New or Existing Clients -- Which are better?

In my opinion 2010, will be the year of the come back, I think companies will start to look at their current client base and try to secure those relationships. There is automatic revenue potential if the relationship is intact.

Both selling organizations and clients recognize that it is more cost effective to expand relationships, than it is to acquire new ones. The complexities lay in understanding the strength and challenges faced by both organizations and how to exploit them for combined relationship advancement.

However, over the last year most selling organizations have had their eyes on new client acquisition, which, is indeed a necessity, but has overlooked current customers, and thus the overlooked customer has been acquired by another organization.

So there lays the rub – new or existing business, I say both. Get new business first from your existing clients then from new client acquisitions, creating a self-fulfilling cycle of revenue. Nevertheless, the selling organization must, bear in mind that the current client relationship is indeed the golden goose, and squeezing it will only kill it; so tread easy to reap the rewards of loyal, expanding, revenue generating clients.