As noted in an article that we wrote for Sales and Marketing Magazine, sales-centric B2B companies all too often put themselves at risk when they place too much control over customer relationships in the hands of an individual rep. This sets up a bit of a revolving door effect: customers come in, follow a rep as their single point of contact, and then follow her or him right out the door when that salesperson inevitably leaves.

We encourage you to read the article for the full story on how you not only risk losing customers in the long term but, perhaps more damaging still, you put your company in danger of immediate and ongoing loss of sales through effects including curtailed cross-selling.

While the core problems, which may develop gradually, can take a good deal of time to address, the good news is that there are a few things that you can do—no, that you definitely should do—right now to begin reclaiming customer relationships and the revenue that goes with them.

Step 1: Size up your risk: how likely are customers to walk out with reps? 
Take a look at your most valuable customers—that top twenty percent in the old 80/20 rule. How many of those customer relationships are based on one sales representative as their primary or, worse yet, single source of contact? Then assess how many of those relationships have been long-term (that is, multi-year). Next review your assessment for risks. For instance, if you discover customer relationships based on one single sales rep, and a longer-term relationship, you’ve identified a real risk of customer defection.

Step 2: Develop a strong, involved account team.
It doesn’t matter if your team is two or twelve—what matters is that it be a real team and not one single rep. Intentionally structure team member roles and schedule their touchpoints so that each has meaningful contact with the customer that provides value, and isn’t simply taking up the customer’s time. And set expectations for the amount of time each team member invests in customer-facing activity, including pre-contact prep and follow-up, and track it.

Step 3: Get the top brass to play a regular role.
It’s a simple but powerful truth: customers feel important when they “feel the love” from your top executives (or those near the top).  Schedule periodic face time for your business and sales leadership and customers, whether during field visits, at trade shows, via special VIP sessions, or simply with personal phone calls and emails. Also, creating a “peering structure” (e.g., CMO to CMO, supply chain manager to supply chain manager) can be a powerful way to improve customer relationships and open the door to new customer insights from multiple perspectives.

Step 4: Communicate via an intentional, direct, and consistent program.
Your rep is there, first and foremost, to sell to the customer, not inform them of your broader value proposition and news about the company. You need to take responsibility for direct-to-the-customer communication about your company. Making certain that they stay current with your vision, how you’re growing, who you’re hiring, the new products you’ve introduced, and strategic initiatives you’ve undertaken—in short, everything that creates a deeper awareness and understanding of your company and shapes positive impressions of it. It’s the best way to make sure you never again hear customers say, “Wow, I never knew that about your company!”

Step 5: Create a plan, with and for your customer.
If you’re very fortunate (and you’ve been working hard at it) your customer relationships involve so much trust that Joint Strategic Planning can take place on a regular basis. Suggest it if your customer hasn’t already. JSP can be formal or informal. Either level allows you to work more closely on your relationship, evaluate performance, and identify areas, current, and future, that can produce mutual wins. Even if you’re not quite at that stage, you can still have your account team create a plan independently, drawing on insight and knowledge that your team has about the account, with the goal of creating a more productive approach to serving your customer’s objectives and needs, and deepening the relationship they have with your company.

It’s time to stop that revolving door — start taking the steps to take back your customer loyalty today.