Don't take your customers for granted or your competition will take them from you. This isn’t just a platitude; it’s true.

The holidays are one of my favorite times of the year. They are the perfect opportunity to let all my present and past customer relationships know how much I appreciate their loyalty. Sometimes we spend too much time chasing new business and not enough time letting our core group of customers know how much we appreciate them.

You actually have a total of four opportunities to let your customers know that they made the right choice by doing business with you.

1. After the customer commits to do business, reaffirm their commitment by saying, "You made the right choice and here is why…"
2. Something special should go into effect over the next three days to further reaffirm they made the right decision. Remember, in some cases customers can cancel a contract within three days.
3. What is your ongoing plan to stay in constant contact with this new relationship? Out of sight means out of mind. You’re leaving the door open for your competitor.
4. End the year as I have already mentioned. These customers have made it possible for you to remain in business for another year.

What does Marvin do?

I place a customized call to all of my past and current relationships and say "Thank you!"

A funny thing happens when I make these calls. I tend to get this response:  "Marvin, your ears must have been burning. We were just thinking about you. Are you available to do some training?”

Imagine that!

Marvin Montgomery is an author, speaker and sales training consultant at ERC, where he has assisted hundreds of organizations in improving their productivity. You can ask the Sales Doctor a question at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .