Business Marketing

The ultimate checklist: build stronger relationships with clients

When you’ve put effort into building your professional sphere of influence, everything possible should be done to maintain that sphere and improve relationships with everyone within it. This checklist will jump start your doing just that.

Matthew Collis

Published

May 7, 2012

Are you keeping in touch with your sphere of influence (SOI) effectively? Many professionals overlook the details when it comes to maintaining relationships with current and past clients, rather focus on the allure of prospecting and winning over new consumers. To build stronger relationships with clients, check out the list below – it is a quick and easy checklist to ensure you’re taking the right steps to build strong relationships and stay “top of mind.”

Send out a monthly e-Newsletter that your clients will find interesting and informative
Make quarterly keep in touch calls
Send out monthly direct mail pieces to your best clients
Plan client appreciation events
Sponsor local sports teams, clubs, or organizations that your clients or their children participate in
Set up your clients on drip email nurture campaigns
Wish your clients a happy birthday when the time comes
Refer the services your clients offer (if applicable and if you trust that they do good work)
Volunteer to recommend clients the services of other reputable professionals in your industry (professionals who offer services that don’t conflict with yours, of course)
Conduct a seminar every quarter (for example, a REALTOR® may want to conduct seminars on home ownership)
Get to know your “A- List” clients on a personal level, showing a genuine interest in their family, job, and hobbies
Meet your “A-List” clients face-to-face on a regular basis for coffee, lunch, or a round of golf

We hope that this checklist has given you some useful ideas on ways to better keep in touch and build relationships with your clients. Remember, it costs five times more money to get a new client then to retain an existing one. Acquiring new clients is the hard part. Once the client is yours, make sure you implement the suggestions in the above checklist to keep them.

In this article:client management, customer service, Marketing, small business

Written By Matthew Collis

Matthew Collis is part of the Sales and Marketing Team at IXACT Contact Solutions Inc., a leading North American real estate CRM firm. In addition to overseeing many of IXACT Contact’s key sales and marketing programs, Matthew works with REALTORS® to help them achieve their real estate goals through effective contact management and relationship marketing. IXACT Contact is a web-based real estate contact management and marketing system that helps REALTORS® better manage and grow their business. The system includes powerful email marketing capabilities and a professionally designed and written monthly e-Newsletter.

19 Comments

Steve

May 7, 2012 at 3:49 pm

I definitely want to get into sponsoring local teams a bit more. I had been playing baseball for 14 years, now softball for an additional 5, so it’s definitely something that means more to me than just a name on the back of the jersey.

Lots of memories out on that diamond. Lots.

Also like that you mentioned to refer the services that the client themselves offer. That’s pretty underestimated, and almost builds a barter-type relationship. Good stuff.

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