It never ceases to amaze me how many salespeople feel the only way to increase business is to discover new clients and then sell to them. Nothing wrong with that, of course. But having only an outward-facing sales approach can cause you to miss out on an easier way to boost business:  by looking within.

Our current customers are our best prospects for more business. We have hundreds of customers who probably have additional orders in them. If you’re not giving them sufficient attention and taking every opportunity to seek more business from them, you are leaving money on the table!

Think about it:  

1. They are using you now.
2. They’re more likely to promptly return your calls.
3. They will listen to your message.
4. They (hopefully) have a history of making timely payments (good credit).

Dealing with an existing customer beats a cold call every day. What more could a salesperson want?

The next order is just a call away, if you have the nerve to ask them to buy more. 

“Oh, I didn’t know you sold that.”

I cringe every time I hear customers say that because it means we’ve failed to fully educate them on what we can do for them. Our customers are busy people, and if you can solve a problem or offer an additional service, they will want to buy from you—a trusted friend—rather than go through someone else.

When you call existing customers, be sure to sound upbeat. Your goal is to create excitement about how our other offerings will serve them better or make their buying day seem less hectic. During that call, do some digging by asking if they have other people, departments, or divisions within the company that buy PCBs. The person you are dealing with could be just the tip of the iceberg! And don’t forget to ask if you could drop their name, or if they could make an introduction to that other department.

It takes less sales energy to dig for information from a present customer than when cold-calling a new prospect. However, don’t expect a watershed of new orders right away from your customer, especially if you haven’t established a rapport. I can’t say this enough: customers are more likely to buy boards from someone they consider to be a friend.

Don’t be surprised, though, if you have to call a customer several times about additional business. Our customers are busy. You may have to give them some friendly reminders.

And keep in mind, no one wants to be pitched to all the time. Be a friend and grow your relationship with the customer. Non-sales calls are in investment in tomorrow’s business.

I challenge you to carefully review your entire customer base. You may well find hundreds of sales opportunities you don’t want to overlook.

This Got Gerbers® newsletter is to educate my fellow salespeople on how to be better in customer service and to learn more about the PCB industry.  Contact me at 727-480-7045 or greg@directpcb.com with any questions or if you need help with a specific issue—anytime.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     © DEC2025 Greg Papandrew