account, set up regular reviews.
Jacoby explains a review should be “a structured meeting designed to reinforce value, surface risk and create expansion opportunities.”
And, it should include at least these five elements:
- Review of value delivered to date – Quantify results wherever possible
- Identification of unspoken friction – Recognize and discuss unaddressed issues before they become churn signals
- Exploration of whitespace opportunities – Explain new opportunities
- Proposal of a clear path forward – Lay out specific next steps to advance the account
- Referral generation – Identify referral opportunities within and outside the customer organization
Be consistent
All of these tips for keeping, and growing, current clients require one thing: consistency. Sellers must regularly put these into practice to see winning results. And for more ways to improve retention while driving more revenue, take a look at these other best practices.
Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash
