When I was growing up 30 years ago, I remember overhearing a young boy making a call from a public phone box in our local general store. He was so small he had to pull across a milk crate to reach the phone. “Hello, Mrs Jones?”, he said, “Mrs Jones, I’d like to cut your lawn”. It didn’t sound to me like the call was going especially well “Mrs Jones, I’m offering to cut your lawn and take away the cuttings when I finish”, he continued, “Mrs Jones, please give me an opportunity to show you how much I’d appreciate working for you. Not only will I cut your lawn and take away the trimmings, I’ll also prune your hedges” but still no he was having no lick. “But Mrs Jones, I’ll cut your lawn, take away the cuttings and trim your hedges all for £1 less than you’re paying now!”
The hard-nosed Mrs Jones apparently was having none of it, “but Mrs Jones …….Mrs Jones, please listen………” and eventually he put down the phone. I was sure I saw a faint smile fading from his lips. Mr Clark, the shopkeeper called the boy over to him. “Son, I’m impressed by your initiative and someone your age making such an effort to earn a crust. I want to give you a break. If you want a job, come and work here”, he said. The boy replied, “No thanks Mister. I’ve got a job cutting Mrs Jones’s lawn. I was just making sure I kept it!” and with that he got on his bike and rode off.
There’s a fabulous lesson here for all of us. To keep your customers, keep in touch with them, explore any weaknesses in your position and discover if their loyalty is in doubt so you can fix any problems before they cost you a customer.
Have you tried R.E.C.O.N.?
1. R – Remember the reasons you were originally asked to help them, review their pain and relive their previous position before they brought you in to help.
2. E – Evaluate your relationship. How are you doing? What’s worked? What hasn’t? What could have been done better?
3. C – Changed? – What’s changed since you stated working together? For better? For worse? How have you helped improve their lot? What’s changed in their business? In ours?
4. O – Opportunity? – what are the opportunities for them? For you? How can you collaborate so both sides benefit? What opportunities can we pursue together?
5. N – Next Steps? – What happens next? Put in place a clear, specific, certain up front contract so that you both know what will always happen next. Contract with your customer for the next point of contact, for the next piece of work, for the next phase of a project, for the next review or for referrals within and outside their organisation.
I know this is simple, common sense. But what can I say? How many of us really do this type of account development behaviour regularly and routinely to protect our lifeblood income and then hold up our hands in despair when they drop us and go to a competitor or worse still, we lose them to apathy. Now that is a crime against our families and our businesses isn’t it?
Next time there’ll probably be another good story …… which might even be true. If you have any questions or want to engage in a discussion, drop me a line here or call me to chat on 07876 616983.
Happy selling!
Regards
Marcus
Marcus Cauchi 
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