Cliff Quicksell believes every promotional products distributor has the power to significantly accelerate their sales and grow margins. 

And he has a practical strategy for helping you do just that – if you’re willing to put in the work.

Cliff Quicksell spoke at the ASI Show Chicago about understanding a client’s lifetime value.

Quicksell, president and CEO of Cliff Quicksell & Associates (asi/825111) and a 40-year veteran of the promotional products industry, delivered insights into his keys for building a higher-grossing, more profitable distributorship during an Education Day session at the ASI Show Chicago on July 19.

As Quicksell detailed, the secret lies in understanding the lifetime value of each customer and then building better business relationships with high-value clients through tactful, targeted and strategic marketing and sales – as well as not wasting time with low-performing buyers.

A customer’s lifetime value lies not just in what they spend with you and may potentially spend, but other factors like who they can (and do) refer you to, how easy they are to work with or whether they pay in full and on time, Quicksell explains.

To help ascertain each client’s value, crunch the numbers and analyze what it’s been like to work with them to date. Look at key performance indicators like average order value, purchase frequency, gross margin and cost per acquisition.

“Creative promotional marketing breaks through the clutter as long as the message is relevant.” - Cliff Quicksell speaking on Education Day #ASIShow Chicago @ASI_MBell @cliffquicksell @EliezaB_ASI #promoproducts #merch pic.twitter.com/HCmy5FUmIW

— Chris Ruvo (@ChrisR_ASI) July 19, 2022

By analyzing this customer history, along with other factors you may know about where their business is headed and opportunities that may arise, you can begin to formulate reasonable predictions about how they’ll perform as a client going forward. 

Once you have such an understanding, you can begin to give clients value grades. Quicksell suggests using an A-through-F system, with A and B being tops and F being clients that bring little to no value.

With clients so classified, start advancing specific, creative marketing initiatives to A and B clients with the aim of retaining them and building the relationship. Quicksell advises putting about 80% of your marketing budget toward this. “It’s much less expensive to retain a good client than to get a new one,” Quicksell says. “Someone is always knocking on their door. If you ignore your clients, they’ll go away.”

It’s six times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. (Cliff Quicksell)

In your analysis of your client roster, you should also segment clients into categories such as what verticals they operate in (healthcare or manufacturing, for example). You may notice your sales are strongest in certain verticals. It could be wise then to devote your remaining budget toward courting new potential clients in those categories.

What about those F clients? Forget about ’em.

“Cut the clients who are dragging you down,” says Quicksell, who told an amusing anecdote about how he had to fire his own father, then a buyer at a large publishing company, as a client because he just wasn’t a great customer. Sure, it made Thanksgiving a bit awkward that year, but ultimately there was understanding – and it was the right business move, as it gave Quicksell more of his limited time to focus on high-value clients.

To make your marketing efforts most effective, Quicksell suggests you put together a promotions and events calendar that details the type of orders clients have done. This can help guide you to contact them at strategic times with specific suggestions for events/initiatives they may need solutions for again.

To help retain these high-value customers, Quicksell says you should periodically send them surveys asking how you can improve performance/service to them. He also believes it wise to start a loyalty program for top-notch clients, recognizing and rewarding them with things like free shipping, and otherwise investing in the customer experience – such as providing blogs, newsletters and social media that features content that’s of use to them.

Notably, Quicksell says distributors should take a similar approach – in terms of strategically focusing on high-value clients and prospects – when advising clients on marketing initiatives. He shared a case study in which he created a mailer campaign for a tennis club that wanted to sign up new members. Prior unfocused campaigns that were blanketed to virtually anyone in a 50-mile radius of the club would yield about two new members. Quicksell’s creative mailer – sent to a targeted list of 304 people known to play tennis and with the means to join the club – led to 75 new members.

“Be willing,” says Quicksell, “to do things a bit differently and strategically and success will follow.”