It is the middle of the summer and another quarter. Sales folks across the world are struggling to shift gears from a splendid Mother’s Day celebration to relook at their goals and targets. While there is still time to land some great deals to close this quarter, here’s a little note to make sure we put our best foot forward.
Think customer and client success before sales. Any time and all the time. Client success is as part of the sales main course – not the dessert.
In the regular conventional world, lead goes to sales and client success comes in upon sale closure. As the client success team weaves the fabric of the client together, stitching one thread at a time, the sales team has moved on to new fresh leads. While the key to retaining and moving clients up a re-sell and upsell ladder rests with client success champions, we owe it to these soldiers to relate to full context and history of each client.
And by enabling client success teams with these two simple practices, we can unlock each client’s potential ROI, grow with their success and create pathways for conquering referrals.
1) Create a baseline checklist while even closing a deal. Getting everyone on the same page about where things are creates clarity, establishes a common ground and lets stakeholders measure against measurable impact.
2) Identify and nurture an internal champion. In every org, someone is trying to make you a successful vendor/ partner/ decision. Someone’s interest aligns with yours. Find that person and nurture a relationship.
