It’s natural to pay attention to the sales process before you’ve converted a lead into a customer. But there are a few sales opportunities which can be taken advantage of during the building process and after the project is completed. Here are three important sales opportunities not to forget:
1.) Look for opportunities to upsell during the building process. Your client has already commissioned work from you, so don’t be too pushy. But feel free to offer up helpful ideas for improvement or further customization of the project at hand (different finishes, complimentary pieces, etc.). If the client seems interested, be clear about the increase in cost, while reminding them of the benefits of such an addition.
2.) Send a follow-up email or give your clients a call a month or so after the job is completed to see how the piece is working out for them. This is a great opportunity to get a testimonial and ask for referrals. Most people are willing to give this information for someone they’ve established a good relationship with during the building process. If you catch them at a bad time, be persistent, because their connections have a good chance at turning into future customers!
3.) Keep clients in the loop by sending updates about jobs you are working on, personalized cards, and check-up emails* to see how their family/pet/job/business is doing. As you know, the custom trade is all about the relationships you build. Maintaining these relationships takes constant effort, but it’s essential to building your reputation, expanding your word of mouth businses, and accumulating more and more repeat customers. These check-ins will serve as inspiration for future projects, reminders of the great experience they had with you, and keep you top of mind anytime someone mentions they need something built.
*There are cheap and user friendly email marketing tools out there like Constant Contact that let you make good looking templates for something like a customer newsletter. Investing in this is great if you work off of email lists, but when sending a personal email to a former client, a simple, no-frills approach is the most genuine!
The cheapest customer to get is the one you already have. Look for opportunities to be helpful during and after the building process, and your inspiration may just lead to more sales down the road.
Comments
I've created multiple pieces of furniture for several clients, so I definitely agree. If you make it easy and pleasant for a customer to work with you, they won't even think about using another furniture builder for their next project.
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