One of the most forgotten parts of the sales process is the ongoing service, contact and support of existing customers. It’s natural for many businesses in our profit-centric business culture to chase after the next big sale. It’s quite another thing for companies to look inward and focus on what they lredy have — their existing book of business.

Diversify your marketing and tap into one of your most powerful assets (your own customers) by following these tips in 2008.

Use contact management software to automate your follow-up — Consider investing in a tool like ACT to keep track of all your clients and prospects. ACT is designed specifically with salespeople in mind and will help you tremendously with organization and time management. If you’re on a budget, you can use Microsoft Outlook or even the Yahoo and Google web-based services to much the same effect.

Empower your employees to do the follow-up for you – It’s been said many times before that a good leader knows how to delegate. Developing a client service approach and system for your business is a great way to give your new employees great experience at your company. What better way for someone to learn the ins and outs of your business than speaking directly to your company’s clients

Invite your customers to give you feedback — The companies that stay in business are typically the ones that are always improving. Don’t be content to stick with what worked last year. At every chance you get, ask your clients and prospects hiow you can improve their experience.

Always ask for referrals – If people trust you and your company enough to use your product or service regularly, they probably trust you enough to recommend you to others. Don’t be shying in asking for help to grow your business. The worst they can say is “no”

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