In This Issue:

• Fire Your Customers - The 4 Types of Customers You Should Fire and Why by Jim Domanski
• Archived Articles

• This Week - Selling At Higher Margins
• This Week - Sales Mistakes Managers Make and How to Avoid Them

• Building and implementing a strategic sales plan
• Injecting accountability into all areas of the sales operation
• Implementing a balanced scorecard approach to sales and marketing management
• Maximizing sales and marketing operations
• Proven sales management strategies that produce profit increases
• And more . . .

"Manager's Minute" Tip

(Article Archive)

Fire Your Customers - The 4 Types of Customers You Should Fire and Why
by Jim Domanski

Not all customers are created equal.

Some customers are simply not worth the time and energy it takes to maintain them. You – and your reps - must learn to ‘fire’ them. Like firing an employee, this is usually difficult but everyone knows it’s the right thing to do. And herein is one of sales greatest ironies: getting rid of a customer who provides you sales will actually help you increase sales.

Sound impossible? Read on. This article will look who you should fire and why you should do it.

Who to Fire

Customers seem to sit on a high pedestal in the sales world. They are the holy of holies. Their wish is your command. After all, they buy our products and services which makes money for the company and sometimes commission for the sales rep. They’re the bread and butter of an organization, right?

Bull.

The simple fact of the matter is that there are some customers who are simply not worth it. Let’s take a look at four customers who you should fire: the Dementors, the Dawdlers, the ‘Dimers’ and the Delinquents.

The Dementors

You’ll recognize the Dementors in a moment. I borrowed the term from the Harry Potter books which are all the rage in the world of children’s fiction literature. In one book, JK Rowling – the author- describes creatures called ‘dementors’ who are actually prison guards for evil wizards who practice the black arts. The way the dementors keep these wizards in check is by sucking out the spirits of their existence; their souls. The evil wizards walk around in a state of dark despair and angst with no hope.

The Dementors are perfect metaphors for customers who, by their incessant complaints, demands, and rages, suck the spirit from the souls of sales reps and others in your company. You know who I mean. Your reps hate calling them and hate hearing from them. They lament and whine constantly. They call you and complaint about the order, the service, the reps, the price, the weather You scramble. You zig and you zag. You move mountains and create miracles but it is never enough. At the end of the call or the sale you and your rep are drained both physically and mentally.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Dementors are not the same as ‘demanders’. There are those customers who demand things and that’s all part of selling. I am referring to those who make it miserable every single, solitary time. They make you suffer.

Rarely if every, is the time and energy spent on these customers worth it. You need to do the math on this but if you do you’ll discover that dementors sap the spirit, energy, time and resources from you, from your rep, from shipping and receiving, from accounting and everyone in between. Untold countless hours and time are spent or dare I say lost on keeping the dementors happy (not that they ever are.)

Fire them.

The Dimers

The Dimers refer to “nickel and dime.” They are the penny pinchers. They’re not quite a Dementor in their demeanor but they have somewhat they same affect. The Dimers are constantly looking for discounts and specials. They want free delivery, an extra package or two of product, longer terms, etc., etc., etc. Usually there is the thinly veiled threat to take their business elsewhere. Your rep is forever at your door negotiating their latest demand.

And so you accommodate them. You toss in a freebie. You waive the shipping. All of this on the assumption that it is a “one time special.” But then the hideous truth rears its ugly head and you recognize that ‘yesterday’s luxuries have become today’s necessities.’ Like a spoiled a petulant child, it becomes an expectation. All the while they eat into your margin, they chew up your profitability, and no doubt, they flushed your commission or bonus down the toilet simply so you can ‘keep’ their business.

You spent endless amounts of time ‘negotiating’ and at the end of it, you ask ‘was it worth it?’

No. Fire them. Let someone else lose the money and time servicing the Dimer.

The Dawdlers

The Dawdlers are those who dawdle on every sale. Do you recognize them?

They want information. Tons of it. So they can “think about it.” They hum and haw. They want a proposal. Then a formal quote. Then they want revisions. Next, they need more information. They change schedules. They change the dates. Something comes up. They renege on a sale. They need to “re think.” Suddenly they realize they must do their “due diligence” and off they go analyzing your competitors. They don’t return calls. They miss appointments. Another crisis. Finally, a sale results. But usually at one tenth the amount.

Then, insanely, the process begins again…and again.

The Dawdlers are nice enough people, quite likeable really, but they consume huge chunks of your reps time (and more often than not, yours) and you begin to wonder if you could have being doing something else; maybe something more profitable.

You’re right. So fire them too.

The Delinquents

The name says it all: the Delinquents don’t pay on time…ever. Usually they start off by wanting better terms sort of like the Dimers. But whereas the Dimers will pay, albeit it a little more slowly than most, the Delinquents wait 90 days or more. You send a reminder. You call. You write again, and again, and again. You call. They’re not there. You finally get a hold of them: the check is being written. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

The end result is you don’t get the cash. You don’t get commissions. But what you do get is grief. Oh sure, you can put them on special terms but don’t waste your time. Fire them.

What Keeping Them Costs You

I have found that most businesses can fire the Delinquents but rarely do they fire the Dementors, Dawldlers or the Dimers. The reason they don’t do it is because no one has figured out the cost. Here’s what keeping these customer’s costs you:

Time

From a sales rep perspective your reps lose time working these accounts. Instead of grooming a lead or nurturing an existing account to develop more sales they are running around putting out fires. Calculate the time they spend in a week with these types of customers and you’ll be staggered at the time they’re not using to sell.

Money

Time is money. In virtually every situation, your sales rep is not the only one who is working on these accounts. Order processors, accountants, shippers, and customer service reps must be factored into the equation. If you calculate the time that is spent on these select accounts and multiple it by the number of people involved at their hourly rate, you might be staggered at the money you’re spending. You might find you’re losing money!

Stress

The time you spend with these accounts causes you (and others) a lot of needless stress. Think of the fires you’ve had to deal with. If one or two keep cropping up every time, firm them. Burning out costs you and your company money.

Opportunity

But what it really comes down to is this. When your reps spend the time on these accounts, they are not spending time on other sales opportunities. They cannot grow the business, much less their commission or bonuses. They cannot land bigger, more profitable more enjoyable accounts because your not doing what you’re being paid to do: selling.

Take a look at your existing account using the suggestions above. Determine whether they are really worth the time and effort. If not, fire them and move on to bigger and better accounts.

About Jim Domanski:
Cited by Canadian Business Magazine as "...Canada's reigning telemanagement guru..." Jim Domanski is regarded as one of North America's foremost experts on outbound business tele-sales and tele-support programs.

President of Teleconcepts Consulting, Jim helps businesses achieve their sales and marketing objectives by using the telephone to help generate leads and sell directly on both a strategic and tactical level.

A highly dynamic speaker and trainer with over 15 years of direct tele-sales experience, Jim has spoken to audiences around the world on telephone selling applications, skills and techniques. His "no bull" training style blends humor with "real life, real drama" situations which he has begged or borrowed from his clients.

Contact Information:
Jim Domanski
Teleconcepts Consulting
35 Vanstone Drive, Ste. 200
Kanata, Ontario K2L 1W4
1-888-353-0948
jdomanski@igs.net
www.teleconceptsconsulting.com

(Article Archive)

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