What is the LifeCycle of your Client?

By: Sabina Claus Monday April 4, 2016 comments Tags: #5MinFireHose, Client Communication, client lifecycle, CRM

Have you figured out what your lifecycle is for your client?  It’s one of the first items you should systematize when starting your business!

Stages:

What are your company stages?
Each client should be viewed as a project > and each project has a stage > each stage has action or tasks that must be completed before > moving onto the next stage.  Ok that was confusing…the above chart shows a basic stage (your company may have more or less)

• Introduction
• First Meeting
• Proposal
• Payment
• Project or Sales
• Follow Up

Once you define each stage for your client lifecycle you then need to deep dive into what action/task needs to take place to be done to move our customer onto the next stage

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Communication:

There should be consistent communication at each stage for your customers.  There is nothing more frustrating for a client to be in the dark on a project or purchase you make with a vendor

• Introduction
  • Thank your referral partner for sending the introduction
  • Give the introduction company and/or individual an introduction about yourself
    If this is done in person make it a point to listen to the needs of the individual and talk about them vs. discussing what you do the entire time
  • Ask to set up a follow up or discovery meeting…yes you can do this even if you sell product …have them come to your store/office
• First Meeting
  • Really focus this meeting on the other party…most call this a One2One or a Discovery meeting
  • This isn’t an interview, its an opportunity to get to know them
  • If you feel there could be business done, set up a follow up meeting to discuss potential business…but don’t make the first meeting about closing the deal
• Proposal
  • I’ts not just about getting them to sign your contract or hand over their credit card
  • Educate on how your service or product will help them…give them benefits vs. features
  • Make it a soft close vs. a pushy sale
• Payment
  • Ensure to send a thank you for your business at the payment stage
  • Educate your customer on the next steps both verbally & in writing
• During the project
  • Most clients feel as though once the money has been handed over the service has ended…don’t be that guy
  • If your projects take longer then a week there should be weekly communication to your client letting them know where they are and when to expect delivery of product or service
• View the original post for information for the "Follow Up" stage

We will be covering this and more at our Client & Employee Retention with Appreciation  Marketing® workshop on August 25th, 2015

Make sure to come back next week as we give you tips using your CRM to keep track of each stage of your clients, fresh ideas on keeping your brand in front of your clients and a bonus post about creating a lifecycle for your employees!

About the Author: Sabina Claus

Sabina Claus is a business coach, consultant and accountability partner. The company helps businesses grow to the next level by maintaining sustainable deliverables, polishing up marketing, developing personalized training, customizing launch process and procedure campaigns. Outside of work, Sabina is a proud wife and mother of two beautiful adult daughters.  Balancing love of church, family and friends she looks forward to a future filled with challenges and success. Join the adventure!

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