We're going to touch on the 3 R's of salesmanship here: Retention, referrals and repeat sales.  We'll be covering these 3 topics for the next couple weeks.  Enjoy!

Getting a new customer is a very small part of selling.  One-shot sales, however, don’t help you to build a predictable, secure and growing business.  It takes more than glib talk, a big smile, shined shoes and a few glowing promises to build customer loyalty and repeat business.

The key to a consistent income in selling is the development of clientele.  The salesperson who carefully develops positive relationships with his customers builds a strong foundation for his future.  

When enough customers are firmly established, you can expect repeat business and an assured income that provides a firm foundation for your livelihood.  That’s what professionals call a “customer base”.

The salesperson can go back to these customers with new products or services with the knowledge that they will get a favorable reception.  It’s also likely that the positive attitudes that have been established will make it easier to get referrals.

The building of relationships with customers is the key to keeping them, getting repeat business from them, and acquiring referrals.  It can be the difference between worrying about your next meal and having a reliable income base.

Why don’t salespeople make it a priority to build strong relationships with their clients?  One reason is simple laziness.  It takes time and effort.  Consequently, many salespeople ignore this part of their job.

Another reason is competition.  This competition takes many forms.  It’s not only other salespeople selling similar products.  It’s an enormous amount of competition from innumerable sources for your customer’s interest, attention and dollars.  Next week I'll reveal 4 ways to implement the 3 R's in your marketing campaigns.