Whom of us have not experienced that sinking feeling of finding out, that our past or current client sought and used the services of another because we failed to remain in touch and connected.

Talk about a kick in the stomach...

But it’s our own fault. Not our client. Somewhere along the line, we dropped the communication ball. The party line we enjoyed with our current and past clients had been severed, and we were the last to know.

Yes, we send a card or two throughout the year.

However, client retention efforts require so much more. Your clients need to feel you are connected to them, not just on a business level, but on a personal one as well. It doesn’t have to be this deep love affair between you and your client. However, it does require a bit more than templated seasonal cards and refrigerator magnets.

And given the absolute fact that our business is dependent on repeat and referral business, it is all the more essential that we strive for a 80% - 100% client retention rate.

If you build solid and consistent relationships with your current and past clients, the business will follow.

As a 20 year real estate broker and relocation specialist, I have found that in addition to the conventional ways of growing my real estate business, I needed to also become a bit more niche and creative with where I spend my time, energy and money.

Being in sales, running our day-to-day business; we sometimes neglect and lose focus of our core foundation and goal, developing deep, lasting, sustainable customer service skills and client relationships; without which, we would be out of business in short order.

Every sales professional learns early on, time is money. You only have “x” amount of hours in the day to commit to the various levels of running your business.

Between meeting with our clients, putting together presentations and pitches for the week, scheduling teleconference calls, preparing mailings, attending association events, networking at chamber business functions and just staying sane throughout the relationship building process, we barely have room in our heads to spend “think time” on best practices for retaining our current and past clients, which is essential for our business success.

I’ve kept this customer service/client retention strategies course short and simple. More as a quick glance reference guide for you to refer back to on a regular basis and flip through on those days you are experiencing a lull and drawing a blank on ways to communicate, connect, and deepen your customer service skills and client relationships.

This course cheatsheet is for the days we have distractions, real or imagined, that keep us from focusing on customer service, client retention, conversion rates and growth.

By now we’ve all read and know, it cost 5 to 6 times more to acquire a new client than it does to retain a current or past client. Yet we spend most of our marketing dollars, energy and efforts chasing new business.

The key is to somehow merge the desire to grow our sales, with layers of proactive customer service skills and client retention strategies; with a laser-sharp focus on new business development.

That’s the daily challenge. That’s the daily goal.

This customer service/client retention course is all about ideas; quick ideas to keep you firmly positioned front of mind.

My hope is that you will began to hone and sharpen your customer service skills, raise your current and past client retention rates and experience a noticeable elevation of new business, using a mixture of the strategies I have presented to generate increased repeat business, as well as more client referrals.

Raising your client retention rate by even just a small percentage, will ensure a phenomenal rate of return (ROR).

Cultivate your customer/client relationships with positive, proactive customer service skills and client retention strategies.

Build strong customer/client loyalty.

Let's get started!

"The pursuit, even of the best things, ought to be calm and tranquil." - Marcus Tullius Cicero