This month we're doing another of our Reese's Southern Wisdom blog posts. The timing is actually perfect. August is a favorite month for travel, family vacations and just getting out of town. For people, that's a good thing. For sales, not so much. With customers not picking up the phone to call for sales or services, a business needs to find a way to bring in revenues during a slow period.
Many people are quick to send out email blasts, trusting their computers to do the work of drumming up business. That may not be the best approach during slow months.
A better approach is to step away from the computer and pick up the phone. Which leads us to this month's Reese's Wisdom topic - warm calls. See that play on words - Warm Calls - warm month of August?
Reese told me warm calls was one of the ways he stayed in touch with his clients so they remembered him not only for business but fondly knowing he cared about them. This is not the same as "WARM SALES" meaning not a done deal. This meaning of "warm" is reaching out to just check in and have a nice "warm" chat. Not business. Just seeing how they are doing. Reese made a point of keeping track of things of importance to his clients. He kept all the details in his Act and periodically, if he saw an article or heard of something that would interest a client, he'd pick up the phone, and chat about that topic. Not planned - totally impromptu call to check in.
The idea is reach out to customers, tell them it's not a sales call and that you are just checking in. Ask them how their summer has been going? How's the family. If you have been doing a good job with your CRM, you should have little tidbits of information stored away that talk about what your client's like personally.
Is it golf? Have they been out playing and if so how's it going? Is it pets? Do some research ahead of time and tell them about an article you saw that talked about keeping pets safe in warmer or colder months.
The concept behind the warm calls is to keep your company and who you are in front of them so when they do need services or product, they think of you. The calls shouldn't only be during the summer either. They should be happening with some frequency. Not so much that it's annoying but enough that the customer knows it's a quick call to just check in.
You'd be surprised how often they will say thanks for the call and that they have been meaning to reach out. That happens to us all the time. We must be candid and say we don't do the calls as often as we should ourselves. Everyone gets all caught up in the day to day events and forgets to reach out and "touch" our clients.
They say you need to reach out and "touch" a new prospect 7 times to land a sale. That also applies to current customers. If you not somehow in front of them one way or another, they could potentially move somewhere else. You are trying to ensure that your client knows you care about them for more than just revenue. That you want to be a trusted partner. Taking the time to ask about them and remember things about them shows you have a vested interest in them as people, not just dollars and cents.
Take the time to reach out with warm, inviting calls. You'll like the results.
Have a great rest of the summer.