Tapping Into Your Existing Customer Base

It may only be a medium-sized credit union located in South Florida, one of 150 active accounts which are handled by Leahy Document and Information Management, Inc. Still, the credit union has become a catalyst in Leahy's rededication to providing better service to its existing accounts. "The existing client base is the most precious gem that a VAR has," explains Steve Leichtman, president of Leahy. "Sometimes you think you are doing a good job because you are working hard. However, what really matters is the client's perception of the job you are doing. Are you taking care of the client?"

Leahy was founded in 1990 when Leichtman and three other investors bought the Fort Lauderdale, FL, branch office of Leahy Business Archives. The Fort Lauderdale office had been converting documents to microfilm as a service bureau since 1975. In addition to its service bureau work, Leahy began to sell COLD (computer output to laser disk) systems and later started offering document imaging. In January of 1997, the company became a certified distributor of MacroSoft, a vendor of COLD and document management software, in Latin America. The Fort Lauderdale branch had 26 employees in 1990 and that number has grown to 70 employees in the past eight years.

Working Accounts Eliminates Competition
Are you taking care of the client? In terms of how Leahy was taking care of the credit union, the jury is still out. Leahy installed a DOS-based COLD system for the credit union in 1993 and the end user was very satisfied with the result. After a couple of years of inactivity, Leahy lost contact with the credit union. To Leahy salespeople, it did not look like the credit union was expanding and possible future sales seemed to be a long shot. However, the credit union eventually did expand. With Leahy in a diminished role, another integrator was able to successfully work the account. That integrator installed a small document imaging system for one of the credit union's departments.

The credit union continued to expand to the point of constructing a new building within the past year. Seeing the credit union's growth, a representative from Leahy inquired about possible upgrades to present technology. The credit union told the representative that it was planning to move from its present DOS-based system to a Windows NT environment. Moreover, the integrator who installed the imaging system had prepared a proposal to migrate the credit union to NT. Leahy's representatives fought back as best they could. "Because they liked the previous work we had done for them and they liked us as a company, we were allowed to make a counterproposal. The difference is that we are now in a competitive situation," says Leichtman. "If we had been on top of this account from the beginning, this additional business would have been ours without a fight."

Contact Existing Clients On A Scheduled Basis
Leahy's experience with the credit union did not sit well with Leichtman. He knew his company could react in many different ways. The easiest option was to blame the customer for not calling Leahy when it decided to add technology. The other choice was for Leahy to take something positive from the experience. "You can feel sorry for yourself or you can learn from the situation. You can't take it personally," comments Leichtman. What Leahy learned was that the company needed to place more emphasis on servicing existing accounts.

To accomplish this new objective, the 150 Leahy accounts have been evenly divided among the sales force. The sales manager and top executives at the company also oversee the priority accounts to make sure they are being serviced properly. Depending on the size of the client, the salespeople contact each customer on either a monthly or quarterly basis. "You also have to respect the client's wishes. Clients may want to be contacted more or less frequently than we have them scheduled," adds Leichtman.

Staying on top of existing accounts has already yielded results for Leahy. A Leahy salesperson visited an insurance company client to make sure the customer was satisfied with the service bureau work Leahy was doing for it. In the course of conversation, the salesperson asked if the company had any plans to implement a COLD system. As it turned out, the insurance company had its in-house staff design and install a COLD system two years ago. The system had recently crashed and they were in need of a new solution. Leahy submitted a proposal and Leichtman is confident his company will be awarded the business.

"If we hadn't stayed in touch, the customer may have contacted us or maybe not. There is a chance that some other integrator has been knocking on their door. If you get there first with your proposal, it gives you a big advantage over any competition," says Leichtman.

Increase Sales To Existing Accounts
Servicing existing accounts keeps clients from becoming former accounts, but it also results in increased sales numbers for the VAR. Leichtman has his salespeople break a client call into three areas of questioning. The result is a satisfied customer and one that is looking toward future technology purchases.

The three lines of questioning are:

• Evaluate the current level of service - A salesperson must first discern how Leahy is performing in the eyes of the customer. Any problems with the current service should be corrected. Leichtman explains, "Determining current customer satisfaction is the top objective of the sales call."
• Tap into the client's vision - A salesperson should discuss what new technology could do for the client. For example, a customer who is converting documents to microfilm should understand the benefits of an imaging system. "You should give the customer ideas. If a customer is printing out tons of reports, then a salesperson should definitely explain the benefits of a COLD system," says Leichtman.
• Expand technology throughout a company - Depending on the size of the client, Leahy may sell a solution to only one department within a company. A salesperson should identify the needs of other departments. "You want to contact the management of each department. If one department is satisfied with our work, we always look to expand the technology throughout the entire organization," says Leichtman.
  
  Client Growth Means Growth For You
  In many cases, as a client's business grows, Leahy has been able to increase the services that it offers that client. For example, Leahy installed a COLD system for Capital Factors, Inc., a lending institution in Fort Lauderdale, FL. As the company grew, the system was upgraded to handle more applications and users. Eventually Capital Factors, Inc. opened offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Charlotte, NC. "Using the MacroSoft COLD module, we were able to connect the COLD system throughout each location," explains Leichtman. "The larger they got, the more services we could provide to them." Capital Factors, Inc. recently decided to outsource its document conversions, which were previously done in-house. Leahy's service bureau garnered that business as well.
  
  There are times when clients outgrow the services that Leahy can provide. Both Office Depot and The Sports Authority started their chain businesses in South Florida and Leahy provided both companies with document conversion services. As the growth of both companies skyrocketed, they sought to have imaging systems installed by someone other than Leahy. In fact, the companies were so big that they dealt directly with IBM and FileNET. "We still do some document conversion for both clients," says Leichtman. "When a company gets as big as both of those clients, it deals directly with the manufacturer. Still, it never hurts to maintain a close relationship with companies as large as Office Depot and The Sports Authority."
  
  Ask Your Clients For Advice
  One of Leichtman's future goals is to have an independent organization solicit input from his company's customers. He saw the value of this when he worked for Bell & Howell prior to his arrival at Leahy. According to Leichtman, Bell & Howell would survey customers about different aspects of their businesses, including how well they were being serviced. "This is the best kind of information that you can get from a client. It can be extremely valuable and make you a better company," states Leichtman.
  
  The cost of conducting an independent survey of all Leahy's clients has prevented Leichtman from doing this. For now, he relies on the input of several clients. "I have a group of clients that I can talk to in a purely professional manner. I tell them I want their input and not to spare my feelings," explains Leichtman. "Some customers know you work hard and they don't want to be critical. You can't rely on that input."
  
  Making The Next Sale
  Leichtman says that every company is concerned about growth and his is no different. However, a company cannot underestimate the growth in revenues that come from the existing client base. "Competition for new customers is not as big a concern to me as servicing existing customers," states Leichtman. "Competition is a sign of a healthy market. We are good enough that we will get our share of new business. We are concentrating on existing customers, so they won't have an excuse to go to some other company. The next sale does not always come from a new client. It often comes from one you already have."