GPI 241 – Try to sell to old customers again regardless why they left; things change so call them.

Identify all of the customers you used to sell to over the past ten years, who for a number of reasons subsequently disappeared. Which of those lost customers have grown in size and are well worth pursuing again? These companies bought from you once and regardless of the reason(s) they gave for leaving, you both are now different. You need to sell to them.

You know old customers so go after their business. They are a known quantity regardless of how difficult they were at the time. Your firm was probably difficult to deal with also. Try to begin wooing them again and tell them your firm has grown and is ready to do a good job for them. Here are a few reasons why you should go after this old lost account regardless of fault. Tell them these reasons and be humble while doing it.

Reasons for pursuing lost accounts:

People/ players change over time. The original buyer is most likely gone, or motivated differently now. Even if he is still present, he is wiser and may have different managers or bosses. If you bite your lip, act humble and be courteous, he may listen to you and give you another shot. Send your best salesperson to him and convince him that he needs your company now.
You have matured and you are better now. Your firm is better, larger, more disciplined, better machined, better capitalized, better managed, more adept at difficult projects, more knowledgeable about the industry and everything else that growing companies learn along their growth path. You are not the firm the buyer dealt with in the past. You are better and easier to work with; he should try you at least once and you will see to it personally that the transition back goes well for him.
You know their system. The buyer’s firm already bought from you in the past but now needs to try you out again since the split. Your firm is different and a lot better. The management groups on both sides are most likely far different than five years ago (you insert the number of years). You have people on board who already know their system, which will make new business go more smoothly this time.

They will get a body assigned to them 24/7. You have assigned a person (customer service / sales / production coordinator) with a cell phone available to the buyer 24/7 to resolve all issues as quickly as possible.

The buyer has a dedicated person assigned to his account.
You do not want him to have to wait on anyone at our company so you have a dedicated line for him if he wants it, bypassing the switchboard.
The assigned inside rep has the buyer’s undivided attention and has been instructed to push the buyer’s work through the plant at all costs.
The buyer is going to get a 100% effort from your inside guy in order to get another shot at their business. — Tell the buyer that the person assigned to him is being paid based upon the buyer’s satisfaction.
Your firm is ready.
You just need a purchase order from the buyer to start again.

Brand new unknown accounts are very expensive. It costs too much to throw away an opportunity so work on this one. An old account is always still a possibility because people change and circumstances do too. You do not know new companies and it takes forever to get their attention and learn their system. You already know this company, and know they have the money to pay you. Many times in life you do not have to reinvent the wheel. This is one of them. Go after this old account.
Pay hefty bonuses to your great sales people who bring these accounts home the second time. Do this on every account that has been lost for over five years. All of those accounts that old have dramatically changed. The players most likely are different and your firm has now improved. It is well worth the effort to get back into their offices and tell them what you have to offer. Make sure you assign the pursuit of these accounts to your best sales people and pay hefty bonuses to those who win the accounts the second time.