Sales is ultimately about influencing and serving people. Companies who don’t track the number of customers often rely on metrics that ignore the people and instead track transactions. While transactions are important, keeping track of people is more important.
The value of a company is more determined by the number of customers it has than the amount of money in its coffers.
Here’s how to implement that concept.
1. Create a definition of a customer.
Most sales organizations have no objective measurement for what constitutes a customer. No wonder they don’t know how many they have.
Your definition should be objective and data driven. In other words, the computer should be able to spit it
out.
It should reflect a relationship that extends beyond just a transaction. For example, if someone walks into your showroom and buys $100 worth of stuff and leaves, is that person a customer? Most companies would say no. In this case, one transaction doesn’t make a customer.
But what does?
One of my clients defines a customer this way: A qualified account that spends $1,500 each month for at least three out of four consecutive months.
That’s a great example, because it captures the repetitive nature of the transaction, and adds an objective dollar amount. With this definition, the computer can spit out how many accounts meet this criterion every month.
Quality of Customers
Your definition can vary by market segment. So, for example, if you sell high-end building materials to contractors... READ THE FULL ARTICLE
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