Are you following up your customers, are you doing it on a regular basis?

Do you want to keep the sale, prevent cancellation and gain referrals?

These may seem like rhetorical questions but time and time again I have seen sales staff that think once the money has exchanged hands then that's the end of the story.

Not so, at least not if you want satisfied customers, actually strike that you do not want merely "satisfied" customers you want customers that positively rave and will extol the virtues of your business.

Yes that can happen it's called superior customer service and in this day and age it's not hard to deliver, considering that most businesses from the corner deli onwards mediocrity is the order of the day, staff merely putting in the hours till it's time to go home, for them it's a job, and that shows.

The trouble is it's costing YOU money.

A welcome to (the gym/your Yoga/PT/martial arts etc etc ) is the starting point, followed up a week later with a "courtesy call" to see how they are enjoying the facilities/services etc.

You could include a small gift, I put a freddo frog in my welcome letters, we have also included a "fitness CD" basically a library of health and wellness orientated material relevant to whatever type of business you have, in fact anything to say Thank You"

Regular follow ups, in the form of a letter, phone call, email etc that lets your member/client know about the latest things happening at your business, perhaps a new class, special offers to friends or relatives of the member, in fact anything that actively involves the person in your business will mean more referrals, more leads, and a greater retention rate.

And its not hard to set up a system that can make that happen, a system that makes it easier for you to KEEP an client rather than spending money on looking for a new one!