The Art of Client Retention and Increasing Frequency of Sale

0:00 The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are solely those of the hosts and their guests and not those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services, or products mentioned on air or on our web. No liability explicitor implies shall be extended to W FOURCY Radio or its employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments should be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for choosing W FOURCY Radio. Welcome to Powerful Business Strategies, where you will find out that everything you have ever learned about growing your business is wrong. Finally, a show where you'll learn the right way to grow your business by learning business and financial strategies that your competition isn't doing. And now here is your host. Resident of NeXTSTEP CFO Michael Barbarita and joining Michael for today's show as an executive moderator is chooky obio.

1:00 Yes, this is shook in. I believe that gratitude is undefeated and growth. Is about the next step. It is an honor for me to moderate today's discussion with my good friend Michael. Michael, how are you excellent, Choky, how are you doing? I'm doing well. Yeah. Look I mean, Michael, this is our first show in November, the month of Gratitude, so I'm even more energized than normal. There you go. And as Jukie said, my name is Michael Baby, the president of Next Step CFO, and next Step CFO is a fractional CFO and strategic implementation firm. Our vision is to ensure overwhelmed business owners achieve the time, freedom, and consistent profits to build a legacy and the life they desire. Our mission to that end is dedicated to guiding small business owners to leveraging their time, exploding their profits, and build that meaningful legacy. This show, Powerful Business Strategies, and our book of the same name, is a step toward accomplishing that vision and mission. And so with that, I'd like to hand it back to my co author and moderator for the show, Chooky Obio.

2:08 Michael, thank you look quite anergized by today's episode. It's titled the Art of Client Retention and Increasing Frequency of Sales. So before we. Really get into it, I believe Michael has quite a bit of insights prepared for us. In addition to that we have quite a few business owners coast to coast that are tuned in for today's episode, so it should be a really dynamic conversation. Quick disclaimer, Michael and I are both affiliated with a number of different organizations. I currently serve as the managing director of business Development for Veta Price, a global business focused law firm. Now, in addition to that, it's truly an honor for me to collaborate with Michael to moderate business roundtables and document best practices from those insights and roundtables as part of our book called Powerful Business Strategies. But please note that the views expressed today on this show are our personal views based on personal success stories and experiences and my mission as a fearless moderator to ask the right questions to help you the listener, learn the best strategies that the competition isn't doing.

3:21 Michael, back over to you, Thank you, Chokey. So today we're going to talk about something that most business owners avoid pretty much, and that's keeping and growing their existing customer base. Now, we business owners, many times when we get new customers, unconsciously we think that we get to keep these customers by the fault Well, as you know this, nothing could be further from the truth. And you know what amazes me, Chucky, is that businesses spend thousands of dollars chasing new customers, to which we know from our show on the Journey that only one to three percent of any market and any time I'm ready to buy now.

4:06 So businesses spend thousands of dollars chasing that one to three percent while ignoring the goldmine sitting right in their customer database. And furthermore, if you go back to our show at Powerful Business Strategies dot com regarding the seven step Pathway to Profit formula, you'll see that one of the things that business owners need to focus on is both clients retention and frequency of sale how often do they buy? Which are the subjects of today's show. So, did you know that it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one And even yeah, and even more shocking than that, repeat customers spends sixty seven percent more per purchase than new customers.

4:56 And then taking that a step further, once a customer buy from you, there's a thirty four percent chance that they'll buy something else. Yet most business owners chased new customers while letting their existing one silp away. And the thrust of this show is going to be about how do you how do you retain those customers and how do you get them buy more to buy more often. So a client of mine who owned a remodeling business, was constantly spending money on marketing to get new customers, but it's existing customers were only using him once every three or four years, you know, when they needed a major remodeling job done. And when we looked at his customer database, we discovered something that was really something. His customers were doing smaller home improvement projects every single year, but they were using his competitors. Why well, because he never stayed in touch with them after the big project was done. And this is what I call the one and done trap. What businesses think they have finished. You know that, you know, once the once they once they complete the sale, the job is finished. But here's what successful businesses know. The sale is just the beginning of the relationship. Mm hmm. So let's talk about three major mistakes business owners make with client retention. Great, yeah, and folks,

6:30 these mistakes are costing you a fortune. It's interesting and Michael, before we jump into those three and I think folks are anticipating the powerful insights that you have with that. Why do we think business. Owners fall into that one and done trap, particularly small business owners. I think it's it's they they worry about getting to the next job, what's happening next, and they're not really looking at their business strategically and and saying, how can I only when only when all of a sudden those the phone's not ringing, Yeah, okay, and then they look at that possibility. But by then it's really you just it's a process. So the buyer goes to a journey, and there's a process associated with that. In the case of my client here with the remodeling company's it started when they did the first big job, but the clients never called them other than three or four years later when they wanted to do another big job. But all the little jobs, and by the way, a big job to that client was like, you know, a four hundred thousand dollar job and more. And but in the meantime they were getting fifty to seventy five thousand dollar jobs done by the competitor, which.

7:44 Revenue impact, real revenue impact. That's exactly exactly it's really real revenue impact, and so they were let So the competitor was doing that work and it was you know it. The Once the client discovered that, it changed the game for them. So the first major mistake is that business owners don't track their customer retention. There's a customer retention rate, and that sounds basic, but I can't tell you how many business owners I meet have no idea what percentage of their customers come back. And they might know their total sales, they might know their profit margins, but they don't know if the customers they served in the last year are still with them this year. And there's a simple way to calculate that retention rate. So I'm going to say it once and then and then just repeat it, maybe in a different way so that you understand it. But the simple way to calculate your retention rate, it should take the number of customers that you had at the start of the year.

8:51 How many customers did you did your service in the last year, subtract any new customers you gained during the year, and divide that by that starting number. And if so, if you started with one hundred customers, you gain twenty new ones during the year and ended up with eighty five total customers. Your retention rate was sixty five percent. That means you lost thirty five percent of your original customers. So let me walk that to you again, because I really think this is important. If you if you started with one hundred customers and you add twenty new customers, now you have a total of one hundred and twenty customers, but you ended up with eighty five. Okay, So when you do that subtraction of one twenty from the eighty five, you come up with thirty five. And because you started with one hundred, thirty five divided by one hundred is the thirty five percent of customers that you actually lost. Interesting, and this is where it gets really interesting because according to our research, just a five percent increase in customer retention can increase profits by twenty five to ninety five percent.

10:03 So think about that for a minute. Remarkable. So if you're currently keeping sixty five percent of your customers and you improve that to seventy you can nearly double your profits, not revenue, but profits, and so retaining customers and increasing their average sale has an incredible compound effect. The second major mistake is that business owners don't have a systematic way to stay in touch with customers. And let me share another story. An HVAC business who only contacted customers when when their annual service was due. Meanwhile, their competitors were sending monthly maintenance tips, dies anal preparation guides, and energy saving suggestions. So guess what happened when those customers needed emergency repairs or wanted to upgrade a system. Well, they called the comp editor who had been providing value all year long, and he fixed this. This HVAC company fixed this by implementing what he called the value Touch system.

11:13 Every month his customers received something valuable, not a sales pitch, but genuine, useful information, and he created a simple calendar. January was winter energy savings tips months, February was indoor air an indoor air quality month, March was a spring preparation checklist, April was the allergy season for HVAC maintenance, and so on. And his customer retention rate jump from sixty two to percent to eighty nine percent in just one year. But you know, here's what's really fascinating. His referral rate tripled. Why because he wasn't just keeping customers he was creating advocates other and these customers, even if they weren't buying something today, would tell others about it.

12:04 Exactly what the value add touch points and maintenance tips. That's right, really, that's right. That's really critical. And the third major mistake mistake, which is the biggest killer of them all, is we business owners don't look for additional ways to serve existing customers. This is where most business owners leave the most money on the table. In other words, you must continuously look for ways to your point shooky to add more value. And let me give you an example from my own experience running ski Town, USA when I was in the ski business. Most ski shops just sell equipment and do basic repairs. What we should have done.

12:45 We didn't do that. We just did what most ski shops did. We sold equipment and did basic repairs. But what we should have done is look at everything our customer needed throughout the year. And if we did that, we would have discovered that they needed off season storage, pre season tuning, mid season performance adjustments, end of season maintenance, and family ski planning services. And each of this would have created a new revenue stream. But more importantly, each touch point would have strengthened our relationship with the customer and we we wouldn't be just a regular ski shop anymore.

13:26 We would become their year round outdoor recreation partner. Now here's what's really powerful about this approach. When you serve existing customers in new ways, your marketing costs actually good out. Yeah, you don't need to be spending you know, you don't need to spend money convincing them to trust you. They already do, and so you don't need to overcome price objections. They already know your value. All you need to do is show them new ways that you can help. And I want to think about your business right now. Where when when was the last time you sat down and listed all the ways you could help your existing customers.

14:09 When was the last time you actually ask them what other challenges they face? I bet there are at least three new services that you could offer tomorrow to existing customers if you just started asking the right questions. And here's the kicker, your competitors are probably making these same three mistakes right now. Sure, they're chasing new customers going after that one to three percent while ignoring their existing customer base. They're missing the opportunity to engage and expand their services to their current customer base. So by doing this you get what I call the winning edge. Remarkable, Michael, Look, you struck a chord here.

14:53 We're getting quite a flurry of questions and comments. And do you have a couple of minutes for us to touch on some of this. Yeah, let's let's get after it. So this idea of a customer retention rate, how is that impacted based on selling products or services? Well, first of all, if you can retain if you sell to if you've start the year with one hundred customers and you pick up thirty new customers, and now at the end of the year you have one hundred and thirty customers, then you and then the products and services that you sell, you have just you have just multiplied your profit because you kept the existing customers. Everybody you bought last year bought again this year, and then you added to thirty customers. And so uh. And if you ask the right questions to these customers, you can you can get a better feel for what they need throughout the whole year. Near in terms of product offerings, terms of product To answer your question, in terms of product offerings, so that that communication with the customer is really really critical.

16:06 And Michael, let's pick up on that, right, So I think a few more comments relate to this idea of communication with the customers. So would you recommend something like a customer satisfaction survey? That's one element of the question, and then I'll get to the second element of the question. Yeah. There, Well, I think customer satisfaction surveys they're a starting point, okay, but for the most part, you don't get a lot of people don't have the time to really put any real thought into them. And you can make them multiple choice questions correct, which helps, but you don't really get the insight that you that you get from a You know, just if you have one hundred customers, calling ten of them will be incredible in terms of gaining valuable insight as to what they go through during a year when you're not servicing them. Interesting and you can help them.

17:05 Yeah, and would you frame the conversation that We're right, So you'd call up the customer and just ask like, hey, what's keeping you up at night? What does your year look like? Those kinds of like service health check questions that. Without without question. You can ask them the problems they're incurring, but you can also ask them like in the case of the renovation client, he asked them did they have any smaller jobs that they did during the year? Interesting and the answer was always yes, and he didn't service them. They went they went somewhere else. Yeah. So and you know, so the same thing could happen with the HVAC company. You know what others, what other types hvac, what h fact challenges do you have other than you know, having to install or a major job for equipment that you know, ran out of gas after ten years.

18:01 And then the second element on this, and Michael will absolutely take a next step after this is you hit a touchstone of inspiration where you talked about how marketing costs can go down. So a lot of folks are really intrigued by that. How does this really maybe give us a little bit more color Michael on how this actually helps marketing costs go down, because, as you know, a lot of small business owners complain about, you know, the rise and costs of marketing and advertising. Right. So the reason is is because because you're nurturing your existing database, you don't have to get as many new clients. So therefore your advertising costs can go down in terms of marketing to new clients because because you're getting so much business from your existing base that there's no need at the present capacity that you have. Now, if you go about and increased capacity, that's great because now you can handle more of those customers, more of those clients existing, and add even more client client customers, and in effect it reduces your average cost to acquire a customer. So it really has it really has this compound effect. Well, so what's really interesting is that when I share these insights with business owners, they often say things like, but Michael, I send my customers birthday cards, or they have a loyalty program, which is all great, Yeah,

19:32 but it's not enough. You know. I can tell you a story about a woman who owned a very successful hand salon and she sent birthday cards, had a point system, all the usual stuff, but she was still losing customers. And the reason is is because she was doing exactly what all the other salon owners in town were doing. No compelling offers, no strategic direction, no differentiation, no creativity, no real relationship building, and everybody else was sending birthday cards and had a point system. So she dug deeper into her customer base and she discovered that seventy percent of her clients were professional women aged thirty five to fifty five. And these weren't just people who needed haircuts.

20:16 These were busy professionals who viewed their appearance as part of their career success. And this thought process changed everything. She completely red designed her retention strategy. So instead of just sending the birthday cards, she created what she called the Professional Image Program. And here's would It included. Quarterly image consultation sessions, emergency touch up appointments with priority scheduling, executive styling workshops, professional headshot partnerships with local photographers, which is another strategy we have about strategic partnerships, mobile styling services for those important events. And her revenue per customer doubled in eight months. But here's what's really fascinating. Her customers started bringing their entire teams to the salon, So she went from serving individual professionals to becoming the go to salon for entire companies. So it's really really interesting.

21:21 But before I go into my next story, Chookey, I'd like to just take a quick ninety second break great, Hey their business owners. Let me ask you something. Are you tied of blending in with your competitors, frustrated with slow growth and slim margins. Well I've got news for you. Everything you've ever learned about growing your business is wrong. Don't worry. I'm here to let you in on a secret weapon, your position of market dominance. It's what sets you apart, makes you irreplaceable, and has customers lining up at your door. My name is Michael Barbarita from Next Step Co. I know what you're thinking. Sounds great, Michael, But how do I find my position of market dominance? Well, that's exactly why we've created our game changing impleitation program called Next Step to Market Dominance. In just ninety days, we'll guide you step by step to a position of market dominance by uncovering your unique strengths that competitors can't touch, by crafting a message that resonates deeply with your ideal customer, by building a strategy that turns you into the go to expert in your field. Now this is in theory.

22:32 These are battle tested strategies that have helped businesses like you as double, triple, and quadruple their revenue don't let another quarter go by struggling to standout. It's time to dominate your market. Period. Go to NEXTSTEPCFO dot net forward slash contact. Fill out the form and in the message section put the word dominate or call us at seven eighty one three two six three A two two. That's next step SEEFO dot net forward slash contact or call us at seven eighty one three two six three eight two two. So let me share another powerful strategy that we really talk about in business. It's called the next logical purchase system. Now, this is something that Amazon does famously, just brilliantly, but any business can implement it. And here's how it works. For every product to service you offer, Map out the next three things that your customer is likely to need, not what you want to sell them, but what they actually are going to need. And let me give you an example from a contractor. When someone gets their kitchen remodeled, what's the next logical purchase. Well, often it's a new dining room furniture, or window treatments and or outdoor kitchen or entertainment areas. Now, the contractor didn't sell any of these, but she partnered with businesses

24:02 that did, and she created what she called a home evolution program where she helped customers plan their home improvements over a three year period. Even if she wasn't doing all the work, she became their trusted advisor for all home improvements, and her average customer value went from thirty five thousand to over one hundred grand in in an eighteen month period, not because she was pushing sales, but because she was generally helping customers plan and execute their home improvement journey. And so this brings me to something really critical that most businesses completely miss. The difference between satisfaction and loyalty. You see, you see, you can have satisfied customers who never come back, and you can have satisfied customers who will still shop with your competitors. So satisfaction is really enough. I learned this lesson the hard way.

25:03 In my ski business, we had a ninety five percent satisfaction rate, but only seventy percent of the customers returned to the store to buy something else. Know what the problem was? We were measuring the wrong thing. We were asking customers if they were satisfied instead of what would make you absolutely certain to come back and buy something else, To see that two questions, How they're different, How they're different. Yeah, So when we started asking that second question, we discovered that our customers wanted something we had never considered. They wanted that ski guarantee where they would be able to ski the ski three times. If they didn't like it, they could return it for a brand new pair. And they wanted to know that if they bought equipment from us, that we would ensure they had a great ski season.

25:51 All they wanted was a great experience. They didn't want to, you know, put one over on the business owner and bring back equipment three hund fifty times, right, They. Just wanted the great season, the great experience. Michael, you struck a chord with that. So some folks are asking for you to repeat that question. So what's the way to pivot from the customer satisfaction question to the commitment? So what we then asked we used to ask, are you satisfied? Eh, that's meaningless. What we then asked is what would make you absolutely certain to come back and buy something else? Brilliant? You know, what is it what would make you absolutely certain? What is it that we can offer that would make you absolutely certain to come back?

26:37 And buy something else from us, because that's what you care about. Like I said, you know we had a ninety five percent satisfaction, right, but only seventy percent of the customers returning to the store. If there was that satisfied the ski every year. If they were that satisfied, how come they didn't come back. That's where satisfaction isn't enough. And a satisfied customer of yours can go to a competitor and body, it doesn't preclude them to do it. Yeah, they were satisfied, but they happen to go to a still still go to a competitor. So let me give you a formula that will help you. It's called the value first contact system. So every thirty days, provide something of value to your customers, not a sales pitch, just provide something of value. Then every ninety days, ask for feedback about their experience from what you provided them, and then every one hundred and eighty days review their needs again and suggest solutions, and then annually conduct a comprehensive review of their relationship with your business. This stuff takes there's no question this stuff takes time, but the value that it brings is just overwhelming. Because you're always communicating with your customer, and the key is to make every contact meaningful. Don't just send a newsletter that nobody reads.

28:05 Send them something that makes your customers think, wow, they really understand my needs. So the best part of that is the zero additional marketing cosse. You could do it with a telephone and email spot on. So Michael again struck another nerve. I mean this is I think this particular episode might break some records. Michael, just with the feedback here, So folks are asking for you to just repeat those steps again the thirty. So it's called the value first contact system. So every thirty days you provide something of value to your customers, and then every ninety days you ask for feedback about their experience and about maybe some of the value that you provided in that thirty day. In the thirty day intervals, then every one hundred and eighty days you got to review their needs and suggest any solutions. Okay, so you're back at them, and this could be through email or you know, it's better, it's better to contact a few customers.

29:07 I know you don't have the time to contact all of them, but just to get a feedback. Believe it when you get feedback from just a few customers that represents a lot of customers, that's true, represent yes, and then annually conduct a comprehensive review of their relationship with your business. In other words, ask the question, did you shop somewhere else? And why? It's okay, it's okay if they did, and give it permission to tell and tell you that it's okay to say that they they shop somewhere else, but you'd love to know why. And that is very meaningful contact because no one does that. No one addresses the elephants in the rooms, in the various rooms spat on.

29:49 And what's remarkable about this too is it doesn't require that much time commitments given the ROI, right, so the comparative ROI. To get these kinds of ins it's, Michael, seems very well worth. It, definitely. Oh god, yeah, with your existing customer base. It's incredible how you can multiply your business just with your existing base. Exactly. So let me share something powerful that once again I could have done in my retail business and I didn't do. And I'm kicking myself, but so when I owned Skitown USA, we should have implemented some type of continuous value system.

30:30 So instead of just selling ski equipment and saying goodbye until next season, we should have created multiple touch points throughout the year. And let me break this down because it's a real game changer. Most seasonal businesses think they can make only make money during their peak season. Well that's completely wrong. The way I should have looked at our customers is that they didn't stop being skiers just because there wasn't snow on the ground. And let me show you exactly how that. What we should have done to turn a seasonal business into a year round profit center. We should have mapped out the skiers' annual journey and here's what that would look like. So March and April, which is near the end of the season, we would offer free equipment inspection, clinics, summer storage program, family ski planning sessions for the next season. Then in May and June, which is normally the off season, but you can still ski at Killington in Vermont at times during those months, believe it or not, skate fitness workshops, equipment maintenance workshops, and early bird fitting appointments, ski fitting appointments and boot fitting appointments. And then July and August, the preseason would build up, and the preseason equipment clinics would take place.

31:54 Free boot fitting evaluations because everybody complains how their boots aren't, technical gear workshops, and a family growing needs assessment, and then its September and October early snow preparation clinics, free ski tuning demonstration, season kickoff events, and equipment update assessments. And here's what's fascinating. If we did a program like this, we would have developed real relationships with our customers. My god, the attitude we had was when the season was over, everyone thought about summer activities. But as I learned later, that is not necessarily true. And let me give you a specific example of how this would work. So let's say we had a customer and his name is Tom, who bought his family ski equipment with us. In the old model, we would never see Tom again until something broke or his kids outgrew their equipment. But with a continuous value system, here's what would have happened. In April, Tom brought in the family equipment for an end of season of valuation. We identified that his daughter would need new boots next season to do to growth and instead of trying to sell him boots. Right then, we added this to her profile and scheduled a fitting session for her in September. Then in June, Tom attended our ski fitness workshop to get in shape for skiing. He brought two friends who actually both became customers. He wouldn't sell anything.

33:27 We wouldn't sell anything at this workshop, just teaching the proper conditioning for skiing, but those relationships would likely turn into sales later on. Then in August, we contacted Tom about his daughter's upcoming boot fitting, and during that conversation we learned that his son had joined the high school's ski team, and this led to a completely different equipment discussion. In October, the whole family came into our preseason tune up clinic. We noticed Tom skis was showing where and suggested he demo some new ones during the upcoming set. So if you can see what happened here, we would have created multiple touch points, each delivering incredible value, which naturally led to additional sales opportunities. And we wouldn't be pushing products in those interim touch points, but we would be solving their problems and adding value throughout the year.

34:22 Yeah, Michael react to this comment really helpful. So it seems like and then this is from some business owners, and I'll sort of kind of synthesize what they're saying here. It seems like a prerequisite for all of this is having a good customer database system, so some kind of a CRM or a tool that helps you capture this kind of profile information for customers. What's your reaction to that. Right, Well, it's amazing what we did back back in the eighties, where you know, the technology wasn't as good as it was now. We used to keep all of their information in a database and there was no such thing as a CRM. I guess we made up our own, if you would. But but having a CRM that is, you know, like a sales force and there are a number of CRMs that you could that you could acquire, but having that CRM and really keeping it updated and having somebody do that, yeah, is critical to this process because in that example I just gave you, we had to have a footnote that Tom's daughter needed a boot fitting in.

35:41 September exactly, and then some kind of a way to get notified once September rolls around, or at least someone to go in and check and see what are the upcoming action items? Right right right? Yeah, so very helpful, Michael, thank you. So here's where those business owners get it wrong because they try to turn every interaction into a sales opportunity. That's a big mistake. We had a strict rule seventy percent of all interactions had to be pure value add with no selling at all. And let me share another powerful strategy that we should have done. Once again, I have all these post mortems. Instead of just selling someone's skis, we should have created a three year equipment plan. We would show the customer how their equipment needs would change as their skills improved. We just assumed that once their skills improved had come back. That wasn't the case. Some did, but for the most part, what we would have really developed this particular strategy if we gave them an equipment plan when they bought their equipment, and then kept in touch with them about where they probably stood with that equipment plan and asked them questions along the way, and we would show the customer how their equipment needs would change as their skills improved. And this would have been This would have done three things. It would have positioned us as long term advices, not just sales, weasels. It

37:16 would have given customers a clear upgrade path, and it would have helped them budget for future purchases. And the potential of this program would have would compound the lifetime value of a customer, which is so valuable. But more importantly, it would have turned our customers into our best marketers because they would have started bringing their friends to our events even in the off season. And maybe even bragging about their skills. Yeah right, right in our way that we showed how their skills could progress as skiers. This is something that I really really missed the mark on. And then you know, some of you are probably saying, but Michael, I'm not in the ski business, and how does this apply to me. Well, that's a fair question. Let me show you how the same system worked for a completely different business.

38:12 Please. Yeah. So there was this tax accounting firm talk about a seasonal business right in from tax So everyone thinks accounts only matter during the tax season, right, Well, the same continuous value system would apply. We are first quarter, which is essentially the start of the tax season. Tax preparation services would ensue current year tax planning, documentation organization systems for the customers of the clients because they're always very poor at documenting what needs to what, you know, what they can get tax deductions for, and so forth. The second quarter would be media tax reviews, business structure evaluations, cash flow optimization workshops for these individuals. The third quarter would be long term tax planning strategies, business succession planning if they also owned a business, and investment tax impact analysis on their investments. The fourth quarter would be year end tax planning, next year's preparation strategies, and family tax situations that come up during the year. So his revenue became The accountants who did this, their revenue became more consistent during the year, and their client retention rate from seventy one percent to ninety four percent. Why because he transformed from a tax preparer into a year round tax advisor.

39:40 So happened with any seasonal seasonal business. So here's that's really good insight. How did he set the expectations with clients on that? So is this something you do on the front end? So once you're. Onboarding and new client, you lay out, hey, here's your annual service plan. How does that happen. That's right. It's part of this sales process, okay, where they're actually demonstrating that they're not just a tax prepairer, that they're a year round tax advisor. Because here's how our their process works. You know, if I'm the tax accountant, well, here's how my process works. In the first quarter, we do this, in the second quarter, we do that, in the third quarter we do this, and in the fourth quarter you do we do that. Now, if you do this all on a timely basis, when you prepare and meaning the customer submits their information on a timely basis, this works famously, and they get the and they get all of their questions answered, and they get the maximum legal amount of refund or reduction of income tax. Works awesome.

40:52 It's so strategic, Michael, really get insight. So the key to making this work in any business is just understand that your customers don't stop needing help just because they're not actively buying. They're always in some stage of their journey with you on your product or service. Your job is to map out that journey and add value at each stage. So before I talk about it as a strategy, we're going to take a ninety second break. Great, Hey their business owners. Let me ask you something. Are you tied of blending in with your competitors, frustrated with slow growth and slim margins? Well, I've got news for you.

41:33 Everything you've ever learned about growing your business is wrong. But don't worry. I'm here to let you in on a secret weapon, your position of market dominance. It's what sets you apart, makes you irreplaceable, and has customers lining up at your door. My name is Michael Barbarita from NeXTSTEP CFO. I know what you're thinking. Sounds great, Michael, But how do I find my position of market dominance. That's exactly why we've created our game changing implementation program called Next Step to Market Dominance. In just ninety days, we'll guide you step by step to a position of market dominance by uncovering your unique strengths that competitors can't touch.

42:14 By crafting a message that resonates deeply with your ideal customer, by building a strategy that turns you into the go to expert in your field. Now this is in theory. These are battle tested strategies that have helped businesses like you as Double Triple and quadruple their revenue. Don't let another quarter go by struggling to standout. It's time to dominate your market period. Go to NEXTSTEPCFO dot net forward slash contact. Fill out the form and in the message section put the word dominate or call us at seven eight one three two six three A two two. That's next STEPCFO dot net forward slash contact or call us at seven eight one three two six three A two two.

43:01 So tricky. Let me share you something that's powerful that most business owners never think about. And you know, we've talked mostly about retention. But let's focus now on increasing the frequency of sale and I'll be able to go through I think at least one example of this as time permits. So getting your customers to buy more often is here is really another another key, And I'm going to show you a strategy that your competition isn't using. There was his home service business, specifically pressure washing, and like most of his competitors, he'd clean a customer's house and then hope they'd call him again next to the next year, and his average customer actually bought once every eighteen months. But he completely changed his business model with what he called the service stacking system. And here's what he discovered that his customers didn't just need their houses pressure wash. They needed deck cleaning and ceiling, fence maintenance, driveway cleaning, gutter cleaning and window washing, and roof moss treatment.

44:11 So instead of selling these as separate services, he created what he called home care packages. And here's where it got interesting. He mapped out every service a home might need throughout the year and created a schedule. For example, in the spring, house wash and deck preparation, early summer, deck ceiling and fence maintenance, late summer window cleaning and gutter check, fall driveway cleaning and gutter clearing, and then in the winter the roof moss treatment. Now, instead of one service every eighteen months, his customers were buying four to five services a year, and his revenue pirk customer went from three hundred and seventy five dollars annually to twenty two hundred. And here's what's really fascinating. His customers loved it because they didn't have to think about home maintenance anymore. He turned a reactive service into a proactive solution. Remarkable, Twoky, it's time for.

45:14 Compliments, yes, so let's get into business compliments and Michael, there are five business owners that we want to spotlight again. These are individuals coast to coast even internationally that are really making an impact. The first spotlight is Sunga in Queze Lambas and he is a visionary investor and attorney and this confluence of competence that SunGO has has allowed him to really drive progress across a number of different business initiatives. In fact, he's the founder and CEO of zim Rothschild and he and his team at zim ross Child they've created a brand that stands for more than just fashion. The brand is rooted in empowering who they call unicorns, and these are individuals and stakeholders that live boldly, break boundaries and inspire change, and they really provide a platform for these unicorns to really excel. You can check out more about Songa at Zimrothschild dot com. Also find out about more of his business ventures at Stratford Venturepartners dot com. The second business owner the spotlight is Ray Demeio.

46:25 He is the owner and operator of Sunshine Cleaning Systems and he's been doing this work since two thousand and seven. And Michael, you and I have a great admiration for Ray's business acumen and just his technical expertise. Pfessional carpet, furniture and toile maintenance company, provider of services to the highest level of excellence. And I've got to say this about Ray, Michael, and I think we'll stretch a little bit of time here. So Ray places as much value on the health of a family's home as he does the cleanliness of that home just.

47:08 Really really impactful. So he goes above and beyond. And I love his website. So his website is let the Sunshine in dot net. Let the sunshine in dot net. So Ray, continue to bring sunshine to your clients and stakeholders. The third business owner is Johnny Toonage. He's a co founder of Black Tech Saturdays. Johnny Toonage and team have this vision to empower block technology communities nationwide to really help to close the racial wealth gap through tech focused initiatives while strategically driving economic growth and fostering diversity within the industry to really just help everyone access a level of prosperity. You can check out more about Johnny and team at black Tech Saturdays dot com. Fourth Matthew de Primo, so for career Bridge It Solutions. They're a specialized staffing company.

48:05 They place veterans, women, international professionals, and people of color in STEM career paths and tracks. So that's science, technology and beyond, so really really impactful. And then the last but not Lisa Catherine Yoda Bayar with one Application dot me and Katherine and team. You can check them out it one Application dot me. They are mission oriented and here's our mission to make that application process as easy as possible to connect people in businesses by saving time and resources. So they effectively provide a database where all of your information is a job hunter is stored. So, Michael, look, these are incredible individuals doing incredible work. It's always an honor to spotlight these business owners. And I know a lot of this work is also related to our book interview Well.

49:01 Excellent, Thank you, Chokey. And so before we wrapped up today's show, let me give you three action items that you can implement immediately. Number one, calculate your customer retention rate. If you don't measure it, you can you can't improve it. If you don't measure it, can't improve it. Create a value delivery calendar for the next twelve months for your customers, and then three review your customer database for additional service opportunities. And so remember everything you everything you've learned about growing your business might be wrong, but this statement is absolutely right. Your existing customers are your biggest opportunity for growth. Yes. To get a copy of the book Powerful Business Strategy, simply go to our website www dot NEXTSTEPCFO dot net.

49:46 It's totally complementary. And until next Monday at noon Eastern time for Chucky Obio. My name is Michael Barberita. And remember, don't keep doing what your competition is doing. You have been to Powerful Business Strategies finding out that everything you ever learned about growing your business is wrong. Tune in next week and every week at noon Eastern time on W four CY Radio with your host Michael Barbarita of NeXTSTEP CFO and moderator chugy Ovio