A client almost never fires you. They just stop calling. This guide sets up the routine that notices before they do.
Summary
NextCrew won't warn you that a client is drifting. There's no health score and no alert. What works is a routine you keep: at the end of every check-in, log a note and create the next task, dated by how important the client is. A saved view on Follow-Up Status catches clients nobody set a task for, and KPI - Revenue By Client each month catches the rest. What goes wrong: finishing the call and not booking the next one.
How to do it
- Sort your active clients into tiers, so you know how often each one gets a check-in.
- Each morning, open your tasks and take the top five client check-ins.
- Read the client's notes and contacts before you call, so nothing they say catches you out.
- Call, or use Add Message on the contact's record. Ask about their plans, not just your service.
- Add a note to the client saying what you learned, and update its Follow-Up Status.
- Before you leave the record, create the next task, dated by the client's tier and assigned to the account manager.
That's the routine. Read on to set up the tiers, the view and the monthly check.
On this page
Tier your clients first
| Tier | Who | Check in every |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | The few clients who make up most of your hours | Month, plus a review each quarter |
| Tier 2 | Steady clients who order without drama | Quarter |
| Tier 3 | Occasional or seasonal clients | Twice a year, and before their busy season |
| Quiet | No orders for 90 days and no reason on the record | One direct call, then a decision |
Record the tier on the client, for example as a tag on the Overview, so anyone who opens it knows how much attention it's owed. Most agencies know their Tier 1 list already. If you don't, run KPI - Revenue By Client for the last twelve months and take the top ten. Review the tiers once a year.
Build the list you work from
| Layer | What it catches | How to set it up |
|---|---|---|
| Tasks | Every client someone remembered | Create the next check-in task at the end of every touch. Overdue tasks surface on your task list. See Create and Track Tasks. |
| A saved view | Clients nobody set a task for | In CRM › Clients, filter Account Status to Active and Follow-Up Status to the values that mean you owe them a touch. Save it as a view, such as Owed a touch. See Save and Share Your Own List Views. |
| A monthly report | Clients both of the above missed | Run KPI - Revenue By Client for this period and the last. A client at zero this month needs a call this week. |
The view is only as good as your Follow-Up Statuses. If nobody updates them, it shows nothing useful. You can change the choices to suit existing clients. See Set Up Your CRM Lists.
What counts as a touch
| Touch | When | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Check-in | On the tier's schedule | Staying known. Most produce nothing, and that's fine. |
| Before their season | Two to four weeks before their busy period | Planning capacity before they call someone else. |
| Good news | After something went well | Clients notice problems on their own. Point out the wins. |
| Heads-up | Before a rate or policy change | No surprises on an invoice. |
| Recovery | Within a day of something going wrong | Not optional. See Record a Client Incident. |
Chasing a timesheet signature is admin, not a touch.
Write notes for the next person
"Spoke to Dana, all good" is worth nothing in March. "Dana says their busy season starts 1 Nov, needs 12 to 15 people a week, wants the same three as last year" is worth a quarter's orders. Use a note category, such as Check-in, so these can be found later. See Add Notes to a Record and Use Note Templates and Set Up Note and Task Categories.
⚠️ Watch out
Keep commercial details in Notes, never in Policies and Procedures. Crew see a client's policies when they apply for its jobs.
The quarterly review, for Tier 1
Once a quarter, 45 minutes. Bring revenue from KPI - Revenue By Client, fill performance (the KPI reports include KPI - Job Fill Matrix and KPI - Time To Fill), anything that went wrong, and the Crew who worked for them most. Spend most of the time on what's coming for them, and ask for something: more notice on orders, a second contact, the other site. Write it up as a note and set the next review as a task.
Why run it in NextCrew
| In someone's head | In NextCrew |
|---|---|
| The account manager leaves, and the relationship history goes too. | Notes and tasks stay on the client for whoever takes over. |
| Check-ins happen when someone remembers. | Every check-in books the next one. |
| Lost clients are noticed a quarter late. | A monthly revenue check spots the one that stopped. |
If something isn't working
| What you see | Check this first | Who fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| The view shows clients you spoke to last week | Someone isn't updating Follow-Up Status after calls. | You |
| A check-in task went unnoticed | It has a due date and is assigned to the account manager. | You |
| A colleague can't find your notes | The note is on the client, not just the contact. | You |
| You want to send one update to every client | Export the contact list and send it from your email tool. See Export a List to Excel. | You |
Questions people ask
Is there a report that shows clients at risk?
No. Run KPI - Revenue By Client for two periods and compare. Your tasks and Follow-Up Statuses catch drift sooner.
Does any of this happen automatically?
No. Tasks remind you, but nothing starts a check-in for you.
Should check-in notes go on the client or the contact?
What the account agreed goes on the client. What one person said goes on the contact. If unsure, use the client.
Who owns check-ins if we have no account managers?
Whoever the client calls. Name one person per client in the Account Manager field.
Other ways people ask this
- How do I stop losing clients?
- How often should I check in with clients?
- How do I see which clients stopped ordering?
- How do I set up client follow-ups?
- How do I run a quarterly business review?
Related guides
- Track and Manage Prospects — the same routine before they're a client
- Create and Track Tasks — booking the next touch
- Save and Share Your Own List Views — the Owed a touch view
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