By Jimmy D. Brown of iBusiness Owner
Your prospects won’t buy from you unless they trust you.
Read that again, because fully understanding that deceptively simple sentence is crucial to the bottom line of your business. If you can’t establish trust, you can’t make sales. Period.
So, how do you start building trust? Like this:
1. Offer great customer service. Whether you have a prospect contacting you for the first time with a pre-sale question or you have an existing customer needing help, you need to provide prompt, professional service.
2. Start a blog. A blog gives you an opportunity to interact with your prospects and customers. It also gives you an opportunity to show value to your prospective customers. When they see what kind of help you give away for free, they’ll be excited to become a paying customer.
Tip: Don’t yet have a blog? Go to WordPress.org and download the free files.
3. Interact with prospects on social media sites. Yet another way to build relationships (and trust) is by using social media sites, especially Facebook.com and Twitter.com. There you can interact one-on-one, as well as provide good information.
4. Use your prospect’s name. Using someone’s name helps build rapport. Online you can collect your prospect’s first name when he joins your newsletter list. Offline, be sure to ask for his name so that you can use it during your sales talk.
Tip: Don’t overuse someone’s name, as that can backfire and make them feel uncomfortable. Using it once or twice during an initial meeting should be enough.
5. Follow up with your prospects. The vast majority of people who come to your website or store are unlikely to ever return – that’s why you need to get their contact information so that you can follow up with them.
Usually this involves offering your prospects something valuable in exchange for their contact information.
Example: You can offer a free report on your website. Or if you have a bricks and mortar store, you can offer prospects a chance to win something in a contest. Just be sure in all cases that your prospects know you will be following up with them.
6. Show your value now. Don’t make the mistake of promising a lot of value in the future… but only once someone pays you money. Instead, show your value now using newsletters, a blog, social media and good customer service.
7. Be accessible. This one is of particular importance to those who have an online business. The bottom line is not to hide from your prospects. This means offering multiple ways for your prospects and customers to reach you. The more accessible you are, the easier it is for people to trust you.
8. Get personal. If your prospect or client mentions a special event (like an upcoming wedding or birth of a child), write this information down so that you can refer to it again. Then the next time you see this person (either in person or even online, like on Facebook), you can ask the person about the event. He’ll be impressed that you remembered – and your relationship will grow!
9. Give your prospects what they want. Here’s the key: Help your prospects even if it doesn’t directly benefit you.
Example: Recommend a product that doesn’t garner you a commission (maybe the product is even free). When the prospect sees that you really care about him and his problem, his trust in you will grow – and before you know it, he’ll be a loyal customer!
10. Be professional. Finally, maintain a professional appearance, whether through your own grooming, your brick and mortar store, your marketing materials or your website. First impressions count. And continued professionalism helps build trust.
Conclusion
You just learned 10 proven ways to build trust and generate more sales for your business.
To find out still more ways to grow your business, visit http://tknoppe.tactics.hop.clickbank.net to discover the iBusiness Owner’s Manuals. Then ask yourself: How many of these strategies are you currently overlooking? And how much more money would you make if you employed them, starting today?
