The Power Of Communication In Building Rapport And Increasing Sales With Past And Existing Clients

I have several systems in place where I keep in contact with clients on an on-going basis both whilst they are actively utilizing my services and also when they no longer do so.

There are several reasons for this but the main two are that I want to keep a “Top of Mind” presence with them so that whenever they need someone who does what I do – I am the first person that they think of. The second reason is that all the time clients are getting to “know, trust and like me” we are establishing a rapport and that makes them following up with my suggestions and advice a lot easier for me to implement.

I have a on-going system of contact with clients ranging from telephone calls, to email, to written posted letters, newsletters, articles and special offers (both online and offline) and these are all scheduled at different times throughout our association together. Clients are constantly being drip fed with something about me and my business but also they have this being fed to them through various forms of communication so that they are interacted with and stimulated in as many different ways as possible.

However, no matter how good a system appears to be there are always a few clients that slip through the net – but they may slip yet they never fully escape… Let me explain.

I recently had my staff collect all the details of clients that I had not seen or been in contact with for the last 12-18 months. When the list was compiled I sent them all a postcard saying that I hoped they were keeping well and that should they ever need me I was always there for them. In total I sent 53 cards to these inactive, non-contacted clients and the results I achieved from these were excellent.

Two clients contacted me and said that they hadn’t forgotten about me but they had undergone family problems etc. and they would be back in touch when things were more settled (they also wished me well!). Another six clients (so far) made further appointments and restarted using my services. Out of a total expense of just under £40 re-establishing contact with these clients has so far bought in over £200 worth of income in just 10 days – which although it won’t break the bank and I won’t be able to retire on it just yet it is a return on investment of 500% which is very impressive.

So why have the results been so good?

Firstly it is because I have already established rapport with these clients so it only takes a little nudge to reactivate their interest in my services. Also, it doesn’t matter how long it has been between them last using your services once a client has been a customer it is a lot easier to re-establish a relationship with them than if you were starting from scratch with a new prospect. Thirdly, with a system in place where there is (usually!) on-going contact it doesn’t matter if a year or so goes by because when you do restore contact you are not a complete stranger.

If you are not mailing your clients every month (at a cost of £12 a year) and telephoning them occasionally and then chasing up with them when they disappear - you may just have uncovered one of the reasons why you are not as busy as you could be.