Posted by HSH/WA on 1/26/13 12:59am
Msg #452333

Just got approved by Service Link, 6 calls in three days

of course it is EOM. This may provide the boost I need to get up to the number of signings I want. Plus over half my business is with one SS, so it would be nice to have another player.

Reply by Malbrough_LA on 1/26/13 7:43am
Msg #452336

I understand this. I too am trying to branch out as a lot of my calls come from one particular SS. Not that I'm being ungrateful, I like them just fine. I just would prefer if the phone rang a little bit more with some variety to it.

Reply by jba/fl on 1/26/13 7:57am
Msg #452338

Smart move. One day, many, many moons ago, I realized that 80% of my AR was one company - that is a disaster waiting to happen.

Put on my marketing hat and changed that situation.

Reply by Saul Leibowitz on 1/26/13 10:01am
Msg #452344

Keep looking for business and at the same time keep doing good work and you will find that the phone rings with jobs from companies you have not yet worked for; it just takes time.
Good luck to you as you monitor and grow your business.

Reply by CJ on 1/26/13 10:17am
Msg #452345

My 2 cents.

I think it's great that you are getting a lot of calls from one place, but I agree: branch out.

Once, MANY years ago, most of my work came from one SS. I loved them and they loved me. I knew their loans by heart. Once I made a big mistake (I forget what it was) and I was mortified that they would fire me. I could not sleep that night. I thought about the total financial catastrophe I would be in if they fired me. They did not fire me and all was well.

But one day, THEY went out of business. The phone stopped ringing and I called them, and it was disconnected. I called their client to find out what happened. SS had taken a weekend off, starting with Friday, for an (obscure) religious event, and the title company was so upset that no one was there to answer the phone on Friday that they pulled their account, and the SS went out of business. I thought, "Wow, I would have drove down to their company (only 3 hours away) and answered the phone for them that day if I had known THIS was going to happen."

I signed up with the new SS that the client was with, but the new SS didn't care about me and I never got work from them.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. SS come and go, and so do their clients.

Reply by Malbrough_LA on 1/26/13 10:41am
Msg #452349

Re: My 2 cents.

All excellent advice and well stated. CJ, you hit the nail right on the head. I did subcontract work in my teens and early 20s as a carpenter. I understand all too well about the nature of a business suddenly floundering that you had come to depend on. They treated me wonderfully also, but it didn't help any when my wife and I were wondering how the hell we were going to make ends meet after they tanked. Mortgages still come due and tuition still needs to be paid.

Well said, friend. Well said indeed.

Reply by MikeIL on 1/26/13 10:46am
Msg #452353

Re: My 2 cents.

Having spent many years in sales. I always tried to keep anyone customer from being more than 15% of my business. I felt I could replace that percentage if something happened to that company. Losing 15% would hurt but nit be a disaster. If a clients sales started growing larger, I was of course pleased about the growth. But things can change. I did not want one client to control my destiny.

Reply by bagger on 1/26/13 11:41am
Msg #452364

Remember the 80/20 rule though!

80% of your business will come from 20% of your customers.

Reply by MikeIL on 1/26/13 4:01pm
Msg #452420

Re: Remember the 80/20 rule though!

I heard that all the time from the people who worked for me. I told them keep hunting you don't know which client will be in the top 20% for you. I had one rep who had a great client that was 70% of his biz. (I had actually signed them when I was a rep) Rep was always above quota because of this client. I warned him constantly to keep looking for new biz. He insisted they weren't going anywhere. Well they were bought out and parent company had a exclusive relationship with another manufacturer. Rep was let go before he could build back the territory.

Keep you good clients very happy but always be on the outlook for new biz.