These are difficult times in our industry. What we must keep in mind is that the population of customers who need our services continues to grow. So while there may be significant changes on the horizon, at this time we don't want to sacrifice any of the relationships we have with our customers. Many of these business relationships took years to cultivate, but competitive bidding and changes in reimbursement may soon be stressing those relationships.
Often I find that owners and managers have not been out of the office in years. There is never a shortage of excuses: “We are busy with accreditation,” “We have so much paperwork to do,” “We are working on a contract with an insurance company,” “We just don't have the time.”
The list of excuses never ends, but you might have a lot more free time if the competition strategically works at cultivating the relationships you worked so hard to develop. In these challenging times, you do not want to lose a business sales contact if it can at all be avoided.
So what can you do to preserve the contacts you have and maintain business?
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Visit key customers. As a sales manager or owner, make sure you begin to plan visiting with your most important customers. Let them know who you are and that you know who they are. Make sure they have met more than the sales person in your organization and that they have a relationship with management. Encourage them to call you with any questions or concerns. Remind them that the team in the office is available for answering questions or explaining any issues related to product information and/or reimbursement.
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Attend important marketing events. As a manager, owner or sales director, take time to attend key marketing events, such as a social work monthly luncheon or case management meetings, etc. Do not delegate attendance at these events to your salespeople. You want to get out and meet the community and develop new contacts. You want customers to get to know you by name.
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Invite customers to your retail location. Remind all of your customers about your retail store. Plan open houses, special events and programs that encourage customers to come by. When customers/referral sources do come into the store, make sure to introduce them to your key staff members and make them feel “at home.”
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When salespeople attend meetings with new customers or make presentations about your company, consider attending the meeting. Show the customer you care about them and appreciate their time as you share information about your business. Your presence may be the sign to referral sources that you care about their business!
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Personally handle the transition to a new salesperson. If one salesperson leaves and another takes the territory, allow time in your schedule to introduce the salesperson to your accounts. Your personal attention to those introductions will let the customer know their business is important to you.
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Work the booth. Rarely do I see business owners stand in their booth or display and shake hands with those who come by to visit. Get out of the office and spend the day meeting customers in a different atmosphere. At an educational conference, you will have time not only to meet them at your booth but possibly to have lunch or a break with people you may have never met.
Isolation will help destroy you. Leave time in your home care management schedule to be out of the office. Meeting with customers allows you to learn from them, understand their needs and show them you care. You need to enhance your visibility and become a student of the industry.
There is a lot to learn from your customers. They will tell you about their challenges and concerns and suggest ways you can make a difference in their work and in the lives of their patients.
Now is the time to get out that calendar. Make plans to work with your sales team. Let the energy and dedication that originally built your business be shown again to those who need your services and products. I hope if I call you, your staff will tell me, “She decided to get out of the office and meet with our customers.” You actually may enjoy a day on the road meeting those who are so important to your revenues.
Louis Feuer is president of Dynamic Seminars & Consulting Inc. and the founder and director of the DSC Teleconference Series, a teleconference training program. He can be reached at www.DynamicSeminars.com or by phone at 954/435-8182.
