How Much Checking In is TOO Much?

I was meeting with one of my new account managers yesterday discussing his 2020 sales plan. He came to me from the different but complementary industry of commercial printing. 

It’s funny, I always thought sales is sales. But I was so terribly wrong. In his previous world, the client either had a print project or not or at least knew when it would be required. In the promotional products-world it is much different. 

Are Quarterly Meetings Needed?

Unless you have exclusivity or extreme loyalty with a client then you don’t necessarily know all their on-going needs. I try to meet with clients regularly to discuss their upcoming plans. For some of our smaller clients we may meet with them once a year, larger clients are typically quarterly. I like to discuss how we are doing and find out all the projects that may be coming up during the next couple of months that we can help them with.

It is a constant battle of emails and phone calls. I realized a few years ago I wasn’t doing such a terrific job when one client ran into me and said she kept up with us through our monthly newsletter – ouch!

Weekly Devoted Time to Follow Up

I time block my calendar and try desperately to stay on task. And, admittedly at times that is virtually impossible. But at least one morning a week I try to devote to following up. This is where I am making call after call. If it’s an existing solid client I will leave a message and then follow up with an email. If not, I may just hang up and send an email if they don’t answer the phone. 

Most of the time, I am trying to get a face to face meeting. I admit it. I am much better in person. I do thrive on the interaction and have success in getting clients to think in different directions.

Cover all the Basis in Meetings

It is amazing to me that some clients forget all the services we offer. So, we take the opportunity to remind them that we can help them with a multitude of their marketing needs whenever we meet.

For example, this same account manager recently had a meeting with one of his banking clients. They just opened a new branch but hadn’t had the real “grand opening” event yet. So, I asked him what his approach was going to be in the meeting.

He felt he was going to be there just to talk about the grand opening event. And was going in prepared with just the obvious needs; table throw, retractable banners, give away and team apparel. 

I suggested he expand the discussion to how they were going to achieve their revenue goals.

Ask Broad Questions

How were they planning on introducing themselves to the new community? He knew of course they were well known, and some would be moving from other branches (but that’s not overall growth) and they indicated they would be running some local newspaper ads and billboards. 

Because the account manager and I had discussed earlier, he was ready to suggest that they consider a direct mail campaign. And no, direct mail is not dead. People are looking forward to mail again because they don’t get all the “junk” they once did. Email campaigns are tough with all the spam filters or the proverbial delete button (I scan the from and hit delete quickly several times a day because I get hundreds of emails a day). 

He knew to determine their target – were they looking for commercial clients, high-net worth individuals or just anybody? 

Think Beyond their Initial Scope

Their initial focus is on commercial accounts, so we determined that their target was companies within a 5-mile radius that had 50-250 employees but not retail outlets. Now we are developing a list and a story for the direct marketing campaign. It will be a series; maybe an initial postcard (with a magnet perhaps), followed by a box or padded envelope (people can’t resist opening that!) with a relevant item enclosed and the final step will be the bank team follow-up phone call. We will be staggering the mailings so that the staff isn’t expected to make a thousand phone calls in a week.

Of course, this got the discussion into how they are getting involved in the local business community, joining a Chamber of Commerce or sponsoring events? And sure enough they are doing both. Now we will be developing giveaways for these events as well.

As you can see, if he had gone in to just talk about promotional products, he would have left a lot of business on the table.

Plan your Client Check in

He has now admitted to having trouble in consistent follow up with his clients. In the printing business he said, you followed up on a quote, not just to “check in”. I don’t know about your business, but out of sight out of mind in mine. We are all constantly trying to stay top of mind with our clients. 

We send them a virtual of a new item they might like, reminding them of an upcoming program that is on the calendar, keep them up to date on the latest from the industry or show them a custom product we designed for a client. 

He realizes all that, but he needs help with all the different messages to leave or email. So, I’m going to develop some scripts for him. I’ve never been that formal or maybe I just don’t remember. When I started out so long ago, I may very well have written a few key points I wanted to get across in a message.

Call and Email on a Schedule?

I have an appointment setter for my account managers and his rule is to never leave a message. Just keep calling until you get someone on the phone. Now, that works well for him and he is cold calling so that makes a difference. But typically, my account managers are following up after an appointment or to remind the client of an upcoming need. He is afraid he is touching them too often. 

My rule of thumb is if you haven’t spoken to them directly you should reach out (call or email) every 7-10 days. He had been waiting weeks, reaching out only every 4-6 weeks. In that period of time a need could have come up and been fulfilled by someone else! 

So, I am working on the scripts to help him overcome his uncomfortable feeling that he is being a pest. Of course, I say pleasantly persistent! 

How often do you reach out? Do you have a script or key talking points for every call? Do you even have a schedule? 

This situation has given me the opportunity to re-evaluate our outreach process and rework our plan. Maybe it's time to look at your plan?