Does winning back lost customers seem impossible to you? These six steps will make the process seem effortless.
Does winning back lost customers seem impossible to you? These six steps will make the process seem effortless.No salesperson likes to lose customers, but it happens. It might be that their problems didn’t get addressed, and your customers find new companies to work with. It could be that finances have changed over time, and adjustments were not made. Maybe a customer didn’t jibe with one of your salespeople. Regardless of the reason why you lost their business, do everything possible to get the business back. But what if your churn rate keeps going up, and you’re not regaining lost sales? Winning back lost customers isn’t something that can be done passively. Take action to be sure your clients’ needs are met, and they’re happy.
Here are a few tips to keep you winning back lost customers
First, identify your lost customers
If you have software like ours, your lost customers should be easy to find. If you’re still working with Post-its, Rolodexes, and Excel sheets, this part of the process may take some time. Once you’ve collected names and information on the customers you’ve lost, decide if you even want them back.
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Who should you woo?
Are these lost customers ideal clients, or have you outgrown each other’s needs? Figuring out who you should be pursuing is the next step in winning back lost customers. Sometimes, as businesses grow and individuals’ needs change, you’ll notice that some of your previous customers are no longer picture-perfect clients any longer. Now it’s time to identify why. If there’s a strong reason, it might be time to clear your books of these previous sales. If not, and you’d like to woo these customers, figure out how you can better sell to them.
What made you lose your customer’s business in the first place?
Finding out why customers left your company is priceless information. In order to learn what your current weaknesses are and to figure out how to address these weaknesses, do more listening and less talking. It’s also important to be sure you aren’t defensive during this phone call, meeting, or email exchange. Regardless of whether the customer is “correct” in his claims, you’re gathering information that can help you from losing less customers in the future. Once you’re sure the lost customer has addressed all of his concerns, you can ask questions if you need more information.
Take responsibility
Sometimes clients leave for no reason at all. There’s nothing you can do to change this. Though most times they leave because their needs couldn’t be met in some way. Now that you’ve identified why you lost this previous sale, it’s time to take responsibility for your shortcomings. If a customer left because he felt as if he wasn’t getting a salesperson’s direct attention, address this. In today’s busy work culture, some salespeople may not even be aware their clients feel slighted. Your customers want to feel like they’re your priority, so be sure to step up your selling game and keep the clients’ needs first.
Be prepared to adjust your offer
Now that you’ve identified who you’ve lost and why, you’ll need to start the selling process over again. Do some research. Find out what the previous sales offers were before the customer left. What sales did they seem comfortable with? What offers did they not take? Modify your offer, whether it be a financial difference or an adjustment to packages.
Practice flexibility during negotiations
Depending on how much you want to get these customers’ business back, give more than you initially want to in the first sales cycle. No contract lasts forever, so be willing to listen to your customer’s requests, and try to meet them. If you aren’t being flexible with negotiations when winning back lost customers, there’s a chance you’ll lose them forever. All that’s left to do is to close the deal.
Have a list that’s grown over time containing many lost customers? Great! Consider this a gift. Now that you know all about winning back lost customers, your list is ever more so valuable. Get on the phone, create an email campaign, do whatever you need to do to get in touch with previous clients, and make them your current customers.
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Let our automated software simplify your sales process. Sign up for a 30-day FREE trial of our lead management software and turn more leads into customers with less work!
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How do you practice winning back lost customers? Let us know your tips in the comments section!