Sales Tips From One of the the Top Sports Training and Consulting Companies- 
Altitude Premium Consulting

BennettTIPS
Weekly Sales Training Tips From Greg Bennett of Altitude Premium Consulting  
a Kroenke Sports Enterprises 
Partner Organization 

Art of Renewing a Client

Segment 1: Mistakes Salespeople Make in Renewing a Client

Segment 2:
Renewal Strategies for Before the Initial Sale

Segment 3:
Renewal Strategies for During the Engagement

Segment 4:
Saving a Client Relationship After You Hear, "I Want Out"

Past Training Tips

Non-Verbal Communication

Negotiation Strategies That Win

Merged Selling

The Art of Renewing a Client 

Time Maximization Strategies

The Art of Renewing a Client

How to Get Clients to Stay Engaged With
Your Organization Year After Year

-By Greg Bennett

Segment Four:  Saving a Client Relationship After You Hear, "I want out"

In this final segment of our four part series on The Art of Renewing a Client, we're going to address what happens if nothing works in our renewal attempts and we're at the point where the client wants to cancel.  

Let's use the analogy of a marriage that may be breaking up to discuss what may happen in the latter stages of a renewal gone bad.  In our role as salesperson, or customer service person, we have to play the part of the spouse who wants to work on the relationship, go to counseling...anything but a divorce.

If I walked in and suddenly told my wife, "Hey...I want a divorce", and she said, "Sounds good...let's do it".  I would probably be shocked and a bit hurt.  "Don't you want to even discuss it?"  "Don't you want to talk about it?"

The same thing needs to happen when a client wants to cancel.  We don't want to give off the vibe like, "Sounds good...let's do it".  We want to go to work on saving the relationship, trying everything we can to get the client to think about the situation before they toss in the towel.  And if at the end of the day they want to cancel, we have to go through a process of discernment to make sure they understand what they're doing.

Steps We Can Take When a Client Wants Out:

• First of all...don't panic!  Remember, "Get curious. not furious" ...which means we don't want to get defensive, we want to start asking questions, asking for clarification
   

• We want to hear the client out, let them talk
   

• I believe we need to clarify their position, even though they may stumble around nervously.....this just puts everything on the table...

  • Client:  "Well...I'm uh...pretty sure, we may start to look around at other options..."

  • You   "Sounds like you've decided to cancel and move on"
     

• Once the client admits that they want to cancel, we need to act as if they're about to give up their citizenship...certainly nothing they should take lightly
   

• Extra Note:  One thing you might do is try to upsell a client you sense may want to cancel...if they're calling with the idea to cancel, or go down to "0", and you're thinking to expand their involvement from $10,000 to $20,000...$10,000 may end up being the middle ground
   

• First we should share that we're sorry the client feels this way, and that we're going to miss not having them in the family
   

• Then we need to share our "Exit Strategy", or series of steps we take when someone wants to leave
   

• First Step:  We need to share with the client that if they chose to cancel, their existing situation could disappear immediately...someone else may grab the inventory...especially if we mention how good their current situation is.  Even if the client says, "I don't care, I still want out..."... you can follow with, "I understand, I need to just share this with you"
   

• Second Step: We need to mention that if they cancel and decide to come back at a future time, there's no guarantee we can give them any advantage over someone coming in new.
   

• Third Step:  Ask what would have to happen, or change, in order for the client to continue with you at least one more year...flush out all the issues
   

• Fourth Step:  Ask them to wait 24-hours before they make their final decision. In that 24-hours, ask them to think about why they got involved in the first place...think about the good things in the past...and then look ahead to a future without each other.  
   

Our next series will be on Time Maximization Strategies for Busy Salespeople...4 segment series on practical steps we can take to get our plans together...

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Greg Bennett, a partner in the innovative brand expansion and consulting organization, Altitude Premium Consulting,  LLC, has been one of the top sales and sales management trainers in professional sports and entertainment since 1988.  He has created and delivered training programs for over 80+ professional sports teams and leagues, along with several Fortune 500 companies.   Altitude Premium Consulting provides training as well as the creation of premium-branded goods for pro sports teams, entertainment companies and corporate sponsors, and is in a partnership relationship with Kroenke Sports Enterprises, owners of the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Pepsi Center, the Colorado Mammoth and several other sports and entertainment entities throughout the United States.  Bennett can be reached at (303) 405-6110, or you can email Greg directly at gbennett@pepsicenter.com .