Optimize your sales and marketing resources: 3 key levers to activate before expanding your prospecting

In many conversations I’ve had with business leaders,  whether in industry, agriculture, healthcare, luxury, retail or services, one recurring theme stands out: a great deal of energy is devoted to acquiring new clients. This is, of course, essential to ensure business renewal and growth. However, in many cases, companies underestimate the other equally strategic lever: developing the existing client portfolio.

Why working on the existing client base is a powerful performance driver?

In every client portfolio, there is a natural erosion (churn), which requires regular new client acquisition. But before fully engaging in pure conquest, it is critical to ensure that you have:

-secured strategic accounts,

-strengthened commercial relationships,

-increased the value per client,

-and above all, maximised margins and profitability.

Because working on your existing portfolio isn’t simply about selling more of the same products. It is also and above all about:

-creating differentiated offers with higher added value,

-proposing complementary services that justify higher pricing,

-mechanically improving commercial margins and marketing ROI.

In short, the goal isn’t simply to accumulate volumes of clients, but to fully capitalise on every existing relationship.

Lever 1: Build business-driven client communities

In many B2B environments, companies still tend to limit themselves to classic commercial events (trade shows, technical days, etc.). However, the real community lever starts when your clients actively contribute to value creation.

Differentiating examples:

B2B Industry

-Co-developing technical solutions with strategic client groups (product co-engineering / custom development).

-Open innovation platforms where key accounts participate directly in R&D investment decisions.

-Procurement / production / logistics roundtables to align mutual constraints and secure supply flows.

Agriculture

-Creating jointly negotiated multi-farm purchasing pools (ensuring secured supplier volumes while providing better conditions for farmers).

-Establishing agronomic clubs where clients contribute to varietal trials or low-carbon transition programs.

Healthcare

-Cross-pharmacist or cross-physician working groups to manage critical shortages or pool purchasing of sensitive product lines.

-Co-developing therapeutic education services with patient associations.

Luxury & Retail

-Co-design programs with brand ambassadors to test capsule collections or new in-store experiences.

-Setting up private "collector circles" allowing pre-orders for limited editions before official release.

B2B Services

-Client governance committees where key accounts help prioritize the supplier’s innovation roadmap.

-Shared intelligence platforms to monitor regulatory and environmental risks.

The aim here is to shift from a supplier-client model towards a true economic partnership.

Lever 2: Multiply differentiating experiences around your clients' strategic challenges

The client experience no longer revolves solely around expected service levels, but rather your ability to anticipate, de-risk, and simplify key operational tensions for your clients.

It is by helping to "secure their business" that you create durable value.

Differentiating examples:

B2B Industry

-Providing free energy diagnostics during periods of volatile raw material and energy prices, enabling clients to quickly identify cost-saving levers.

-Offering reinforced preventive maintenance on critical equipment during peak seasons.

-Supplier crisis management teams to anticipate upstream shortages.

Agriculture

-Decision-support tools combining local weather data, market projections, and gross margin forecasts by crop.

-Multi-year contracts with integrated price guarantees and safety nets against market fluctuations.

-Access to specialized legal or tax advisory services to secure family farm transfers.

Healthcare

-Supply chain audits for sensitive medicines (already developed by some pharmacy networks to secure critical stock levels).

-Pharmacy management coaching for new owners to help structure purchasing and cash flow.

-Outsourced regulatory compliance and document management services.

Luxury & Retail

-Wealth advisory services for high-end client families to manage collections and intergenerational transfers.

-Ultra-selective temporary leasing programs for exclusive client segments.

-Creation of physical or virtual "white rooms" for private collection previews ahead of public launches.

B2B Services

-Financial simulation tools to allow clients to assess the economic impact of a project or contract in advance.

-Tender preparation and regulatory audit support services.

Your positioning shifts: you become a true "performance insurer" for your clients.

Lever 3: Fine-tune portfolio segmentation to optimize profitability and risk

True commercial personalization isn’t about multiplying bespoke offers for each client. It’s about intelligently segmenting the portfolio to adjust commercial intensity and offering levels according to each segment's actual contribution.

Differentiating examples:

Industry

-Modular client engagement frameworks: secure base volumes via framework agreements, while applying tiered pricing for additional services.

-Differentiated service levels, lead times and stock commitments based on contractual status.

Pharmacies / Vets / Trades

-12-18 month development plans to progressively upgrade pharmacies or practices (value-added services, training, optimized merchandising).

-Relationship status tiers (gold, platinum, diamond) based on volumes and assortment diversification.

Agriculture

-Bundled offers combining agronomic advice, digital field monitoring, and priority access to new varieties.

-Margin insurance mechanisms integrated into multi-year supply contracts.

Luxury

-Proactive management of "multi-generation" portfolios, including heirs in the relationship framework.

-Lifetime maintenance and restoration services for high-value collector pieces.

B2B Services

-Evolving subscription models allowing for add-on service blocks tied to client project performance.

-Commercial incentive programs adjusted according to portfolio saturation levels (portfolio maturity vs growth potential).

The objective is to optimize both profitability and long-term sustainability without overextending commercial resources.

Conclusion : before expanding, secure and maximize what’s already in place

Every organization has limited commercial resources. Before deploying significant investment into new client acquisition, it’s always worth asking a simple strategic question: Have I fully unlocked the potential value and profitability of my existing clients? Because this is often where the most stable margins, highest returns, and real long-term security for the business lie.