How does a business know if a customer account is in jeopardy?

If any of the six warning signals present themselves, that’s an account that is in jeopardy of being lost, and you should immediately schedule a business review. A business review is a formal, face-to-face, strategic planning meeting with all the key personnel from the customer and your company.

The six warning signals are:

• A real or perceived problem (quality, delivery, people, etc.)
• A recent change in the decision maker
• A change in the sales representative
• A proposed change in the customer’s operation
• Planned expansion or contraction
• Complacency

The silent killer of this bunch is complacency. When you take customers for granted, stop thanking them for their business, or stop caring about their success, they will naturally gravitate toward others who will pay them more attention and solve their problems. When a customer fires you because of a nonchalant “you’ll get it when it’s ready” delivery history, you may never have seen it coming.

These warning signals are “windows of opportunity” to your competitors. If their trustworthiness, amiability, and convenient selling style are stronger than yours, you can almost predict what your customer will do. One or more of the warning signals could substantially weaken your customer’s trust in you.

—Your Personal Business Trainer