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What To Do After The First Sale To Get the Next One

by Charlie Cook
©2006 In Mind Communications, LLC, all rights reserved.

What's the biggest difference between small businesses that are struggling to stay afloat and those that have more clients than they can handle?

If you've kept up with these articles you're aware that your marketing strategy and materials can attract people or send them away. But other than marketing, what separates those firms that are just getting by from those that are wildly successful?

Before I tell you the answer, let me tell you a story.

Years ago, my spouse and I hired a local plumber when we were
renovating the sole bathroom in the small house we lived in then. We were without tub or shower for the better part of a week, toting towels and shampoo to friends' houses every day, while the plumber plumbed.

By that Friday mid-afternoon his work was done except for installing the handles on the tub and shower faucets. It was a sunny spring afternoon, and instead of spending the additional 10 minutes needed to finish the job, he left... taking the handles with him.

Where did he go? He was in his back yard working on his boat when I called that afternoon to find out why he had left us (literally) high and dry.

Twenty years later, I still won't call that guy when I need plumbing repairs. Have you had similar experiences with plumbers, web designers, and other service providers? Did you ever do business with those people again?

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A couple of weeks ago I woke up to discover our 15 year-old water heater had worn out, flooding the utility room. I called a plumber who'd been recommended to me. Within an hour and a half, the plumber and his assistant were at the door with a new water heater.

By lunchtime the new heater was installed, the utility room clean and dry, and I'd been offered a 10% discount to encourage me to become a regular customer. Now that's unbeatable service, and you better believe I'll call them again. I've also told anyone who would listen about the exemplary service I received.

The same thing is true in any field; high quality service is one of the best marketing tools you can use.

What this plumber and most truly successful businesses understand is this. The first sale isn't the end of the sales process but the beginning of the next marketing cycle. What you do after you've made the first sale determines whether you get the next one or any referrals.

When your clients are so happy with your products and services that they start telling others you'll get a lot more testimonials you can use and more referrals. Here's what happened to one web designer I know.

I worked on several projects with a web designer in California who is extremely professional and a pleasure to do business with. I told many others about her, and I know her other clients did the same. She went the extra mile to make sure her designs were exactly what her clients wanted.

I'd tell you her name, but with all the referrals she gets she is now so busy that she's booked six months in advance. She has all the clients she can handle and then some.

One of my clients is Westy, a self-storage company with facilities in the New York area. They take service as seriously as my web designer does. They provide storage facilities that are as clean and appealing as a corporate headquarters. The benefit? Westy's customers come back again and again and consistently refer new customers to them.

What do a web designer and a self-storage company have in common? Both are continually using exemplary service to market themselves and be successful.

Ready to become wildly successful and have all the clients you can handle?

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