How to Upgrade Clients
Sometimes, upgrading current clients is a much easier and faster way to increase revenue than pounding pavement for brand new clients.
Why? (1) They probably like you, if they’re still paying you, so the sales pitch is far less awkward and (2) you already know their business, so you probably know what additional support they already need.
Here’s how to do it:
(1) Identify a client (or group of clients) you already have that you think you could help at a higher level
Best to go for the clients that have solid operations and cashflow unless you are offering help with improving cashflow.
(2) What would be an “easy yes” for that client?
There’s a little bit of art in pricing here. What can you offer that feels like an “easy yes” to them and highly profitable to you?
(3) Ask if they want to upgrade
This includes offering a specific price and a specific date for the upgrade. Vague offers get vague answers.
“But Erica, I can’t just cold-email my clients asking if they want to upgrade! That’s weird and awkward and sales-y.”
Yes, you can. And no, it isn’t. At least it isn’t if you genuinely think they’ll get value out of your upgrade offer. If you think you can offer more value, it could sound something like this:
Hi [Client Name],
I have a couple openings for [their current level of service] clients to upgrade to [new level of service] starting in June or July, and I wanted to offer it to you first.
This is a great fit if you’re starting to think more about [higher level problems they might have now] beyond [whatever problem they had when they first hired you].
Here’s what you’d get with the [new level of service] upgrade:
value
more value
more value
more value
Your new rate would be [new rate] per month (compared to your current monthly rate of [current rate]).
If you’re interested, just let me know by May 31st to grab one of the open spots, and no hard feelings if not.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Best,
[your name]
Important points to remember:
Make it an “easy yes” for both the client and you
Don’t expect 100% success. Shoot for 50% success. If you get more or less, adjust. (High success rate = adjust your price, Low success rate = adjust your offer or price)
No one is going to think less of you for sending an upgrade offer once a year. Don’t let your brain convince you otherwise.
Before you hunt for new clients, make sure you’re not sitting on in-need clients and uncaptured revenue in your own backyard.
Talk soon,
Erica
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