In the past few weeks, many services companies (including financial advisors, consultants, accountants, insurance brokers, and lawyers) have been experiencing a new reality of how to do business.
The traditional model to meet and service clients is severely restricted or, at the moment, totally impossible. SMEs had especially little time to prepare a digital sales & service offering while their order books were full.
At CGEM we are proposing a few simple and quickly implementable steps how to keep your numbers up, stay close to your existing clients and even attract new ones:
1) Online presence – the first go-to place of potential clients, but often neglected in times of full order books; brush-up your website to make it top notch, include a few convincing testimonials from your existing client base. Start sharing across social media channels in concise posts.
2) Lead generation – now is the perfect time to develop your online campaign and launch it at places where your target customers can be found too. Use value based messages as opposed to pure selling.
3) Deal closing – reassess your current funnel, focus on those opportunities that are still able to close in the short term. Leave strategic ones for later. When negotiating with clients be flexible on terms and conditions. Think about things you can offer on top that encourages clients to sign now – maybe a way to help them through the crisis?
4) Select your basic digital tool set to run your core business digitally. Get confident in effectively operating a secure and easy to use video conferencing tool, file sharing apps and an electronic document signing tool as a minimum. Many vendors start with free of charge base products or offer a 14-day free trial; monthly subscriptions for SMEs are then priced around €10 per month.
5) Remote client servicing – in times of crisis, there is no such thing as over-communication. Open and transparent communication will make your clients feel closely connected and taken care of. Reach out more often than usual, engage with your clients on their availabilities and timeframe and follow through on what you promised.
If you are unsure or need hands-on support on any of the topics, our team of experienced growth enthusiasts is available to assist you in getting your business to adjust to the “new” normal.
Visionary and results-oriented senior business transformation executive with an international career in management consulting, insurance, banking and technology. Focused on customer segmentation, account management, customer service excellence and target operating models.