The Fable of The Worker and the Treasure
The scene opens with a cutaway of a house – open on one side like a doll’s house – and we see a person hunched over a computer working. Throughout the day the person makes phone calls and in between calls they write emails or read reports. Once or twice they stop working to eat, use the restroom, or look outside but for the most part, from the time the sun comes up until it starts to descend again in the West, the person works. The person works very hard.
Meanwhile in the backyard, buried six or ten feet down is an enormous chest. Inside the chest are gold pieces, precious gems, and other riches. It’s a treasure that would change the life of the person inside the house, but alas, it sits silently in the darkness, buried in the earth.
And even more extraordinary than the treasure itself, is the fact that the person in the house knows about the chest. They know it’s there, but because they are so busy looking for new clients, or serving existing ones, or managing the complexities of staff, and all the rest (they tell themselves) – they don’t have time to dig up the chest.
That person is you. That chest of treasure? It’s your database of active clients, lost clients, and prospective clients.
Most small business owners fail to understand the economics of their database. They nod or frown when they are confronted by the data but are simply too focused on the “work” of taking care of business to address the very important business of database mining.
Here’s a rundown of the chest of treasure you have in your database. Please write to me with a great reason why you’re not attacking yours.
1. Referrals: Every happy client can be worth at least one more client. All you have to do is ask. But of course, you’ve heard this one and you know all about it already and ask for referrals routinely, right? Yeah, I know you don’t.
2. Put ins, Cross Sells or Upsells: Do all of your clients even know everything you could be doing for them? Are you managing ALL of their assets? Do you have ALL of their business? Chances are you won some of your clients years ago and they still think you’re a one trick pony. Time to educate them.
3. Lost Clients: Customer Winback strategies work. In fact, according to one recent study 26% of your database of lost clients can be won back if you were to reach out and ask for their business just three times. Turns out it’s the highest ROI marketing effort we know of.
4. Prospective Clients: According to another set of research data, the average salesperson quits pursuing the business with a prospect after just 3 attempts. The number of times it takes to win the business? Between 7 and 10 attempts.
5. New ways to monetize the database: Ever consider a subscription model for your clients and prospects to access your tools, resources, and ideas? Nothing like a little MRR (monthly recurring revenue) to improve your day. While this model is relatively new it’s not without precedent. Watch this interview with Kevin Bassett, CPA who is generating an additional $70,000 a MONTH monetizing his base.
The moral of the story? The person in the house should get up, grab a shovel from the shed and start digging. It might be a whole lot more productive (and lucrative) than some of the busyness they are focusing on today.