“1,000 Hands”

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” – Warren Buffett

As a sales manager, do you want to know the absolute worst thing I’ve ever heard from a current customer? “I see your competitors more than I see you.” That hurts. That’s also an eye opener. Why is it that when a sales person is pursuing a new opportunity or customer, they apply the tender loving care that all customers crave? But when the deal is done, the salesperson seems to exit stage left, never to be seen again until the next sales opportunity comes along. Part of the reason is

Some of it is sales structure for approaching the target market (BDM vs GAM)
Taught that the Close is the end of the sales process
Time mgmt says you invest money where it will be most profitable
Cost of obtaining new customers and cost of selling to current customers

Close is not the “end of the sale” it is the “beginning of the relationship”

It seems like common sense, but let me say it here “You need to touch your customers on a regular basis.” I call it “1,000 Hands” on my customer every year. At 250 business days in a year, that is 4 touches per day. While you may be thinking that sounds like overkill, let me define a “touch.” A touch does not have to be face to face meeting nor does it have to be with the same person. In many cases, you are building a relationship with a company. As such, you may have 4 phone conversations with different people in a single day. A touch can as subtle as a customer’s glance at the logo coffee mug on their desk that you gave them last month. The rule to remember here is “Out of sight, out of mind.” You don’t want to be out of their mind for too long. Here is a list of touch types that can be used to remain in the thoughts of your customers.