Your network can help you keep clients as well as find new ones

Here’s a simple way to add value to your product or service.

From time to time your clients will reach the limit of your product or service. With a good sales and marketing process you will have already set the parameters of where those lines are drawn. However, you can add value if you have worked out who can help your clients where you can’t. Read on for examples.

Many of my insurance clients require health and safety planning to ensure their insurance company pays out when they want it to and defends them when they don’t. Building relationships with the right companies ensures you can recommend the right person for each situation. Knowing who to refer helps clients save time. They don’t have to search.

Another example is temporary premises when clients need them. Building relationships here ensures there are plenty of providers I can trust to relocate my clients quickly and easily when the need arises. This solves their problem and increases your value.

Furthermore, in the networking business we are often asked for advice regarding online networking, which networking group to join or how to sell at a profit once the connections are made. Knowing people that provide these specific services means we can refer each other when our specialism is required.

How can you do this for yourself? Work out where your service begins and ends and find people who provide services that lead to and from you. You can do that by asking your clients who it was that told them about you and then ask what’s next on their do to list. You can do this before, during or after they have become your client.

When you contact possible strategic partners in your network ensure you tell them the benefit to them of working with you. Helping your clients and their clients by adding value is the simplest way to put it.

See our top tips page for simple ways to help yourself today.