This time of year we hear a lot from our customers about their focus on renewing accounts. This focus takes different forms based on where the client is vis-à-vis their annual revenue goals (for simplicity, let’s assume that all, not most, fiscal years line up with the calendar).

For those who are fortunate, and are exceeding their goals, this focus is on how to maximize relationships, and use renewals to take things to the next levels. In fact some VP’s we speak with are closely looking at their clients and actively “firing” their least productive accounts. This could be based on margins, high demand on resources and maintenance and other reasons, all with a view of creating capacity to help their sales reps focus on those prospects and clients that will deliver mutual benefit to the company and the reps’ success.

For others the reality is very different, renewal of key accounts is a double whammy. Some, like one account we encountered, were looking good towards the end of Q3. Based on the mid-September forecast, they would be at about 106% of goal at the end of September. They got there by getting some, but not many, new accounts, whiel growing some existing ones. But over the years they fell into a pattern of assuming that a large percentage of renewals happen in the last six weeks of the year. They had come to think of the pattern of as their sales process. Their culture condoned ignoring existing accounts till October, when they would gear up for the six week “renewal run” (their words, not ours).

September 27th the bomb hit, a significant account gave their cancellation notice in order to avoid the 90 day evergreen clause in the contract. They closed the quarter at 97%. This wasn’t just because of the one account, but it had an impact on morale beyond the one account. Doubts and insecurities intensified as the pressure to “close” accounts grew.

A familiar battle cry was heard from the managers: “you need to prospect more”. But consider that one study showed that “47% of executives say the sales teams allow leads to fall through the cracks”. The cancellation had a broader impact than just that one account, significant as it was. Based on history, most of the accounts that did renew during the “renewal run”, usually did not increase their contract, a few did, while others simply cancelled; the end result was usually a 93% renewal rate.

Their close ratio for new accounts was generally average, a problem many companies face, “53% of executives say their sales forces perform worse than or only as well as their industry peers”. All tolled, with a weak pipeline and time running out, looks like another “almost” year.

In many ways this is better than the other whammy, those companies that are at say 85% of goal going into November, and then fail to renew some of their accounts, lost! There are ways to avoid this cycle, but it takes effort and discipline many sales organizations are not willing to apply.

We have all heard sales people tell prospect “our success is based on relationships, for us the hard work begins after you sign”, and at the time they are saying they are not intentionally lying, they just don’t follow through properly.

While companies regularly send welcoming notes or letters to new clients, few sales people do. And while today sending an e-mail is easy, many don’t even do that. To truly stand out we recommend a hand written note acknowledging their decision and trust in you; that personal touch communicates so much.

Often sales people forget that the person who bought their offering is often not the end user, yet they continue to focus solely on that one person, casting the end user to customer service, without a proper hand off. While many don’t mean to, they end up taking the end users for granted, failing to appreciate the influence they will have at the time of renewal. A small amount of effort at this stage could lead to a different experience for those users.

Many companies have implemented a formal account reviews with their clients. Some do a great job, using the opportunity to have a frank and open discussion with “all” the client, not just the initial buyer. They are open to hearing clients’ issues, getting feedback that would make the user experience more satisfactory, and as a result improve their product for all their customers. These meetings are an opportunity to share with clients upcoming product initiatives and upgrades, again getting feedback as valuable as any research they may buy.

But there still too many sales organizations that use these meetings to sell, sell, sell, dumping dumping, dumping; data about usage with no context of value or satisfaction; dumping specs about new feature, and well, in a word, dumping. Looking at the event as an obligatory chore to meet some KPI, rather than an opportunity to really strengthen their relationship with their clients.

Use of the companies CRM can not only facilitate the above, but make it easy for a rep to truly stay on top of an account. Using entries captured by other parts of the company, customer service, parts, tech support, etc., as reason to reach out to their clients. These can be very simple things, but will allow you to confirm their satisfaction and needs, while showing them the same "love" they did during the buying process.

There are other things that come in to play, but at the end, renewal is selling. It involves a process, it has a start, an information gather phase, presenting, and winning the business. Just as you can’t show up and get the sale, you can’t just show up an get the renewal. You have to set objectives, focus on the clients objective and put in the work.

To learn more about selling and renewing better, and about Objective Based Selling, contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , is a Principal with Renbor Sales Solutions Inc., with over 20 years of sales experience, from telemarketing to leading a global sales team focused on providing top end solutions. He worked with and helped to improve performance for sales professionals in a wide variety of fields, from financial services to on-line B2B specialists.

Renbor Sales Solutions provides a total approach to managing sales and prospecting activity; building profitable relationships. Helping organizations sell better by effecting measurable improvements in the most critical aspects of the sales process. Programs focus on: Real Prospects – Real Sales – Real Measurable Results.

For more information on helping your team sell better, write to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , visit www.sellbetter.ca or call 416 671-3555.