What are the most effective ways to balance servicing clients and prospecting for new ones?

In my experience a sales person responsible for finding new business and maintaining current customers should create specific appointments for themselves in their daily calendar dedicated to prospecting and reviewing their customers analytics and/or any service calls. Too many sales people can get caught up in thinking their customers are expecting them to drop everything to help them or answer a question. Most want a response that you received their request, but can wait for a response.

A great account management team with existing client sales as part of their role. Separate them from new business sales. Client satisfaction is suffering all over the country.

Don't expect one team to focus on both, rather have separate teams, one focused on Sales and the other on existing clients. This way, each team has one clear goal.

While the 4 quadrants of time management mentioned are correct , you need to fill the funnel of your time in the “quadrant 2” section which are “important but not urgent”. This allows a pro active planning approach instead of a reactive “fire drill” approach which is needed in quadrant 1 “important,urgent”. That is not sustainable and should be used only when needed in a limited situations.

Many companies focus primarily on getting new clients. This can be an expensive mistake. It can cost ten times as much to generate business from new prospects than from existing accounts. There is often a much bigger opportunity making existing clients happy and selling more to them, that companies do not tap into. Ensure that you are tapping into every opportunity to upsell and cross-sell to your existing customers. There are simple ways to increase sales with White Space Analysis to identify untapped opportunities and potential within accounts. Engage customers proactively with personalized recommendations. Then focus on new business creation and prospecting, when all upsell and cross-sell opportunities are exploited

Every organization will handle this slightly differently. Some organizations will have Account Executives be responsible for the entire lifecycle of the customer, others will separate responsibilities between Sales & Customer Success. At the highest level, the structure of your organization, and the KPIs you're responsible should inform your priorities. If, as a seller, you are responsible for both logo acquisition and expansion then you should prioritize your time based on revenue within each of your accounts, where you have existing relationships/momentum, and where you're starting from scratch. In simplest terms, where are you going to get the best return on investment of your time.

Identify your high-value clients and allocate appropriate time and resources to meet their needs. Prioritize prospects that align with your ideal client profile to ensure you're targeting the right audience. Allocate specific time blocks for client servicing and prospecting. This helps in maintaining focus and avoids neglecting either activity. For example, dedicate mornings to prospecting and afternoons to client meetings.

Travel!!! Leave the office at least once a month, pick a small section of your territory to visit, and go. Find out what your customers' needs are even if it's outside your set of skills recommend someone with those skills. As a Sales Executive you should be a part of every one of your clients' teams, problem solving. What better way to do that than to be forward facing. While you're there and after you have done right by them crossing your Ts and dotting your Is you ask if there is anyone in the area you should visit while you're out that way. It has never failed me. Build trust with your clients/partners and they will help you grow.

Referrals are a great way to build your book when the sales rep is deeper in the sales process (AE, AM). However, not too many are very consistent in asking for referrals. Here are some points to keep in mind when leveraging referral asks. 1. Do it consistently. Yes, it's awkward but so is sales. 2. Ask the right clients. The clients who give you a 10 on NPS, the ones who tell you that you're the reason they stick around... ask those clients! 3. Ask after they have had time to use your product and service. Right after they sign the contract is NOT the time to ask!

Happy customers are the best sales people. Asking for referrals, introductions, and references are fairly underutilized tactics. The harsh reality is that your prospects will trust a peer's opinion and experience over the content of any pitch deck that could be assembled. If you're delivering on your promises to customers, chances are they will be willing to help but it's up to the seller to make the ask for assistance.

You need pipeline to close business, you need to have meetings to create pipeline, you need to log activities to get meetings, you need to know who you're targeting to make your activities count. If you understand how effective you are at each of these steps you can develop an understanding of what inputs are required to achieve the outcomes you want. Over the course of a sales career, you're going to lose more deals than you win. If you know your numbers, hold yourself accountable to the right inputs and continue to sharpen your skills you'll be able to overcome short term losses in favor of long term success. Having clarity on your 'sales formula' will also help you manage the highs and lows of this great profession.