Why Your Existing Customers Are All You Need to Increase Your Profits

Russell Conwell was a man of many talents. Over the course of his career, he worked as a Baptist minister, writer, philanthropist, and lawyer. But, he became most famous for a speech he would come to perform over 6,000 times. That speech was Acres of Diamonds.

Acres of Diamonds tells the story of an ambitious man who hungered to find the famously precious gems. To finance his search, he sold his property, but he experienced an ironic twist when the new owner discovered a rich diamond mine located right on the very property the diamond hunter sold. The lesson of this story is that the opportunity for fortune already exists in our current circumstances.

If you own a business, then you have a rich vein of “diamonds” that you can mine: your existing customers.

Making More Money With Joint Ventures

In my book The Predictable Profits Playbook, I explain how I was able to build a highly lucrative real estate development business by leveraging joint venture partnerships. Many real estate developers sell a house and move right along to the next customer. Instead, I looked for all the advantages that my customers wanted, and then made arrangements with businesses that could provide them. This included furniture stores, alarm companies, driveway seal coating, and luxury lighting suppliers, among others. I introduced the customer to the vendor and subsequently took a commission on the deal.

The customers were happy because they received preferential pricing and didn’t have to spend a lot of time looking around for a supplier, and the vendors were happy to make a sale that they otherwise wouldn’t have made–triple win-win-win. No matter the industry, your customer has additional needs that a third party vendor can and will provide.

Make a list of the additional services your customers may need and which vendors could provide them. Build relationships with these third-party vendors so you can offer better pricing to your clients, and reap the benefits of creating a valuable a new connection between them.

Following Up After a Sale

When a customer chooses to do business with you, it’s usually the culmination of all the work you’ve already done to convince them you are a trusted authority in your industry. Considering the time, money, and energy you’ve already put into acquiring that customer, it’s strange that many businesses fail to follow up with other offers after making a sale.

To follow up with your existing customers, make sure you have a system in place to obtain their contact information. This could be their email address, phone number or physical address. You could a use a newsletter or a loyalty club as an incentive for the customer to provide you with this information or simply ask to collect it as you complete your first transaction with the customer.

Once you have their contact information, you will be able to follow up with additional offers which can then provide even more value for your customer and help move them closer to the ultimate result they want to achieve.

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Charles E. Gaudet II is a leading business coach and speaker providing advanced marketing strategies to small business owners. He’s the author of “The Predictable Profits Playbook.” His advice appears in worldwide media including Forbes, Inc. and Fox Business. Follow him on Twitter @CharlesGaudet or at his blog at http://www.PredictableProfits.com.

BusinessCollective, launched in partnership with Citi, is a virtual mentorship program powered by North America’s most ambitious young thought leaders, entrepreneurs, executives and small business owners.