BY Tim Londergan
It’s the fourth quarter of the fiscal year and it’s time to consider how your accounts will look at closing. I’m not trying to lay guilt or suggest heroics but in a tough year you can’t let up. Now is when your personal selling strategies can rise to the challenge of a strong finish.
B2B sales processes have matured in the last few years. Prospects are flooded with poorly researched questions and generic messages that offer little relevant insight. However, you can target high-value clients who also want to end the year on a high note.
Target High-Value Accounts with Your Personal Selling Strategies
There’s an end-of-year urgency that sets in around this season. It may be unused budget allocations or unrealized sales goals. Regardless, these factors present opportunity for your timely and well-researched efforts.
Customer retention statistics show that 65% of a company’s revenue comes from repeat business. What’s more, 80% of revenue is produced by 20% of its customer base. Of those customers, the top 10% will likely spend three-times more than the average customer.
It may be time to scan your client list to identify assets that have a significant impact on your goals. A brief conversation may also reward you with a referral to another prospect with your client’s recommendation.
Segment Your Customer Base to Identify High-Value Accounts
Hubspot.com offers insight to identifying high-value customers:
- Customer lifetime value (CLV). Valuating a customer by their item purchases above the average.
- Average recurring revenue (ARR). Purchase frequency is an unbiased way to evaluate a customer’s worth.
- Customer loyalty program (CLP). These customers are more likely to advocate on your behalf and end-of-year rewards are always appreciated.
Segmenting customers by revenue, spending habits, demographics, and engagement levels will benefit your account-based selling approach. Remember to continuously refine this process and add new data to improve your targeting over time.
Personalize Your Approach
Once identified, deploy your best personal selling strategies to communicate how this client is a valued partner with your company. Look at your C‑suite to see who may want to reach out personally to show appreciation. Additionally, other departments in your company may be compelled to join in.
Take a moment to research these valued companies for recent announcements or initiatives. Highlight how your company may assist or the pride you take in being associated. Present a value proposition that addresses how you can help them start the new year on a positive note.
Create Urgency and Emphasize Long-Term Value
Leverage the year-end timeline to create urgency and stress the importance of a solid start in the new year. In addition, you can offer limited-time promotions or discounts that will soon expire. Capitalize on flexible implementation or payment plans that align with their budget cycles.
Thoughtfully, you can propose product rollouts that will benefit your customer with both immediate and future advantages. Work with research and development to identify new concepts that can have long-term value for these precious clients.
The Crystal Ball Approach
This is a time to reflect, review and project. Taking the lead in this conversation lets you review the customers purchases and successful outcomes. Also, it sets the tone for future commitments from both parties.
Most importantly, you can ask your customer what threats, challenges and opportunities they anticipate in the new year. Position your questions without promises but with a problem-solving focus. Attentively, take note of your findings as they will blaze your path forward.
Let the information gathered in these sessions guide future proposals for these high-value customers. This priceless intelligence you’ll share with sales management for account planning and projecting. Your personal selling strategies will also be impacted by this information as you plan the customer’s journey.
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