Business in the style of Habr - 4. Cold pressed. Part one

    In habrostaty The problem of customer withdrawal by company employees was raised, in my opinion, one of the key problems in the relationship between employee and employer is customer withdrawal. In the comments to her, there were many sensible suggestions and opinions on topics to divert or not to divert, how to do to divert and how to do so that they would not be taken away.

    I used to work as an employee and was on one side of the front. Now I am a co-owner of the company with a staff of 300 people and several branches, so I have to decide how to counter this.

    I will make a reservation right away, I do not want to raise a question here about the moral side of withdrawing a client from a company. Everyone decides for himself what is possible in this world, what is not. I will describe two sides of this problem: how to lead customers away and how to counter this.

    Part one. Under the bridle and in the stall.

    When I worked for the employer, I took away or, as they say, “wring” clients. In principle, this allowed me to start my own business, because, at first, it was entirely based on “depressed” customers. I worked in the company as the head of the solvency review area of ​​business partners. In other words, on request, we made inquiries about the companies and issued recommendations on the possibilities of cooperation with her. This direction actually consisted of me alone. I myself searched for orders, concluded contracts myself, executed them myself, sometimes even went to the client myself and brought money from him. This was not a key area of ​​the company, so I didn’t set any revenue plans and looked at work from a “break-even and okay” position. One fine day, I decided that orders paid in cash could be allowed to go past the checkout. My conscience did not torment me. I did all the work myself, and the company did not overpay for me, since I worked on a percentage basis (I could only use their phone for free and take a seat at my desk, although I was not in the office for most of the day). Then, I opened an LLC and a current account, which allowed me to “squeeze out” serious clients working only “by bank transfer”. Thus, I entered into a contract with Lukoil for my company. When the turnover of my company was a decent amount, I decided that I no longer needed an employer and quit, opening my own business. which allowed me to “wring out” serious clients working only “by bank transfer”. Thus, I entered into a contract with Lukoil for my company. When the turnover of my company was a decent amount, I decided that I no longer needed an employer and quit, opening my own business. which allowed me to “wring out” serious clients working only “by bank transfer”. Thus, I entered into a contract with Lukoil for my company. When the turnover of my company was a decent amount, I decided that I no longer needed an employer and quit, opening my own business.

    Subsequently, the chief of the company in which I worked was very offended by me when he found out that I did this on my own. No one else took up this direction in their company, and it gradually came to naught, although for almost a whole year I had brought stable tangible income. My departure did not affect the general well-being of the employer absolutely, for income from the referral was a fraction of a percent of the total revenue.

    I note that I never hid before a potential client that I work on behalf of the employer's company. I had business cards and promotional material from this company. However, it was impossible to calculate the spin from the chef's side. All contacts were closed on me. No one except me had access to the list of depressed clients. If they called the office, no one except me could help them on any issue. I was a firm inside the firm. This state of affairs lasted about a year, I was never once not only not caught by the hand, but not even suspected of "spin".

    So. How to competently “squeeze” a client and not be fired from work?

    1. The best option is if the client knows that he is not working with the company you represent, but personally with you. In this case, all of the items below are simply not needed. The client will call only you, you will do all the work, and there will be no problems. Until the moment you are fine with him. As soon as friction arises, you may be blackmailed to disclose the “extraction” to the employer, demanding either a reduction in prices or other concessions. Therefore, this option should be used with extreme caution. I did not apply it.

    Further, we will consider only the situation when the client does not know what works "past" the company.

    2. If you “squeezed” the client without his knowledge, then under no circumstances should he communicate with anyone else except you. How to organize this? Very simple. You should be the only specialist on this issue at the company. No one except you should be able to help him on any issue. You must understand everything from the conclusion of contracts to the preparation of invoices. If such a client is mistakenly switched to the phone of another employee, then after the first phrase this employee should have an irresistible desire to transfer the call to you. If, besides you, someone else understands the issue at the company, the option will not work. You need to act according to plan 1. Otherwise, you will be very quickly calculated.

    3. For the client, you must be one of the first persons of the company you represent. On my business card was written "director of the direction." This is necessary so that the client does not think that it is possible with someone else to resolve the issue at a company other than you. So that there is no temptation to talk or meet with the first person of the company. You must convince the client that you are authorized to resolve any issues.

    4. The client should not know any names in your company, except you. No commercial offers signed by the first person of the company, etc. All papers are signed by you. By calling the office, he should remember only your name. I strongly recommend not to bring it to the office.

    5. If the client has already worked directly with the employer, you can only “squeeze” it according to option 1. Tell him that the payment details have changed or the legal entity has been changed. the face is stupid. In 99% of cases, he will double-check this.

    6. The quality of your work should not cause complaints from the client. If the client is obviously problematic, it is better to immediately work with him through the employer. Do not be greedy, “squeeze” the other. It will be worse if the client is dissatisfied with the work done and begins official communication with the company through registered mail, visits to the office, etc. To hide the "spin" will be impossible.

    7. If there are already difficulties with the “depressed” client and everything goes to conflict, break off the relationship as quickly as possible. Return the money and make sure that it never occurred to him to contact your company. But the client should not feel cheated. He must firmly believe that your company is a sucker, but he has not lost anything. Otherwise, he may start communicating with the company through registered mail ... (hereinafter referred to as p. 6). It is better to lose one-time profit than to lose a permanent job.

    8. If the client is familiar with one of the employees of your company, squeezing it is stupid. According to any option. Run into either a setup or blackmail.

    9. Do not try to “wring” the client together with one of the colleagues. Everything that two know, the third will know. You can quarrel with a colleague, and your boss will become the third.

    10. Do not be greedy. Do not push all orders, otherwise you will simply be fired as an unprofitable employee. Better to be in good standing with management.

    These are the basic principles of “squeezing” clients onto myself, which I managed to recall. Once again, I do not call for “pushing” customers. This is not good. It is better to be an exemplary employee and not burden yourself with unnecessary problems. But if you do not have a starting million, this is one of the best ways to start a business.

    PS Tomorrow I’ll try to write in time how we managed to build a company with branches in different cities, which have not “squeezed” a single client for 5 years.

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