TENACITY® FROM XENOS BUSINESS EXCELLENCE – IF NOT US…WHO? IF NOT NOW… WHEN?

Scott Cook, former CEO and founder of Intuit (Quickbooks), has been quoted as saying, “If you can’t keep the clients you already have, you don’t deserve any new ones.” It’s as simple as that.

Client churn doesn’t have to be – and shouldn’t be - a fact of life in business. Xenos believes that client losses and defections should never be budgeted or forecasted. Anything less than 100% client retention should never be a goal to be achieved. If it is, then which clients are you signalling to the organisation that it’s OK to lose? Client cancellations should never be OK. If each client isn’t precious to us, then we should never have taken them in the first place.

Often it seems that it is OK though. Churn is accepted. Two steps forward and one-step back – or perhaps even two steps back. We’ve been there. Like the hamster on the wheel, we keep running faster to sell new business and still get nowhere. Like the bucket with a hole in the bottom, it just doesn’t matter how fast we pour water in the top. We can’t grow effectively until we plug the leak.

1.     Recognising the problem is an important first step.

2.     Quantifying its’ true cost (and not just in currency) is the second

3.     Believing that you can do something about it is the third.

4.     Knowing where to look for a proven process comes next.

5.     Finally, a willingness to invest in changing the culture comes last.

It’s a journey, but it’s one the Tenacity® prorgrammes have guided some of the world’s leading service firms through over the past 30 years. At its end, their leadership, reputation, employee retention and profitability have all leapt forward.

One thing we know: “Client retention demands a formal process. If you leave client retention to chance, the chances are you’ll lose clients.” (John Gamble, Tenacity Founder)