The other day I got a call on my cell phone from Bank of America from a women who claims she helped me open my account roughly 14 years ago wanting to “get back in touch” and “see if there’s anything I can help you with.” Of course, I didn’t call her back, although I felt like ripping her a new one given that she’s NEVER, in 14 YEARS(!), reached out, sent a note or even a cheap Christmas card. Why she thinks I’ll cheerfully return her call to allow her to sell me something is beyond me — yet this is the SAME big mistake I see over and over again. Businesses that put ZERO effort into building a relationship with and staying in touch with their clients, who only reach out when they’re desperate to sell something. She doesn’t deserve my business.
To the point, I’ve seen a big number of clients have great success with conducting QBRs (quarterly business reviews, also called QTRs or quarterly technology reviews). Whether you’re calling it a review or simply calling to connect with your clients, if you’re NOT regularly talking to or meeting with your clients to discuss new ways you can assist, you ARE leaving a LOT of money on the table.
Below is a slightly edited (for privacy) e-mail from one of our new Producers Club members, Jeff Auerbach of the EMR Group. His words:
“It’s been tough getting new leads coming in, so we doubled down on our existing clients. We have done 12 QBRs, with two more to go. So far, we’ve generated 10 opportunities for projects. Four of the projects are assessments that will potentially lead to MRR, and three are managed print proposals. The other six leads are project-oriented for various things such as firewall updates and NextGen software develop-ment and training.”
Smart. FAR too many businesses completely overlook the acres of diamond in their own backyard in pursuit of new.
