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  What owner, leader, director or manager doesn’t love an “elephant” new customer win? Or getting the first check from a large new donor?
Investing big money and significant people resources in their pursuit, owners, leaders, directors and managers often place a special, even disproportionate, value on winning new customers They sometimes do this at the expense of neglecting their current customers.
Lost in the excitement or in the anticipation of a big win is the simple message of the proverb;
“A bird in hand is better than two in the bush”
…that is, it is better to have a small actual advantage than the chance of a greater one…
The 80/20 rule (also known as the Pareto principle) reminds us that 80% of a typical organization’s revenue comes from 20% of its customers. We also know that “birds in hand”, current customers, typically are the most receptive and cost efficient audience through which an organization can grow its sales. This may be done directly by cross-selling or indirectly through referrals provided by those best customers.
Not to say that new customers are not valuable or not a priority. With that, owners, leaders, directors and managers may want to pause and reflect…
A bird in hand or two in the bush?
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“With a new sales person just getting started, it was critical for us to have a sales and marketing plan to help us focus his time on the most profitable customers and prospects. Through their TouchPlanning process, they provided us with a detailed road map (TouchPlan) for prioritizing our sales and marketing investments across different types of customers and prospects. They even made sales calls with us to understand our customers and prospects through first-hand experience.
As an added bonus, they brainstormed, and helped us design a ‘groundbreaking’ marketing and sales program that has shown us a path to grow our business into a true year-round enterprise.”
Owner & President, Kansas City Holiday and Business Gifts Company
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