Retain and upsell your existing customers. When I meet clients and prospects to talk through sales challenges, talk will inevitably turn to how they’d like to grow their revenues – New Business, Account Growth, new offerings, or a combination. Often, the answer is “all of it”!
My role at Flume is Account Growth. I work with existing clients and help them get the most out of the training they’re doing with us, as well as looking to the future for that team – and here’s the key – and looking at the future for other teams in the business who we don’t yet know.
When I started in sales, we really just focused on cross selling and upselling with existing accounts but this hunting-within-existing-businesses is the real gem.
Here’s a fairly standard definition “Account growth in sales refers to the process of increasing revenue and business generated from existing customers or accounts. It focuses on expanding the relationship with current clients and maximising their value over time. Account growth strategies are vital for sustainable business growth, as it is typically more cost-effective to retain and upsell existing customers than to acquire new ones.”
And there’s the key point – it’s more cost-effective to retain and upsell existing customers than to acquire new ones. We love our clients! And they love us!
” We loved working with the Raoul and the rest of the Flume team, it very much felt like a collaboration. They took time to understand our business before sharing their extensive knowledge on both training and sales. I believe this project with Flume will lead to a long term positive impact within our business”.
Alice Newport, Head of Department Learning and Development, Big Yellow Group PLC
Growing revenues by retaining and upselling your existing customers. We want to see them do well. We want their sales teams to have a spring in their step when they come in on a Monday morning, when they have new ideas to try out. The end game is making our clients’ lives easier so they can make their clients’ lives easier.
Here are some common strategies to drive account growth in sales:
- The classic:
Cross-selling and Upselling: Identify additional products or services that complement what the customer has already purchased. Cross-selling to offer related products, and upselling to promote higher-tier or upgraded versions of the same product. Effective upselling and cross-selling can increase the average order value and customer loyalty.
- The key:
Personalisation and Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Use data and insights from customer interactions to understand their needs better. Personalise offerings and communication to provide tailored solutions that meet their specific requirements, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. This is key – not just for account growth but for any sales conversations. It’s Flume’s mantra!
- Make it easy:
Customer Success Management: here at Flume we have a dedicated project management team whose role is make things easy for the client. As soon as the client says ‘yes’, this team swoop in and take care of everything.
My role as Account Growth is to keep in touch with the client during the programme.
- We remind them what we were aiming to do.
- We check we’re doing what we promised.
- We flex the programme if it needs flexing.
Ensuring customer success leads to increased retention and positive word-of-mouth referrals. A huge amount of the work Flume do comes from referrals. Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals either – 90% of clients say they’ll refer you but only 9% of salespeople will ask (CEB)
- Keep it going:
Regular Communication and Engagement: Stay in touch with your customers through newsletters, email campaigns, and other communication channels. Provide value by sharing relevant content, industry insights, and updates on new product features.
You may have joined Flume for some of our regular industry webinars (click here to see on demand). We want to keep in touch with clients. Whether they’re working with us now or hopefully in the future, we want to keep adding value.
- Don’t be afraid to ask:
Request Feedback and Act on It: Regularly seek feedback from customers to understand their pain points and areas for improvement. Act on this feedback to demonstrate that you value their opinions and are committed to providing an excellent customer experience.
By trying these things out and continually refining our approaches based on customer feedback and data, we can foster account growth and create loyal, satisfied customers who are more likely to advocate for your brand.
Katie Leaver
Head of Client Growth
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