We make running business a lot harder than it needs to be. One way is our addiction to the new when the answer is already under our noses.

Here’s the first of 4 ways I REGULARLY see people, especially business owners, biting themselves in the arse.

The thrill of the kill makes us obsess over winning new clients way more than new business with existing ones. If you’re in B2B, tell me honestly, does your team get as much of a fist bump / high five / British (non-tactile!) pat on the back from winning incremental business with an existing client as when they bring in a new one?

We all know the stats about how much easier it is to win incremental business with an existing client (yawn). Yet look into almost any company and compare that to the effort that goes in to each new prospect. I’ll bet the comparison isn’t even close.

** Create an existing customer funnel that is as measured as your new client one. And systematically (i.e. dates and process) spend the time to see how you can create more value for each one. Make it a checklist as much as the one you have for winning new business. **

If you systematically expend the same effort you do on winning new clients on uncovering ways to bring more value to your existing clients, your business WILL grow faster.