I recently read a great article in BusinessWeek (Retaining Customers Through the Downturn) at http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/feb2009/ca20090227_011221.htm that points to the fact that the sales team can actually deliver customer retention at a rate greater than the product or service an organization delivers.  The Corporate Executive Board’s Sales and Marketing Practice surveyed 5,000 members to find out why they would keep buying from suppliers, buy more over time, and become loyal advocates.  The results pointed to the difference being the sales team and their approach.
I’ve found a very similar experience in working with my clients - helping them build loyalty and accelerating account expansion through a better sales approach.  Working with sales teams, we’ve found that careful planning and focus on the customers’ key issues sets the stage for engaging dialogue and discussion at the appropriate business level.  The research identified that suppliers who listen to the customer and can teach them something new achieve greater results.  We’ve worked with hundreds of clients in executive selling and advisory situations, and we’ve found that when we establish a dialogue-driven, business-level discussion, customers buy more, buy more often, and are more loyal than those in a control group.  They also found that suppliers who focus exclusively on the corner office find that without a strong network of supporters, the supplier will not only fail to build loyalty, but may lose a big deal altogether.    All the more reason to link the executive team to the sales team for account-based selling. We call it the Executive Sponsor Program - Accelerating sales by leveraging executives and a team selling environment.