MOST Analysis

Mission Statement

It is crucial that the C-Suite fully commits to understanding and implementing a strong client retention process. This process has a direct impact on increasing sales, retaining revenue, and growing from within. By committing to client retention, a company can significantly reduce the need to cut costs. Setting clear goals and establishing baselines is the first step in implementing a successful client retention process. Once goals have been set, it is important to review and understand the key principles of a proven client retention process, such as the Clients for Life® client retention process. Assessing your business both internally and externally is essential in understanding where your company stands in terms of client retention. Conducting a Capabilities Assessment and engaging in objective conversations with key clients will provide valuable insights. A FreshEyes® Review report will help identify areas for improvement. Creating a strong client retention strategy is a task that only leadership can undertake. By focusing on concepts such as Right Clients/Right Terms®, Lessons Learned, Warning Signs, and the Client Journey, a solid strategy can be developed. The final step is to execute the client retention process. This involves setting clear expectations, utilizing the Web of Influence, and delivering for clients today while also innovating for the future. By following these key concepts, a company can effectively retain and grow its client base. Overall, commitment from the C-Suite is essential in implementing a successful client retention process that will benefit the company in the long run. By following the key principles and steps outlined, a company can create a strong foundation for growth and success.

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Objectives

01. Evaluate Impact: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
02. Current State: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
03. The Assess Principle: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
04. Assessment Process: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
05. Understanding the Create Principle: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
06. Customizing the Client Experience: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
07. The Execute Principle: Expectations: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. 1 Month
08. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
09. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month

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Strategies

01. Evaluate Impact: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
02. Current State: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
03. The Assess Principle: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
04. Assessment Process: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
05. Understanding the Create Principle: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
06. Customizing the Client Experience: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
07. The Execute Principle: Expectations: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
08. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
09. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.

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Tasks

01. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Evaluate Impact.
02. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Current State.
03. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze The Assess Principle.
04. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Assessment Process.
05. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Understanding the Create Principle.
06. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Customizing the Client Experience.
07. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze The Execute Principle: Expectations.
08. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle.
09. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow.
10. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities.

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Introduction

In the past, client retention was often treated as an afterthought, a secondary concern that didn’t receive the strategic attention it deserved. Companies largely operated on the assumption that customer churn was an inevitable part of doing business, a natural byproduct of competition, changing markets, and customer preferences. As a result, many organizations focused primarily on the pursuit of growth through new customer acquisition and market expansion. The loss of a client was viewed as unfortunate but not critical, especially when there was always another potential customer waiting in the wings.

At the heart of this attitude was the idea that revenue growth was synonymous with acquiring new business. The traditional business model centered on the idea that as long as the sales team was closing new deals, the company was doing well. And this perspective, while understandable, led to some fairly significant oversights when it came to the value of maintaining and nurturing existing client relationships.

The CEO and the C-Suite’s Role

Historically, the C-suite—especially CEOs—largely overlooked client retention as part of their core responsibilities. This was primarily because client retention was perceived as something relegated to the customer service or account management teams. Leadership focused on growth, which was typically measured by the number of new customers or markets entered, rather than by how long they could retain the existing ones. Expanding markets, products, or customer segments was seen as more glamorous and rewarding than the less visible, less celebrated work of keeping current customers happy and engaged.

Leaders in many organizations would prioritize revenue growth and expansion initiatives over client retention. For many years, boardroom discussions revolved around questions like, “How do we enter new markets?” or “What new products can we develop to drive sales?” Rarely was the conversation centered on how the company could improve its relationships with its existing customers or prevent customer churn. This lack of focus on retention inevitably led to losses that many companies failed to quantify accurately.

Client Retention as an Afterthought

It’s important to understand that, historically, companies often had the mindset that losing a client was just part of the cost of doing business. The general thinking was that new customers would eventually replace any lost business. In fact, this assumption was baked into many business models, and it rarely received much scrutiny. Retention strategies were rarely formalized or prioritized. Instead, companies would often fall back on customer satisfaction surveys as a proxy for customer loyalty.

Customer satisfaction, however, did not directly equate to customer retention. Satisfaction surveys might indicate that a customer was happy at a particular moment in time, but they failed to account for a deeper, long-term commitment to the brand or the likelihood of continued business. Businesses frequently conflated these two concepts, falsely assuming that a satisfied customer would automatically remain a loyal one.

Moreover, retention efforts were often ad hoc, reactionary, and driven by relationships rather than strategy. Account managers and customer service representatives were charged with “managing” accounts, but rarely was there a formalized approach that sought to proactively address the long-term needs and desires of customers. It was about solving problems when they arose, rather than preventing them in the first place.

Technology and Data

The early tools for managing customer relationships were rudimentary compared to today’s standards. Basic Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems allowed companies to track customer interactions and store information, but these systems often provided little in the way of actionable insights or predictive analytics that could be used to prevent customer churn. Instead, they operated more as digital Rolodexes, helping businesses keep track of names, contact information, and basic interaction histories.

These early CRM systems were often regarded as more of an operational tool than a strategic one, and they were rarely utilized to their full potential. Information silos within organizations prevented data from being shared across departments, meaning that important customer information often failed to make its way to decision-makers who could act on it. As a result, companies were often blindsided when a major client decided to leave, even though the warning signs were present in the data all along.

The Focus on Expansion and Sales

The prevailing wisdom in the past was that growth came from expansion—either through entering new markets, developing new products, or acquiring new customers. Leadership often set ambitious sales targets, sometimes to the detriment of the company’s long-term stability. When faced with challenging revenue goals, the tendency was to focus on sales at all costs, even if the goals themselves were unrealistic.

This intense focus on new sales often led to an unsustainable pressure on sales teams. In many cases, this pressure created a “burnout culture,” where employees were pushed to meet unattainable targets. Motivation suffered, and high turnover rates among sales teams became common. This not only affected the morale and well-being of employees but also had a negative impact on the company’s ability to maintain strong, lasting client relationships.

Stretch goals were considered essential for driving performance, and while they were often necessary for pushing companies to achieve ambitious targets, they could also create a zero-sum game. If new sales weren’t achieved, the fallback plan was typically cost-cutting, which further strained the company’s internal resources and its ability to serve its existing customers.

The CEO’s Book of the Year Mentality

Another interesting phenomenon that impacted client retention in the past was the “CEO’s book of the year” mentality. In many companies, CEOs would read a popular business book and then champion its ideas across the organization, often expecting the entire workforce to adopt the book’s strategies and concepts as the guiding principles for that year. While this approach might generate enthusiasm in the short term, it rarely resulted in long-lasting cultural change.

The issue with this approach was that it was often seen as a fad. Each year brought a new book, and with it, a new set of priorities. Employees quickly realized that these initiatives were fleeting, and the organization never truly embedded any lasting changes in its culture. Client retention strategies often suffered as a result, as they were typically seen as the latest “flavor of the month” rather than a sustained, long-term priority.

The past attitudes toward client retention, marked by short-term thinking and a focus on expansion, offer valuable lessons for today’s businesses. Companies have begun to recognize that retaining customers is just as important—if not more so—than acquiring new ones. The costs associated with attracting new customers are significantly higher than the costs of keeping existing ones happy, and the lifetime value of a retained customer far exceeds the value of a one-time sale. No longer can we celebrate wins in the boardroom and gossip, complain and even mourn the loss around water cooler. It does not need to be this way.

Client retention in the Business-to-Business (B2B) marketplace is currently at a crossroads. Traditionally, client retention has not been the most significant focus for many companies in this sector, overshadowed by other priorities such as acquiring new clients or improving operational efficiencies. However, in recent years, there has been a notable shift. More companies are starting to understand the importance of client retention as a critical driver of long-term profitability and business success. That said, many still struggle to implement a fully realized and effective strategy that addresses the nuances of B2B client relationships.

The Evolution of Client Retention in B2B

In the early 2000s, it was uncommon to find positions like Chief Client Officer (CCO) or Chief Experience Officer (CXO) in most companies, let alone a dedicated client retention strategy. Businesses were more focused on transactional engagements and relied heavily on acquiring new clients. The assumption was that as long as the service or product was of high quality and priced competitively, client retention would take care of itself.

Fast forward to 2019, and the situation has changed dramatically. Today, only around 10% of companies lack either a CXO or CCO, a significant drop from 35% in 2017. This shows that leadership in the B2B space is increasingly aware of the importance of client retention, even though the conversation is still evolving. Direct-to-Consumer (DtoC) businesses have long been ahead in recognizing and acting on the need for retention strategies, largely because of their reliance on repeat transactions and customer loyalty programs. B2B is catching up but remains behind in many ways.

While the attention is growing, there remains a gap between words and actions. Many executives acknowledge the importance of client retention but fail to follow through with the necessary structural changes or strategic investments. The key issue in the B2B space is that many companies are still borrowing tactics from the retail or B2C playbook, which are not suited for the complexities of B2B relationships. This lack of a proven, customized approach for B2B retention has led to fragmented efforts and a general misunderstanding of what it takes to build long-term, sustainable client partnerships.

One of the fundamental differences between B2B and B2C retention is the complexity of decision-making. In a B2B environment, client relationships often involve multiple stakeholders, longer sales cycles, and highly customized solutions. Retaining a client is not simply a matter of offering discounts or loyalty incentives, as in B2C. Instead, it requires a strategic approach that includes proactive engagement, continuous value delivery, and the ability to anticipate and solve client challenges before they escalate. Companies that fail to recognize this difference often struggle to develop effective retention strategies, leading to inconsistent client experiences and preventable churn.

Another challenge in B2B retention is that many organizations still prioritize new client acquisition over retention, despite data showing that retaining an existing client is significantly more cost-effective than acquiring a new one. The shift toward prioritizing retention requires a change in mindset at the executive level. It means investing in dedicated client success teams, developing clear retention metrics, and ensuring that client experience is treated as a long-term growth strategy rather than an afterthought. Companies that successfully integrate retention into their core business strategies are seeing measurable improvements in client satisfaction, contract renewals, and overall revenue stability.

As more B2B companies recognize the value of retention, the next step will be moving from fragmented, reactive efforts to a structured, data-driven approach. Those who make the shift early will not only improve client loyalty but also gain a significant competitive advantage in their industries.

Client Complexity and Relationship Depth

Unlike in B2C environments, where companies may serve thousands or even millions of consumers, B2B relationships are typically much fewer but far more intricate. Each client is significant and losing just one or two key clients can have a substantial impact on a company’s bottom line. Therefore, the stakes in B2B retention are much higher, and the strategies required must reflect this.

In B2B, companies are not just vendors—they must be viewed as indispensable partners by their clients. This deep relationship-building often goes beyond offering a superior product or service. It requires a thorough understanding of each client’s unique needs, challenges, and expectations. Companies must position themselves as partners who can help their clients grow and succeed, not just meet their immediate needs.

However, this deeper relationship comes with its own set of challenges. It requires constant communication, collaboration, and customization. Generic, one-size-fits-all approaches, like the ones often used in B2C markets, are ineffective here. B2B companies must develop customized retention strategies tailored to each client. This means going beyond metrics like Net Promoter Scores (NPS) or customer satisfaction surveys. While these tools are useful in gauging overall sentiment, they do not provide the granular insights needed to understand the factors that influence retention in a B2B context.

Lack of Proven Processes

Another significant challenge in the B2B retention landscape is the lack of established, proven processes. In many cases, businesses are adopting retention tactics from the B2C world, such as loyalty programs or customer satisfaction surveys, which are not as effective in a B2B environment. While there has been some progress—such as the implementation of Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) or more advanced Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems—the fact remains that many companies are still in the early stages of developing a comprehensive client retention process.

Today, there’s a lot of talk about retention, but action is still somewhat limited. While positions like CXOs or CCOs are more common, they often lack the authority or resources to implement sweeping changes. There’s also a misconception that simply having a retention-focused executive or a CRM system in place is enough to solve the problem. What’s missing is a fully integrated, company-wide approach that involves all levels of the organization, from the front lines to the executive suite.

Retention must be embedded into every client interaction, from onboarding to contract renewal. Many companies focus on addressing retention issues only when a client signals dissatisfaction, rather than proactively identifying risks and strengthening relationships before problems arise. A true client retention strategy requires cross-functional alignment, where sales, operations, and customer success teams work together to continuously deliver value. Without this coordinated effort, businesses risk falling into a cycle of reactive problem-solving rather than building long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships that drive sustained growth.

Customization and Personalization

Client retention in the B2B space requires a much more formalized, strategic, and personalized approach than in B2C. Each client is unique, with its own set of goals, challenges, and expectations. Therefore, the retention strategies employed must be equally unique and tailored to each client. This level of customization often involves a significant investment of time and resources, which is one reason why many companies have been slow to adopt such strategies.

Moreover, the involvement of the executive team is critical. Retention cannot be left solely to the sales or customer service departments. It must be championed from the top down, with CEOs and other executives taking an active role in building and maintaining client relationships. This is especially true in industries where the loss of a single client can have a significant financial impact.

Fragmented Approaches

Despite the growing awareness of the importance of retention, many B2B companies are still taking a piecemeal approach to the issue. They may implement parts of a strategy—such as QBRs, client retention management systems, or voice-of-the-customer surveys—but fail to integrate these efforts into a cohesive, overarching retention process. This fragmented approach can create a false sense of security for executives, who may believe that they are doing enough when, in fact, they are not addressing the root causes of client churn.

The Need for a Proven Retention System

One of the most significant gaps in the current state of B2B client retention is the lack of a proven, replicable process that has stood the test of time. Many companies are still experimenting with different strategies, often with mixed results. What is needed is a comprehensive, strategic, and systematic approach that has been specifically designed for the B2B marketplace.

Even the best system will not succeed without full buy-in from the executive team. Retention must be more than just a talking point; it must be a top priority for the entire organization, with the CEO and other executives leading by example. This means not only supporting retention efforts but also taking an active role in client relationships and ensuring that all departments are aligned with the goal of retaining key clients.

From Supporting Role to Center Stage

Client retention in the B2B marketplace is at a pivotal moment. While progress has been made, there is still much work to be done. Companies are beginning to recognize the importance of retention, but many are still struggling to implement a fully realized strategy that addresses the complexities of B2B relationships.

The key to success lies in developing a formalized, strategic, and customized approach that is supported by the executive team and integrated into all aspects of the business. This is where proven processes like the Clients for Life® system can make a significant impact. With the right approach, client retention can move from a supporting role to center stage, driving long-term profitability and business success.

Taking Client Retention to the Next Level: An Executive Action Plan

Client retention is the foundation of long-term business success, yet many companies overlook its true value until it’s too late. The executive introduction to client retention must begin long before the formal implementation of a process. It starts with a mindset: a clear, honest evaluation of how client retention ranks in your company’s priorities. As a leadership team, it’s time to ask tough questions and define how client retention impacts your bottom line—not in abstract terms, but through measurable, concrete metrics. Leadership must look at client retention from every angle, financial, resources, brand reputation, operational cost, and employee satisfaction to take a few.

The first step is to understand your current retention landscape. How healthy is your company when it comes to retaining revenue? This is more than just numbers—it’s about relationships and the value that long-term clients bring to your business. Retention rates, while defined in various ways, paint a picture of company stability. So, how stable is your organization? We’ll dig into the data shortly, but for now, consider: Are you not only retaining clients but also growing revenue organically from existing accounts? This growth is key to long-term profitability and sustainability.

An honest unbridled eyes wide open approach. One that is not sugar coated but honest and specific assessment must be done. Before you move forward you have to go in with your eyes wide open. There must be full agreement of the strengths and the weeknesses.

One critical factor is understanding how your sales team views client retention. Is it seen as a distraction from bringing in new business, or is it embraced as a strategic advantage that fuels referrals, builds the brand, and enhances reputation? When done well, client retention becomes a significant competitive edge, making your company more resilient and responsive to market changes.

Why Client Retention Matters Now

We are focusing on client retention because its impact is far-reaching. The difference between a strong and weak client retention strategy affects everything from your company’s profit margins to employee satisfaction. High retention rates correlate with healthier companies—stronger profits, better morale, and more engaged employees. When you retain clients, you retain their loyalty, trust, and investment in your success.

Years of research have shown that companies with robust client retention strategies consistently outperform those without. Despite this, client retention is often an afterthought—only truly acknowledged when something goes wrong. Picture this scenario: It’s Monday morning, and the CEO receives an email informing him that the company’s largest client has canceled their contract. Only then does the leadership team scramble to figure out what went wrong and how it could have been prevented. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, this scenario plays out more often than you’d expect.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. A well-executed client retention strategy is far more effective than cost-cutting measures and significantly less expensive than acquiring new clients. Most importantly, it has a direct, measurable impact on your bottom line.

Taking Stock and Setting Your Course

Only after understanding where you stand can you chart the course to where you want to go. We will help you define the right formulas and metrics for your business. While some companies may focus on churn rate or repeat customer rates, others might prioritize more customized metrics, such as client retention rate or customer lifetime value. These formulas will serve as your foundation, providing the baselines from which to measure success as you move forward.

This should be a very specific number or metric. Too often the measure of success when it comes to client retention is a feel. Unfortunately, feelings have a way of changing and target moves as the year goes on. Things are explained away, and the importance starts to move down the priority list. The number everyone agrees upon should be one that will last the whole year unless the fundamentals of the corporation changes. This number will be shared with the entire organization. It will be the focus of the vision of going forward.

This process isn’t one-size-fits-all. Every company is different, and so too is every retention strategy. Our years of experience will guide you in selecting the best approach for your specific business model, industry, and client base. Once you’ve established the right parameters, you’ll have a clear vision of how to improve retention and drive sustainable growth.

Defining Departmental Responsibilities

Once the internal assessment is complete, it’s time to define the specific responsibilities for each department—operations, sales, IT, and finance. Client retention is not a single department’s responsibility; it’s an enterprise-wide initiative that requires collaboration and accountability from all teams. Who needs to participate in upcoming training sessions? What metrics will be used to measure success and ensure accountability? These questions need to be answered clearly so that every department understands its role in enhancing client retention.

Then all must agree on a process that is formalized, proven and reproducible.

Integrating the Clients for Life® Process

The Clients for Life® process is an example of such a system. Developed over 38 years ago, it has been implemented by companies across various industries to protect billions in assets. The Clients for Life process is unique in that it is specifically tailored to the needs of B2B companies. It focuses on building long-term, sustainable relationships with clients by addressing their unique needs and expectations. Over the years, the process has evolved to adapt to the changing business environment, but its core principles remain the same: to provide a structured, strategic approach to client retention that delivers measurable results.

Now comes the exciting part: integrating your findings into the proven Clients for Life® process. This formalized approach—focused on the principles of Assess, Create, and Execute—has been successfully implemented by countless companies to boost client retention and drive business growth. By incorporating this methodology into your strategy, you’ll gain the rigor and discipline needed to achieve outstanding results.

The Clients for Life® process isn’t just about theory—it’s about action. It requires strong leadership to launch and sustain, ensuring that your team can execute the strategy effectively. By following these principles, your company can expect to see tangible results in client satisfaction, retention, and overall profitability.

This is not a do what we say approach but not as we do. Leaders best lead when they do so from a point of knowledge and practice. The executive must become as familiar with the three principles, Assess, Create and Execute as the rest of the company. That is why we will take the time to ensure leadership is proficient in all aspects of the Clients for Life® client retention process. For the first workshop we will work in the concepts that will be implemented down the road.

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Step 1 Assess:

The executive team already started part of the assess process when they reviewed the impact of retention on their company and the current state of client retention. However, this was a more introspective and subjective approach.

The Clients for Life process will look at Assess both internally and externally. You will become aware of all the different ways we assess the client and the company’s capabilities. The health of your key client’s relationship with your company and their perceptions both subjectively and objectively. We will also take this time to prepare for the next workshop by making some fundamental decisions that will impact the who, what and how the internal assessments will be accomplish.

Preparing for the External Assessment

As you prepare for the next phase—the Executive Assessment—it’s time to select three key accounts for an external assessment. These clients will provide valuable insights into how well your company is delivering on its promises, and their feedback will help you fine-tune your strategy moving forward. We’ll train someone on your team to the process and skills necessary to ensure you have objective feedback that can be relied upon as accurate. A great deal of thought should go into the person and process that will be conducting the external interviews. He should be a person that is objective and unable to be swayed by others. The more independent the person can be the more fruitful the results will be. When a less than favorable interview is done, he will need to not waiver or be influenced by leadership. Some will try, they always do, but the integrity of the information provided is too critical. For this reason, some corporations decided to have an external company conduct the interviews. That said we will equip the individual with all the skills needed to be successful. We will take from the knowledge of thousands of interviews we have done in the past and share them with individual conducting the interview.

Step 2 Create:

Create is tailor made for the leadership team. The Create principle is centered around constructing the strategy that will be rolled out to sales and operations. We will review who are the right clients under the right terms, what lessons have been learned from those clients that have been lost and what warnings signs are evident so the client can be saved before it is lost. We will review the concept of establishing and defining the different level of clients from growth clients to key accounts. Finally, the concept of the client journey will be reviewed as well. This will be phase 1 of working understanding the Create Principle. The implementation will be done later in the training.

Step 3 Execute:

This is where the rubber meets the road. The customer facing teams will focus a lot on the three key elements of the Execute principle, Expectations, Web of Influence® and Technical Delivery (solving the problems for today while innovating for tomorrow. The concepts on why each element is important to the overall Executive principle will be reviewed. We will take time to really drive deep into how each element applies to the health of the client experience and assure successful client retention.

Launching a Company-Wide Retention Campaign

This includes socializing and defining the department objectives. These should be very specific and measurable goals for each department. You will know the success of the overall company by how well each department is able to achieve the objectives that have been established by leadership.

Once the objectives are reviewed it is time to review workshops 2-12 and create a timeline that works best for your company. We will review who will participate in each workshop and how and when it will be done. The more succinctly and digestible you are able to share the timeline the more successful the training will be.

There will be some friction either due to inertia, effort, emotion or reactance. Inertia is avoidance of starting new, effort is the amount of work needed to change, emotion is a comfort level of what is, and reactance is not wanting to start just because others told them to do so. Your clients experience this. (We will go over in more detail in the technical training.) Your company is no different and will experience the same things.

This is why a critical step in the journey is launching a company-wide campaign to support the new client retention initiative. This campaign must come directly from the executive team, emphasizing the importance of retention to the company’s future success. The messaging should be clear and compelling, outlining the reasons for the initiative, its impact on the company, and how success will be measured. Each department should be able to articulate how client retention benefits their work, fostering a sense of ownership and commitment to the strategy.

A vision statement will be created as part of the communication campaign to ensure all are aligned. It must become the mantra moving forward and repeated often in order to for the culture to change.

The executive team will be charged with leading initiative but you cannot be expected to take on the training, assessment, implementation, governance, coaching, and execution of the Clients for Life® client retention process. There is just too much work to be done.

This starts by forming your Partner Success Team. This will be a cross-functional group of individuals who oversee the implementation of the Client for Life® client retention process. Key individuals from Operations, Sales, Information Technology Finance, and Analytics should be assigned to the team. The team will also have an executive sponsor to ensure success. This team will also show the executive team’s commitment to client retention. In addition to a Partner Success Team, companies often assign a Client Retention Executive with a direct line to the CEO.

It is incumbent on leadership to set the tone, guidance, and mentorship as well as structure. This will be accomplished by defining the Right Clients/Right Terms, lessons learned, warning signs, and client journey.

The executive strategy session moves from concept to action. The Partner Success Team will establish the right clients for your company to have as clients under what terms. Too often companies accept all clients on almost any terms causing resources to be pulled from the clients that have the potential to grow your revenue far into the future.

It is also the responsibility of leadership to share the experiences from the past. Future losses can be prevented by sharing how and why past losses occurred. There are usually a handful of reasons that if highlighted can avoid losses in the future. The Lessons Learned will be accompanied by the warning signs.

Finally, it is the responsibility of the Partner Success Team to review the current client journey and ensure that the process is well-defined and supports the client from the verbal agreement forward.

The Executive Strategy session is the executive team’s opportunity to put their imprint on the client retention strategy through the Patient Success Team and the creation of key guidelines and learnings from the past.

If done correctly the client retention strategy program should be the vehicle that will change the way your company think and acts toward client retention. It will be culture changing. We do not say this lightly. To change a company’s culture should not be done often but when it is done correctly it should be something that will affect the entire organization. One that will leave your company better off than when you started. The Clients for Life® process will be that change that will impact your revenue, operational effectiveness, brand, referrals, and your employees. When a company has both a strong sales and retention strategy the is a sense of achievement and excellence that cannot be replicated.

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We have worked with multiple companies, and we look forward to working with you. Let us introduce to Syneos Health previously InVentiv Health.

Strategic Client Retention at Syneos: A Proactive Approach

Our engagement with Syneos began through an introduction by Thomas H. Lee Partners, a leading private equity firm and a primary investor in Syneos. Recognizing early signs of client attrition, Thomas H. Lee Partners sought to take a proactive approach to mitigate further losses and safeguard the company’s long-term stability.

Syneos, a Contract Sales Organization specializing in the placement of sales representatives, nurses, and PharmDs within pharmaceutical companies, faced a critical challenge in retaining key clients. Our team was brought in to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the business, identifying areas of risk and opportunity. The findings were presented to Syneos leadership, providing a clear roadmap for strengthening client retention efforts.

In response, Syneos developed and implemented a targeted strategy centered around the Clients for Life® model. This initiative included leadership alignment, strategic training programs for National Business Directors, Operations, and Sales Teams, and the appointment of a dedicated Client Retention Executive. By embedding a structured client retention framework into their operations, Syneos committed to a disciplined, long-term approach to maintaining client relationships.

The impact of this initiative was significant. Over a three-year period, Syneos successfully increased retained revenue by $300 million, demonstrating the effectiveness of a proactive and strategic approach to client retention. This case underscores the value of early intervention and a structured retention strategy in driving sustainable business growth.

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Executive Summary

Chapter 1: Evaluate Impact

Before initiating any strategies, it is imperative to evaluate the profound impact of client retention on a corporation’s success. Ample evidence demonstrates the undeniable value of a strong retention strategy, which should never be considered a trivial or reactive effort. Instead, it must be approached as a cornerstone of sustainable growth and operational resilience.

The emphasis placed by executive teams on client retention often serves as a predictor of a company’s ability to weather economic fluctuations. Research from Bain & Company illustrates the stark financial contrast between companies with retention rates of 3% and those achieving 12%. The difference is transformative and underscores the importance of investing in strategies that improve retention.

It’s not just about profit margins. A decline in client retention sets off a chain reaction of challenges that ripple throughout the organization. With fewer clients contributing to revenue, the available resources shrink, driving up per-client service costs. These constraints force companies into difficult decisions about which accounts will receive priority attention and which may face service compromises. Such decisions create immediate dissatisfaction and expose vulnerabilities in the company’s ability to maintain service excellence.

When service falters, client dissatisfaction can quickly escalate into reputational harm. Dissatisfied clients are not shy about sharing their experiences, and in today’s connected world, bad news travels fast. Negative feedback spreads, damaging the brand’s reputation and diminishing the likelihood of referrals. A single upset client can quickly multiply into a broader issue, as others reconsider their loyalty. The result? Sales teams find themselves on the defensive, struggling to rebuild trust and credibility while attempting to meet new business goals.

As referrals dwindle and sales pipelines falter, growth initiatives suffer. This is often where the cascading effects of poor client retention become most evident. An organization that prioritizes growth through new sales but fails to protect its client base often ends up undermining its own goals. Leaders aiming for ambitious growth targets find themselves battling against a retention problem that undermines their efforts at every turn.

Internally, the operational stress compounds. With fewer resources to allocate, internal teams face mounting pressure to do more with less. Operations leaders are forced into uncomfortable conversations about scaling back services or redefining commitments. These discussions are rarely productive for either the company or its clients, often leading to strained relationships and diminished trust.

The impact on employees is significant. Working for a company that consistently compromises on quality due to resource limitations is demoralizing. Employee satisfaction drops as pride in the organization gives way to frustration and burnout. The long-term result is a less engaged workforce, struggling to meet expectations under less-than-ideal conditions. No one wants to work for an organization that appears to be perpetually in crisis.

This scenario is not theoretical. Many once-thriving companies have seen their fortunes reverse after losing just a few key clients. Imagine the stress and operational disruption your organization would face if two or three major accounts were lost. Chapter 1 aims to emphasize the tangible and intangible consequences of poor client retention, offering a compelling case for why this issue deserves leadership’s immediate and unwavering attention.

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Chapter 2: Current State

Client retention is the foundation of sustainable growth and long-term success for any organization. Yet, in many companies, it remains an overlooked or underemphasized priority. The question we must ask is this: *What is the current state of client retention at your company, and how is it prioritized for the next twelve months? It is time for the Executive Team to step back, assess the facts, and establish a clear strategy that aligns client retention efforts across all departments. This is the moment.

Evaluating Current Priorities: Aligning for Success

Every department within an organization has its own set of priorities. Sales focuses on new acquisitions and growth strategies. Finance emphasizes cost management and fiscal responsibility. Operations strives to allocate resources effectively and deliver on client expectations. While these priorities are individually critical, they often conflict when viewed collectively, causing friction and misalignment. The result? Client retention takes a back seat to other short-term goals.

The first step toward prioritizing client retention is a thorough assessment of each department’s current goals and initiatives. Leaders must ask: How do these priorities support or hinder client retention? Are there overlaps, conflicts, or competing objectives? What resources are being allocated, and what measurable impact is being made?

The Executive Team must take ownership of this evaluation. By ranking and aligning departmental priorities, leaders can break down silos and focus on the shared objective of improving client retention. This process fosters collaboration, ensuring all departments work in harmony toward a common vision.

Why Client Retention Matters Now More Than Ever?

The impact of client retention on corporate performance is undeniable. Retaining existing clients is significantly more cost-effective than acquiring new ones, and loyal clients contribute to stable, predictable revenue streams. Moreover, a well-served, long-term client base can become the most powerful advocates for your company, driving referrals and enhancing your reputation.

However, achieving strong client retention requires an intentional effort. It is not a passive byproduct of operations but a strategic focus that must permeate every level of the organization. The executive team plays a pivotal role in setting this focus. Leaders must evaluate priorities through the lens of client retention and understand how existing strategies may need to evolve. The critical questions to ask include the following. How does client retention align with our broader business goals? Are we actively investing in processes, resources, and tools to drive retention? Are departments truly aligned in recognizing client retention as a top priority?

Turning Strategy into Action: Leading by Example

Alignment is essential, but actions will speak louder than any plan or strategy. Once priorities are defined, the executive team must lead with consistency and accountability. Departments will look to leadership for clarity, and mixed signals can derail even the best intentions. Leaders must commit to implementing a formalized client retention strategy, such as Clients for Life®, to ensure structure and accountability. They must communicate the importance of client retention clearly and consistently across the organization. Finally everyone must monitor progress, measure results, and celebrate wins to reinforce the cultural shift toward client retention.

Failure to act decisively can send a dangerous message. If leadership treats client retention as a secondary concern, departments will revert to their own goals, and the organization will lose the opportunity to build a sustainable path forward.

A Shared Commitment to Retention and Growth

Improving client retention is a shared responsibility, one that requires vision, collaboration, and execution from every department. The executive team must shine a light on the current realities, confront challenges head-on, and forge a path forward that prioritizes long-term client relationships.

By aligning on a formalized strategy, fostering transparency, and leading by example, organizations can turn client retention into a competitive advantage. Now is the time to act—because what we do today will define the success of tomorrow.

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Chapter 3: The Assess Principle

The formalized retention process that will underpin all that we discuss over the next 12 months is the Clients for Life® process. The clients process fits nicely into the Client Retention Strategy Program. It will be the vehicle to realizing your expected results.

Clients for Life® consists of three key principles Assess, Create and Execute. The Executive Team must first understand each principle to not only communicate it to the rest of the organization but also to direct the implementation of each summary. We will not go into the depth that we will for the Operations Team but we will provide a level of knowledge for the executive team which will allow the Executive Team to converse with others and also understand its output.

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NEED LARGER IMAGE OF DIAGRAM

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First things first:

Before you can do anything else you must first assess the business externally and internally. The Executive Team already did a self-reflection which is part of the internal assessment. That is just the start. This is a more in depth and looks at the overall health of the company and client retention’s impact on the company. Assess needs to look at every aspect, Capabilities Assessment, Comprehensive Internal Assessment, Client Health Assessment, FreshEyes® Review, and PostMortem Audit. We will separate out our discussion into two areas Internal Assessment and External Assessment.

Internal Assessment

You must understand the perception of your employees around the current capabilities. This will establish the baseline moving forward for the company’s capabilities. An objective internal assessment of the current retention strategy must also be conducted. The process and key components will be reviewed for the Comprehensive Internal Assessment and a Capabilities Assessment.

Comprehensive Internal Assessment

The Comprehensive Internal Assessment will be an in-depth and focused discussion with the key stakeholders inside your company. It will focus on how the stakeholders view a few key areas overall health of the retention strategy, perception of key accounts, how the company is doing versus the client’s expectations, the Web of Influence® and finally how the company is solving the problems of today and tomorrow. A report will be provided on overall trends.

Capabilities Assessment

This is an assessment of the key skills your company needs to assure success in client retention. We will focus on these eight topics Managing Professional Relations, Managing Client Expectation, Delivering Technical Expertise, Focus on Retention, Retention Strategy, Retention Responsibility, Leadership and Management. A numeric value will be provided for each.

External Assessment

The internal assessment is only half of the equation. The company must also assess the clients’ perceptions both subjectively and objectively. Subjectively, a Client Health Assessment must be completed for each account. Objectively a formalize, rigorous and focused assess must be done. A review of key options such as client surveys and more formalized client interviews will be completed.

Client Health Assessment

A one-page assessment that will be done by rating the client in key areas as red, yellow and green. It is a great quick review to be done between the direct manger and the account team to make sure the client is not at risk.

FreshEyes® Review

In-depth interviews of your key clients’ stakeholders. This report will provide a rating on the risk of losing the client, the overall impressions, and the verbatim and key quotes for each stakeholder.

PostMortem Audit®

In-depth interview of the stakeholders of past client and the reason for why the client was lost. An impression will be provided on the insights gained, as well as the verbatim and key quotes.

For the FreshEyes® Reviews and PostMortem Audit® we will training individuals within your company to become proficient in the process.
In the end, you will have a tremendous handle on the heath of your company from every angle.

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Chapter 4: Assessment Process

This chapter outlines a well-structured framework for conducting internal and external assessments as part of the Clients for Life® client retention process. It emphasizes the importance of adhering to a formalized and rigorous approach to ensure the credibility and trustworthiness of the results. Without such rigor, the assessments could be influenced by subjective narratives, rendering their outcomes not only unhelpful but potentially detrimental.

The process begins even before the first assessment is conducted, starting with the critical step of selecting participants. The selection process should be a collective decision that takes into account multiple criteria. Leadership should avoid the temptation to exclude clients who might provide negative feedback simply to avoid difficult truths. However, it is equally important to resist the urge to exclusively select challenging clients in an effort to uncover harsh realities. Both approaches fail to provide a balanced and accurate depiction of client perceptions. Instead, participant selection should aim for an even-handed representation, reflecting the views of all valued accounts. This ensures that the final report is a true and comprehensive reflection of client sentiments.

The chapter introduces both subjective and objective assessment processes, beginning with those that are less process-heavy and moving toward more structured methodologies. The Client Health Assessment (CHA) is the first assessment discussed. It is a straightforward review conducted quarterly with each account. The CHA is not designed to assign numeric scores or definitive labels, such as categorizing clients as “red” or “green.” Instead, it serves as a tool for fostering discussions and identifying potential issues early, before they escalate. This makes the CHA a valuable coaching tool for both teams and leadership.

The next assessment, the Capabilities Assessment, is also relatively straightforward. Its primary focus is on ensuring a sufficiently broad participant pool to include all individuals involved in the client retention process. Care must be taken to exclude individuals whose lack of knowledge or involvement might detract from the survey’s value. The purpose of this assessment is to provide a clear understanding of the organization’s capabilities as perceived by those most directly engaged in its operations.

The final set of assessments discussed includes the Comprehensive Internal Assessment and two key external assessments: the PostMortem Audit® and the FreshEyes® Review. These assessments require a heightened level of objectivity and structure. The Comprehensive Internal Assessment provides a deep and detailed view of the organization’s internal processes related to client retention. Meanwhile, the PostMortem Audit® examines the circumstances surrounding a client’s departure, offering insights that can help prevent similar situations in the future. The FreshEyes® Review, on the other hand, provides an unbiased evaluation of client relationships, identifying areas for improvement and validating strengths.

Throughout all these assessments, the chapter underscores the importance of maintaining rigor and objectivity. Stakeholders must be chosen carefully, interviews conducted fairly, and findings translated into actionable steps that offer real value to the executive team. This structured approach ensures that the assessments are not only credible but also highly useful in shaping client retention strategies.

When these assessments are executed with the appropriate level of rigor, they provide valuable insights that enable leadership to make informed decisions. By the end of this chapter, readers will have a comprehensive understanding of the principles underpinning the assessment process and be well-prepared to oversee and participate in these evaluations effectively. This structured approach lays the foundation for sustainable client retention and ensures that assessments yield meaningful and actionable results.

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Chapter 5: Understanding the Create Principle

The Executive Team should be grounded now in what the state of client retention is for the company. Soon they will have a better understanding on the company’s skills and clients’ perceptions due to a strong Assessment process that will take place in future workshops.

Now it is time to turn the attention to Create. The Create principle is solely focused on executing strategy which will land right in the lap of the Executive Team. This is where guardrails are set, Lessons are shared, processes are created, and key decisions are made. It will set the direction for the entire organization when it comes to key aspects of client retention. We will discuss the concepts of each one of these in this chapter and the Execution in a future workshop.

Right Clients/Right Terms®

One of the best things you can do for your company is to define the Right Clients/Right Terms®. This is what clients you will sale to and under what terms. It is more than just market segmentation or targeting. These two marketing tools are useful to define who should be targeted. The Right Clients/Right Terms® are not just who should your salesforce sale to but who they will and will not focus on. Too many companies say they will focus on a certain target but when push comes to shove, they end up focusing on companies that are not just a good fit but are in the end a cost to service. They have the ability to hurt the company’s reputation, increase the cost to serve as operations adapts processes and hurt stretches the HR abilities to find the right person to fill a unique role. Right Clients/Right Terms® also sets forth certain terms that leadership must put in place. It is to the now the Executive Team is willing to work with a client. This should be a one or two page document created by leadership on who are the right clients under the right terms. This does not mean that the company cannot ever deviate from this document but if it does so, it should be agreed upon by all. This document should also be reviewed at least yearly.

Key Accounts

Maybe the biggest fallacy a company can say is that they treat all the clients the same. If that would be the case the company is missing out on differentiating and investing in accounts that will help grow and draining money on transactional accounts that will just plateau or leave. Decisions must be made on who to invest in and it is done on more than just revenue.

Account Base Marketing

This falls nicely into Account Based Marketing. Who gets the drip campaign for the CRM and who gets the one-on-one call from the CEO or VP. Certain accounts deserve a customized approach, and others are best with a more general approach. It is your role to help with everyone in between.

Lessons Learned

We will then focus on Lessons Learned. Simply put if leadership was asked to share the reasons why clients are often lost, they could come with the reasons pretty quickly. Yet we find these lessons are often not shared with those who interact with the clients every day. Lessons Learned is a formalized process to not only identify but share the lessons along with the warning signs. There are key warning signs that present themselves when a client is ready to leave. We will identify these warning signs and put a process in place to recognize them and put an action step in place.

The Create Principle also will discuss the Client Journey form when someone at the company first is introduced to the potential client to when the contract is renewed and expanded upon. This should be looked at very closely to assure the clients expectations are serviced appropriately for the first handshake to the renewal and expansion of the RFP.

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Chapter 6: Customizing the Client Experience

Chapter 5 was about making sure your company had guardrails and processes in place to assure you are able to select the Right Clients under the Right Terms, and share Lessons Learned and Warning signs. The building blocks have been created. In chapter 6 you will be ensuring that the right clients are given the right resources and experiencing a partnership that will truly delight.

It was critical to first build the foundation to safeguard your company from squandering finances and resources. Otherwise, the company would not be in a position to take the next step in the Create Principle. Also, basic processes needed to be in place to keep that client.

The first thing you will have to come to terms with, if you have not already, is that not all clients are the same. They are not. Yet often companies put the exact effort, processes and ratio of manpower to account even if the client is in the top 10 or bottom 10. It might not be that drastic, but it often is very close.

Decisions need to be made on who really should be treated with a high level of focus and who needs to be serviced at a level that the company can be proud of but not to the same degree as those that do not bring in the same return. To be clear, we are not saying any client should be treated at a level that is below your company’s standards. That is something no one wants and would certainly diminish the stature of your company as well as your employee’s satisfaction.

However, there is something we referred to as Total Client Value. Each Client has one and should be reviewed. You will need to select the Key Accounts, The Developing Accounts, Growth Accounts and so on. You will customize the terms with our help. This is also something that should not be done as a one-sided exercise. It is imperative that the client knows and is comfortable with the level of service they are paying for. Eventually this will be done when your Account Team sits down with the client to conduct an Expectation Session. For new clients it will be Established in the Transition Meeting. We will be going over both of these during the Execute Principle.

Along with selecting the Key Accounts you have to look at how that then pertains to Account Based Marketing. We will touch briefly on this concept but something that should be delved into deeper. It is more than just marketing. It is again who you are going align invest in.

After the accounts have been selected you will then delve into the concepts of the Client Journey. In the past in was pretty simple. The journey starts with Sales, moved to implementation, then maintenance and finally renewal. For your clients to be satisfied and be not only retained but grow the client journey needs to be more nuanced that those four stages. It is different for each industry and company, but it must be reviewed and customized. Your goal is to delight the clients not simply move them along the process.

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Chapter 7: The Execute Principle: Expectations

The foundation of the Execute Principle is built on understanding, aligning, and executing on expectations. It often serves as the unwritten measure of success. While the contract may outline the parameters for success, it is rarely those who created the contract who decide whether the ongoing relationship is thriving or if it will be terminated.

Typically, it is the individuals at the client who are responsible for executing the contract and carrying out the work that set the expectations. These individuals, who have the authority to hire, fire, or significantly influence the hiring and firing of your company, have their own expectations. It is crucial to focus on and understand these expectations. This does not mean ignoring the KPIs or metrics outlined in the contract, as they are important. However, the company’s current expectations are even more critical. These expectations often take precedence over metrics that were decided upon years ago. As events and people change, so do the current expectations of the client. You must take time to understand them.

In Chapter 7, we will delve into the basic understanding of what expectations are and how they are created. We will explore how they are received, how they can be unique to the individual, and how complex they might be. It is essential to appreciate the importance and thought process behind expectations before implementing a process to execute on them.

Part of this in-depth understanding involves recognizing relevant value. Simply put, relevant value refers to how one’s expectations change over time and why. Initially, there may be a strong desire for something, but over time, the original euphoria fades and is replaced by another expectation. This shift occurs as the environment and events evolve. What was once considered important may now be seen as outdated.

It is essential to learn how to set the correct expectations and avoid providing services that do not align with those expectations at the time. There is a common misconception that a company or account team’s job is to offer everything they have to the client to showcase their capabilities. This approach can backfire. Providing services the client never asked for and is not ready to focus on can be counterproductive. For example, if you wanted to learn to ride a bike as a child, but someone gave you a new car, you might appreciate the car, but it would be of no use to you at that moment. You were focused on learning to ride a bike. However, taking away the car later would be difficult, even though it brought no real value at the time. When it is finally time to drive, the car’s value will not be as strong because it is something you already have. We will correlate this concept to scope creep and setting appropriate expectations. It is also a large reason why there is scope creep.

Finally, we will share the process we will implement in later workshops with the Account Team under the direction of the Partnership Success Team. There is value in using a formalized, tried-and-true process that defines and measures expectations. The process to understand, align and prioritize the clients collective expectations must be done with some thought and rigor.

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Chapter 8: Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle

If expectations are the foundation of the Execute Principle than relationships are the glue. A strong network will underpin the entire relationship. It will be a stable force when things change, or problems arise.

Far too often companies have a one-to-one relationship with their clients. There is just one person on your company’s side and one at the client side. The risk of losing the client if things change is enormous. “When people change everything has the potential to change”. Let us say it again, “When people change everything has the potential to change”. More contracts have been broken because of a stakeholder on the client side leaving and being replaced by someone who either has a friend with your competitor or just has had a good experience with another partner and decides to move on. The new stakeholder might simply what to show that he or she is taking the lead and shaking things up. One way of doing that is moving from one partner to another.

This is why a strong and robust Web of Influence® is so important. When there are multiple levels of relationships on both the company and client side the chances of losing a contract due to change is less. We came up with the term after watching a documentary on a South American Spider that builds his web 15 feet wide and 15 feet high. He is able to sense when anything touches the web and if it is dinner or if it will become dinner. That is the same level of a web that you need for your client relationships.

The relationship must also be built on a high level of trust. We will go deep into what it is to build trust with a client but suffice it to say there are three things that are the footing for building trust. They are Caring, Competency, and Candor. As President Roosevelt stated, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. You must start with caring before you can move onto anything else. It would be nice if it could stop there but a professional relationship is more than just caring. If you get on a plane and the pilot told you that he cared deeply about your wellbeing but did not have a clue on how to fly the plane, you might not get on it. You have to show you know how to “fly the plane”. Finally, if the relationship is really a partnership, then there has to be a level of candor. You must be willing to use your expertise to advise and move the relationship forward.

We will also take a moment to review what to do when there is a change in a key stakeholder on either side of the relationship. This is called the Transition Lite meeting. It is where you take the opportunity to share with the new stakeholder, where the relationship has been, where it is now and where it is going.

Networks or Web of Influence® does not just happen. Much like any relationship it must be nurtured and built.

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Chapter 9: Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow

Your clients want two things from you. First and foremost, that want you to solve the problem you were asked to solve. That is precisely why you were hired in the first place! This must be the top priority and is the whole reason for defining expectations both for the short term and the long term. If your client was expecting a hammer from your toolbox and you provide a screwdriver, don’t be shocked if your client becomes just a tad bit confused and frustrated. Yet sometime that is what we do. We are so excited to get started that we already start talking about what the possibilities might be in the future before we ever start to address the problems of today. A successful Transition Meeting will allow you to define exactly what that problem is and specifically how to exceed on their expectations.

However, if you are still solving the problems at the start of the engagement you have a problem, and the problem is that it should have been solved. This brings us to a term we call Revelation X. Revelation X describes what happens to most relationships over time. Please refer to the graph.

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In the beginning you can see that the problems are large (dark blue). That is why they hired you. If they could have done it themselves, they may not have reached out to you and solved the problem on their own. At the same time, fees are usually lower and so are your profits as you might have lowered the price to gain entry or decided not to charge for implementation (dark green). In time though the problems go down and the fees tend to rise. At some point they are going to intersect and the problems left to solve will be less than the fees that are being charged. At this point you have a value gap. It will happen at every engagement, and you have two options. You can either reduce fees (red line) or innovate to solve additional problems (light blue). Not many are willing to cut costs, so the focus tends to favor innovating for tomorrow.

No matter the decision a strategic plan will be needed to ensure you never have the client decide to either find a less expense competitor or take the work internal. This requires innovation. To some this word can sound scary but it really is not. No one asking you to invent the next Post It note. We are just looking to reduce the friction that is front of your client.

To do this you will have to have a strong understanding of your client and a strong strategic account plan. Every account should have a strategic account plan. We will be going over in brief the Account Plan Canvas in this Chapter and in more depth with the Operations Team in a later workshop. It can be simple to complex depending on the level of the client.

For the Key Clients you will need a Team Account Retention Plan. This is a workshop to ensure no stone is left unturned. It will map out the history of the client, identify trends, define Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Strengths, and complete a competitive exercise that will alert you to any wholes in your offering. Finally, you will create an action plan.

Being a resource to your clients requires a prepared and proactive account team that will help your client navigate the now and the future.

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Chapter 10: Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

Before we move into what is next, we wanted to take a moment to review The Client for Life® 10. These are the 10 fundamentals you can keep going back to ground yourself in the key fundamentals of the Client Retention Strategy Program. Here are few that we will be going over. Client retention begins with the right clients under the right terms. Start the contract according to the client’s expectations. Client retention is not an event–it is a daily process. When people change, everything has the potential to change. The worst time to renew a contract is when it is due for renewal. We will go over all 10 in the workshop. It is not a bad idea to post these through the office.

We also understand that the Executive Team will play a critical role in the development, strategy, and oversight of the Clients for Life® process. However, the Executive Team is just too busy to shepherd the organization through all the steps and help everyone implement the Clients for Life® client retention process. For that we will work with the Partner Success Team.

The Partner Success Team will be individuals from each area of the organization that will be charged with implementing the Clients for Life® process. These might be people from Sales, Operations, Marketing, Customer Success, Human Resources, and IT. Each will be responsible for training and implementing the Clients for Life® process once we have finished our training. They will also give vital input on how best to customize and implement the training throughout the year.

Leading the Partner Success Team will be a Client Retention Executive or CRE. The CRE optimally will come from the operations or account team. He or she should be an independent minded, respected individual who is able to facilitate and work well as a liaison between the Executive Team, The Partner Success Team and the rest of the organization. He or she will be the one conducting the external client interviews ideally. If the workload gets too large the person can rely on the rest of the Partner Success Team to also conduct the interviews and report out the finding. All will be trained in the process.

We will be training these individuals in the next workshop entitled Partner Success Training. We will give the team an in-depth review of the Clients for Life® process. We will go into detail on the Assess, Create and Execute Principles. They will have to have a strong knowledge base because they will be relied upon to carry out every aspect of the Clients for Life® process.

Once we train them on the concepts, we will then take time to train them on how to conduct FreshEyes® Reviews, PostMortem Audit®s, Capability Assessment and the like. Our goal is to give them the same level of expertise that we have from doing this over the years.

From there we will move on to training the customer facing teams in detail. The process will be to listen, observe and then do. In chapter 10 will go a little more in-depth in order for the Executive Team to be able communicate the process to the rest of the organization and also help the Partnership Success Team understand what will be expected of them throughout the year.

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Curriculum

Client Retention Strategy – WDP1 – Executive Introduction

1. Evaluate Impact
2. Current State
3. The Assess Principle
4. Assessment Process
5. Understanding the Create Principle
6. Customizing the Client Experience
7. The Execute Principle: Expectations
8. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle
9. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

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Distance Learning

Introduction

Welcome to Appleton Greene and thank you for enrolling on the Client Retention Strategy corporate training program. You will be learning through our unique facilitation via distance-learning method, which will enable you to practically implement everything that you learn academically. The methods and materials used in your program have been designed and developed to ensure that you derive the maximum benefits and enjoyment possible. We hope that you find the program challenging and fun to do. However, if you have never been a distance-learner before, you may be experiencing some trepidation at the task before you. So we will get you started by giving you some basic information and guidance on how you can make the best use of the modules, how you should manage the materials and what you should be doing as you work through them. This guide is designed to point you in the right direction and help you to become an effective distance-learner. Take a few hours or so to study this guide and your guide to tutorial support for students, while making notes, before you start to study in earnest.

Study environment

You will need to locate a quiet and private place to study, preferably a room where you can easily be isolated from external disturbances or distractions. Make sure the room is well-lit and incorporates a relaxed, pleasant feel. If you can spoil yourself within your study environment, you will have much more of a chance to ensure that you are always in the right frame of mind when you do devote time to study. For example, a nice fire, the ability to play soft soothing background music, soft but effective lighting, perhaps a nice view if possible and a good size desk with a comfortable chair. Make sure that your family know when you are studying and understand your study rules. Your study environment is very important. The ideal situation, if at all possible, is to have a separate study, which can be devoted to you. If this is not possible then you will need to pay a lot more attention to developing and managing your study schedule, because it will affect other people as well as yourself. The better your study environment, the more productive you will be.

Study tools & rules

Try and make sure that your study tools are sufficient and in good working order. You will need to have access to a computer, scanner and printer, with access to the internet. You will need a very comfortable chair, which supports your lower back, and you will need a good filing system. It can be very frustrating if you are spending valuable study time trying to fix study tools that are unreliable, or unsuitable for the task. Make sure that your study tools are up to date. You will also need to consider some study rules. Some of these rules will apply to you and will be intended to help you to be more disciplined about when and how you study. This distance-learning guide will help you and after you have read it you can put some thought into what your study rules should be. You will also need to negotiate some study rules for your family, friends or anyone who lives with you. They too will need to be disciplined in order to ensure that they can support you while you study. It is important to ensure that your family and friends are an integral part of your study team. Having their support and encouragement can prove to be a crucial contribution to your successful completion of the program. Involve them in as much as you can.

Successful distance-learning

Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes or workshops, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. But unlike traditional internal training courses, it is the student’s responsibility, with a distance-learning program, to ensure that they manage their own study contribution. This requires strong self-discipline and self-motivation skills and there must be a clear will to succeed. Those students who are used to managing themselves, are good at managing others and who enjoy working in isolation, are more likely to be good distance-learners. It is also important to be aware of the main reasons why you are studying and of the main objectives that you are hoping to achieve as a result. You will need to remind yourself of these objectives at times when you need to motivate yourself. Never lose sight of your long-term goals and your short-term objectives. There is nobody available here to pamper you, or to look after you, or to spoon-feed you with information, so you will need to find ways to encourage and appreciate yourself while you are studying. Make sure that you chart your study progress, so that you can be sure of your achievements and re-evaluate your goals and objectives regularly.

Self-assessment

Appleton Greene training programs are in all cases post-graduate programs. Consequently, you should already have obtained a business-related degree and be an experienced learner. You should therefore already be aware of your study strengths and weaknesses. For example, which time of the day are you at your most productive? Are you a lark or an owl? What study methods do you respond to the most? Are you a consistent learner? How do you discipline yourself? How do you ensure that you enjoy yourself while studying? It is important to understand yourself as a learner and so some self-assessment early on will be necessary if you are to apply yourself correctly. Perform a SWOT analysis on yourself as a student. List your internal strengths and weaknesses as a student and your external opportunities and threats. This will help you later on when you are creating a study plan. You can then incorporate features within your study plan that can ensure that you are playing to your strengths, while compensating for your weaknesses. You can also ensure that you make the most of your opportunities, while avoiding the potential threats to your success.

Accepting responsibility as a student

Training programs invariably require a significant investment, both in terms of what they cost and in the time that you need to contribute to study and the responsibility for successful completion of training programs rests entirely with the student. This is never more apparent than when a student is learning via distance-learning. Accepting responsibility as a student is an important step towards ensuring that you can successfully complete your training program. It is easy to instantly blame other people or factors when things go wrong. But the fact of the matter is that if a failure is your failure, then you have the power to do something about it, it is entirely in your own hands. If it is always someone else’s failure, then you are powerless to do anything about it. All students study in entirely different ways, this is because we are all individuals and what is right for one student, is not necessarily right for another. In order to succeed, you will have to accept personal responsibility for finding a way to plan, implement and manage a personal study plan that works for you. If you do not succeed, you only have yourself to blame.

Planning

By far the most critical contribution to stress, is the feeling of not being in control. In the absence of planning we tend to be reactive and can stumble from pillar to post in the hope that things will turn out fine in the end. Invariably they don’t! In order to be in control, we need to have firm ideas about how and when we want to do things. We also need to consider as many possible eventualities as we can, so that we are prepared for them when they happen. Prescriptive Change, is far easier to manage and control, than Emergent Change. The same is true with distance-learning. It is much easier and much more enjoyable, if you feel that you are in control and that things are going to plan. Even when things do go wrong, you are prepared for them and can act accordingly without any unnecessary stress. It is important therefore that you do take time to plan your studies properly.

Management

Once you have developed a clear study plan, it is of equal importance to ensure that you manage the implementation of it. Most of us usually enjoy planning, but it is usually during implementation when things go wrong. Targets are not met and we do not understand why. Sometimes we do not even know if targets are being met. It is not enough for us to conclude that the study plan just failed. If it is failing, you will need to understand what you can do about it. Similarly if your study plan is succeeding, it is still important to understand why, so that you can improve upon your success. You therefore need to have guidelines for self-assessment so that you can be consistent with performance improvement throughout the program. If you manage things correctly, then your performance should constantly improve throughout the program.

Study objectives & tasks

The first place to start is developing your program objectives. These should feature your reasons for undertaking the training program in order of priority. Keep them succinct and to the point in order to avoid confusion. Do not just write the first things that come into your head because they are likely to be too similar to each other. Make a list of possible departmental headings, such as: Customer Service; E-business; Finance; Globalization; Human Resources; Technology; Legal; Management; Marketing and Production. Then brainstorm for ideas by listing as many things that you want to achieve under each heading and later re-arrange these things in order of priority. Finally, select the top item from each department heading and choose these as your program objectives. Try and restrict yourself to five because it will enable you to focus clearly. It is likely that the other things that you listed will be achieved if each of the top objectives are achieved. If this does not prove to be the case, then simply work through the process again.

Study forecast

As a guide, the Appleton Greene Client Retention Strategy corporate training program should take 12-18 months to complete, depending upon your availability and current commitments. The reason why there is such a variance in time estimates is because every student is an individual, with differing productivity levels and different commitments. These differentiations are then exaggerated by the fact that this is a distance-learning program, which incorporates the practical integration of academic theory as an as a part of the training program. Consequently all of the project studies are real, which means that important decisions and compromises need to be made. You will want to get things right and will need to be patient with your expectations in order to ensure that they are. We would always recommend that you are prudent with your own task and time forecasts, but you still need to develop them and have a clear indication of what are realistic expectations in your case. With reference to your time planning: consider the time that you can realistically dedicate towards study with the program every week; calculate how long it should take you to complete the program, using the guidelines featured here; then break the program down into logical modules and allocate a suitable proportion of time to each of them, these will be your milestones; you can create a time plan by using a spreadsheet on your computer, or a personal organizer such as MS Outlook, you could also use a financial forecasting software; break your time forecasts down into manageable chunks of time, the more specific you can be, the more productive and accurate your time management will be; finally, use formulas where possible to do your time calculations for you, because this will help later on when your forecasts need to change in line with actual performance. With reference to your task planning: refer to your list of tasks that need to be undertaken in order to achieve your program objectives; with reference to your time plan, calculate when each task should be implemented; remember that you are not estimating when your objectives will be achieved, but when you will need to focus upon implementing the corresponding tasks; you also need to ensure that each task is implemented in conjunction with the associated training modules which are relevant; then break each single task down into a list of specific to do’s, say approximately ten to do’s for each task and enter these into your study plan; once again you could use MS Outlook to incorporate both your time and task planning and this could constitute your study plan; you could also use a project management software like MS Project. You should now have a clear and realistic forecast detailing when you can expect to be able to do something about undertaking the tasks to achieve your program objectives.

Performance management

It is one thing to develop your study forecast, it is quite another to monitor your progress. Ultimately it is less important whether you achieve your original study forecast and more important that you update it so that it constantly remains realistic in line with your performance. As you begin to work through the program, you will begin to have more of an idea about your own personal performance and productivity levels as a distance-learner. Once you have completed your first study module, you should re-evaluate your study forecast for both time and tasks, so that they reflect your actual performance level achieved. In order to achieve this you must first time yourself while training by using an alarm clock. Set the alarm for hourly intervals and make a note of how far you have come within that time. You can then make a note of your actual performance on your study plan and then compare your performance against your forecast. Then consider the reasons that have contributed towards your performance level, whether they are positive or negative and make a considered adjustment to your future forecasts as a result. Given time, you should start achieving your forecasts regularly.

With reference to time management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual time taken in your study plan; consider your successes with time-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; consider your failures with time-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to time planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your time expectations. You need to be consistent with your time management, otherwise you will never complete your studies. This will either be because you are not contributing enough time to your studies, or you will become less efficient with the time that you do allocate to your studies. Remember, if you are not in control of your studies, they can just become yet another cause of stress for you.

With reference to your task management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual tasks that you have undertaken in your study plan; consider your successes with task-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case; take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; consider your failures with task-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to task planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your task expectations. You need to be consistent with your task management, otherwise you will never know whether you are achieving your program objectives or not.

Keeping in touch

You will have access to qualified and experienced professors and tutors who are responsible for providing tutorial support for your particular training program. So don’t be shy about letting them know how you are getting on. We keep electronic records of all tutorial support emails so that professors and tutors can review previous correspondence before considering an individual response. It also means that there is a record of all communications between you and your professors and tutors and this helps to avoid any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation. If you have a problem relating to the program, share it with them via email. It is likely that they have come across the same problem before and are usually able to make helpful suggestions and steer you in the right direction. To learn more about when and how to use tutorial support, please refer to the Tutorial Support section of this student information guide. This will help you to ensure that you are making the most of tutorial support that is available to you and will ultimately contribute towards your success and enjoyment with your training program.

Work colleagues and family

You should certainly discuss your program study progress with your colleagues, friends and your family. Appleton Greene training programs are very practical. They require you to seek information from other people, to plan, develop and implement processes with other people and to achieve feedback from other people in relation to viability and productivity. You will therefore have plenty of opportunities to test your ideas and enlist the views of others. People tend to be sympathetic towards distance-learners, so don’t bottle it all up in yourself. Get out there and share it! It is also likely that your family and colleagues are going to benefit from your labors with the program, so they are likely to be much more interested in being involved than you might think. Be bold about delegating work to those who might benefit themselves. This is a great way to achieve understanding and commitment from people who you may later rely upon for process implementation. Share your experiences with your friends and family.

Making it relevant

The key to successful learning is to make it relevant to your own individual circumstances. At all times you should be trying to make bridges between the content of the program and your own situation. Whether you achieve this through quiet reflection or through interactive discussion with your colleagues, client partners or your family, remember that it is the most important and rewarding aspect of translating your studies into real self-improvement. You should be clear about how you want the program to benefit you. This involves setting clear study objectives in relation to the content of the course in terms of understanding, concepts, completing research or reviewing activities and relating the content of the modules to your own situation. Your objectives may understandably change as you work through the program, in which case you should enter the revised objectives on your study plan so that you have a permanent reminder of what you are trying to achieve, when and why.

Distance-learning check-list

Prepare your study environment, your study tools and rules.
Undertake detailed self-assessment in terms of your ability as a learner.
Create a format for your study plan.
Consider your study objectives and tasks.
Create a study forecast.
Assess your study performance.
Re-evaluate your study forecast.
Be consistent when managing your study plan.
Use your Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) for tutorial support.
Make sure you keep in touch with those around you.

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Tutorial Support

Programs

Appleton Greene uses standard and bespoke corporate training programs as vessels to transfer business process improvement knowledge into the heart of our clients’ organizations. Each individual program focuses upon the implementation of a specific business process, which enables clients to easily quantify their return on investment. There are hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products now available to clients within customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office, or an unlimited number of international offices, we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization enables us to provide clients with a truly international service with that all important personal touch. Appleton Greene corporate training programs can be provided virtually or locally and they are all unique in that they individually focus upon a specific business function. They are implemented over a sustainable period of time and professional support is consistently provided by qualified learning providers and specialist consultants.

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Support available

You will have a designated Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and an Accredited Consultant and we encourage you to communicate with them as much as possible. In all cases tutorial support is provided online because we can then keep a record of all communications to ensure that tutorial support remains consistent. You would also be forwarding your work to the tutorial support unit for evaluation and assessment. You will receive individual feedback on all of the work that you undertake on a one-to-one basis, together with specific recommendations for anything that may need to be changed in order to achieve a pass with merit or a pass with distinction and you then have as many opportunities as you may need to re-submit project studies until they meet with the required standard. Consequently the only reason that you should really fail (CLP) is if you do not do the work. It makes no difference to us whether a student takes 12 months or 18 months to complete the program, what matters is that in all cases the same quality standard will have been achieved.

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Support Process

Please forward all of your future emails to the designated (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit email address that has been provided and please do not duplicate or copy your emails to other AGC email accounts as this will just cause unnecessary administration. Please note that emails are always answered as quickly as possible but you will need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general tutorial support emails during busy periods, because emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. You will also need to allow a period of up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Please therefore kindly allow for this within your time planning. All communications are managed online via email because it enables tutorial service support managers to review other communications which have been received before responding and it ensures that there is a copy of all communications retained on file for future reference. All communications will be stored within your personal (CLP) study file here at Appleton Greene throughout your designated study period. If you need any assistance or clarification at any time, please do not hesitate to contact us by forwarding an email and remember that we are here to help. If you have any questions, please list and number your questions succinctly and you can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each and every query.

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Time Management

It takes approximately 1 Year to complete the Client Retention Strategy corporate training program, incorporating 12 x 6-hour monthly workshops. Each student will also need to contribute approximately 4 hours per week over 1 Year of their personal time. Students can study from home or work at their own pace and are responsible for managing their own study plan. There are no formal examinations and students are evaluated and assessed based upon their project study submissions, together with the quality of their internal analysis and supporting documents. They can contribute more time towards study when they have the time to do so and can contribute less time when they are busy. All students tend to be in full time employment while studying and the Client Retention Strategy program is purposely designed to accommodate this, so there is plenty of flexibility in terms of time management. It makes no difference to us at Appleton Greene, whether individuals take 12-18 months to complete this program. What matters is that in all cases the same standard of quality will have been achieved with the standard and bespoke programs that have been developed.

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Distance Learning Guide

The distance learning guide should be your first port of call when starting your training program. It will help you when you are planning how and when to study, how to create the right environment and how to establish the right frame of mind. If you can lay the foundations properly during the planning stage, then it will contribute to your enjoyment and productivity while training later. The guide helps to change your lifestyle in order to accommodate time for study and to cultivate good study habits. It helps you to chart your progress so that you can measure your performance and achieve your goals. It explains the tools that you will need for study and how to make them work. It also explains how to translate academic theory into practical reality. Spend some time now working through your distance learning guide and make sure that you have firm foundations in place so that you can make the most of your distance learning program. There is no requirement for you to attend training workshops or classes at Appleton Greene offices. The entire program is undertaken online, program course manuals and project studies are administered via the Appleton Greene web site and via email, so you are able to study at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office as long as you have a computer and access to the internet.

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How To Study

The how to study guide provides students with a clear understanding of the Appleton Greene facilitation via distance learning training methods and enables students to obtain a clear overview of the training program content. It enables students to understand the step-by-step training methods used by Appleton Greene and how course manuals are integrated with project studies. It explains the research and development that is required and the need to provide evidence and references to support your statements. It also enables students to understand precisely what will be required of them in order to achieve a pass with merit and a pass with distinction for individual project studies and provides useful guidance on how to be innovative and creative when developing your Unique Program Proposition (UPP).

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Tutorial Support

Tutorial support for the Appleton Greene Client Retention Strategy corporate training program is provided online either through the Appleton Greene Client Support Portal (CSP), or via email. All tutorial support requests are facilitated by a designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). They are responsible for deciding which professor or tutor is the most appropriate option relating to the support required and then the tutorial support request is forwarded onto them. Once the professor or tutor has completed the tutorial support request and answered any questions that have been asked, this communication is then returned to the student via email by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). This enables all tutorial support, between students, professors and tutors, to be facilitated by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM) efficiently and securely through the email account. You will therefore need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general support queries and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because all tutorial support requests are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Consequently you need to put some thought into the management of your tutorial support procedure in order to ensure that your study plan is feasible and to obtain the maximum possible benefit from tutorial support during your period of study. Please retain copies of your tutorial support emails for future reference. Please ensure that ALL of your tutorial support emails are set out using the format as suggested within your guide to tutorial support. Your tutorial support emails need to be referenced clearly to the specific part of the course manual or project study which you are working on at any given time. You also need to list and number any questions that you would like to ask, up to a maximum of five questions within each tutorial support email. Remember the more specific you can be with your questions the more specific your answers will be too and this will help you to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or duplication. The guide to tutorial support is intended to help you to understand how and when to use support in order to ensure that you get the most out of your training program. Appleton Greene training programs are designed to enable you to do things for yourself. They provide you with a structure or a framework and we use tutorial support to facilitate students while they practically implement what they learn. In other words, we are enabling students to do things for themselves. The benefits of distance learning via facilitation are considerable and are much more sustainable in the long-term than traditional short-term knowledge sharing programs. Consequently you should learn how and when to use tutorial support so that you can maximize the benefits from your learning experience with Appleton Greene. This guide describes the purpose of each training function and how to use them and how to use tutorial support in relation to each aspect of the training program. It also provides useful tips and guidance with regard to best practice.

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Tutorial Support Tips

Students are often unsure about how and when to use tutorial support with Appleton Greene. This Tip List will help you to understand more about how to achieve the most from using tutorial support. Refer to it regularly to ensure that you are continuing to use the service properly. Tutorial support is critical to the success of your training experience, but it is important to understand when and how to use it in order to maximize the benefit that you receive. It is no coincidence that those students who succeed are those that learn how to be positive, proactive and productive when using tutorial support.

Be positive and friendly with your tutorial support emails

Remember that if you forward an email to the tutorial support unit, you are dealing with real people. “Do unto others as you would expect others to do unto you”. If you are positive, complimentary and generally friendly in your emails, you will generate a similar response in return. This will be more enjoyable, productive and rewarding for you in the long-term.

Think about the impression that you want to create

Every time that you communicate, you create an impression, which can be either positive or negative, so put some thought into the impression that you want to create. Remember that copies of all tutorial support emails are stored electronically and tutors will always refer to prior correspondence before responding to any current emails. Over a period of time, a general opinion will be arrived at in relation to your character, attitude and ability. Try to manage your own frustrations, mood swings and temperament professionally, without involving the tutorial support team. Demonstrating frustration or a lack of patience is a weakness and will be interpreted as such. The good thing about communicating in writing, is that you will have the time to consider your content carefully, you can review it and proof-read it before sending your email to Appleton Greene and this should help you to communicate more professionally, consistently and to avoid any unnecessary knee-jerk reactions to individual situations as and when they may arise. Please also remember that the CLP Tutorial Support Unit will not just be responsible for evaluating and assessing the quality of your work, they will also be responsible for providing recommendations to other learning providers and to client contacts within the Appleton Greene global client network, so do be in control of your own emotions and try to create a good impression.

Remember that quality is preferred to quantity

Please remember that when you send an email to the tutorial support team, you are not using Twitter or Text Messaging. Try not to forward an email every time that you have a thought. This will not prove to be productive either for you or for the tutorial support team. Take time to prepare your communications properly, as if you were writing a professional letter to a business colleague and make a list of queries that you are likely to have and then incorporate them within one email, say once every month, so that the tutorial support team can understand more about context, application and your methodology for study. Get yourself into a consistent routine with your tutorial support requests and use the tutorial support template provided with ALL of your emails. The (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit will not spoon-feed you with information. They need to be able to evaluate and assess your tutorial support requests carefully and professionally.

Be specific about your questions in order to receive specific answers

Try not to write essays by thinking as you are writing tutorial support emails. The tutorial support unit can be unclear about what in fact you are asking, or what you are looking to achieve. Be specific about asking questions that you want answers to. Number your questions. You will then receive specific answers to each and every question. This is the main purpose of tutorial support via email.

Keep a record of your tutorial support emails

It is important that you keep a record of all tutorial support emails that are forwarded to you. You can then refer to them when necessary and it avoids any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.

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Individual training workshops or telephone support

Please be advised that Appleton Greene does not provide separate or individual tutorial support meetings, workshops, or provide telephone support for individual students. Appleton Greene is an equal opportunities learning and service provider and we are therefore understandably bound to treat all students equally. We cannot therefore broker special financial or study arrangements with individual students regardless of the circumstances. All tutorial support is provided online and this enables Appleton Greene to keep a record of all communications between students, professors and tutors on file for future reference, in accordance with our quality management procedure and your terms and conditions of enrolment. All tutorial support is provided online via email because it enables us to have time to consider support content carefully, it ensures that you receive a considered and detailed response to your queries. You can number questions that you would like to ask, which relate to things that you do not understand or where clarification may be required. You can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each individual query. You will also then have a record of these communications and of all tutorial support, which has been provided to you. This makes tutorial support administration more productive by avoiding any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.

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Tutorial Support Email Format

You should use this tutorial support format if you need to request clarification or assistance while studying with your training program. Please note that ALL of your tutorial support request emails should use the same format. You should therefore set up a standard email template, which you can then use as and when you need to. Emails that are forwarded to Appleton Greene, which do not use the following format, may be rejected and returned to you by the (CLP) Program Administration Manager. A detailed response will then be forwarded to you via email usually within 20 business days of receipt for general support queries and 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Your tutorial support request, together with the corresponding TSU reply, will then be saved and stored within your electronic TSU file at Appleton Greene for future reference.

Subject line of your email

Please insert: Appleton Greene (CLP) Tutorial Support Request: (Your Full Name) (Date), within the subject line of your email.

Main body of your email

Please insert:
1. Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) Tutorial Support Request
2. Your Full Name
3. Date of TS request
4. Preferred email address
5. Backup email address
6. Course manual page name or number (reference)
7. Project study page name or number (reference)

Subject of enquiry
Please insert a maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Briefly outline the subject matter of your inquiry, or what your questions relate to.

Question 1

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Question 3

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Question 4

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Question 5

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Please note that a maximum of 5 questions is permitted with each individual tutorial support request email.

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Procedure

* List the questions that you want to ask first, then re-arrange them in order of priority. Make sure that you reference them, where necessary, to the course manuals or project studies.
* Make sure that you are specific about your questions and number them. Try to plan the content within your emails to make sure that it is relevant.
* Make sure that your tutorial support emails are set out correctly, using the Tutorial Support Email Format provided here.
* Save a copy of your email and incorporate the date sent after the subject title. Keep your tutorial support emails within the same file and in date order for easy reference.
* Allow up to 20 business days for a response to general tutorial support emails and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because detailed individual responses will be made in all cases and tutorial support emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received.
* Emails can and do get lost. So if you have not received a reply within the appropriate time, forward another copy or a reminder to the tutorial support unit to be sure that it has been received but do not forward reminders unless the appropriate time has elapsed.
* When you receive a reply, save it immediately featuring the date of receipt after the subject heading for easy reference. In most cases the tutorial support unit replies to your questions individually, so you will have a record of the questions that you asked as well as the answers offered. With project studies however, separate emails are usually forwarded by the tutorial support unit, so do keep a record of your own original emails as well.
* Remember to be positive and friendly in your emails. You are dealing with real people who will respond to the same things that you respond to.
* Try not to repeat questions that have already been asked in previous emails. If this happens the tutorial support unit will probably just refer you to the appropriate answers that have already been provided within previous emails.
* If you lose your tutorial support email records you can write to Appleton Greene to receive a copy of your tutorial support file, but a separate administration charge may be levied for this service.

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How To Study

Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can help you to plan a task list for getting started so that you can be clear about your direction and your priorities in relation to your training program. It is also a good way to introduce yourself to the tutorial support team.

Planning your study environment

Your study conditions are of great importance and will have a direct effect on how much you enjoy your training program. Consider how much space you will have, whether it is comfortable and private and whether you are likely to be disturbed. The study tools and facilities at your disposal are also important to the success of your distance-learning experience. Your tutorial support unit can help with useful tips and guidance, regardless of your starting position. It is important to get this right before you start working on your training program.

Planning your program objectives

It is important that you have a clear list of study objectives, in order of priority, before you start working on your training program. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance here to ensure that your study objectives have been afforded due consideration and priority.

Planning how and when to study

Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. This approach is designed to let you study efficiently away from the traditional classroom environment. It is important however, that you plan how and when to study, so that you are making the most of your natural attributes, strengths and opportunities. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance and useful tips to ensure that you are playing to your strengths.

Planning your study tasks

You should have a clear understanding of the study tasks that you should be undertaking and the priority associated with each task. These tasks should also be integrated with your program objectives. The distance learning guide and the guide to tutorial support for students should help you here, but if you need any clarification or assistance, please contact your tutorial support unit.

Planning your time

You will need to allocate specific times during your calendar when you intend to study if you are to have a realistic chance of completing your program on time. You are responsible for planning and managing your own study time, so it is important that you are successful with this. Your tutorial support unit can help you with this if your time plan is not working.

Keeping in touch

Consistency is the key here. If you communicate too frequently in short bursts, or too infrequently with no pattern, then your management ability with your studies will be questioned, both by you and by your tutorial support unit. It is obvious when a student is in control and when one is not and this will depend how able you are at sticking with your study plan. Inconsistency invariably leads to in-completion.

Charting your progress

Your tutorial support team can help you to chart your own study progress. Refer to your distance learning guide for further details.

Making it work

To succeed, all that you will need to do is apply yourself to undertaking your training program and interpreting it correctly. Success or failure lies in your hands and your hands alone, so be sure that you have a strategy for making it work. Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can guide you through the process of program planning, development and implementation.

Reading methods

Interpretation is often unique to the individual but it can be improved and even quantified by implementing consistent interpretation methods. Interpretation can be affected by outside interference such as family members, TV, or the Internet, or simply by other thoughts which are demanding priority in our minds. One thing that can improve our productivity is using recognized reading methods. This helps us to focus and to be more structured when reading information for reasons of importance, rather than relaxation.

Speed reading

When reading through course manuals for the first time, subconsciously set your reading speed to be just fast enough that you cannot dwell on individual words or tables. With practice, you should be able to read an A4 sheet of paper in one minute. You will not achieve much in the way of a detailed understanding, but your brain will retain a useful overview. This overview will be important later on and will enable you to keep individual issues in perspective with a more generic picture because speed reading appeals to the memory part of the brain. Do not worry about what you do or do not remember at this stage.

Content reading

Once you have speed read everything, you can then start work in earnest. You now need to read a particular section of your course manual thoroughly, by making detailed notes while you read. This process is called Content Reading and it will help to consolidate your understanding and interpretation of the information that has been provided.

Making structured notes on the course manuals

When you are content reading, you should be making detailed notes, which are both structured and informative. Make these notes in a MS Word document on your computer, because you can then amend and update these as and when you deem it to be necessary. List your notes under three headings: 1. Interpretation – 2. Questions – 3. Tasks. The purpose of the 1st section is to clarify your interpretation by writing it down. The purpose of the 2nd section is to list any questions that the issue raises for you. The purpose of the 3rd section is to list any tasks that you should undertake as a result. Anyone who has graduated with a business-related degree should already be familiar with this process.

Organizing structured notes separately

You should then transfer your notes to a separate study notebook, preferably one that enables easy referencing, such as a MS Word Document, a MS Excel Spreadsheet, a MS Access Database, or a personal organizer on your cell phone. Transferring your notes allows you to have the opportunity of cross-checking and verifying them, which assists considerably with understanding and interpretation. You will also find that the better you are at doing this, the more chance you will have of ensuring that you achieve your study objectives.

Question your understanding

Do challenge your understanding. Explain things to yourself in your own words by writing things down.

Clarifying your understanding

If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your understanding.

Question your interpretation

Do challenge your interpretation. Qualify your interpretation by writing it down.

Clarifying your interpretation

If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your interpretation.

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Qualification Requirements

The student will need to successfully complete the project study and all of the exercises relating to the Client Retention Strategy corporate training program, achieving a pass with merit or distinction in each case, in order to qualify as an Accredited Client Retention Strategy Specialist (ACRSS). All monthly workshops need to be tried and tested within your company. These project studies can be completed in your own time and at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office. There are no formal examinations, assessment is based upon the successful completion of the project studies. They are called project studies because, unlike case studies, these projects are not theoretical, they incorporate real program processes that need to be properly researched and developed. The project studies assist us in measuring your understanding and interpretation of the training program and enable us to assess qualification merits. All of the project studies are based entirely upon the content within the training program and they enable you to integrate what you have learnt into your corporate training practice.

Client Retention Strategy – Grading Contribution

Project Study – Grading Contribution

Customer Service – 10%
E-business – 05%
Finance – 10%
Globalization – 10%
Human Resources – 10%
Information Technology – 10%
Legal – 05%
Management – 10%
Marketing – 10%
Production – 10%
Education – 05%
Logistics – 05%
TOTAL GRADING – 100%

Qualification grades

A mark of 90% = Pass with Distinction.
A mark of 75% = Pass with Merit.
A mark of less than 75% = Fail.
If you fail to achieve a mark of 75% with a project study, you will receive detailed feedback from the Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and/or Accredited Consultant, together with a list of tasks which you will need to complete, in order to ensure that your project study meets with the minimum quality standard that is required by Appleton Greene. You can then re-submit your project study for further evaluation and assessment. Indeed you can re-submit as many drafts of your project studies as you need to, until such a time as they eventually meet with the required standard by Appleton Greene, so you need not worry about this, it is all part of the learning process.

When marking project studies, Appleton Greene is looking for sufficient evidence of the following:

Pass with merit

A satisfactory level of program understanding
A satisfactory level of program interpretation
A satisfactory level of project study content presentation
A satisfactory level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
A satisfactory level of the practical integration of academic theory

Pass with distinction

An exceptional level of program understanding
An exceptional level of program interpretation
An exceptional level of project study content presentation
An exceptional level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
An exceptional level of the practical integration of academic theory

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Preliminary Analysis

What Your Clients Won’t Tell You And Your Managers Don’t Know

John Gamble,
Steve Wurzbacher

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The Client Retention Matrix

Chris Jennings

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Malcolm McDonald on Key Account Management

Malcom McDonald,
Beth Rodgers

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The Great Client Partner: How Soft Skills the True Currency in Client Relations

Jared Belsky

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The Power of Customer Journey Mapping

Hanover Research

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Course Manuals 1-10

Course Manual 1: Evaluate Impact

How you start will determine how you finish. This axiom cannot be applied more to the Executive Team’s Impact on Client retention. Now is the time to completely align on the importance and the impact of client retention to your company.

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Exercise 1

Stop what you are doing and complete a quick exercise. Right now, pull out a piece of paper and write down your top 10 clients and put the revenue associated with each client next to it.

Now take a check mark next to numbers 2, 4, and 7. Add up the total revenue. Now for just a moment assume you just lost that amount of revenue this year. What would that do to your company? How would you even think of making it up? Could you make it up by increased sales? How many new additional sales would it take? What would be the additional cost to acquire the additional revenue needed by losing those clients.

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We have found there are two types of clients. The Emergency Room client and The Healthy Company.

The Emergency Room Company:

Typically, these are CEO’s or Presidents that call on a Monday morning. They just received the email that goes something like this. “Dear. Caroline, it has been a pleasure doing business with you but due to the mounting competitive landscape we decided to move on from our relationship. We will be exercising the 60 day out clause in our contract. Again, thank you for all the years of service you gave us it is very appreciates”. That is it. There is no warning, no prior communication just a “Dear CEO” letter terminating the contract. Research shows that 96% of dissatisfied customers don’t complain – They just walk-away and you’ll never know why. Now poor Caroline is left holding the bag and trying to figure out how to tell the Board of Directors that she has a plan to make up the revenue and a plan is in place to prevent further losses.

What is also sad is Caroline also did not receive and notice from those inside her company. Why, because there was never a formalized process of alerting her or anyone in leadership that there was ever a problem. In their defense without a strong assessment process in place it may have been hard to see it coming. The problem often is that we all simply do not like to address conflict. It is easier to just sent a note and move on. There has to be a better way and there is.

It is a stressful time for all involved. We will start implementing our formalized retention process, but culture and processes do not turn on a dime. The good news is Caroline can now go to the board with a strategy if she has started to implement the client retention strategy program. The bad news is the immediate impact to margins, operating stress and morale to name a few is pretty significant. It takes time to turn around the ship and realize the benefits, but it is better that Caroline is going to start now. Sometimes it takes loss after loss action is taken.

The Healthy Company:

These are the people who see the benefit of preventive medicine. They are proactive and realize that just a 2% increase in client retention is equal to cutting cost by 10%. They look ahead and ask us how they can support their continued growth by putting a formalize proven client retention process in place. They have done their research and realize that a 5% investment in client retention can provide a return of 25% or more. These companies are often ones that have been growing at a pretty good pace and want to stabilize their current revenue while they increase their growth. They see that there is equal value to a strong sales strategy and a strong client retention strategy. There is also a realization that more training is needed to blunt and prevent the lost business.

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Exercise 2

Take a quick moment to assess your own company in general terms. Where is your company? We will get more detail in determining your current status as it pertains to client retention in the next chapter, but it does not hurt to take a moment and just think of where you might be. Are you in the Emergency Room or are you practicing preventive medicine? The impact it will have on your business from every angle is significant.

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In simplest terms the impact of a client retention strategy can be felt by your company in three different ways. First, you will enjoy the benefit of retaining those clients you worked so hard to obtain in the first place. You just put too much effort to lose them due to lack of planning. Second you will grow from within, organically. Clients will start to move the continuum from simply exploring the services you provide to becoming an integral partner with a runway that last well into the future.

Recent Challenges:

Compounding the need for client retention is the significant change that the business world has experienced of the last decade. It has often affected how we have relationship, how we do business and how we create a strategy for the future.

With the advent of remote work, we no longer have those face-to-face casual interactions. It is a lot harder to build trust and created inseparable bonds when you are on a Team or a Zoom call. It is better in person when you can build on the things you have in common. A retention plan that focuses your company on the keys to building and maintaining those relationships are key to retaining the business. We also must build a network that is greater than on or two people but is supportive of a strong partnership. One that spans the entire organization.

We also work at the “speed of business” now. Expectations now change in record time. How are you keeping up with those expectations? They are key to the success of your business as we will find out later in our training. Business is often won or lost depending on if the company is meeting or exceeding expectations. Now more than ever a plan must be in place to assure you, and your client is aligned on those key expectations. This is different that the words of a contract. It is the current needs to those doing the work day-to-day.

Time and time again we see clients who have been working on an expectation of the past not knowing or having a process in place to show that things have changed. This is not sustainable for a successful corporation. The result is that a frustrated CEO will call and tell you that things have changed leaving you holding the bag and wondering what might have gone wrong. What went wrong is that you were working off a different set of expectations.

For a moment think of all the technology advances that have affected the way you do business. We will provide one example. In the past, a Quarterly Business Review would consist of reviewing and sharing the reports and data from the last few months. The client would be excited to see the data and really devour all that the Account Team was showing them. It was your chance to brag a little and really shape the data to show how well you performed. You held the key to the information. Now the client comes to the meeting with the same data and more in their hands. They hold the keys.

Too often Quarterly Business Reviews have come to a screeching halt as the Account Team drones on about that information the client has reviewed ten times over. They start to wonder why your Account Team is not catching on to the clues that this is not productive. This goes on for a few quarters until everyone notices that less key stakeholders from the clients attend the meetings. Then it is chalked up to just disinterest or things are ok so why bother.

Strategic Planning:

We believe in the Account Team sharing and presenting their successes. If you don’t brag about the successes no one will. The important thing is to have a client retention strategy the focuses on sharing successes and at the same time helping their client’s problem solve.

It is the difference between being proactive or reactive. Not having a client retention strategy leaves your Account Team ill-prepared for the interactions with your client. They tend to simply rely on technology and react comes about. It is what is comfortable.

A strong client retention strategy keeps you ahead of the train versus trying to catch up to it. It is the difference again between someone in the Emergency Room reacting to problems the client brings to the table and coming to the client with a strong strategic plan. If you are being honest where does your account team stand? Are they being proactive or reactive and just presenting the data only to wait for the client to direct them how to move forward.

Then you add in the increase competitive nature and economic uncertainty, and you can start to see that the company that is well equipped with a strong client retention strategy wins every time. They took the time to have a process in place.

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Exercise 3

Now take a moment and get a clean piece of paper out.

On one side list what how and what kind of impact a week client retention strategy may impact a company. Take a moment to reflect on what we have discussed so far and then go beyond. Really take a moment to think of all aspects a week client retention strategy has on your company.

Now on the other side list what how and what kind of impact a strong client retention strategy may impact a company. Take a moment to reflect on what we have discussed so far and then go beyond. Really take a moment to think of all aspects a strong client retention strategy has on your company.

What is different about the two lists? Are you starting to see all the things you have to react to from the first list? It is a difference between what the marketplace is doing to you versus what you might be doing to the marketplace. It is the difference of letting the outside factors determine your outcomes or you determine your outcomes. Did you include the cost of sales in your list? We know that 5X more costly to Successfully attract a new client vs. keeping an existing client. Think about that when you start thinking of the impact on a strong client retention strategy has on your business. There is a good chance you are already making a substantial investment in your sales strategy. We often see that the goal is not focused on repairing the hole in buck in creating the bigger bucket.

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A company with a strong retention strategy has revenue that grows from existing client. They do not only protect what they have but since they understand their clients’ expectations, know the key stakeholders and developed a strong retention strategy they are also proactive solving the problems they have been asked to solve while innovating for the future. That is value!

Our guess is you may even have been part of or competed against a company with a strong client retention strategy. They are usually having a strong reputation in the industry. Their brand is sustaining the test of time, and they benefit from strong customer loyalty. They are the leader of the pack that everyone is catch up to.

Here is the thing. 80% of clients believe they deliver superior client experience but only 8% of client believe they do. There are many factors for this that we will review later in workshop 1. For now, the simple question is what the difference is between the 92% who are not seen as superior and the 8% that are. The ramifications between being the 8% versus the 92% are pretty dramatic. Now take a look again at your list. Does any of these items that follow ring a bell? We are sure you hit some of them. Let’s now go a little more in-depth.

A strong client retention strategy ensures revenue stability and growth by providing a consistent revenue stream and a solid foundation for predictable financial success. This hallmark of a fiscally strong company does not happen by accident; it requires a formalized process to prevent reliance on chance. Key components include growing sales, setting realistic objectives, maintaining fiscal responsibility, and having a robust retention strategy. In contrast, poor retention leads to fluctuating revenues and financial uncertainty, making future investments challenging. Companies struggling with retention often pressure their sales teams with unrealistic goals, resulting in demoralized teams and high turnover. Additionally, these companies frequently cut costs excessively, jeopardizing their long-term stability.

Strong retention reduces acquisition costs by maximizing the value of existing clients, leading to higher profit margins. These companies often enjoy sustained growth and long-term investor confidence, much like blue-chip stocks. They build revenue and reputation from within rather than relying heavily on external factors. On the other hand, poor retention increases dependence on costly client acquisition efforts, reducing profitability. The constant need to replace clients exacerbates expenses, especially when implementation and start-up costs repeatedly consume resources. This approach prevents businesses from progressing along the client journey to fully reap long-term benefits.

A positive brand reputation is another hallmark of strong retention strategies. Satisfied clients contribute to a brand’s prestige and provide organic growth opportunities through referrals. Companies with strong retention often evoke loyalty, much like iconic brands such as Nike, Apple or John Deere. Conversely, poor retention damages brand reputation, as dissatisfied clients share negative experiences, deterring potential new clients. Trust, painstakingly built over years, can be lost in moments due to service failures. Regaining that trust is an uphill battle, requiring significant time and resources.

Operational efficiency thrives under a strong retention strategy, as businesses can focus on optimizing processes and delivering consistent value to a loyal client base. A well-oiled operations department can build on its success, fostering innovation and forward-thinking solutions. In contrast, poor retention forces operations teams into a reactive mode, constantly firefighting churn-related issues. This prevents them from addressing future challenges and erodes the department’s ability to function effectively over time.

Client Lifetime Value (CLV) is another crucial metric affected by retention. While often overlooked, CLV highlights the potential revenue from long-term client relationships. Strong retention extends client lifecycles, increasing total revenue and creating opportunities for mutual growth. Poor retention, however, limits this potential by focusing solely on acquiring new clients rather than nurturing existing ones. Companies without a structured Team Account Retention Plan (TARP) often miss out on the chance to build lasting, profitable relationships. We will address CLV in more detail later in this workshop. For now just focus on the impact of not realizing the Client Lifetime Value.

A strong retention strategy also enhances sales team effectiveness by fostering collaboration between sales and operations. This enables upselling, cross-selling, and leveraging satisfied clients for referrals. A shared respect and understanding between these departments create synergy in the client journey. In contrast, poor retention pits sales and operations against each other, with each blaming the other for failures. This lack of collaboration undermines the company’s ability to maintain or grow its client base effectively.

Retention impacts market differentiation as well. Companies with strong strategies become trusted partners, gaining a competitive edge and industry leadership. These companies earn recognition for listening to clients and delivering consistent results. Conversely, companies with poor retention struggle to stand out and often lose trust due to perceived unreliability or inconsistency. Sticking to a proven strategy is essential to remain competitive in a crowded marketplace.

Employee morale is significantly affected by client retention. Strong strategies foster a positive work environment, minimizing conflicts and boosting satisfaction. Employees take pride in working for companies valued by their clients. In contrast, poor retention creates a revolving door of employee turnover, with good talent leaving and new hires struggling to keep up. The constant churn undermines team cohesion and long-term effectiveness.

Financial health during economic downturns is another area where retention plays a vital role. Companies with strong retention strategies weather downturns more effectively because loyal clients cushion the impact of market fluctuations. These businesses avoid panic, maintaining stability even in challenging times. On the other hand, poor retention exacerbates financial difficulties, leaving companies vulnerable to collapse or acquisition.

Finally, long-term strategic planning benefits greatly from strong client retention. Companies with predictable revenues and stable client relationships can align on long-term goals and priorities, making retention a top focus. Poor retention, by contrast, derails strategic initiatives as management is forced to focus on immediate recovery efforts. Viewing retention as a straightforward task often leads to failure, as true success requires a multi-layered, formalized process rather than a one-dimensional service model.

By prioritizing client retention, B2B companies can unlock sustainable growth, operational efficiency, and a more resilient market position, whereas neglecting retention undermines these critical advantages.

What a difference the impact a strong versus a week client retention strategy can make on a company. We hope you are starting to see the importance client retention strategy has on a company. Many companies go through the motions of saying client retention is important, but it is only after they really study the impact that they align on the importance.

It is understandable why it takes the work to really see the impact. Life gets very busy and the focus from investors, the board and others always focus on other issues. However, when you see for yourself the significant impact client retention has on every aspect of a company’s health it is not hard to agree there is value in the process.

We started out this chapter by saying that how you start will determine how you finish. We started with the simple impact losing 3 clients might have on your company. Yet we are finishing by realizing it is so much more. Client retention impacts a company’s finances, reputation, sales, morale and efficiency just to name a few.

To sum this up let’s look at a company that was at the forefront of technology not too many years ago.

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Exercise 3

Now it is time to compare notes with the rest of the Executive Team. What was everyone’s reaction to the first exercise the impact of lost revenue? Did you all pick the same accounts? What would have been some of your ways to resolve the matter?

Capture on a Flip Chart how you might resolve the matter at hand and circle the ones that are realistic. Now for fun list the resources including financial and effort need to rectify the situation.

Second, Capture on a flipchart everyone’s list of a week vs. a strong client retention strategy. What were the commonalities and what were the differences.

*Take a picture of the two flip charts for later discussion.

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Case Example: Research In Motion (BlackBerry)

Background:

BlackBerry was once the dominant provider of smartphones and communication devices for corporate clients. Its devices were the standard for secure, reliable communication in industries like finance, government, and professional services. However, RIM’s inability to adapt to changing client needs and expectations resulted in a significant loss of market share, even among its core business clients.

There are a few things that went wrong. There was a failure to Evolve with Client Expectations: BlackBerry built its reputation on providing secure email and messaging services for corporate clients, which it continued to prioritize even as client expectations evolved. Business customers began to demand more versatile devices with broader applications, such as better web browsing, apps, and media capabilities. RIM underestimated the importance of these features and continued to focus on hardware keyboards and email security alone.

In addition, RIM Ignored Early Warning Signs from Clients. Corporate clients began voicing dissatisfaction with the lack of innovation compared to competitors like Apple and Samsung. The iPhone, in particular, started to appeal to corporate clients for its combination of usability and flexibility. RIM failed to listen to this feedback, believing that its dominance in the B2B market would protect it from disruption.

Unfortunately RIM was so focused on increasing revenue that there was a Lack of Client Retention Efforts. RIM’s business strategy lacked a clear focus on retaining its corporate clients. The company failed to engage with key decision-makers in enterprises to understand their evolving needs or to offer tailored solutions to meet them. As a result, many corporations began migrating to competitor devices, particularly Apple’s iPhone, which provided secure communication as well as superior user experience.

Rim was Reactive Rather Than Proactive when it came to Strategy. When RIM finally began addressing these client demands, it was too late. Its attempts to launch touch-screen devices and a new operating system (BlackBerry 10) came years after Apple and Android devices had already established dominance in the market. RIM’s delayed reaction alienated its loyal B2B customers, who had already begun transitioning to competitors.

RIM had an Overreliance on Existing Strengths. RIM believed its strong security features and proprietary BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) would retain its B2B clients. However, competitors closed the gap in security features while offering a far superior overall experience, leaving BlackBerry’s differentiation ineffective.

The Outcome:

By 2013, BlackBerry’s share of the smartphone market had dropped to below 1%, with many former B2B clients switching to iPhones or Android devices. The company’s failure to retain its B2B customers directly impacted its profitability, resulting in significant layoffs, restructuring, and a near-complete exit from the smartphone market.

Key Lessons:

First, understand Evolving Client Needs: Even loyal business clients will leave if their evolving needs aren’t met. Regular engagement and proactive strategies are critical. Second, Retention Is Cheaper Than Acquisition: BlackBerry’s efforts to regain lost clients through expensive new initiatives failed to match the cost-effectiveness of simply retaining them with continuous innovation. Adapt Quickly to Competitive Threats: Competitors like Apple recognized and acted on changing market dynamics faster, leaving BlackBerry with little room to compete. Retention Is Strategic, Not Tactical: A clear, ongoing strategy to maintain client relationships, rather than reliance on past strengths, is vital in B2B markets.

This case highlights the importance of actively listening to and responding to B2B clients’ needs, adapting retention strategies in response to competitive and technological changes, and maintaining relevance through innovation.

Do not let BlackBerry be the story others will be telling about you in years to come. You know the impact and can tell the signs to keep you out of the Emergency Room. Be the Healthy company that takes preventive measures.

Please do not throw away your lists. When we move on to evaluating you own companies’ client retention strategy we will be coming back to them.

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Course Manual 2: Current State

Up to this point we have been talking mostly in general terms on the basic health of your business and how a strong or weak client retention strategy might affect your business. Now it is time to dig deeper. We will want to look at the health of your company from several angles. The first is obviously Financials but it does not stop there. It goes much deeper. It is more nuanced that we first suggested. It is true that client retention impacts the company’s sales, its ability to retain those clients you worked so hard to retain and, grow with existing clients. That is the general overview. How does it specifically affect your business?

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Here is some work done by Bain and Company on the difference between an indicator of health for a company as it relates to two different companies. The first with a 3% loss in contracts and the second with a 12% loss in contracts. We like to call it the iceberg slide because margins are just the tip of the iceberg. It is what everyone focuses on because it is the easiest to see. It also attracts the most attention. When margins are negatively impacted it is like a siren that goes off to all in invested in the company. However, it goes much much deeper.

When you have low margins due to lost contracts it causes you to have a higher cost to serve. Now you must make those tough decisions on who gets the money and who does not. There is only so much revenue to go around. This can cause some internal friction as everyone fights over the same dollar. Eventually that higher cost to serve will ensure you have upset customers. Eventually those customers will tell two friends who will tell two friends and so on and so on. Before you know it the word is out through the entire market place. This will definitely affect your reputation and brand. When your reputation is damaged your sales are hit due to slow referrals resulting in no growth. Again affecting revenue.

If it only stopped there. Unfortunately, it does not. The higher cost to serve and no growth leads to operational stress. Now Operations is hearing from the customer and their grumbling due to the company not meeting the clients grows like a virus. Eventually the grumbling and complaining will lead to low employee satisfaction. In turn a client retention will turn into an employee retention issue. No one wants to work for a company under stress and one that is not winning!

So where do we start? Well probably the best place to start is at the tip of the iceberg. It is the tail that wags the dog. So, get your pencil sharpened. It is time to tackle the financials.

Financials:

The first place to start is looking at the financial impact. It is often the area that is center stage in most assessments of health and the easiest one to quantify. You will be filling out a worksheet that help you gain insight around some parameters that will affect the financial impact. Here is an example of a company with all other parameters the same except for the retention rate. Over the years the impact is quite drastic.

Let us take a moment and review the key parameters we will be inputting into the worksheet.

The first is Retention Rate (%) definition: Retention Rate measures the percentage of existing clients retained over a specific period. It shows the ability to maintain client relationships. Important notes when discussing retention rates retention rates excludes new clients added during the period. We will revisit this later on to determine the best formula to use moving forward that will define the goal that is best suited for your company.

Retention Rate (%)=(Number of Clients at Start of PeriodNumber of Clients at End of Period−Number of New Clients Added)×100

The second Average Operating Profit per Client Definition: This is the average profit generated per client after accounting for operating expenses.

Formula:

Average Operating Profit per Client=Total Number of Clients / Total Operating Profit

Operating profit = Revenue – Operating Costs.

The third Average Acquisition Cost per Client Definition: This measures the average cost to acquire a new client, including marketing and sales expenses. Acquisition costs include all sales, marketing, and related expenses.

Formula:

Average Acquisition Cost per Client=Number of New Clients Added divided by Total Acquisition Costs

The fourth: Number of New Clients Added Annually Definition: This is the total number of new clients acquired within a year.

Formula:

Number of New Clients Added Annually=Total Clients at End of Year−Clients at Start of Year + Clients Lost during Year

We do understand many of those taking the client retention strategy program will understand and know the definitions and formula. However, we wanted to make sure we are all on the same page as we move forward. It also should be noted that when you change any one of these parameters it will change the overall projections. Each company is different and will impact the overall projections differently. While the revenue of each company will change it should be noted that the percentages should not change nor the impact. A 5% increase in client retention to a 5,000,000.00 corporation will be felt equally compared to that of the billion-dollar company.

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Now it is you turn…

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Exercise 1

As an executive team take a moment and fill out this template on the financial health of you company. Your CFO or financial might be a good place to start in filling it out.

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Simply enter these three numbers in the correlating fields. In the retention rate enter your current retention rate to the best of your ability. Then your operating profit per client followed by your average acquisition cost per client and then finally your number of new clients added annually.

Once these are all added you will get a pretty clear picture of what the impact of your current and potential client retention rate will mean for your company. Look at the impact to your Yearly Net Profit, Cumulative Net Profit and your Cumulative Cash Flow. What is the yearly increase or decrease? There are no right answers. The numbers are what they are for now but that does not mean they will be this way going forward. You can change them with a formalized process in place.

Now as a group decide what you think you can increase your retention rate to by the end of the year. What does that do to your Yearly Net Profit, Cumulative Net Profit and your Cumulative Cash Flow. We have seen a significant impact with just a 2 or 3 percent increase in client retention.

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We hope this first step in assessing your current state will motivate you to start thinking of what can be. As we go through the process, we will continue to build on this work sheet with such things as the Cumulative Lifetime Value of your clients and others so you can really zero in on a strategy.

Surveys and Testimonials:

However, financial impact is just part of the equation. Client retention also affects sales and operations.

Sales:

A good way to see the impact client retention has on sales is to look at two key factors. Reputation and Trust along with Organic growth. Let’s start with Reputation and Trust. For now, we are going to look at four key metrics, Net Promoter Scores (NPS) or Satisfaction Surveys, Customer Reviews and Testimonials, and Referral Rates. There are more robust ways of getting a more accurate picture of what your clients truly perceive and your performance but for now these three are good place to start.

First is the Net Promoter Score. NPS is simply a way to measures the likelihood of customers recommending your business. There are benefits and drawbacks to the NPS score for a first look and your brand and its reputation. NPS is simply Percentage of Promoters – Percentage of Detractors. You would think it is expressed in a percentage, but it is not. The score is expressed as a whole number and can range from -100 to +100. Here is an Example for your reference:

If you survey 100 customers and 70 are promoters (70%), 20 are passive and 10 are Detractors (10%). You NPS score would as follows: NPS = 70%−10% = 60. 60 is not a bad score for your reference A positive NPS (>0) indicates more promoters than detractors, which is a good sign. An NPS of 50+ is excellent, and 70+ is world-class. A negative NPS means you have more detractors than promoters, indicating a need for improvement. It is also important to look at NPS and all metrics as they pertain to your industry. Some industries just naturally have lower or higher scores.

If your company does not rely on NPS scores that pull in whatever customer survey tool you use.

The second thing to measure is customer reviews and testimonials. You can often pull these off your web site, Google, Yelp and a host of other avenues. Marketing should have a good handle on this, and the Chief Marketing Officer should be able to quickly provide you with the information needed.

Third is the referral rates. Referral Rate is the percentage of new clients that have been referred from existing clients. Sales should be able to help with this information. If you are not monitoring at this time, we highly suggest that you should and keep detailed track of the positive and negative referrals.

You should have everything you need to have a good handle on Reputation and Trust. For now, just have the information ready to review for when we get to the exercise.

However, if you are really seeing the benefit of client retention it will be seen in the amount of organic growth you are seeing from your existing accounts. There is no better way of taking the pressure off the sales team than to create revenue from existing clients than from always having to acquire new clients. The cost is dramatically less as well. It is a win win for all involved. If the average revenue for existing clients remains static it is a reflection on not just the effort to grow internally but also on the longevity of each contract. When the revenue is stagnant the value does not stay the same it goes down.

There is a fourth coming to the forefront in the recent year or two and it is a strong focus on Artificial Intelligence as a predictor of client assessment and risk.

AI is revolutionizing the way businesses assess client retention risk by leveraging data analytics, predictive modeling, and automation. Predictive analytics allows AI to analyze historical client data, identifying trends that indicate the likelihood of a client leaving. By assessing factors such as engagement levels, purchasing behaviors, and communication patterns, AI helps businesses proactively address retention challenges before they escalate.

Sentiment analysis plays a crucial role in understanding client satisfaction. AI-powered natural language processing tools scan emails, feedback, and reviews to gauge client sentiment. A decline in positive sentiment can serve as an early warning sign of dissatisfaction, prompting businesses to take immediate action. Personalization further enhances client engagement, as AI tailors’ communication strategies based on customer preferences and behaviors. Automated outreach, personalized recommendations, and targeted follow-ups ensure that clients receive relevant and timely interactions, fostering stronger relationships.

Machine learning algorithms are highly effective in churn prediction. By processing vast amounts of customer data, including transaction history, service usage, and complaint records, AI calculates the probability of churn, enabling businesses to focus retention efforts on high-risk clients. AI-powered dashboards provide real-time insights, offering client health scores and alerting account managers to declining engagement. This allows businesses to intervene early with customized retention strategies that can help rebuild client satisfaction.

Beyond analytics, AI enhances operational efficiency by automating processes such as customer service interactions, follow-ups, and contract renewals. By reducing manual workload and human error, AI ensures that clients receive consistent and timely attention. Through data-driven decision-making, improved customer satisfaction, and proactive intervention, AI is transforming client retention strategies and helping businesses significantly reduce churn rates.

Ok, you should have most of the following in hand. The NPS or Customer Survey, customer reviews and testimonials, the referral rate and finally the revenue growth from your existing clients. Now we can move to operations.

Operations:

Here is where the rubber meets the road. If operations are not performing optimally the rest of the company will feel the effects. A strong Operations team meets and exceeds client expectations, has the ability to partner and strategize with the client throughout the network, and is innovating and problem solving for tomorrow. A really strong operations team is customer focused with customized strategies when appropriate.

The question is, how do you measure operational effectiveness? There are several ways, but we will focus on customer support metrics. In particular we will measure the average response time, ticket resolution time, and client satisfaction with support services. If there is something particular to your industry, please include as well. It may be time to reimbursement if you are on the billing service side of things or error rate if it is more product oriented. Take time to think how has client retention positively or negatively affected these metrics.

Looking at the Financials, Sales and Operations the executive team should know that state of the business and how it has been affected by client retention.

This is surely not the entire list of areas that are affected. In addition, you might want to look at the following areas and their corresponding metrics.

Employee Satisfaction and Productivity influences stable client relationships and leads to less stress for employees, reduced workload fluctuations, and better morale. Teams focus on delivering value rather than handling churn or crisis management. The measures are Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS): Gauge employee satisfaction and willingness to recommend the company. Productivity Metrics: Track project completion rates, team output, and time spent on acquiring vs. retaining clients. Employee Turnover Rates: Retained clients often correlate with lower employee turnover.

Market Position and Competitive Advantage: High retention positions a business as reliable and stable in the market. It signals to competitors and prospects that your company delivers consistent value. You can measure through Market Share Growth: Analyze your client retention against competitors’ churn rates. Another is, Retention vs. Competitor Benchmarks: Compare your customer loyalty statistics to industry benchmarks.

Innovation and Product Development: Retained clients provide valuable feedback and insights that drive innovation and improvements. It can be measured by looking at Adoption Rate of New Features/Products: Measure how retained clients adopt or request new offerings.

Community and Network Growth: Retained clients form a community that fosters networking opportunities, co-marketing initiatives, or partnerships. We will be spending a lot of time on this when we get to the execute portion of the Clients for Life process. You measure this by Engagement in Events or Forums: Attendance or participation in webinars, industry events, or user communities. Client Partnerships: Track collaborations or co-sponsored initiatives with retained clients.

Whatever you add to your analysis in addition to financials, sales and operations, one thing is for sure it is critical the Executive team must be aligned. So let’s take a step back and discuss alignment and priorities.

Alignment

Oh, if it only was as easy as it looks in the picture above. Unfortunately, we all know it is not. Each department has their own goals and priorities. If you took each department head aside and asked what their goal is for the next 12 months you might get 10 different answers. Then when you ask what their role is in ensuring client retention rates are where they should be you will hear everything from a full-throated commitment to a hesitancy to how they fit into the strategy to outright obstinance that client retention is the responsibility of operations not my department.

The truth is we all know that client retention to some degree is the responsibility of the entire Executive Team to varying degrees. If nothing else leadership must communicate one shared vision with shared priorities for the company.

That is why all must sit around the table and discuss each department’s priority for the next twelve months. All cards must be put on the table. There is no sense in not sharing your true priorities and only “playing the game”. Now is the time for each department to take time and think of their objectives and be prepared to come to a meeting with them ranked by level of importance. It is ok if they fly on contrast to others or even to the client retention strategy. Whatever they are they should be specific and actionable.
Then together leadership will be able to discuss as a group how to align and come to common ground and how to ensure each department is able to successfully reach the objective and at the same time making sure the overall goal of making client retention a priority for the company overall.

Some departments will have more involvement than others, but all will at least know how each department fits into the overall client retention strategy. It is the only way a strong client retention strategy will be implemented.

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Exercise 2

The Meeting: Each Department Head will come to the Alignment meeting with their specific and actionable objectives ranked in priority of importance.

The team will then assign a facilitator to capture all the objectives from the executive team.

First, the facilitator will go around the room asking each department head for three of their department’s objectives. He will ensure they are specific and measurable before he scribes them on the flip chart. He will start with anyone but the CEO or COO.

The goal is to hear everyone’s honest opinion and if he starts with the CEO or COO it might shade everyone else’s responses.

He will keep going around the room until all objectives have been exhausted.

Second, he will hand a marker to each department head and ask them to list the objectives 1-5 that are most important after reflecting on all the objectives that have been captured.

Third, the facilitator will take a different colored market than all the rest and ask the entire team to prioritize the top 5 ask one executive team. This may take 10 minutes or an hour. At the end the entire team will be aligned the key objectives and their priority moving forward.

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Now that we have alignment on the objectives and their priorities, we can go back to looking how the company faired on how client retention impacted the company’s financial statement, sales, operations we can review the objectives and priorities through the lenses of each objective’s role in client retention. The Executive Team is not being asked to change to objectives that would be disingenuous and not lead to success. They are just being asked to now see how they might be improved by a strong client retention strategy.

It is now time to act and start to agree on the importance of a strong client retention strategy. Now is the time to start thinking of goals that will determine success. All involved must be agreeable to committing to making client retention a key priority for the overall business. We will determine the actual metrics that will be share with the rest of the company once we better know what the process entails. Now is just the go no go phase where the Executive Team agrees there is a need to improve the client retention process. It is an agreement in principle.

The answer should be pretty self-evident. The impact is right in front of you. You can see what a simple point or two can do to the bottom line. Every company can benefit from a stronger formalized client retention strategy. If you have a retention rate of 80% then the upside will be significant. However, if you are sitting at 95% just and even realize a 2% increase to 97% to will make the effort worthwhile. Rember it is not just the retention rate it is increased sales and organic growth as well. Here is a graph that prove out the point we have been discussing today. If you were this company, where would you want to be on the graph?

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It is not just about reducing churn; it is about increasing sales, fostering organic growth, and building a culture of excellence. The end goal must be that everyone will take time to really make the commitment of moving forward. How the Executive Team moves on from here will decided success or failure. The decision is clear. Now is the time for leadership to align, commit, and act. A formalized client retention strategy will transform your business, driving profitability, operational efficiency, and sustainable growth. The opportunity is in front of you—take it and unlock your company’s full potential.

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Business-to-Business Case Study: Adobe Systems

Adobe Systems provides an excellent example of how small improvements in client retention can yield substantial benefits in a B2B environment. In 2012, Adobe transitioned from a traditional software licensing model to a subscription-based service, Adobe Creative Cloud. While Adobe already maintained a strong retention rate, they focused on improving it further through enhanced client engagement, better onboarding processes, and continuous value delivery.

By improving customer support and creating tailored experiences for enterprise clients, Adobe managed to increase its retention rate by just a few percentage points. This small change led to a significant increase in recurring revenue, helping Adobe achieve a **40% increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR)** over three years. Their success demonstrated that even minor improvements in retention can have a substantial long-term financial impact in a B2B context.

Adobe’s case underscores the importance of focusing on client relationships and delivering consistent value, particularly in subscription-based or service-driven business models. For businesses operating in the B2B space, fostering trust and delivering superior client experiences can unlock sustainable growth.

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Course Manual 3: The Assess Principle

We tend to take some pretty significant assumptions when we leave it to ourselves to assess our business from a unobjective and unformalized point of view. Therefore, before we do anything we must assess a few different things in a few different ways. We will look at it from an internal perspective and an external perspective. Both are important and both provide great insight for us. We also take a subjective and objective view.

Internal:

The first is with those that are client facing in the company. We must discover what their beliefs, their capabilities, and their perceptions really are around client retention and how it is being executed. The Executive Team did a tremendous job really digging deep and understanding the current state of the retention strategy from almost every aspect leadership should look at before deciding to move forward. They reviewed the financial impact along with a host of other contributing factors.

Now it is time to look at Assess through the lens of what others in the company think and how well they are prepared to implement a formalized client retention strategy. A lot of what we do here will help us set a baseline that will be reviewed at the end of the 12 weeks. When the assessment is done again at the end there should be a marked improvement.

Comprehensive Internal Assessment

A good place to start is a Comprehensive Internal Assessment. In order to do so. Leadership must select an unbiased objective individual within the organization to conduct the review. This person will spend 30 minutes with each person. It should be a cross section of customer facing individuals with a sample size of around 10. The discussion will center around the following topics. It is not critical that you select this person right now. We will discuss later on when we review the Partner Success Team and Client Retention Executive.

The Comprehensive Internal Assessment will review the current client client retention strategy as we believe it is today. The Comprehensive Internal Assessment should drill down to be as specific as possible on where the strategy is doing well and where it could be improved. It is important that the interviewer does not “lead the witness”. Rather he or she should be neutral and seek understanding.

How the Company is currently meeting or exceeding client expectations. Some questions that will be asked will focus on the level of satisfaction the client has with your company meeting their expectations. In what instances do they fall short and where do they exceed? How could, in their opinion, the company improve? Remember the more specific the interviewer is able to drill down to get the answer the better.

How is the relationship with your clients? Is it robust enough? Is there a level of trust that exists? Does the client see you as partners or vendors? How does the relationship compare to that of the competitors? What can be done better? What is going well? Who needs to be involved that is not involved now?

We will work with the individual selected in later workshops on how to conduct the Comprehensive Internal Assessment as well as all other assessments and how to report out the results. For the Comprehensive Internal Assessment will be sharing common trends and not a verbatim in order to keep anonymity of those who are participating. It is vital that those interviewed have the ability to safely and honestly discuss their feedback. They should not fear being singled out due to their comments.

Capabilities Assessment

A Capabilities Assessment is the next logical assessment that should be done. This is a survey on the 8 skills needed to ensure your company can carry out a productive and results oriented client retention strategy. It is a survey all customer facing employees should participate in. For the first Capabilities Assessment we are more interested in the starting averages rather than a specific score. The survey focuses on eight topics: Managing Professional Relations, Managing Client Expectation, Delivering Technical Expertise, Focus on Retention, Retention Strategy, Retention Responsibility, Leadership and Management. The customer facing individuals will review a quick definition that correlates to a specific rating between 1 to 5. 1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest.

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A report will be provided that looks something like this. This will also be used as a baseline and be reviewed at the end of program.

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Exercise 1

Before we ask others in the company to take the Capabilities Assessment, it would be helpful for the Executive Team to take the survey first. It is pretty simple. Just take a moment to fill out this form.

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After everyone has filled out the survey. Compile and average each one of the topics. You should end up with eight averages for each topic. If the average is lower than 4 it is a weakness. We want to stay away from looking at 3 as an average but rather an opportunity to improve. If it is 4 or 5 it is a strength. It is worth discussing how you scored the company. Later you will be able to compare with the larger Capabilities Assessment.

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Client Health Assessment

The final Internal Assessment is a subjective one but is often used ensure everyone is aligned on the health of a certain client. It is often also used as a great coaching tool. It is the Client Health Assessment. This is a one-page review of the client and how well the Account Team is performing on Expectation, Communication and People. The Client Health Assessment is just a series of questions where each one is either red, yellow or green. It is a quick tool that let’s all agree on the health of a specific client in the opinion of all those who filled it out.

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Between the Comprehensive Internal Assessment, the Capabilities Assessment and the Client Health Assessment you will have a strong understanding how the rest of your company perceives the strengths and weaknesses of the current client retention strategy. You will be also are able to start to see where there are areas for improvement. We will address each opportunity for improvement as we implement the entire Clients for Life® client retention process. Therefore, our hope for an improved score at the end of the training.

After you looked internally it is now time to conduct the External Assessment. This is now when we look to see what the perception the clients have of you both past and present. The key word here is perception and fortunately or unfortunately perception is reality.

External:

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Before we can move into External Assessments that will be conducted as part of the Clients for Life® client retention process we must pause and talk about the value of customer surveys. The most common of these is the Net Promoter Score (NPS). The (NPS) survey is a widely used tool to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction. It is designed to assess how likely customers are to recommend a product, service, or company to others. The survey asks a single, primary question: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend [Company/Product/Service] to a friend or colleague?” The respondents are then labeled as Detractors, Passives or Promotors. The NPS Score is then simple the % of Promotors – % of Detractors.

This score is very good for Direct to Consumers or more of a transactional service or offering. However, it does not do as well for Business to Business or Business to Business to Consumer. For the Business to Business to Consumer there is value in the Consumer portion but not the Business to Business. The reason is simple the relationship is more complex than a simple transaction and the end users are not all equal. The decision maker holds more weight than some others and the service provided cannot be answered with on a value of 1-10. Research has also shown that NPS score loses all predictability in relationship to retention when the score is above 8. Therefore, we do not heavily rely on NPS Scores as an assessment tool. It may have some value in general satisfaction and potential referrals but not much more than that. One last note: the survey is often not filled out by the person who it is addressed to but someone else in the office further decreasing the reliability for predicting client retention. There is a large imposter affect.

PostMortem Audit® and FreshEyes® Reviews

Let us then move to the first of the two External Assessments the PostMortem Audit®. As it sounds this assessment is done after the fact, postmortem. After the client has been lost. Even though the client may be lost the valuable insight that can be realized by objectively having a discussion with those key decision makers from the lost client cannot be overstated.

At first blush, it is easy to say that the client was lost simply due to price. In fact, the majority of Account Teams say they could just not keep the client because the competitor just had a better offer and undercut the price. The client might even tell the Account Team price was the major factor often to reduce friction. It was not anything they or their company could have done. It was just price, nothing personal. However, the PostMortem Audit® tells a different story. In analyzing over 100 past PostMortem Audits®, we realized that 80% of the time the loss was not due to price. Rather it is due to value creation or the lack thereof. True 20% is still due to price but that can only be determined after the interview is conducted. Even if it is just price, it must have been significant enough to make the client make added effort to move on.

More importantly you can often uncover key insights that may help the company take action steps to prevent future loses. It can sometimes be a hard pill to swallow but to not ask the question is to miss out on the opportunity to improve and incur future losses.

Much like the Comprehensive Internal Assessment we will work with the individual selected on how to conduct the PostMortem® Audit as well as the FreshEyes® Review which will be reviewed next. For the PostMortem® Audit the individual will have a conversation with 5-8 stakeholders. The stakeholders should be those interviews that have the ability to hire, fire or heavily influence the hiring or firing of your company.

We suggest conducting the PostMortem Audit® no later than 6 months from when the client was lost. Much after that time those being interviewed tend to forget details and speak in more generalities. Also, we do not suggest interviewing the past client if there is legal action being taken against the company. The interview will just be used as more of a tool rather than a true way to help provide insight.

The conversation will focus on the following areas.

The first is around Expectations. There are set questions that will get the conversation started but it must be emphasized that this is a conversation not a questionnaire or survey. We will work with the individual conducting the interview on how to peel back the onion to get the root cause.

The second is around Web of Influence® or you Network. Did the stakeholder see you as a partner or vendor? Was there anybody in the relationship that indispensable? How strong was the relationship?

Third is around Technical Delivery. Did the stakeholder see your company as a strategic problem solver. Did they solve the problem the company was asked to serve? How did the company compare with the competition? What was lacking if anything?

Why does the stakeholder believe that the relationship ended? Is there a specific reason? How could have the company kept the business? Did the company exit professionally and given the opportunity could the company win back the business in the future?

After all discussions have been conducted with all stakeholders a report will be provided. The report will consist of three things.

The first is the general impression of the one who conducted the interview. The impressions is a summary of key insights and takeaways by the interviewer. Another way to think of it is an executive summary that can pull everything together.

The second are the verbatims of each person interviewed. The conversations will be recorded, and a verbatim will be provided of each. It is important that nothing is redacted or hidden from the reader. This is an honest review of the relationship and what could have been done differently. Third key quotes will be shared so that an individual can get the flavor of each interview can be seen just by reading the quotes.

Ok now that we covered the unpleasant topic of assessing past clients let us move now to the existing clients. For these clients we will rely on the FreshEyes® Reviews. The interviewer will again interview 5-8 stakeholders. The more people that the interviewer is able to have a conversation with the more accurate the report will be. However, they should be a true decision maker or someone who can impact decisions moving forward. If the interviewer starts having conversations with just anybody the input of the stakeholders will be watered down, and the report will lose its impact. Also, we do not recommend doing a FreshEyes® Review within 3 months of an RFP. The process will be used more as a negotiating tool.

There are some similarities to the questions asked in the PostMortem Audit®. It is still important to know how your company is doing versus the client’s expectations. It is still important to understand the health of the relationship, and it is still important to know if the Account Team is solving the problems they were asked to solve.

The difference is there is a value in looking into the future. What are the challenges ahead for the client. How does the stakeholder see your company as being a partner to help solve the problems of the future. What advise does the stakeholder have for the CEO and if asked would the stakeholder provide and unqualified no questions asked recommendations or is it just watch out for this or that.

The FreshEyes® Review report will include the impressions of the interviewer much like that of the PostMortem Audit®. Along with the impressions will be the Retention Health Metrix. The Metrix will have four quadrants.

The first and best is the Gnats Quadrant. The Gnats quadrant reflects the fact that much like a hot summers day there are also some gnats that must be present, but the day is mostly pleasant. The same it is for any business relationship. There will always be some problems that will need to be addressed but the relationship is in good stead.

The second is the Warranty Quadrant. The Warranty Quadrant reflects the fact that the relationships are good but there is something lacking in the service provided. The best way to think of it is the warranty on a product.

The third is the Counselor Quadrant. In the Counselor Quadrant there is something lacking in the relationship. It could be that the Account Team and the client just does not mesh. It could be there is a lack of trust or that you are just not seen as a partner. Whatever the case is something is lacking and needs attention when it comes to relationships.

The fourth is the Meltdown Quadrant. The Meltdown Quadrant reflects the fact that the relationship is in serious jeopardy and has a good chance of being lost. A client should not be put into this quadrant lightly and we suggest if they are put in this quadrant the interviewer should alert leadership well before the report is written.

All together the FreshEyes® Review will consist of the Relationship Metrix, The Impressions, The Verbatims, and Key Quotes.

There is a very formalized and specific process that will be taken to ensure the best outcome for both the PostMortem Audit® and FreshEyes® Review. There is a set process that has been refined overtime. There is a set way to ask the stakeholders to participate, a set way to ask the questions, and a set way to communicate and share the details of the report. We will share each step along the process with you.

Also, since nothing is left out of the report, we do recommend a certain level on confidentiality when sharing the report. Some companies have kept the full report for leadership and the associated Account Team and providing the rest of the company with a more appropriate summary form.

What is also critical is that when the FreshEyes® Review is complete that there is action taken and a response is provided to the client. There is nothing worse than participating in an interview of any kind and nothing being done afterwards.

The Account Team should meet to review the report and create an action plan of areas that will meet the clients’ expectations. This should be facilitated by the person who conducted the interview.

Common Threads/Common Threats

When all enough FreshEyes® Reviews have been completed to reach a significant sample size, all the interviews will be reviewed for common themes. We will refer to these as Common Threads/Common Threats. Common Threads are those trends that show the company’s strengths. Areas to enhance what is already going well! This should not be overlooked. It is just as important to reflect on what is going right as what needs to be improved. The Common Threats are areas where there is room for improvement. This is an opportunity to put an action plan in place to adjust course and improve upon what is being done. When the next Common Threads/Common Threats is done there should be a difference. The Threats should not appear time and time again. More will come to the forefront, but this is the opportunity to fix what is in front of you.

We hope you are starting to see the importance of selecting the right person to conduct the interviews. This person will have to have the support of the Executive Team. The must be objective, independent and someone respected by all. We will delve into this further down the road, but it is worth starting the discussion now.

When the internal and external assessments are done you will have ample knowledge of how you see yourselves, what the capabilities are and what your past and current clients’ perceptions of you might be. When put together with the Executive Teams previous work the company will have a tremendous launching pad to start the client retention strategy.

More work will be needed to be done but now you are off to a great start. You now have a great understanding of where you are and where you need to go.

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Case Study: IBM’s Turnaround Through Listening to Business Clients

Background

In the early 1990s, IBM faced a severe crisis. The company had become too focused on selling hardware and large mainframe systems, which were becoming obsolete in the face of emerging technology trends. Additionally, its business-to-business (B2B) clients expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of flexibility, innovation, and focus on their specific needs. By 1993, IBM reported a record-breaking $8 billion loss, and it’s very survival was in question.

The Challenge

IBM had lost touch with its core B2B clients, who increasingly sought integrated solutions rather than standalone hardware. Businesses were looking for software, consulting services, and partnerships to help them solve real-world problems rather than just purchasing equipment.

The Approach

When Lou Gerstner became CEO in 1993, he initiated a customer-centric transformation by focusing on listening to clients and understanding their needs. IBM leaders, including Gerstner, met directly with B2B clients across industries to understand their pain points. They learned that clients didn’t just want hardware—they wanted solutions to manage their IT infrastructure and business processes. IBM created advisory boards composed of key B2B clients from industries like finance, healthcare, and retail to ensure their voices shaped IBM’s strategy. These boards provided real-time feedback on products and services. IBM analyzed extensive client feedback and market data to identify trends and unmet needs, such as the growing demand for cloud computing, consulting, and software solutions.

Key Insights

IBM learned their clients Demand for Integrated Solutions: Clients wanted IBM to provide complete IT solutions that combined hardware, software, and consulting services. Businesses needed ongoing support and expertise rather than just products. B2B clients valued tailored solutions designed to meet the unique needs of their industries.

This would not have been accomplished with first doing an extensive Assessment of their business. Only after they assessed the business could they have moved onto turning things around.

The Turnaround

IBM pivoted from being a hardware-focused company to a service-oriented business partner by implementing the following changes:

IBM Shifted to Services and Solutions. IBM launched its Global Services Division, which focused on IT consulting, outsourcing, and cloud computing. Instead of selling standalone products, IBM began offering integrated systems, combining software, hardware, and services.

They also became more Customer-Centric. IBM tailored its offerings to key industries like finance, healthcare, and government. It introduced middleware software, such as WebSphere, to help businesses connect disparate systems and processes.

IBM also looking into the future after listening to their clients with Cloud Computing Leadership IBM foresaw the growing importance of cloud computing and invested heavily in its development. The acquisition of companies like PwC’s consulting arm (for $3.5 billion) bolstered its expertise in delivering services that aligned with client needs.

Maybe most important of all IBM Rebranded themselves as a Partner, Not a Vendor. IBM positioned itself as a strategic partner that worked collaboratively with businesses to achieve their goals, shifting away from a transactional sales model.

Results

IBM’s turnaround was dramatic, driven by its renewed focus on B2B clients. By 2002, IBM’s revenue from services and software surpassed its revenue from hardware, stabilizing the business. IBM became the world’s largest IT services provider, with over $40 billion in annual revenue from its Global Services division by the mid-2000s. The company re-established its reputation as a trusted partner for B2B clients, strengthening long-term relationships.

Key Takeaways for B2B

Understanding the unique needs of business clients is crucial for long-term success. In B2B, clients often value complete solutions over standalone products. Staying attuned to market trends and client feedback enables businesses to pivot effectively.

IBM’s transformation showcases the power of listening to business clients and adapting to meet their evolving needs, ultimately saving and revitalizing the company.

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Course Manual 4: Assessment Process

In Chapter 3 we took the time to ensure there is a good understanding of the different assessment tools that are available. The next step is to take the time and truly understand the formalized, rigorous process that must be taken for each assessment tool. If left to chance or done in a process that does not have a set process or rigor the output will lose all integrity. The assessment process will have the potential to be influenced by those that carry out the entire assessment leaving it with less credibility. However, if it is done correctly the assessment will be a great mirror for those in the company to look into that will reflect a fair and balanced approach with important and valuable feedback.

The Selection

First things first, we must take time to select the right tools for the appropriate assessment. We also must select the appropriate and correct individuals and clients that will be interviewed. The selection process is often the one that has the potential to be done off the cuff but has the most impact.

It takes time and resources to conduct the assessments. Therefore, there must be significance in those assessed. Not every employee or every client will be part of the process nor should they. If everyone is part of the process the output will be watered down and the key insights needed will be lost. If not enough are interviewed, then the sample size will be too small and will not truly reflect to feedback of all but will be swayed by just a few. We suggest that the Preto Principle is used in selecting the stakeholders. The 20% of those who impact 80% of the business should be the first filter used.

Next a fair and balanced selection process must be done that takes a cross section of the key 20%. This means that leadership should not tip the scales one way or the other. The perceived good, fair, and ugly should be part of the process. If all good is selected then you will get what you wanted which is an overly rosy outlook of the perceptions of your company. If you try to just rip off the band aide and select the ugly, you are not being fair to yourself, or the company and harsh measures will be taken that overcorrects and harming rather than helping the company.

We hope you are starting to see the importance and thought process that must be taking to select the correct stakeholders to interview. It is not realistic sometimes that all 20% of those stakeholders that you would like to gain insight from can participate. Time and energy will prevent those you selected to carry out the process to complete the work.

For the internal reviews the selection process will focus on just the individuals. For the external reviews there will be two levels of selections. The first will be at the client level and the second will be at the stakeholder level.

Let us take time to look at each assessment tool and the appropriate selection process. We will go from most straight forward to most involved.

The most straight forward is the Client Health Assessment (CHA). This is a subjective review and can be done anytime and the selection can be anyone from manager to direct report, Account Team group review or even the Executive Team conducting the review for one of their key accounts. We simply suggest that those that fill out the CHA have a reasonable knowledge of the client and is able to give a reasonable level of insight.

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Exercise 1

Take a moment to take the Client Health Assessment yourself. Each person on the Executive Team will select one of the top clients for the company. Now each one will fill out CHA provided here.

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When complete simply share with another person and see how the perceptions may differ. What came to light? Do you see the benefit of having Account Teams review for each of their accounts?

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The next is the Capabilities Assessment. This will provide some great insight on the abilities of those responsible for carrying out client retention strategy and preserving and growing the relationship. The first filter then are those roles that are involved in the process. Some of the key areas that should be included are leadership, sales, market and operations. Each company structures their client journey differently so take time to review all those that have customer facing roles and determine the appropriate stakeholders. Those who have a tangential relationship should be excluded so that the responses of those involved are more accurate.

The second filter will be done to ensure a strong cross section of the key titles and roles are selected while keep the tabulation and workload to a reasonable level. This will differ depending on the size of the corporation. In some instances, all with the appropriate title should be interviewed. For other companies it is essential to take the appropriate sampling of each role so that there is representation from all, while not over representation from one sector. Each company will have to come up with their own selection process.

After the Capabilities Assessment we will turn our attention the Comprehensive Internal Assessment (CIA). The CIA is more focused on the few stakeholders who truly can impact the client retention strategy and should be no more than 7-15 individuals. One of the key reasons is that we are moving away from a survey like approach to a one-on-one conversation with key stakeholders. The value also increases because the verbatims will bring pearls of wisdom that will have great impact. All key stakeholders should be represented, and the selection should be reviewed by the executive team or at least an executive sponsor to ensure the appropriate stakeholder were included and none were excluded.

External

We will not move to the PostMortem Audit® followed by the FreshEyes® Review. These two have an additional level of focus because they are reviews of your most valued assets you clients.

Unfortunately, for the PostMortem Audit® the selection is done for you. It is that valued client that you just lost. You will notice we did not say every client that you just lost but the valued or key clients. Those that when lost will impact the bottom line. There is one additional filter that should be used. All past clients that might be taken legal action against the company should be excluded. However, no client should be excluded due to any preconceived notion. All too often companies believe they know the reason why only to discover key insights once the PostMortem Audit® is conducted. Please do not make assumptions. You will only harm yourself on key insights you could have gained.

The most involved selection is the done with the FreshEyes® Review. Leadership must first decide who the top 20% of the clients are to select from. The first criteria are how they impact the bottom line. Is it a client from a financial perspective that you just can’t lose? After financial you may want to look at the influence or potential may have. These clients might fall out of the top 20% if you look solely at financials but may be included because Client Lifetime Value is significant or the influence in the marketplace may be significant. There also might be a fit that you just do not want to lose.

Ok, now you have the first bucket selected. Now it is time to delve down to select which clients of the first group will be selected. It should be a large enough sample size that will reflect all involved but realistic enough for those the conducting the assessment to complete. Here is some quick math to give you an idea of the workload. For every client selected there will be 5-8 stakeholders on average interviewed. So, if you just select ten accounts you will have roughly 70 stakeholders to interview. Each stakeholder will take prep time to send out and follow up with scheduling and conducting the interviews. You will then spend roughly 30 minutes to conduct the interviews for each. Afterwards, time will be needed to edit the verbatim and create the report. Again, the value you get with each FreshEyes® Review is significant but to be fair so is the amount of time involved.

Once the clients for the FreshEyes® Reviews have been selected it is time to choose the individual stakeholders for each client. The knee jerk reaction is to just let the Account Manager choose each stakeholder and move forward. We caution you not to do this. The Account Manager can take the first go at the selection, but the list must be pressure tested by someone in leadership to ensure the correct stakeholders have been chosen. If not, we have found that certain stakeholders may be excluded for many reasons included fear of receiving their input.

Process

Now that we reviewed the selection process we can move to the process for each assessment tool.

The process is more straightforward for the most part with the internal assessments so we will start there.

The first is the Client Health Assessment. There should be little to no direction when sharing the form with whomever will be doing the assessment. There is not a goal to get so many in the green. It is simply to see where things stand in a subjective point of view. Once the individual completes the form then you can line up the answers into the red, yellow and green categories and have discussion. From that discussion some action steps may be warranted, and an action plan should be created. We recommend that the CHA should be conducted on a regular basis to see if there is any change. For the Account Manger we recommend he or she completes the form every quarter for their key accounts. The CHA is a good first line barometer to identify trends and health of the client. It is a great coaching tool and will create productive opportunity for constructive discussions on why things are the way they are and what may need to be done to improve the relationship with the account.

The next up will be the Capabilities Assessment. You may want to review the form with the individual selected to conduct the survey before you send it to ensure it is relevant for your business. It may be worth your time to adjust the statements wording to be more relevant. We just ask that you do not adjust the spirit or overall meaning of each question. Once you took the time to customize the survey to align to the business you do it is time to send out the form.

Once everyone has landed on the individuals you have selected to receive the Capabilities Assessment it is time to give some direction. The survey should be filled out simply as the questions read. The participants should not read more into the questions than is there and should answer each to the best of their ability. Please try not to put Not Applicable. The participant should just rate where he or she believes the company lands for each topic. Just circle the statement that best applies. The participant cannot put a circle between two statements. Each rating should correlate with a whole number.

After everyone has filled out the form, we are sure a gentle reminder may be needed for a few, It is time to sum up and create an average for all. The template provided should do most of the work for the individual conducting the survey.

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It is then time to share results first with leadership and then if approved with the rank and file. The ratings of each should be noted and when we go through the general training for everyone key areas may need to be highlighted. This will ensure that when the Capabilities Assessment is done in the end of the training, we can see the appropriate change.

Now on to the more processed assessment for all the internal assessments the Comprehensive Internal Assessment. In a way the process will resemble that of a PostMortem Audit® or FreshEyes® Review.

A person from the Executive Team, usually the CEO, will send out a letter requesting those selected to take 30 minutes of their time to participate on a conversation with the selected individual with the idea of helping the company constantly improve. The selected individual should be copied on each email and he or she will take it from there. He or she will then follow up and schedule a time to have the discussion. It often takes more than one email to have the person respond and may also need to be followed up with a phone call to land on a set time. Each interview will be recorded, and it should be noted up front that it is being recorded but will not be shared verbatim with anyone else. This is just so the interviewer can review all comments and provide come themes to leadership.

Once all the discussions are completed a report will be provided to the Executive Team on common themes. We will work on how to have the conversations and construct the report in a later workshop.

On to the two external assessments the PostMortem® Audit and the FreshEyes® Review. The process is similar in many ways but there are some differences.

First let’s review the process for the PostMortem Audit®. Is starts the same way as the Comprehensive Internal Assessment with the CEO or someone of importance that will be recognized by the past client to send out a request to participate. However, before the letters go out a contact sheet with emails and phone numbers should be compiled to allow the person having the discussion every opportunity to connect with the stakeholders at the past client. Here is an example.

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When the letters go out the person having the discussion should be CC’d. He or she will then introduce themselves and work to schedule a time to have a conversation. We will review the process of conducting the conversation with the stakeholder at a later workshop.

After all interviews are conducted an internal call should be scheduled to discuss the key highlights from all the discussions. This should be done at two levels. The first being with the appropriate leadership and the second with the Account Team responsible for the client. Key action items will be taking away and the report will be part of the Common Threads/Common Threats to be constructed later. However, if there are urgent matters that need to be attended to, they should be done at this time.

The FreshEyes® Review takes a similar course but is more involved after the report is shared. A contact form is again constructed, and the emails are sent out either by the CEO or the person of most importance to the current client being assessed. All emails still should be CC’d with the person conducting the assessment. This step is very helpful because it serves as a warm handoff from senior leadership to the person conducting the assessment. It raises the credibility and importance of the person that will follow up to conduct the conversation. When the CC is missed then the person either has to ask for the original email from leadership to follow up with; or worse introduce themselves much like a cold call. Either way the impact is diminished and so is the potential to find time with the stakeholder.

After the interviews have been conducted the recording will need to be reviewed and a verbatim created. We recommend one of the handful of AI transcription tools available to aid with the transcription. However, for clarity and accuracy all verbatims will be reviewed by the person who conducted the interview.

Once the report has been finalized it should be shared with leadership and then with the Account Team. The Account Team will then have an internal meeting to identify two things. One, areas that are positives or strengths and two, areas of improvements. The Account Team should be reminded that we understand that these are just perceptions, but perceptions are often reality to the client and need to be addressed.

When the Account Team is comfortable with the possible positive and negative review of the FreshEyes® Review and possible action items it is time to meet with the client and stakeholders in the report.

When the meeting is conducted it should be a very constructive discussion. The stakeholders should be thanked for their participation and the key trends should be shared with the client. Please do not use any direct quotes or ask an individual what he or she might have meant from a quote or a statement. It will just put the person on the defensive. Instead, simple share what the Account Team thought were the key items to discuss positive and negative and give those from the client an opportunity to comment, add or adjust as they see fit. It might have been an exceptionally good or bad day at the time of the original conversation and things may need to be adjusted. This is the opportunity to truly align on next steps.

A simple form should be used that has these topics: Item of Focus, Actions to be Taken, Date it will be accomplished, Owner of the Item of Focus. Please do not forget to go over the strengths that were discussed along with any areas of opportunity for growth. The FreshEyes® Review process is not meant to be a gotcha moment but an opportunity to grown and that is often accomplished by exceeding in what you are already good at doing.

This form should be review at quarterly business reviews until completed. The overall FreshEyes® Review will also be saved an used as part of the Common Threads and Common Threats which will be conducted once a big enough sample size is reached.

One note on all assessments that should not be missed. No assessment should be done with the hopes of catching someone in the act of doing something wrong. It must be objective in nature and only used to better the relationships and partnerships the company has with its clients. The goal is to find areas of growth and assure the client is a strong supporter.

Now that the Executive Team has a strong understanding of how and why people are selected for each report and the process involved, they should be able to better read and understand each assessment. They also will be able to discuss with all needed parties in a thoughtful manner.

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Exercise 2

At this point the Executive Team has a great handle of the types of assessment and the process needed for each. This is a good moment to discuss how each pertains to your company and how and when they should be used.

At the end of the discussion, you should have identified the number of each FreshEyes® Reviews, when the Client Health Assessment is appropriate to use. Is it monthly, quarterly or at standard set meetings. It is best to start thinking of the best Standard Operating Procedure. Later in training we will discuss when and how to conduct the Capabilities Assessment and Comprehensive Internal Assessment.

Please document the clients and number of FreshEyes® Reviews that will take place.

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Case Study

A few years ago, we had a client that in the specialty pharmacy space that had a significant client retention problem. They also thought that they had a very good handle on why their clients were leaving. There was an executive that was making the news for all the wrong reasons coupled with a software launch that was not ready for prime time.

Therefore, when we reach out to conduct FreshEyes® Reviews and PostMortem Audit® on their behalf, they resisted. There was no reason to better understand why the client were leaving or what the perceptions might be. Thankfully they acquiesced and we conducted several FreshEyes® Reviews as well as a couple of PostMortem Audits®.

Contrary to the company’s original assumptions the reason clients were leaving due to lack of communication and an account team that was overwhelmed and quit responding to the clients needs. Most clients were able to look past the software launch and believed things would work out in the future. They also believed the company was bigger than the headlines about one executive. However, what they could not get past was an account team that just was not responsive to their needs.

Result: Thankfully, the assessments lead the company to fully implement the Clients for Life® client retention process and increased their retention rate for 82% to 97%. The profit went up. 12% margin churn decreased to 3% in a year and a half.

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Course Manual 5: Understanding the Create Principle

As an Executive Team you have taken the needed time to really look under the hood and examine the state of your client retention strategy. You also now have a good understanding of what lies ahead for you once we move into implementing the Assess phase both internally and externally.

Now we will share with you the Create Principle. In the create principle, leadership will be charged with setting the course for rest of the organization. Only the Executive Team will have needed insight and experience to make some hard decision and carry out the guidance that the rest of the company will then follow. We do want to caution you that this can be and often is challenging to implement, which we will do in another workshop. It will make you put lines in the sand when you often want to brush them over and just move them a little when the opportunities present itself.

Right Clients/Right Terms®

One of the first things we will discuss is Right Cleints/Right Terms. It should be simple enough and we are sure many of you believe you have already defined your clients. Here is where we may want to challenge you. Have you defined the right client under the right terms, or have you done a market segmentation exercise but are leaving it open enough to in reality allow most clients under most terms. One CEO that we worked with stated every client is the right client, all are revenue, and all are potential.

That’s what makes this such a challenging concept to really take on and own. It is so temping to grab the revenue where you can and adapt to meet the future clients needs. It is the adapt part the causes all the issues. By taking on one client that sits outside what should be the right clients under the right terms you are asking everyone in your company to adapt and take the focus off of the company’s objectives.

Let’s start with one of the departments that fights Right Clients/Right Terms® the most, the sales department. At first blush sales comes at Right Clients/Right Terms® kicking and screaming. Right Clients/Right Terms will hamper future sales and therefore affect their commissions or bonus. In reality the opposite happens. The sales department will now be focusing on the low hanging fruit. Those potentials clients that are best fit for the company and have the best chance of not just being one-time transactional sale but one that grows and as the potential to grow in lifetime value. It forces the sales team to fish where are actual fish with the right bait.

Think about when you were young and started to fish. You parent didn’t just say here is the local pond, lake, river or ocean go catch some fish. The adult who first took you wanted you to succeed so they went to the pond they knew the fish were in. They also probably did not let you go for the blue marlin but something more reasonable.

Something that better fit your capabilities and the bate you had. You were successful catching that blue gill because that was the right fit. You reached your goal at the time.

Now let’s say you enjoyed fishing so much that you really made it your hobby and you became an avid fly fisherman. You might go to Alaska to enjoy the Salmon that gives you the fight of a lifetime and fulfills your need. Would fishing for that same blue gill be successful. No, it might fill an urge for a moment but will not get you what you need. You could fish all day and catch the limit of blue gills, and it still would not be enough. Yet when push comes to shove isn’t that what we do given the opportunity we go from right client to any client. Worse yet we can pull in a snake and say, “yep that will do”, only to get bit much later by loss of business and a bad reputation.

Right Clients keep you from losing your reputation as you try as hard as you can to adapt to the client’s needs but just never get there. Why, because you put your company in untenable situation of being something they are not. Everyone is trying to make a square peg fit into a round hole but in the end, it is still a square peg. In the interim sales has now taken their eye off the ball and chased something they had no business chasing just to land something. Sales forces are more successful staying focused on the right clients and not being rewarded for going after the wrong ones. It takes discipline to focus on the right clients under the right terms but end the end sales grow exponentially.

Human Resources and Recruiting also are affected by not focusing on the right clients. New requirements need to be made, and Recruiting must now adjust from the regular candidate pool. They must research the right candidates and find new ways to attract candidates. This will increase aggregate hiring costs adding to the expense side of the ledger. Employee referrals are also affected as the company’s brand and employee satisfaction is affected by the addition operational stress incurred catering to the wrong client. When the employee is focused and able to perform exceptionally by catering to clients that are the right one’s satisfaction and the ability to attract like employees increase.

Maybe the area affected most is operations. You might have worked for a company where you feel it is another day of Wack a Mole. A new client that deviates from the abilities and focus of the company will pull all the resources their way to just service their particular needs starving other clients who are true fits. Operational costs increase, efficiencies are lost and the right client is lost while you fish to serve the wrong clients. This causes unbelievable stress to the organization.

Right clients are just half of the equation. The right terms must not be overlooked either. The Finance and Legal team might be more focused on Terms more than most. Finance may enjoy the injection of revenue at first, but it is short lived if the terms are not set up correctly and account receivables start to take notice.

Right Clients/Right Terms in the end makes all the sense in the world but it takes a very aligned and disciplined Executive Team to create and more importantly carry out. Done correctly it is an opportunity for leadership to set the guardrails all others must follow that will in the end benefit the entire company.

For those current clients that do not fit into the Right Clients/Right Terms® you should think about how you might move away for them. There is a point when some clients do need to be fired. However, this should be done in a professional way that does not cause hardship to your current clients. One way of doing this is to help the client find another partner. It may even be a competitor of yours that is more suited. If done correctly your reputation may actually improve by helping your client find a more appropriate fit.

This does not mean dropping the client like a hot potato. This is often best done when the RFP is being renegotiated. You should also do everything you can to make the transition as best as can be possible. Afterall, you agreed to be there partner when you signed. How you say goodbye is equally important as how you started the relationship.

The document should not be a long one. It should simply be one to two pages simply stating who the right clients are and under what terms. It should be something simple enough that everyone can read and can adhere too. It should not be “War and Peace” that leaves doubt for you to read. The more straight forward and simple the document is the less room there is for any questions.

Once completed the Right Clients/Right Terms® document should be shared with all department heads. This will be the definition of the right clients and right terms for the foreseeable future.

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Exercise 1

Take a moment to look back first individually and then as a group. Look back over the last 10 years and write down those accounts you lost and those you kept that might not have been the right clients under the right terms.

On the left-hand side write down the client. On the right-hand side write down how the decision to keep the affected the company negatively. Review examples from above and then add you own.

Now compare notes with the rest of the Executive Team. Compare notes and discuss findings. Where were there areas of agreement and where were there differences and why.

Keep these finding for the workshop where you start to implement the Right Clients/Right Terms.

Who were those few clients that you can admit now where more of a headache than a blessing! No need to point fingers but it may be worth noting.

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Two final points that must be noted.

The first is there may be business that is needed to be entertained that may be outside the Right Clients/Right Terms®. However, this should be the exception and not the rule. It should also require that the business that may be outside of the Right Clients/Right Terms® document be reviewed by the Executive Team and signed off as being permissible to accept given certain caveats. Maybe the new business is a future goal of the company and worth the effort or the revenue so impactful it just cannot be overlooked whatever the case it should require an executive review.

Second, business always changes and companies continue to grow and transform. Therefore, the Right Clients/Right Terms® should also be able to be adjusted and adapt as the company does. Therefore, we recommend that the Executive Team reviews the Right Clients/Right Terms document at least yearly, sometimes more often depending on the pace of growth and the marketplace.

We go through the actual process of creating the Right Clients/Right Terms® document in Workshop three. However, the importance of this cannot be overstated so that is why we spent so much time on this now. It is a key concept that must be digested and agreed upon moving forward.

Lessons Learned

The next concept to review is Lessons Learned.

We have noticed that mentorship has dipped over the last few decades. In the past leadership used to take more time to share their experiences and warn those taking on the new roles. Today new account managers are given the tactical ways of doing the job at hand but are not told or shown the pit falls. This is where Lessons Learned comes in.

Lessons Learned is the Executive Teams opportunity to share their knowledge to prevent future risk of loss of business. Through the years of experience that the Executive Team has acquired, they are able to identify the key reasons why past clients may have left. This knowledge needs to be harnessed and should not be squandered.

This should take place by taking the time to really put their heads together and define what those Lessons Learned are. The process is one that starts as something close to a brainstorming exercise. It is important that the Executive Team does not go right to what they think the answer is. We will get there. Now is the time to not let any stone unturned and capture all reasons clients have left in the past. Again, we will go through the exact steps on how this should be done and the implementation of the process in Workshop 3. For now, it is important to understand the concept and the key thought is not to rush to judgement. Let everyone speak.

In time the reasons clients may have left will be consolidated into a handful of reasons. These will be the key reasons that all can agree that should be communicated with the rest of the organization. If they are not share with everyone you can be assured those same reason why clients have left in the past will happen in the future. The Executive Team has an opportunity and a duty to make sure that does not happen.

In a very formalized way these Lessons Learned must be communicated to all in a way that will ensure that the lessons are received. These Lessons Learned should also be share on the companies CRM or account management platform as well. They should also be share over and over again. One great way of doing this is with case studies. Stories and particulars resonate with people and tend to be remembered.

Warning Signs

However, identifying the Lessons Learned is only part of the resolution. With each Lesson Learned comes a host of Warning Signs. It is one thing to share why past clients have left. It is another to be able to identify the warning signs that when identified can prevent the loss from taking place.

Overall clients do not want to leave. It takes effort to find a new vendor or provider. There is a degree of hassle that must take place that we have reviewed previously. Therefore, there are often whispers or hints that things are not going well way before the call comes that things are not going well. They are often missed. We will identify many of them through the Client Health Assessment and the FreshEyes® Reviews but there needs to be additional ways to prevent the preventable and that is through identifying the Warning Signs for each Lesson Learned.

After the Executive Team has landed on the Lessons Learned they will then go back and review each Lesson Learned and then identify the Warning Signs that correlates with each Lessons Learned. These should be very specific and one that when seen can easily be identified. They will differ per company and industry.

One example that seems to be common among many industries and companies is when the client begins to ask for the contract over and over again. It is like when you were younger and played Monopoly with your family or friends. When someone keeps asking for the rules to the game it is a pretty good Warning Sign that the game might end with an argument over the interpretation of the rules. The same is the case with companies. When companies keep asked to review the contract something is boiling underneath the surface that needs to be addressed.

After all Warning Signs are identified they must be socialized with all involved. It is then the responsibility of the Account Team to identify and share the Warning Signs with leadership when they occur to guarantee that action steps are quickly taken, and measures are taken to prevent the client from leaving.

The Account Team should realize that sharing the Warning Sign will not hurt their overall performance and will even help it by bringing the problem to the surface. What will hurt their performance is not sharing the Warning Sign. If a client is lost due to the Account Manager or the Account Team not sharing Warning Signs, then the obvious question is what could have been done if the Account Manager was able to be bring the Warning Sign to light. If the client is lost and the Warning Sign is identified, then it could be said that all actions steps that could have been done where done.

Every company should have a very simple and straight forward way to quickly identify the Warning Signs. We recommend creating a radio button or a quick way to signal there is a Warning Sign in a company’s CRM and account management platform. We will review more in a future workshop on make Clients for Life® aligned in your CRM system. Once the Warning Sign is signaled a report should be given to all involved including leadership. This will trigger action steps to be taken.

Every client is different, and every response will need to be customized to the particular customer. However, there are commonalities to each Warning Sign. Therefore, Action Plans should be created for each Warning Sign. That way when one is identified it can quickly be addressed. This does not necessarily need to be done by the Executive Team but can be accomplished by the Partner Success Team. The Partner Success Team will be reviewed later in this workshop. For reference, it a cross-section of leaders from each department involved in the client retention process. Needless to say, whoever does it the action steps need to be researched and ones that will be able to be implemented quickly.

Together the Lessons Learned, Warning Signs and Actions Steps enables your company to ahead of issues before they arise. It brings back a level of mentorship that may have been lost overtime, creates a warning system that alerts all to a problem and then possible action items that should be taken.

As hinted at previously for this process to work there does need to be a level of accountability. Unfortunately, when things start to go in the wrong direction things are often whispered about rather than bang on the desk that there is a problem. The Account Manager may mention it to cover themselves, but it is often said off the cuff or a oh by the way. It cannot be this way for the company to truly have time to change course and save the client at risk. The Account Manager needs to bang on the desk of those involved that there is a problem. He or she needs to shout it through the roof tops. Then and only then is there an opportunity to take action.

In chapter 5 we have reviewed two key concepts that are critical to a strong Create Principle Right Clients/Right Terms and Lessons Learned. However, there is a lot more to cover such as selecting Key accounts, the Client Journey and Account Based Marketing. We cover these topics in very soon in Chapter 6.

You might want to look at the Create Principle as building blocks. Step one has to be identifying the Right Clients/Right Terms. The Second is taking the time to share the knowledge that is held by the Executive Team and putting a system in place to prevent losses. The following steps will look more at efficiencies and the client experience. Once all are in place the Executive Team can be confident to hand the baton over to the Partnership Success Team.

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Case Study

A Major Facilities Management Company was growing their business at a rate of 40 million a year. Unfortunately, they were also losing 40 million in business a year. Something needed to change. An individual was brought in to rectify the situation. His job was to do one thing at that is to stop the 40 million in lost revenue and he did it within one year.

The first thing he did was implement Right Clients/Right Terms. The affects were hard on sales for the first quarter. The sales team was resistant to the Right Clients/Right Terms and continued to go after business that was outside of the Right Clients/Right Terms. The second quarter was little better but still some were not focused on Right Clients/ Right Terms. By the third quarter sales were back on track and by the fourth quarter sales were increasing at a rate higher than the past 3 years. The sales team was more productive focusing on the right clients versus any client.

At the same time the lost business went from 40 million to 0 within a year. More importantly client retention was 100% for the following three years! The individual was the founder went on to create the Client for Life® process and helped many corporations afterwards do the same for the next 30 years.

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Course Manual 6: Customizing the Client Experience

We could only take the time to discuss The Client Experience aspects of the Create Principles after some fundamental work was done. Before you can take the time to truly put a customized process in place that will invest in the right client you must be sure you have the right clients under the right terms. There is nothing worse than investing hard earned money on clients that will not show the return on that investment. In fact, the wrong client will consume investments that are better served on the right clients.

We also had to put a process in place that will head off problems before they occur. This will be accomplished with Lessons Learned and the correlating Warning Signs. This is a critical process that must be monitored and executed upon when warranted. It is only effective if the process is not just implemented but used and used effectively.

Now that the foundation has been established, we can move forward with creating a strategy that will customize the client experience. It will consist of three areas for our review, selecting Key Accounts, The Client Journey and Account Based Marketing. Again, we will be reviewing the concepts for Workshop 6 now and will review implementation later down the road.

To start things off let us first look at the importance of differentiating accounts. One of the biggest mistakes companies make is assuming all clients are equal. They are not equal in the financial impact to the company, the level of influence towards future referral potential and also potential for growth. It is something we all inherently know but when you look at the strategies for each account, they look very similar in many ways. The ratio of employees to account is often the same, resources given each account is not defined and left to whatever each client needs and marketing budget is often not differentiated. In fact, the effort vs. the client potential is often inverted. Often, as stated earlier, it is the small less impactful clients that gets the majority of resources due to the mere fact that they demand the most attention.

Client Lifetime Value (CLV)

So, with all of that said what is the first step in selected key accounts and differentiating accounts. The first step is to define the value. We will look at it in several different ways. The first being Customer Lifetime Value. As a reminder, Client Lifetime Value (CLV), also known as Customer Lifetime Value, is a metric that represents the total revenue or profit a business can expect to generate from a single customer over the duration of their relationship with the company. Here is the given formula:

CLV = (Average Purchase Value) X (Average Purchase Frequency) X (Customer Lifespan)

More sophisticated formulas also include client acquisition costs and retention expenses to derive the Net CLV. There should be no real surprises when this is done for the accounts. However, there often is. What is often of interest is when you compare CLV to Net CLV. This will show the real ROI on the efforts. The CLV and the Net CLV will give you a first blush look at who your key accounts might be.

However, there are other factors to consider, and we will review them one by one. A greater look at the cost of each account, the influence of each account, potential for each account, fit for the account and percent of the company’s total revenue.

When you look at the cost of each account determining Account Value you must review these following areas.

Costs

The first is Acquisition Costs. The cost incurred include Marketing expenses, Sales Team Costs, and Onboarding costs. These include, but are not limited to, campaigns, advertisements, promotions aimed at acquiring the account, Sales Team salaries, commissions, training, setup, and integration efforts during the initial phases. There is more here than you may have once thought but each reflects to cost of winning the business for the account.

The second is operating costs including Labor Costs, Materials and Supplies, Technology and Infrastructure and Administrative Overhead. Employee salaries, overtime, benefits for staff dedicated to the account, products or resources required to service the account, software, hardware, IT support specifically tied to the account and finally costs related to internal account management and communication.

Third is the cost to retain the account and ensure the relationship is maintained. These costs are around Customer Service including the support team salaries and tools (e.g., helpdesk software), Loyalty Programs if they exist such as discounts, rewards and perks. There is also a cost around training sessions for clients to maximize the value of your service. Finally, Relationship Management including the time and resources spent on account management teams or client success strategies.

Fourth is the potential costs linked to risks or liabilities associated with the account such as Payment Delays or Defaults, Compliance and Legal Costs and Service Failures and the costs of rectifying issues or service breakdowns.

The fifth is something that often creep up on a corporation and is often seen as just the need to maintain an advantage, but they are often really a cost associated with a particular client. These are additional resources allocated to meet unique client needs like tailored solutions, special requests, and dedicated personnel needed to get a customization done for a particular account.

Additional costs to consider are Opportunity Costs and Contractual or SLA Penalties.

There are a lot of factors to consider, and we will leave it up to each company how deep they want to go. In the end, the value of an account can be calculated as:

Net Value of Account = Total Revenue from Account – Total Costs (Acquisition + Operational + Retention + Risk + Customization)

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Exercise 1

As an Executive Team take moment to write down your best guess who the top 10 valued clients might be using the CLV assumptions. Please rank them 1 thru 10. However, please do not use the formula to confirm your suspicions. After you all agreed and have it in writing, then compared to the top 10 after doing the formula CLV on those accounts. The more accurate information you can provide the better. If the finance team is able to assist that would be very beneficial. If not just estimate the additional costs for each and come to an final number. It might be that you align on the 10 now and then have finance run the formula at the end of Workshop is all complete. How did the top 10 ranking change. Was one drastically different than you thought. If so why? Who won? Who came the closest?

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High-value accounts will have higher profitability margins, longer client lifespans, and lower relative costs. Periodic review of these costs ensures accurate forecasting and strategic decision-making.

Influence

After a thorough review of cost is completed, we must look at the potential for the account. We reviewed fit with Right Clients/Right Terms. The other two are influence and potential.

Influence is simply the level a current client might have on the rest of the industry and your current and potential client base. For example, in the health care space it might be having a client like a renown medical center like the Cleveland Clinic or Mayo Clinic. The cost to serve may be higher but the value is increased by being associated with the account and have their recommendation moving forward.

One cannot move forward without taking into account the potential of an account. It may be smaller in value than others but the future might be quite bright. This must be more than a hunch but a calculated decision that more revenue will come due to opportunities that lie ahead.

One way of looking at this is by reviewing the chart below. On the Y axis is sales potential and on the X axis is customer relationships and services requirements. As you move further out on the X and Y axis you see the potential and the value grow. You start with a very transactional relationship and move to either developers or over demanders. Here is the first opportunity to differentiate. You want to minimize the over demanders and extenuate the developers to become major accounts and key accounts.

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Next is the fit to your organization above and beyond Right Clients/Right Terms. A good way of doing this is by putting the accounts into one of four quadrants listed below. On the vertical side write account attractiveness and horizontal write Business Strength of the customer. Move up and down on the vertical and further out on the horizontal will be low then high. The four quadrants will then be Status Qua, Streamline, Strategic and Star as seen below. Assign each account into one of these quadrants to determine fit.

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Finally, take a moment to simple look at each account as a percentage of total revenue.

You should then have more than enough data to reflect the true value of each account. Now you can take the final steps as a way to decide the accounts. The first is must have, second trending and forecasting, third productivity, fourth market penetration, fifth new products and offerings, sixth new markets, seventh is new offerings and new markets. As you can see it gives you the ability to look at accounts as it pertains to maintaining revenue and then growing revenue from the basics of must have to an account that will help you expand your product and your market over time. Please see graph below.

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We recognize each company will use all the tools provided in a way that best suits their business. The important thing is that you take the first step by differentiating your accounts and really seeing things in a discriminating manner.

Allocate Resources

The next step will be to allocate all your resources against those accounts. The most valuable is the personal. For Example, you may want your key accounts to have a one-to-one relationship with your most skilled account managers and those that are status qua or transactional you may be willing to have 1 to many approach. The same process should be taking place for all resources.

Client Journey

After all accounts have been classified you can then move on to creating a client journey appropriate of all accounts. A strong client journey with a focus on client retention and organic growth typically includes the following stages. We will break the stages into the basic sales process, implementation, retention and growth but we hope you see the more detailed approach than usual.

The first stage is the Sales Process which consist of first Awareness or the client becoming aware of your product or service through marketing, social media, word of mouth, or other channels. The sales process then moves to the consideration where the client evaluates your product or service, comparing it with competitors and seeking more information. This stage involves providing valuable content, testimonials, and case studies to help the client make an informed decision. Finally, it is time for a Decision. The client decides to purchase your product or service. This stage involves a seamless and user-friendly purchasing process, clear communication, and addressing any last-minute concerns.

The second stage is Implementation. After the purchase, the client needs to be onboarded effectively. This includes providing clear instructions, tutorials, and support to ensure they can use the product or service successfully.

The third stage is Client Retention and Organic Growth and will be a heavy part of the Execute Principle. It starts with engagement, keeping the client engaged is crucial for retention. Regular communication, personalized offers, and updates about new features or services help maintain their interest and satisfaction. Providing excellent customer support is essential. Quick and effective resolution of issues, accessible support channels, and proactive follow-ups contribute to a positive client experience. Engagement and support are not enough you need to collect and act on client feedback to help improve your product or service and shows clients that their opinions are valued. This can be done through surveys, reviews, and direct communication. We have discussed much of this in the Assess Principle.

We will continue to look at client retention and organic growth by discuss advocacy and loyalty. Satisfied clients become advocates for your brand, recommending it to others. Encouraging and facilitating client reviews, testimonials, and referrals can drive organic growth. Finally, we will focus on the retention strategy. Every account should have a retention strategy. The question just becomes how detailed, and how much effort is associated with which account. Continuously working on retention strategies, such as personalized communication, regular check-ins, and offering value-added services, helps keep clients loyal and engaged.

By focusing on these stages, you can create a client journey that not only retains clients but also encourages organic growth through positive word of mouth and client advocacy. The success comes not from just listing the phases but again customizing each to the different accounts and different categories. For a Key Account you will want to put together a very customized approach and identify who and how to take into account each phase. We will be reviewing this in a Team Account Retention Planning (T.A.R.P.) process within the Execute Principle. For a transactional account an account plan might just be reviewed once a quarter. The idea is to ensure the client is part of a formalized client journey. The number of Business-to-Business companies that have done journey mapping has increased from 38% in 2019 to 42% in 2022. More importantly 96% of those that did journey mapping found them to be effective in developing customer loyalty per Hanover Research.

Finally, we must look at marketing in a different light. Think about it. If you are saying all accounts are not the same and deserve a certain level of focus, than we should start to see differentiation. If in fact we have decided that the client journey should differ per account then so should how we market to those accounts. Account Based Marketing (ABM) is become more relevant as more and more start Business to Business companies are using it. When they do 27% shared that there was a significantly higher return and 57% shared that there was a somewhat higher return on ROI per Information Technology Service Marketing Association Survey. Together that is 84% that saw a higher return by using Account Based Marketing.

We must first go back to identifying the appropriate accounts. Not everyone should be part of the ABM process. It is not a good use of resources. It is another layer when deciding which accounts will benefit most from account-based marketing and to what degree will there be an ROI. There should be layers of marketing to the accounts. With the ideal accounts receiving the full Account Based Marketing approach.

The Executive Team should create an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) based on data collected from your target audience and identify high-value accounts that are most likely to convert. Not every account, not even all key accounts, will respond to the account team having such a customizable approach.

Collaboration will be key to success. You must first build a cross functional Account Based Marketing Team. The Partner Success Team can facilitate and monitor the progress but a separate cross functional ABM Team must be created. This will ensure close collaboration between marketing, sales, and other key stakeholders. It will also align all teams on the ABM strategy and goals.

Account Based Marketing is a targeted approach and as such detailed information must be gathered about the target accounts. You must understand the factors that influence their decision-making process. True some of this is understanding expectations, but it must go beyond.

Once the information is gathered it is time to develop Personalized Campaigns so the ABM Team can create tailored marketing campaigns for each target account. It is important to use personalized content and messaging to engage the accounts. Multiple channels will be engaged in to meet the client where they are. You should use the same channels that your target accounts are active on. If it is money toward a key conference or a certain social media, they should focus on those to impact. ABM will enhance visibility and engagement through social media, email, and other platforms.

Once the campaign is now active and implemented you must monitor the campaign to track the performance. The ABM Team will use metrics and KPIs to measure success and make necessary adjustments.

The basics must not be forgotten. You must continue to engage and nurture relationships with the target accounts and focus on providing value and building long-term partnerships.

There are factors to consider for Account-Based Marketing.

The first is Alignment Between Teams. You must ensure marketing and sales teams are aligned and working towards common goals. It is critical to foster collaboration and communication between teams. There must be one playbook and all should follow it.

Second there must be a focus on data quality and insights. There must be accurate and up-to-date data to identify and target high-value accounts. Part of the ABM team should be someone from data analytics. They can provide their expertise to gain insights into account behavior and preferences.

Third this cannot be a one size fits all there must be personalization. The content must be tailored, and messaging should be to the specific needs and pain points of each target account. A personalized approaches will build stronger connections.

Fourth is a focus on Technology and Tools. Utilize ABM tools and platforms to streamline and automate processes. Invest in technology that supports data integration, campaign management, and analytics.

Fifth is to review the measurement and performance of the ABM campaigns. Then the company can optimize strategies based on feedback and results to improve effectiveness.

The customer experience is vital to the success of the company. It is important to continue to focus on delivering a seamless and positive customer experience throughout the journey.

By following these steps and considering these factors, a company can effectively implement an Account-Based Marketing strategy that drives engagement, conversion, and long-term growth.

The confidence level you have now should be much higher than when you first started the workshop. The Executive Team now has a very detailed and focused strategy through the Create Principle. In Chapter 5 the fundamentals were shared and now a true customer approach to the customer experience was shared with you in this chapter.

However, the real work will come in implementing the process. The Executive Team will do that later on.

A Note About Execute

For the remainder of Workshop, we will turn our attentions to the Execute Principle. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is when the customer facing team will implement the keys to success in client retention. The Executive Team will hand over the baton to Partner Success Team. However, before you do so we will cover the concepts of the Execute Principle to round out the Clients for Life process. The Executive Team will continue to monitor the process and provide guidance once the Create Principle is implemented but the training, implementation and monitoring will be carried out by the Partner Success Team.

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Case Study

Terminus is a B2B account-based marketing platform that helps businesses target specific accounts with personalized ads and content. They decided to use their own technology to execute an ABM campaign and see the results firsthand.

Terminus wanted to significantly increase their sales pipeline by targeting high-value accounts more effectively. Traditional marketing methods were not yielding the desired results, and they needed a more focused approach.

Terminus implemented a comprehensive ABM strategy that included targeted account selection, personalized ads and content, email outreach, landing pages, and social media ads. They identified high-value accounts that were most likely to convert. They created personalized ads and content tailored to the specific needs and pain points of each target account. They used personalized email campaigns to engage with decision-makers at the target accounts. They developed personalized landing pages for each target account to provide a customized experience. They ran targeted ads on social media platforms like LinkedIn to reach decision-makers at the target accounts.

The ABM campaign was highly successful, and Terminus achieved impressive results. The sales pipeline increased by 733%. The personalized approach led to higher engagement rates with the target accounts. The campaign delivered a high return on investment by focusing on the right accounts and delivering a personalized message.

By leveraging their own ABM platform and implementing a targeted, personalized approach, Terminus was able to significantly boost their sales pipeline and achieve remarkable results. This case study demonstrates the effectiveness of ABM in driving engagement and conversions in the B2B space.

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Course Manual 7: The Execute Principle: Expectations

The Assess and Create Principles are now in place and now it is time to focus on the Execute Principle. This is where the rubber meets the road. It is where the Account Team and those who are customer facing have the opportunity to put into practice key elements of the client retention process that will not only allow the relationships with your client to be maintained but to be able thrive and grow.

If the Assess and Create principles are established but the Execute Principle is not put in place it will all be for not. The perceptions of the client will not change if the account team and those who are customer facing are not implemented. The Execute Principle will carry out the strategy and ensure the health of the relationship is strong.

The first element we will be discussing is understanding, setting and executing on expectations. Expectations are the fulcrum in which the health of the client balances everything. It is how your client will measure success. Work done by Bain and Company brings this point home better than any other. When companies and clients were asked if they were receiving or providing superior service the responses were vastly different. 80% of Companies believed they were providing superior service while only 8% of clients agreed. How could there be such a chasm? There is one answer, the expectations were drastically different. The client was expecting one level of service while the company was providing another.

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Understanding Expectations

Before we go into how to set and execute on expectations, we have some work to do. We must take a moment to understand how expectations are created in the first place. Take a moment and think about it. How can two individuals who share so much in common such as gender, race, income and geography have vastly different set of expectations. Expectations are very unique to the individual. They are a learned behavior, and each experience adapts and shapes each person’s expectations.

Expectations are received and created two different ways through experiences and communications. The question is which one is more powerful.

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Communications are important to convey what a client can expect but if the client experiences something completely different the experience will trump what was communicated every time. Our experiences do not lie, they may be exaggerated due to certain events, but they shape our expectations greater than anything else.

Think about a time when you were told a vacation you were about to go on was going to be the best ever. Yet when you got there, it was anything but. The room might have been dirty, service not so great and the view less than spectacular. What will affect you more what someone told you or your experience.

Relevant Value

If that is the case how do expectations develop over time? Take a short trip with us to prove our point. Remember when you first learned to ride a bike. Remember the thrill you had. You were king or queen of your neighborhood. There was probably a level of independence like you never experienced before. The level of euphoria was very high! However, what happens over time. The euphoria diminished and the bike that was a key to your independence probably lost its shine after a while. You wanted and needed more. You created a new expectation. Your next expectation may be the desire to drive a car. Again, your level of euphoria increases. Now the city is your domain. That level of satisfaction comes back. If someone asks you to get bread or milk for the house, you are there no questions asked. You don’t have to be asked twice. 6 months later things change someone asks you to get that milk or bread and you probably are not as interested. You need something more your expectations change. Some might even learn to fly a plane to have that same feeling.

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The same thing happens in business. A client starts out with some basic level of need that must be fulfilled. Once you fulfil that need another one will be created. Much like after one learns to ride a bike the level of euphoria will be diminished and a new one creeps up. This brings us to one of our first axioms, “It’s not what we DO that matters… It’s what we DO relative to that which our clients expected us to do that matters”. This is Relevant Value.

Let’s take a moment to unpack that for a moment. We often rush into a situation and provide what we believe is important to the client. After all, we know best. We are the experts and have done it a million times before, so we do not take the time to understand what is relative to our client that matters.

Here is another way to view this concept. Most know the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would do unto yourself”. It is a strong start and has been around for years but what did we just learn. It not what we think they need but what their expectations might be. If that is the case, then let me submit the Platinum Rule: “Do unto others as they would have done unto themselves”. I am sure you caught the twist, it is not what you think is important but what others do. But wait, you are an expert, and you were hired because of your expertise. Therefore, there is one more twist to add. “Do unto others as they would have an expert do unto themselves. See the expectations change when an expert enters the scene. The client expects you to help them advise and guide them through the decision process. This does not mean decide for them or provide something they do not want. It does mean becoming a resource for the client.

Continued Growth

Another problem with providing everything but the kitchen sink to the client is that there is no room left to grow with the client. The client will fail to see continued improvement. Here is an example. A new client comes to you and needs a reporting system, and you do not take the time to really understand their expectations. Instead, you provide a sophisticated reporting system with dashboards, interfaces and predictive tools that would impress anyone for its sophistication. However, your client does not have the time, technical expertise, or reason to have that level of report. The client’s expectation was to simply have a monthly Excel file that would go over some key parameters. Unfortunately, you have nowhere else to grow. You showed the client your best and now you can’t take it back. We would suggest “Superior service is service that exceeds expectations by just a little bit”. Please take note: we did not say to not give it 100%. You should always strive to exceed expectations, and anything less would be wrong. What you are trying to do is show continues improvement.

Often, we complicate things when the expectation and answer is so much simpler. Let us tell a quick story about NASA and a race to the moon. NASA had to find an answer on how to write things down in outer space. The problem was the ball point pen failed to work due to lack of gravity. The ink just would not flow out of the pen. Well, 12 million dollars later NASA discovered the answer to the problem with a sophisticated pen. Russia had to also find an answer to the problem, but they found a way more cost-effective answer. The decided to use a number 2 pencil.

The lesson is not to over complicate solutions. You do not need to try to provide complex answers when the expectations may be able to be exceeded by providing a simpler more straight forward solution. If you do, it will often lead to scope creep.

One of the best ways to prevent scope creep is to understand the client’s expectations in a very specific and measurable way. There is only one way to do this: you have to ask. We know it sounds simple but the vast majority of clients do not take the time to ask. There are several reasons for this. The first is it often awkward. There is this unwritten assumption that you should already understand the expectations. Second, you need to slow down to ask the question, and you have so much to do that it is simpler just to do it. Third there is thought that if you ask you might be unable to be able to deliver on their expectations.

Unfortunately, if you do not power through the awkwardness, and slow down to ask the expectations there is a very good chance you will not be delivering on their expectations. The pain is just delayed. That is why we will be going over to essential meetings that must take place. One is the Transition Meeting, and the Other is the Expectation Session.

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Exercise 1

A simple way to help teams better understand client expectations is through a structured role-playing exercise. Participants work in pairs, with one person acting as the client and the other as the service provider. The client is given a basic scenario, such as needing a new website, improving customer service, or setting up a marketing campaign. They can only provide details if the service provider asks the right questions.

The service provider’s task is to gather as much useful information as possible by asking open-ended questions. They should focus on understanding the client’s goals, what success looks like, any past challenges, and any concerns they might have. After a few minutes of conversation, the service provider summarizes what they believe the client wants. The client then provides feedback on whether their expectations were fully understood or if any key details were missed.

At the end of the exercise, the group discusses which questions worked best, what assumptions were made, and how communication can be improved in real client interactions. This exercise reinforces the importance of asking the right questions, listening actively, and ensuring alignment to prevent misunderstandings and strengthen client relationships.

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Transition Meetings and Expectation Sessions

The Transition Meeting takes place right before the sale is finalized. It is the opportunity for Sales to and hand things over to Operations and for Operations to align with the client’s expectations.

The Expectation Session takes place at a minimum of once a year. We know that expectations change overtime and there should be an annual opportunity to realign and ensure the service you are providing aligns with the client’s expectations.

Two notes before moving forward with an overview of each meeting and some key steps. First, you may have noticed that we said client’s expectations and not the individual stakeholder’s expectations. There is a reason for that. There are only so many resources available and it is close to impossible to satisfy everyone’s expectations. In fact, often one stakeholder’s expectation might actual conflict with another’s. The Transition Meeting and Expectation Session is design to have the client align on the expectations as a whole.

Second every expectation does not hold the same significance. Therefore, you should not put the same energy into every expectation. You must prioritize each expectation, and the Transition Meeting and Expectation Session will be a vehicle to just that. It is a time to align on one set of expectations.

A more detailed process of the Transition Meeting will be reviewed when we discuss implementation in a later workshop. However, we did want to provide the highlights.

We recommend that the Transition Meetings takes place before the contract is actually signed. This is when your company holds the most power in the decision and expectation process. After the contract is signed then you must go back and try to rewrite what you just committed to. We understand this may cause the Salesforce some heartburn. You are now at the one-yard line only to be told you must pause to ensure expectations are aligned. We would counter that the problem will still be there it will just be covered up for three to six months. Worse yet the frustration and anger will just be heightened, and questions will be raised on why the issue was not addressed in the first place. It is a boiling pot of steam ready to blow.

An internal meeting should always take place before you meet with the client, and this is definitely the case for the Transition Meeting. Sales will provide what they think the expectations might be and share any concerns or obstacles that Operations should be aware of. 90% of the time Sales will be aware of what the expectations might be, and the internal meeting is the opportunity to share those expectations and discuss how the company will respond. As with all expectation meetings there are three options. One is to agree on the expectation as it exists. Second is to agree but adjust the expectation and third is to convey that the company cannot do the expectation as stated. The worst thing to do is say you can do something that you knowingly cannot fulfil. It is better to have the frank and honest conversation now rather than later when tempers will be higher for promises not kept.

We mentioned 90% of the time Sales will be able to identify the expectations. For this 90% it is still important to have the client memorialize the expectation, own the expectation and convey the exact specific and measurable expectation. If it is not documented, then it never really existed and can be changed by the client at whim. Worse yet there can be confusion to what ever was agreed upon leading to a strain in the relationship.

For the 10% of the time that an expectation arises that no one saw coming, this is the opportunity to ferret it out and provide a resolution before the contract is signed. This will prevent any confusion down the line.

If Sales is unwilling to conduct the Transition Meeting before the contract is signed, we highly suggest that the Transition Meeting is held until after implementation. The Transition Meeting is a strategic meeting and is not tactical. What we have found is that during implementation things become very tactical and clients are not focused on expectations. Their only expectation is that the implementation is done correctly.

For the actual meeting all stakeholders should be in the room. We will use the room to describe the physical and virtual room. Over the years the Transition Meeting has been adapted to adjust for different environments and situations. We will review the difference during implementation. Each stakeholder will first be asked to share the expectations he or she has for the company over the next 6 months and year (Timelines may vary depending on industry). The facilitator will work to ensure each expectation is specific and measure. It must be able to be acted upon. For example, a stakeholder might say we want strong communication. What does that mean. The stakeholder will be asked to clarify until it is.

After all expectations have been shared. The stakeholders will be asked to prioritize all the expectations including their own and their colleagues. It is the stakeholder’s chance to provide their individual prioritization. Then when all stakeholders have prioritized the expectations individually, all will be asked to prioritize as a group. This will take some time for all to align but this will allow you also to understand where to prioritize your efforts. We have found a client will fire a company for not executing on the top 3 to 4 expectations but not lesser expectations. That does not make them not notable or even actionable. It does show the importance of each.

Your company then has the opportunity to respond to each expectation on whether you can meet the expectation as is, need to adjust or just cannot meet the expectation. Please do not answer the expectation unless you know what the answer will be. If a subject matter expert needs to be consulted then provide a timeline when you can provide a response.

A partnership is a relationship where both will have expectations of the other. Therefore, after you have listened and responded to the clients’ expectations it is your turn to provide your expectations of the client. Do not shy away from this. If you do you will set the tone that this is not a partnership and that you have no expectations of the client. We are sure that is not the case.

Finally, you must document, document, document the expectations and share them with the client for their review. These expectations also should be revisited regularly for the status update.

The annual Expectation Session will have the same flow. The only real difference is that Operations will take a greater role. Sales may or may not be involved depending on the client journey and what role Sales will have in the relationship.

A crucial step has been completed. The expectations have been defined and now all understand what has to be done to ensure a successful outcome. If there is a major event that will dynamically change expectations like an acquisition or market event another expectation session should be done.

Things will also arise after the expectation meeting. Initiatives will come up and the Account Team will want to do more. We just ask that you take each initiative and ask a few questions to prevent scope creep.

Time vs. Impact

The first is simply time versus impact. If you assume that there is a measure of 100% for both time and impact, you must ask yourself what percentage of time provides what percentage of impact. If 70% of your time is being spent on something that will only have a 20% impact and take you off of your key expectations, you should start to ask yourself the value of the initiative.

Another way of looking at this is to fill out this simple form below. What is the opportunity? Describe the opportunity. This should be a detailed description. Then define the investment required. Are there additional hours needed? Is there a monetary investment? Does there need to be a customization to existing process or new process created? Will there need to be a certain level of technology? Take time to list all investments. Then list the impact. How will your client benefit? How will your company benefit and how will the relationship benefit? Finally, is there an opportunity for growth? Does it provide an opportunity to expand the current relationship? After you answered all these questions then sit down with your manager and evaluate the value of moving forward.

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If your account team does this simple exercise over and over again your account team will start to gain perspective of time vs. impact. It will limit scope creep and focus everyone on the client’s priorities and how to invest in substantial and real opportunities at hand.

We have covered a lot in this chapter. We moved from the importance of expectations to the definition of expectation and where they come from. We then move to relevant value and the importance of the Golden, Platinum, and Diamond rule. We share the flow of the Transition Meeting and Expectation Sessions as well as delved further into scope creep.

By making the investment in understanding and executing on expectations. Your account team will ground themselves in working on what is truly important to client and will be able to define and work towards executing what the client believes success looks like. This is something that must be done for every client. It may take a more simplified format for a transactional client versus a key account. That said all have expectations and they cannot be neglected.

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Case Study

A great example of a business-to-business company that significantly improved client retention by better understanding expectations is Salesforce, a leading customer relationship management (CRM) software provider.

Salesforce was facing challenges with enterprise customers churning due to unmet expectations and a lack of clarity on how to maximize the platform’s value. The company realized that the key to long-term retention was ensuring that clients had a clear understanding of what they could expect from the software and how to fully utilize it to achieve their business goals.

To address this issue, Salesforce implemented a comprehensive Customer Success Program that involved proactive engagement with clients at every stage of their journey. Instead of simply selling software and leaving customers to navigate it on their own, the company assigned dedicated customer success managers to understand the specific needs and objectives of each business. These managers conducted detailed onboarding sessions, expectation-setting meetings, and continuous check-ins to ensure clients were achieving the desired outcomes.

By leveraging its own AI-driven analytics, Salesforce identified usage patterns that indicated whether a client was fully utilizing the CRM or if they were at risk of churn. If a client showed signs of disengagement, the customer success team would proactively reach out, offering customized training sessions, workflow optimization strategies, and additional resources tailored to their industry.

Another crucial step Salesforce took was refining its Expectation Alignment Framework. Many customers were purchasing Salesforce expecting an out-of-the-box solution, when in reality, the CRM required customization to fit different business models. To bridge this gap, Salesforce restructured its sales and onboarding process to ensure that clients had a more realistic understanding of what implementation would entail. Clients were provided with clear timelines, dedicated implementation specialists, and case studies from similar businesses to help set realistic goals.

The impact of these efforts was significant. Customer satisfaction scores improved, renewal rates increased, and clients reported greater ROI from the platform. The proactive engagement model not only reduced churn but also strengthened relationships, leading to more upsell and cross-sell opportunities.

By prioritizing expectation management and proactive client engagement, Salesforce was able to transform its retention strategy, ensuring that clients felt supported, informed, and empowered to achieve their business objectives.

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Course Manual 8: Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle

Relationships are the glue that holds the Execute Principle together. Few things shape a strong client retention strategy more than the quality of the relationship. Contracts have been won or lost due to the quality, robustness, and structure of the relationship that exists between the company and the client. It is more than just having nice people on either side; it takes thought and planning to ensure that the two sides are intertwined at every level of the organizations. Relationships must be nourished and constantly looked after in order to thrive. When two people first fall in love, there are cards, flowers, and a lot of time spent on the relationship. With good relationships, those efforts do not end; they continue through the years. The same must happen in a business relationship. It is not enough to schmooze the client during the sales cycle and then have it become business as usual as time goes on. If that is the case, do not be shocked if the client turns around and falls in love with someone else. The effort must be put forward to ensure the relationship was not just maintained but grown.

Client vs. Customer

You may have noticed that we have shied away from using the term customer and instead have used the term client. There is a reason for that. A customer is defined as a person who makes casual purchases of goods and non-professional services. There is very little investment in the relationship. A client has a more formal relationship with the service provider, a relationship based on repeated interactions and is more intimate. A client wants a more strategic relationship, one that is between their company and yours. It is collaborative and accountable for long-term results. There is a mutual understand that both of your success relies on each other. In the business to consumer world, having a customer is fine. It is transactional. You shop at a store, buy an item, and maybe get some loyalty points and move on. Does the company want the customer to come back, sure. However, it is not at the level of investing much more time and energy on it. If they leave another will come by. It is not that permanent of a relationship. A client is more appropriate for the business to business world. We do not deal in the world of customers; we deal with clients. We are investing in them, and we cannot afford for them to leave. It is just too important.

Partner vs. Vendor

One more clarification: companies should strive to become a partner and not a vendor. There is a major difference between the two. A vendor is fine for a lot of business relationships. Company A provides a service to Company B, and everyone is satisfied. The job is done up to expectations and for the short term everything will be good. All is good and may even last a while if everything stays the same. You probably even get a fine Net Promoter Score or Satisfaction score. Vendors come and go. There is not that high degree of collaboration. Unfortunately, that means there is not a high degree of Commitment.

With a partnership, you are seen as someone who solves problems for the client not just for today but well into the future. You are seen as someone who rolls up their sleeves, works shoulder to shoulder with the client, and gets things done. When there is an issue, the client comes to you. When there is a problem to solve, you are their resource. There is a synergy in working together. Collaboration comes naturally. There is even a synergy that builds a great deal of commitment. When you reach the status of partner the chances of the client leaving for a competitor diminishes quickly.

Here is the rub: the client has only so much capacity for partnerships. There is just not enough time in a day to make every vendor a partner. It takes a level of commitment from both sides. It is that commitment that will hold things together when there is an issue to resolve, or a competitor tries to intervene. It should be noted that partnerships will not come easy for you, not one that will last. You must build a certain level of trust. It is trust that will bind the relationship together.

Networks can be tricky and not every person on the client side is willing to help you build that strong Web of Influence for your company. There is sometimes a person that will be a blocker to your success. It is often not done intentionally. It is more done out of control or a level of insecurity. This person is usually the main contact and wants to ensure that he or she is seen as the person who is making everything happen. They need to believe you are in their corner and will not do anything that will detract from what they are doing internally. You must become their biggest cheerleader and assure them that you would never do anything to harm their stature or reputation. In fact, you goal is to increase their reputation by helping them succeed internally. You must build their trust.

Trust

Trust is comprised primarily of the three C’s: Caring, Competency, and Candor, in that order. As President Roosevelt stated, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” You must truly desire that the client succeeds. We often say you can determine a lot by the pronouns you use. If you find yourself using you or them versus, we and us, then you may not be a partner who cares but a vendor. You care more about I and less about them. A true partnership develops when both you and the client are on the same team caring about the same thing. This will allow the client to see you are part of the team versus someone just providing a product or service. You care for the same things and have the same goals.

Professional relationships go deeper than caring to build trust. There has to be a level of competency. A certain level of knowledge and expertise in your field. They are giving you the responsibility to execute a certain service or provide a product that is critical to their success. They need to trust that you will have the skills and abilities that they can rely on. They came to you because you are an expert. Think of anything of substance that you ask someone to do as a service for you. If you go to an accountant to prepare your taxes and he meets you and listens attentively to you but in the end says he cares deeply for your financial health but informs you that he only has watched a few TV shows about accounting but that he really cares about you he really does. What would be your response? My guess is you would thank him for your time but not use his services. The same is true for you and your company. There is a trust that you will perform on the promises you stated. There is an unwritten trust that you don’t just know what you are doing but will be an expert in the field.

Then we come to candor. Candor can be uncomfortable but is a must for a business relationship. If you truly care and have the competency to help steer the client in the right direction, then you must be willing to be candid when you see your advice and expertise can benefit them. After all, that is why they hired you. If you do not, things might be more comfortable in the short term, but it will fade over time when the client realizes you did not step in to help them navigate in the right direction. It is also a reflection of how much you care. It is when you really care about something that you find it hard to hold back. Instead, you give professional and constructive advice when warranted.

To go deeper into what is needed for trust, we must look at authenticity. The continuum to authenticity starts at being phony, moving to honesty, and then achieving authenticity. As you see, it is more than being honest. It is honesty while showing you care enough to be vulnerable. Clients want to know the real you, not some phony or self-righteous you, but the real you. Here is the formula for authenticity: Honesty – Self Righteousness + Vulnerability = Authenticity. A great way to build authenticity is through building a level of commonality. This does not take long. It just requires finding things that you have in common with the individual. No matter how vastly different two people might be there are still things you have in common the least of which is your common good. It is your responsibility to discover what you have in common. This will build relatedness. With relatedness comes authenticity, which builds trust.

Advance Web of Influence® Structure

Now that we have trust defined, we will move to review the structure of an advanced network or a Web of Influence®. Every person at the company must have at least three levels of relationships. One should be at a level that is above them, another at their level, and another one level down on the client side. For example, an account manager might have a relationship with the COO, their direct counterpart, and the client’s subject matter expert for technology. When put together you then have very strong and robust Web of Influence®. It should look something like this example.

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Exercise 1

Identify a key account and fill out the form below.

Do not worry about making it look exact. Every client is different, and the contacts and relationships are different as well. In fact, if it looks exactly like this there is a good chance you might be being truthful about network.

Where could the network be improved?

Where is it strong?

How could you help others build out your Web of Influence®?

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There should be representation from all appropriate levels on the company side that is relevant and also by all on the client side who are relevant to the relationship. The Web of Influence® is the responsibility of the Account Manager, but everything must not solely be executed by the Account Manager. There is a big difference here. There is a risk if the Account Manager believes that only he or she can carry out all that is asked. They must carry the whole weight of the relationship on their backs. That is a recipe for disaster. There is not the time or the expertise for the account manager to put the account solely on his or her shoulders. The Account Manager must delegate and have confidence that leadership and subject matter experts have the relevant relationships with the appropriate person on the client side to get the job done. That does not mean that the Account Manager does not bear the responsibility to know all that is going on with the account. He or she should be the point person and the architect of the Web of Influence®. It is just that there is often someone more equipped to solve a problem at hand. The Account Manager’s responsibility is to be the catalyst.

Defining Business Relationship

It is important that we also take a moment to describe what a business relationship is. For some reason, there are individuals who believe that they cannot have a relationship with a person on the client side unless it rises to the level of a personal relationship. While personal relationships are nice to have with any individual. a personal relationship is more involved than a business relationship and not necessary for a business interaction. In fact, if you are waiting to fill comfortable to interacting more with an individual until it rises to a personal relationship you are doing your company a disservice.

A business relationship is one where they know who you are, you are viewed as a competent professional, and you are someone they will meet with if given a valid business reason. Therefore, you should not shy away from working with certain individuals because it is not personal enough or because you think you are not important enough. You are. You are responsible for part of the client’s business, and thus you have a valid business reason. Do not hold back. Your client expects you to come to them when there is an opportunity or issue to resolve even if it is the CEO if appropriate.

In addition to these foundational principles, it is essential to recognize the dynamic nature of business relationships. The landscape of business is ever evolving and so must be the strategies employed to maintain and strengthen client relationships. This requires a proactive approach, where continuous learning and adaptation are key. Staying abreast of industry trends, understanding the evolving needs of clients, and being agile in response to changes can significantly enhance the quality of the relationship. Moreover, leveraging technology to facilitate better communication and collaboration can play a pivotal role in nurturing these relationships. Tools such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems can help in tracking interactions, understanding client preferences, and ensuring that no touchpoint is missed. This systematic approach ensures that the relationship is not left to chance but is managed with precision and care. We will review the CRM system in later workshop when we dive into aligning the CRM system and Clients for Life.

Above and beyond what was mentioned there are three items that should be monitored and track. The first is the individual’s influence on the relationship. One’s influence does not go by title alone. Instead to goes to the ability and weight a stakeholder might have both internally in the organization as well as externally. Think of a person who may not hold a high-level title but is an expert in his or her field. That person’s expertise often outweighs someone in leadership who has a tertiary interest but will take the advice of the person who is an expert in the field. Smart leaders often do. Therefore, the Subject Matter Expert might have a high level of influence and the CEO medium.

It is also of interest to understand the level of support you are receiving from each stakeholder at the company. You should know who at the client is a Champion, Neutral and Detractor of you company. This might take some time to figure out, but it is beneficial to know if someone changes, the contract comes up for renewal, or if there is an issue who is in your corner and who just might be looking for an opportunity to find a reason to replace you. Know this information will also aid in your strategic planning. This information needs to be shared with everyone. For those who are detractors a plan should be put in place to move them to neutral. Those that are neutral should be moved to Champion and a plan should be in place to harness the Champions support for the company.

That is again why the information should be stored in a Customer Relationship Management system. That way if leadership is having a visit with the client he or she will quickly know where the level of support along with where the landmines maybe. Nothing is worse than being caught off guard and having to deal with a person you may never met with before who is looking to harm the relationship.

It should also be known who will be willing to give an unconditional referral when asked, who will give a conditional referral and who will give a negative referral. Let us go over each one of these. An unconditional referral is just that. The stakeholder will have no reservations whatsoever when asked if someone should do business with your company, no “They are a great company but just watch out for this or that” comments. It should be totally unconditional. If someone has even one reservation, then it is a conditional referral. Finally, a negative is just that a referral where there is nothing nice to say about your company. Why is this important. First it is an indicator of the level of support. Second it is a good barometer of where the company stands at time of RFP, and third it lets you know who you can count on when you do need a referral so that you do not go fishing for referrals from those that are going to harm you more than help you.

Furthermore, the role of emotional intelligence in managing client relationships cannot be overstated. Understanding and managing one’s emotions, as well as being empathetic to the emotions of others, can lead to more meaningful and productive interactions. Emotional intelligence helps in building rapport, resolving conflicts, and fostering a positive and collaborative environment. It is about being attuned to the client’s needs and responding in a way that builds trust and respect. Another critical aspect is the alignment of values and goals between the company and the client. When both parties share common values and objectives, the relationship is more likely to be strong and enduring. This alignment creates a sense of partnership and shared purpose, which is crucial for long-term success.

Lastly, it is important to celebrate successes and milestones in the relationship. Recognizing and appreciating the achievements and contributions of both parties can strengthen the bond and create a positive and motivating environment. Whether it is a successful project completion, a significant business win, or a milestone in the relationship, taking the time to celebrate these moments can reinforce the commitment and collaboration between the company and the client. If you are waiting for someone else to celebrate your accomplishment you might not receive them. If you do not celebrate the successes often no one will.

In conclusion, building and maintaining strong client relationships is a multifaceted endeavor that requires a strategic, thoughtful, and proactive approach. By focusing on quality, trust, authenticity, and continuous improvement, companies can create lasting and meaningful relationships that drive success and growth for both parties. It is not something that can be left up to chance. Even if you have a rockstar on your team that has the best relationships with the client you cannot sit back and take it easy. At some point that rockstar is going to leave and with him will go much of the goodwill. You need more than a few relationships you need a Web of Influence®.

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Case Study

Company: A leading industrial equipment manufacturer

Challenge: The company struggled to maintain strong relationships with its diverse client base, which included large corporations and mid-sized businesses across various industries. Their traditional approach to client management was insufficient for fostering deeper connections and understanding client needs effectively.

Solution: The company decided to implement a comprehensive strategy to improve their web of influence within client organizations. They began by mapping out key stakeholders within each client company, identifying decision-makers, influencers, and end-users. This mapping process helped them understand the internal dynamics and power structures within their clients’ organizations.

Implementation: Dedicated account managers were assigned to each client, ensuring that these managers were well-versed in the client’s industry and specific business challenges. These account managers regularly engaged with multiple stakeholders within the client organization, not just the primary contact. This approach allowed the company to gather valuable insights into the client’s evolving needs and preferences.

The company also leveraged technology to enhance their web of influence. They implemented a customer relationship management (CRM) system that tracked interactions with various stakeholders, recorded feedback, and identified opportunities for value-added services. This system enabled the company to provide personalized solutions and proactive support, strengthening their position as a trusted partner.

Outcomes: The company saw significant improvements in client satisfaction and retention. Clients appreciated the tailored approach and felt that the company truly understood their business. This deeper engagement led to increased cross-selling and upselling opportunities, as clients were more open to exploring additional services and solutions offered by the company.

Overall, by improving their web of influence within client organizations, the company was able to build stronger, more resilient relationships, leading to enhanced business outcomes and sustained growth.

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Course Manual 9: Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow

Two Things

When you first get a client, if you are like most people, you want to get in there and start producing results. We all want to show our value as fast as we can and that is a good thing. After all that was what the client hired you to do. The client hired you to solve the problems they could not solve for themselves. If they could have solved the problems, they probably would not have hired you.

In fact, there is only really two thing your client wants from you. First, they want you to solve the problem they asked you to solve for them. Second, they want you to innovate and guide them and help them solve the problems of tomorrow. However, we sometimes are so excited to show are value that we often try to do both at the same time. If you try to do you and your client will become extremely frustrated.

A few things may be going through their minds. They might be thinking that all you want to do is sale more things and are not interested in actually doing the work they asked you to do. Another thought might be that you are trying to do some sort of smoke and mirrors trick to take their attention off the problem you cannot solve. Maybe, just maybe, they think you do not understand what they want you to do.

We know the client cannot be a concern about you understanding what they want you to do because you completed the Transition Meeting and know their expectations in a very specific, prioritized and measurable way. However, they might be more confused now. You just had a meeting around what the client’s expectations are and now you are already of course. It devalues the Transition Meeting. Stay the course.

That is why it is crucial that when you first get the account, you take the time to focus all your efforts on executing against those expectations. The first impression is often the most important. Once the trust is lost it is hard to get it back. They entrusted you with a job to do and they expect that job to be done.

Revelation X

If you stay stagnant and do not move past the job you were asked to do in time your value will decrease. This is best explained by reviewing a concept we developed called Revelation X show bellow.

In the beginning you can see that the problems are large (dark blue). That is why they hired you. If they could have done it themselves, they may not have reached out to you and solved the problem on their own. That is why it is imperative that you are focused early on and solve the problems you were asked to solve. At the same time, fees are usually lower and so are your profits as you might have lowered the price to gain entry or decided not to charge for implementation (dark green).

In time, the problems which once seemed large tend to decrease. You did the job they asked you to do. It may seem counter intuitive but as you solve the problems your perceived value can go down over time. This is for two reasons. First, the problems have been solved so there is not as much for you to continue to do. Second, we tend to have short term memories. Two to three years out clients tend to forget all the work you have done for them. In fact, now the perception could be that what you do is not that complicated. The work almost becomes part of the natural rhythm of things. The mountains you needed to climb are remember as hills that just needed smoothed over.

While the problems go down in time the fees tend to rise. This could be for a host of reasons, inflation, cost of doing business or simply align to your current price structure. Even if the line stayed flat there is a good chance that you will have to address an issue that arises with every client at some point.

At some point the problems will go down and the fees will rise. The two lines are going to intersect and the problems left to solve will be less than the fees that are being charged. At this point you have a value gap. It will happen at every engagement. The problem is you have no right to the fees charged above to the right side of the intersection in the mind of your client. This is the crucial point when the client often looks to decide to either bring the work inside and terminate the contract or simply go to a competitor who is able to charge a lesser fee. The competitor might even thank you for doing the heavy lifting.

You have two options if you want to keep the client. You can either reduce fees (red line) or innovate to solve additional problems (light blue). Not many are willing to cut costs, so the focus tends to favor innovating for tomorrow. In other words, you might say increasing the problems the client has to solve. Either way you cannot afford to remain stagnant and simple keep charging the fees for the same work.

We know this seems somewhat unfair. After all, you did some really good work and put in a lot of sweat equity in the beginning for a price that might have been under the market value. Surely, the client realizes that you should be reward for all that work by letting you recoup some revenue you deserve by increasing the fees. Unfortunately, they do not. Clients tend to focus on today make judgements using today’s value and opportunities.

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Exercise 1

Find a partner and think of a time where Revelation X played out at your company. Describe the situation for them. What happened with the fees started to rise? What was the response and how do you handle it. Now take time to listen to the partner and compare notes. What could maybe have been done differently?

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Value of A Contract

The value of a contract has three factors. At the base of it all is the price a competent competitor will charge for the same services. The key word here is competent competitor. The is often such a desire to get the business that we tend to chase the competitor in a race to the bottom by lowering our price to just meet their price whether the competitor can really perform the work or not. This is dangerous and requires a level of intestinal fortitude to be able to stick to your guns and realize your value. If you chase any competitor your reputation will be negatively affected as well as your balance sheet.

NEED LARGER IMAGE

Next is the value of being the incumbent. There is an incumbent advantage. This is estimated at 10% of the overall price. The reason for this is simply the hassle factor that occurs to move from one relationship to another. There is a new contract to work out, people to get to know, process that need to be establish and a host of other nuances that are just not worth the effort if the value of a new offering is just not that different.

The last factor to review is the innovation quotient. This factor can either be a positive due to the work you have done for the client in solving new problems for them or a negative if the client believes the competition as better suited to move them forward. Out of the three factors the innovation quotient is the one you can really impact and the one we will be spending some additional time on developing.

Innovation

The problem that tends to arise is that Account Managers shy away from innovation and often have a misunderstanding of what innovation really is. They tend to believe innovation has to be something big, a game changer. It does not. There are two kinds of innovation one that solves for the fuel and one that solves for the friction.

The fuel is the one we all focus on. It is the creation of a new product or service like when the post it notes was create for 3M. Friction is more common. It makes what someone is doing more productive, efficient, or just simpler. This is the opportunity you can easily harness. Think of a race the car the fuel is what makes the motor run and friction is the design that makes it cut better through air. It reduces the drag on the car.

Reducing friction is easy for everyone to work towards improving. After all you have been working with the client for a few years now. You have built a strong Web of Influence®, and you understand their expectations and how they have evolved over time. On top of that you are the expert and can use your past experiences and best practices as a resource.

When you bring up your ideas to reduce friction do not be surprised if you get a little push back. New ideas, as we discussed, are needed to keep the relationship going but there are some reactions that you should be aware of.

One might be Inertia. This is the powerful desire to stick to what the client knows, despite the understood limitation. You might hear things like “we have always done it this way”. Another might be Effort. How much energy is needed to make the change?

One more might be Emotion. This is the unintended negative emotion created by the very change you seek to do. The client might say, “I like the way we do it now”.

Finally, there is Reactance, the impulse to resist change. This often occurs because the client feels like they are being told to do something and become resistant to it.

Whatever the resistance might be you have to find a way to move the client past the resistance and move towards the better solution. That is of course if it is in line with their expectations. Think of the diamond rule; do unto others as they would expect an expert do unto them.

If they believe it is a good idea and just cannot move on due to inertia think of these three tactics to help. Try giving the client multiple option to choose from. That way they can decide the next path forward those best suites them. Present an extreme option so individual can make the choice of desired option. When we are presented with an extreme option, the one we are suggesting does not seem so bad. When you are at a restaurant there is always a wine with a very high price on the win list. It is there so you move your eyes to the reasonable priced wines and not the lower wines. The other tactic to take is just the opposite and use an inferior option as a reference point. We never want to settle for less.

If it is due to Effort try Create a Roadmap. If someone can visualize a plan, they are more apt to move forward. Also, if you can streamline the behavior the road ahead will seem more manageable. Even if you can combine just one or two steps the effort will not seem as great. You can also make it more of an effort to say no versus yes. We are quick to say no but if you can put it in a way to where they would have to select an option. “So, these are the four ideas I have, which one works best for you? Lastly, give a default. Phrase the idea as if you do not want to go forward with this option how about plan b?

If the resistance is caused by emotional reasons, try doing one of these three things. You can help the individual own the process for himself or herself. Present it to them as not you are telling them what to do but let them come to the decision to implement and be the owner of the idea. You job is not to be the hero in the story. Rather your job is to be the guide and let the client be the hero. A great way for them to feel emotionally confident in the decision process to make them be an advisor to your team. Again, it is a way for the client to warm up to the idea and build positive feeling toward the idea. Maybe the most important thing to do is to have empathy for your client’s point of view. Change is hard and they might have been the one to create the last idea or have a close friend that feels differently. At all costs keep empathy first and foremost when you present any idea.

Lastly if there is a level of Reactance being shown by your client we must go back to the golden, platinum or diamond rule. You must ask yourself, are you asking or telling your client. We are here to lead and to guide not direct or do the director. Also, are you asking a yes question. An example might be the following, “Would you like to schedule a quick follow-up to go over your options?”. Finally, if the individual likes to agree in private but resist later create an environment where the individual makes the commitment publicly.

Your job is to innovate and find ways to bring value to your client. At the end of the day if your idea does not land with your client move on and think of another. We have seen and heard from clients that even if they turn down every idea, they prefer the company continuing to come with new solutions. What want to see you are caring enough to help solve their problems.

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Exercise 2

Find a partner and role play how you might act if you client is displaying one of these for reactions.

Take time to really get into the role if you are the client. What strategy did you use and did it work well or not so much? What would you do differently. For fun make it a game and see how long it took you to resolve the concern.

Now reverse roles and pick a different reaction.

Who got to the better resolution? Who ever won should get a handshake and pat on the back from the other. No really pat them on the back!

Finally coach each other on tips to make the process better next time.

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Strategic Planning

The question then becomes, how do you know what ideas to present, to who and when. Well that only comes from reviewing your strategic plan and discussing it often with everyone on the account team. No matter how big or small every client should have an account strategy, and you should be willing to share it when asked. The level of detail can vary depending on the client. However, here are some basics that should be in every account plan. Who is in the Web of Influence®? What are the key prioritized expectations? What are you working on now and what is the status? What is the Action Plan going forward? What are future initiatives the client might benefit from implementing? How do they match to your resources.

When you have a strong account plan you move from being reactive to proactive in your approach. It takes the weight off of your shoulders and harnesses the power of many. It also will provide a focused approach for the account team so that everyone is going off the same playbook. Finally, it will result in an intelligent and thoroughly thought-out plan that will provide strong results.

Now the level of detail of each account plan will be determined by the classification of each account. For the key accounts it would be wise to incorporate a Team Account Retention Plan or TARP. A Team Account Retention Planning Session should be conducting at about 18 months out from RFP. This an intensive workshop which will go into more detail with the customer facing roles in later workshops. That said there are five key components to a quality TARP session.

The Team Account Retention Planning Session will start by reviewing the history of the account all along the journey. In order to capture everything that occurred, every person that ever touched the account should be present. This should be an open brainstorming session that captures every change to the Web of Influence®, market dynamic that occurred, all success and all failures as well as any key events. Nothing should be left off the table. The history is best captured by someone not directly associated with the account who is just listening and not providing input.

From the History certain trends will start to emerge and the facilitator of the TARP Session. The trends will emerge from what was said and will be relevant in creating a SWOT analysis which is the next step.

The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)is next to work through. After looking at the history and the trends those participating in the Team Account Retention Planning will create the SWOT with the facilitator as the scribe. As you can see, we are moving from a broad approach to a more focused one.

However, there is one more thing that must be done before we are done. It is time to create a competitive game. Here are the key parts to the competitive game. First you will promptly fire half of the people in the room (just for the workshop, they should be hired back with a 10% raise at the end of the workshop). Second, the facilitator will announce that an RFP presentation will be due in 30 minutes. Those still left with the company will defend the RFP and pitch to the facilitator the reasons they should remain the partner of choice. Those that have just been fired now work for your chief competitor and shall try to win the new business using all competitive intelligence they have learned from their past employer (you). At the end of the two pitched the whole team will then debrief and discover the strengths and the holes that were discovered.

This is a great activity to discover the strength and the holes in your offering. It brings great insight to everything.

Once this is done it is time to create a specific and actionable plan with dates of completion and ownership of each action to be taken. We recommend also have an executive sponsor associated with the TARP to ensure accountability. Now you can be confident that all the pieces are in place to win the RFP.

Ok we covered a lot in the Execute principle. We now have a strong understanding of expectations and the role they play in measuring success. We also know what it takes to have and implement a strong Web of Influence®, and we are set up for success by solving the problems of today while we innovate for tomorrow.

Our last chapter in Workshop one will discuss how we will roll out the Clients for Life® client retention process and what structure needs to be in place to support the work we are going to do.

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Case Study

We had a client that came in and saved a hospital pharmacy from losing their accreditation from a well-respected hospital association. They came to our client in the 11th hour and pleaded with them to fix all the issues so they would pass accreditation. Our client jumped into action and put corrected all outstanding issues. The hospital maintained accreditation. Our client was very proud of the work they did, and they should have been. They saved the hospital pharmacy from losing standing and possibly having to close until things were fixed.

Move ahead three years later and our client lost the hospitals business. As you can imagine our client was very upset. Do they not remember the work they had done to save the hospital and pharmacy!

Well, we were asked to do a PostMortem Audit® for our client, and we asked just that of the new CEO. He had to history with our client. His answer was cordial but to the point. He asked us, “did we not thank them for the work our client did?” We said we believed so. Then he asked, “did the hospital pay the invoices every month before they were due?”. We again responded that they did. He then said, “well we thank them for the work but have found a way less expensive offer that will take us forward”.

This is the essence of Revelation X. The problems were large, and my client solved them. However, since there no innovation or improvement over the three years and people changed the value was lost. A competitor with lower fees won the business.

Now, move forward another two years. The same hospital came back to our client and asked if they would service them again. The less expensive option was not doing so well. The hospital did not realize all that our client did for them.

This time our client reengaged but also learned their lesson. This time they continued to innovate by installing a robot to help will dispensing of medication and leased it back to the hospital creating a barrier to exit. The lived out the concepts of solving the problems of today and tomorrow.

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Course Manual 10: Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

Over the last 9 Chapters the Executive Team has taken the time to review the client retention strategy program from assessment at the company level to taking the time to understand the key concepts of the three main principles Assess, Create and Execute of the Clients for Life® client retention process. Together Assess, Create and Execute creates the Clients for Life® client retention process which will be essential to your company’s successful client retention strategy.

It is now time to pass the baton to a team that can help shepherd it through to completion. This will be the job of the Partner Success Team. This team will be responsible for training and implementing all aspects of the Clients for Life® client retention process. Some of their responsibilities will start during this upcoming year with full responsibilities at the completion. It will be our job to train them to the same level of expertise that we hold ourselves to. We will hold ourselves responsible to sharing with the Partnership Success Team all of our learnings and best practices over the years. There have been a few.

Clients For Life® 10

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However, before we move forward, we want to take a step back and review the Clients for Life® 10. These are key fundamentals that are good for all to review on a regular basis. They are the fundamentals to shared and lived up to.

Client retention begins with selecting the right clients under the right terms. This is a critical foundation for success. Having the right clients means aligning with those who truly benefit from the services offered and who fit within the company’s strategic goals. The terms of engagement should be carefully considered to set clear expectations on both sides. Without this clarity, businesses often find themselves in difficult partnerships where expectations are misaligned, leading to dissatisfaction and early termination of agreements. Organizations that establish guardrails around the Right Clients/Right® Terms early in the engagement will experience stronger long-term retention and profitability. A structured approach helps businesses avoid unnecessary risks while ensuring that client relationships start on a solid foundation.

Starting the contract according to the client’s expectations is crucial for long-term success. A well-structured contract launch ensures that both parties are aligned from the beginning. The Transition Meeting is a crucial step in this process, helping both sides define success metrics, roles, and responsibilities. Organizations that rush into execution without fully understanding their client’s expectations often face misunderstandings that lead to frustration and lost confidence. By taking the time to establish expectations upfront, teams set themselves up for long-term success and avoid costly mistakes down the road. Establishing trust and clear communication at the beginning ensures that both the service provider and the client understand the key performance indicators that will determine success over time.

Clients will always have additional expectations that weren’t anticipated. Even with thorough preparation, unexpected needs or requests may arise, and businesses must be ready to adapt. Remaining flexible and open to discovering these expectations is key to maintaining strong relationships. Businesses that take a proactive approach by regularly checking in with clients and soliciting feedback can adjust quickly and address any emerging concerns before they become major issues. A structured feedback loop ensures that clients feel heard and valued. Companies that encourage open dialogue and active listening will be better equipped to manage evolving client needs, fostering a culture of adaptability and continuous improvement.

Protecting the client’s interests is essential to building long-term trust. Trust is the foundation of any client relationship. Clients rely on service providers to act in their best interests and to be proactive in protecting them from risks. Organizations must prioritize transparency, ethical decision-making, and consistent communication to ensure that clients remain confident in their partnership. By establishing a reputation for integrity and advocacy, companies solidify long-term relationships. Safeguarding the client’s interests also involves proactively addressing potential challenges and mitigating risks before they escalate into major issues.

Client retention is not a one-time initiative; it is a mindset that must be integrated into daily operations. Organizations that embed retention strategies into their company culture by training teams, tracking performance metrics, and reinforcing best practices will see greater success. Ongoing engagement, personalized service, and proactive issue resolution must become second nature. Businesses that prioritize client retention as an ongoing process will cultivate deeper relationships, improve client satisfaction, and create an environment where clients feel valued and understood.
When people change, everything has the potential to change within a client relationship. Staff transitions, both within the service provider’s team and on the client’s side, can disrupt relationships. To minimize risk, organizations should maintain thorough documentation of client history, preferences, and past engagements. Transition Lite Meetings ensure continuity and help new personnel acclimate quickly to their roles without disrupting service quality. Having a clear succession plan in place helps ensure that transitions are smooth and that clients continue to receive the same level of service and attention.

Keeping track of past clients throughout their careers can lead to future business opportunities. Past clients can become valuable sources of referrals or return for additional business opportunities. As professionals move between organizations, the relationships built with them remain valuable. Keeping in touch through regular check-ins and industry events fosters goodwill and increases the likelihood of renewed business engagements in the future. Maintaining these connections strengthens an organization’s professional network and can lead to strategic partnerships down the road.

The worst time to renew a contract is when it is due for renewal. Proactive contract renewal discussions should begin well in advance of the expiration date. By maintaining strong engagement throughout the contract lifecycle and addressing concerns early, organizations ensure that renewals are seamless and that clients feel confident in their continued partnership. Having a structured renewal plan eliminates last-minute negotiations and the risk of losing accounts due to oversight. Businesses that treat renewal discussions as an opportunity to reinforce the value they provide will find it easier to secure long-term commitments.

The end of a contract doesn’t have to mean the end of a relationship. Even when a contract ends, the relationship doesn’t have to. Organizations that maintain positive relationships with former clients often find opportunities to work together again in the future. Avoiding negative closure experiences ensures that past clients become advocates and potential sources of referrals. Demonstrating a commitment to maintaining relationships beyond the contractual period fosters goodwill and increases the chances of re-engagement in the future.

How a contract is closed is just as important as how it is started. The professionalism and respect demonstrated during contract closure impact a company’s long-term reputation. Ending a contract with integrity leaves the door open for future opportunities. Even in cases where a contract is lost, continuing to support the client and demonstrating goodwill can lead to future business or referrals. Taking the time to ensure a positive transition, regardless of the outcome, reflects well on the company and positions it favorably for future business dealings.

We suggest that once you communicate to the company the client retention strategy program to the rest of the organization that you take the time to publish these 10 fundamentals throughout the company. They can be your company’s guide posts as you move throughout the program.

Partner Success Team

Your role is to launch the program and oversee its success, but we understand this cannot be you full time position or even a part time responsibility. You will need someone closer to the day-to-day work to ensure success. A team that will champion the client retention strategy program throughout the organization.

That is why we will move to the Partnership Success Team. This team will be essential to ensuring a success for launch, implementation and ongoing support once the client retention program is over. Therefore, the selection of the Partnership Success Team must be more than a typical committee that is tasked with finding a solution or asked to do a certain task. This one will be entrusted with the client retention initiative of your company. It will be ongoing. That is why the key departments of Sales, Account Management, HR, IT and Operations to name a few must be represented on the Partnership Success Team. The success they have in implementing and training others will result in a significant increase to the bottom line. Therefore, care must be taken in the selection process.

Above the Partner Success Team will sits the Client Retention Executive. This individual will be the person who will be accountable for ensuring all aspects of the client retention strategy program is carried out after its completion. He or she will also be responsible for being the liaison between the Executive Team and the Partner Success Team. The person will also conduct a large portion of the Assess Principal including FreshEyes® Reviews, Post Mortem Audit®s, Capabilities Assessment, and Comprehensive Internal Assessment.

Therefore, it must be someone that The Executive Team can trust but still independent enough personality to share tough feedback with leadership without holding back out of fear of upsetting someone of importance or worrying about retribution. He or she should also not be swayed to cut corners or adjust course because one person of authority told him to do so. This can happen with someone wants something done differently that what has been agreed upon is different than the Clients for Life® formalized approach. We have seen this happen in the past and the result is over the years a watered-down version of the client retention strategy starts to emerge and has very little impact. That is why we highly suggest this individual should have a direct line to the Chief Executive Officer. This will help keep the process intact and formalized and allow all feedback to be given without fear of reproductions. They will be the face of client retention for your company.

For all intent and purposes this person will be the face of client retention for the company. Now, he or she will be aided both by the Executive Team and the Partner Success Team. He or she can share responsibilities with the Partner Success Team but at the end of the day the Client Retention Executive will be the one orchestrating the Clients for Life® process at the completion of the workshops. The Client Retention Executive will set the tone going forward for the client retention strategy of your company. We highly suggest that at least 50% of the Client Retention Executive’s time is attributed to client retention.

Time is of the essence. In the next workshop we will be moving onto the Keys to Assessment Implementation, and for a large part of that working we will be working with the Partner Success Team and The Client Retention Executive. Therefore, they should be selected in advance of the next workshop since their presence will be essential to its success.

Client retention is not just about keeping clients—it’s about consistently delivering value, adapting to changes, and proactively addressing client needs. The Clients for Life® process provides a roadmap for achieving these goals, but its success depends on execution. The Partner Success Team and Client Retention Executive will play pivotal roles in ensuring that these principles are not only understood but actively implemented throughout the organization.

With the right structure, leadership, and commitment, this initiative will position the company for long-term success, fostering stronger client relationships and a culture of excellence in service delivery.

However, before your take a break from the client retention strategy program and hand off the baton to the Partner Success Team, you have one more job to complete. Up until now all discussion about client retention and its strategy has remained with the Executive Team. Once we start working with the Partnership Success Team word is going to get out and before it does it best to come from you.

Communication

Take some time to create a campaign that is focused on the Client Retention Strategy Program. Share the value of the client retention strategy program and the impact it has on not just the financials but all the other aspects we discussed in previous workshop. The communication must come from the Executive Team, and as we have stated in the past, it cannot be seen as just another program. It must be something The Executive Team will be committed to over the years which will impact everyone.

While the Executive Team will craft the messaging the Partner Success Team will implement and be in charge of creating the campaign itself. It will be a good first task for the Client Retention Executive to collaborate on to also show his or her importance throughout the company. It is a way for the Executive Team to show its support and backing for the Client Retention Executive.

This is the start of a very impactful twelve months. We will be with you every step of the way, but it is worth giving you some insight on the next steps and timeline in the client retention strategy program.

Timeline

The next few workshops will focus on bringing The Partner Success Team up to speed on the key concepts and well as how to implement each one in detail. This will go well past the executive introduction we shared with you in Workshop 1.

We take the time to introduce the Partner Success Team to the rationale and importance of a focused prioritized approach to the client retention strategy process. We will ask some of the same questions we asked the Executive Team, we will help the Partnership Success Team shape the campaign and define a timeline.

Then we will deliberately and methodically define and share the key concepts of Assess, Create, and Execute. They will become experts that can answer all questions that may arise. The Partner Success Team will become a true resource and be a source of knowledge for all.

However, concepts are just the beginning. We will educate them on how to conduct the key components of the FreshEyes® Reviews, PostMortem Audits, Client Health Assessment, Comprehensive Internal Assessment, the Capabilities Assessment and finally the Common Threads/Common Threats. We have conducted these assessments many times and know how to do so in a very objective and productive manner. The Client Retention Executive along with the Partner Success Team will need to learn the same degree of objectivity and professionalism that will result in strong insights for the company.

Once the Partner Success Team has mastered the Assessment Principle, we will delve into the Create Principle. With the Client Retention Executive as the liaison, we will take time to flush out the final Right Clients/Right Terms. Identify the Lessons Learned along with the accompanying Warning Signs and Action Steps for each. The Client Retention Executive and the Partner Success Team will reach out for the Executive Team’s input when appropriate, but the responsibility will lie with them.

In addition, they will create and define the account levels, the Client Journey, and Account Plan Marketing. The Partner Success Team will also align the current CRM and platform currently being used with the key concepts and action items needed to capture and report out. Accountability is very important in ensuring the process is executed successfully. Since we are talking about accountability Standard Operation Principles will need to be established and adhered to. This all needs to be established before we can move on to the Execute Principle.

We follow the same game plan for the Execute Principle. The Partnership Success Team will first understand each of the key concepts and then step by step become proficient in implement each part. There is a phrase that goes “To know and not to do is to not to know at all”. If everyone is just focused on the concepts but never act, then the client retention strategy program will have been for not.

Led by the Client Retention Director the Partner Success Team will be bringing all the concepts to life. They will execute the Transition Meeting, the Expectation Sessions, Transition Lite® meeting, the completion of the Web of Influence® mapping, Team Account Retention Planning, Account Canvas, and all other parts of the Execute Principle.

When we are finished the Partner Success Team will be able to lay out the entire Clients for Life® client retention process from start to finish. They will need to because they will be the ones training everyone very soon but not quite yet.

After the Partner Success Team has digested all the information, they will then observe us training and educate the rest of the customer facing individuals through the Clients for Life® process. It is vital that the Partner Success Team soaks up all the information one more time.

We will go through the vast majority of the steps with operations, account management and sales when appropriate. The content will be adjusted to as to not overwhelm the audience. For example, the need to go into an in-depth discussion and exercise around conducting a FreshEyes Review® or PostMortem Audit® is not necessary. What is necessary for all to understand what each is, how they are conducted in general and how to read and respond to each. This will go for each component of the client retention strategy program.

This first workshop has taken a lot of time and commitment from the Executive Team. There is always a lot on your plate, but it is our hope you have seen the importance and the value in the client retention strategy journey. We have just start but what a start it has been. Through the day we have moved from really understanding the importance of client retention to the health of your company, to an assessment of where the company stand and then finally to Clients for Life® client retention process and the key concepts along the way. Your leadership will be crucial over the next 12 months. The company will be looking to you to determine the importance and effort given to this critical topic.

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Exercise 1

Imagine your team has been transported into a mysterious world where the only way back home is to unlock the Vault of Wisdom—a treasure trove filled with the key lessons from today’s training. The vault can only be opened by solving a series of challenges that test their understanding of the day’s material.

To begin, the group is divided into small teams, each tasked with gathering “knowledge keys” scattered throughout the room. These keys are hidden inside envelopes containing puzzles, role-play scenarios, or rapid-fire questions related to the topics covered. Each correct answer or successful scenario completion earns the team a piece of the vault’s master code.

As the teams race against time, they must also complete a Story Relay, where each group adds a sentence to a collective story that creatively weaves in one of the key takeaways from the training. The catch? The story must remain logical, engaging, and relevant to what was learned today!

In the final challenge, the teams must present a 30-second commercial advertising what they learned, as if they were pitching it to someone who missed the training. The most creative, informative, and engaging commercial wins a special reward—but more importantly, ensures the vault unlocks, signaling their successful return to reality with their newfound knowledge intact.

The session wraps up with a brief discussion where participants reflect on the game and share their biggest “aha” moments, reinforcing the key lessons in a fun and memorable way.

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The upcoming twelve months will be a critical period in transforming the organization’s client retention approach. The Partner Success Team will be tasked with mastering the Clients for Life® process, training others, and ultimately serving as the company’s internal experts on client retention.

This is a long-term investment that will pay dividends in both client satisfaction and financial performance. The Executive Team’s commitment and continued leadership will be essential in ensuring the program’s success. By instilling these principles and empowering the Partner

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Case Study

Sweet Fish Media, a B2B podcasting agency, struggled with customer retention, losing a significant portion of its recurring revenue each month. The leadership team recognized that their approach lacked structure, and without clear visibility into churn, the problem persisted longer than it should have. Once they identified the issue, they set out to create a formalized strategy that would not only reduce customer attrition but also deepen client relationships.

One of the first steps was to introduce regular monitoring of revenue churn data. By making this information visible to the entire team during monthly all-hands meetings, everyone became accountable for improving client retention. Transparency around the problem created urgency and a shared commitment to finding solutions.

A key initiative in their new approach was the introduction of Quarterly Podcast Reviews, which provided structured conversations with clients to assess podcast performance, share best practices, and offer tailored recommendations. These reviews became an essential touchpoint, reinforcing the agency’s value while helping clients achieve better results.

Listening to and acting on client feedback played a crucial role in reshaping the company’s services. Instead of assuming they knew what clients wanted, the team focused on understanding and responding to their evolving needs. By making adjustments based on direct input, they enhanced the overall experience, leading to higher satisfaction and long-term engagement.

As these strategies took hold, the results were undeniable. Clients expressed appreciation for the added support, with some noting that the value provided in these structured check-ins alone justified their continued investment. The agency’s once-alarming churn rate steadily declined, reinforcing the impact of prioritizing proactive customer engagement and continuous improvement.

By shifting from a reactive to a proactive mindset, Sweet Fish Media transformed the way it approached retention, demonstrating that structured communication, transparency, and responsiveness can significantly strengthen customer loyalty in a B2B environment.

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Project Studies

Project Study (Part 1) – Customer Service

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Executive Introduction process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Evaluate Impact
02. Current State
03. The Assess Principle
04. Assessment Process
05. Understanding the Create Principle
06. Customizing the Client Experience
07. The Execute Principle: Expectations
08. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle
09. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

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Project Study (Part 2) – E-Business

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Executive Introduction process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Evaluate Impact
02. Current State
03. The Assess Principle
04. Assessment Process
05. Understanding the Create Principle
06. Customizing the Client Experience
07. The Execute Principle: Expectations
08. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle
09. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

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Project Study (Part 3) – Finance

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Executive Introduction process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Evaluate Impact
02. Current State
03. The Assess Principle
04. Assessment Process
05. Understanding the Create Principle
06. Customizing the Client Experience
07. The Execute Principle: Expectations
08. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle
09. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

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Project Study (Part 4) – Globalization

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Executive Introduction process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Evaluate Impact
02. Current State
03. The Assess Principle
04. Assessment Process
05. Understanding the Create Principle
06. Customizing the Client Experience
07. The Execute Principle: Expectations
08. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle
09. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

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Project Study (Part 5) – Human Resources

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Executive Introduction process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Evaluate Impact
02. Current State
03. The Assess Principle
04. Assessment Process
05. Understanding the Create Principle
06. Customizing the Client Experience
07. The Execute Principle: Expectations
08. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle
09. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

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Project Study (Part 6) – Information Technology

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Executive Introduction process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Evaluate Impact
02. Current State
03. The Assess Principle
04. Assessment Process
05. Understanding the Create Principle
06. Customizing the Client Experience
07. The Execute Principle: Expectations
08. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle
09. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

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Project Study (Part 7) – Legal

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Executive Introduction process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Evaluate Impact
02. Current State
03. The Assess Principle
04. Assessment Process
05. Understanding the Create Principle
06. Customizing the Client Experience
07. The Execute Principle: Expectations
08. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle
09. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

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Project Study (Part 8) – Management

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Executive Introduction process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Evaluate Impact
02. Current State
03. The Assess Principle
04. Assessment Process
05. Understanding the Create Principle
06. Customizing the Client Experience
07. The Execute Principle: Expectations
08. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle
09. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

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Project Study (Part 9) – Marketing

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Executive Introduction process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Evaluate Impact
02. Current State
03. The Assess Principle
04. Assessment Process
05. Understanding the Create Principle
06. Customizing the Client Experience
07. The Execute Principle: Expectations
08. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle
09. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

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Project Study (Part 10) – Production

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Executive Introduction process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Evaluate Impact
02. Current State
03. The Assess Principle
04. Assessment Process
05. Understanding the Create Principle
06. Customizing the Client Experience
07. The Execute Principle: Expectations
08. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle
09. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

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Project Study (Part 11) – Logistics

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Executive Introduction process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Evaluate Impact
02. Current State
03. The Assess Principle
04. Assessment Process
05. Understanding the Create Principle
06. Customizing the Client Experience
07. The Execute Principle: Expectations
08. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle
09. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

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Project Study (Part 12) – Education

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Executive Introduction process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Evaluate Impact
02. Current State
03. The Assess Principle
04. Assessment Process
05. Understanding the Create Principle
06. Customizing the Client Experience
07. The Execute Principle: Expectations
08. Relationships the Glue of the Execute Principle
09. Execute Principle Solving the Problems for today and tomorrow
10. Timelines, Partner Success Team Role and Responsibilities

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

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Program Benefits