For your ideal customers to feel comfortable enough to buy from you, three things must be in place.
Your potential clients must KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST you.
Isn't that great? All you need to do is to accomplish these three things. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, right?
((Insert record screeching noise here.))
Yes, that's great. And it's incredibly helpful information. It's a nice, short list of things to accomplish and then blammo! you should have customers banging down your front door, right?
So, why aren't those customers at your front door, you ask? And, well, uh…how do you accomplish these three seemingly simple things?
I am so glad that you asked. 🙂
Let's start with the TRUST factor.
There are a number of ways to build trust. We'll start with the easiest one.
Do What You Say You Will Do.
Be on time. My old boss would annoy me to death every time he told us, “on time is early”. It's funny how that phrase doesn't resonate with you when you are doing something that you don't love but when you are building your own business, man-oh-man is this important. Show up early to make sure that you aren't late. When you show up late – which is the same thing as saying that YOUR TIME is more important than THEIR TIME — your potential customers realize that you don't always keep your word and that you don't value them. Ouch. Not a good way to build trust.
Be predictable. There is enough uncertainty in our daily lives and your customers do NOT want you to add to that list. If you send out a weekly newsletter, guess what? SEND IT OUT WEEKLY. If you send it out one week and then not the next, you are telling your customers not to trust you. Show them that you will do what you say you will do if you want to earn their trust.
Share The Love.
Add testimonials from satisfied customers to your website. You may disagree with me on this (and I'm right, by the way), but your customers DO want to buy from you. They want to BUY but they don't want to be SOLD. Show them the love from your previous clients and you will help to put their mind at ease that you can deliver what you are promising them.
I recommend going a step further and adding a guarantee to your services. People hesitate less when they know that they can recoop some (or all) of their money if they aren't satisfied. (Your job is to make sure that they are MORE than satisfied with your services…we'll get into that later.)
Be Authentic.
Yes, I'm happy to admit that every single time that I send out my newsletter, some people unsubscribe. I am admitting this to you because it's real. And that's what happens when you are authentic. Some people LOVE you and some people don't. And that's OK. Your target peep's will hang around and that's what matters.
NEWSFLASH: Mistakes are a blessing in disguise. Your heart may sink into your chest and your Inner Critic may start going nuts telling you that you are a failure but it's actually an opportunity to build trust with your potential and current customers. Admit when something goes awry or when you mess up. It's OK and it's life.
Be real but more importantly, own up to your mistakes. We all make mistakes and your customers will appreciate you being honest, transparent, and authentic. Don't be the man hiding behind the curtain. Be the strong person standing in front of the curtain, announcing that something happened, and clearly articulate how you are going to fix it and move forward.
Give It Time.
While in pharmaceutical sales, I learned that you have to interact with a customer 7-10 times before a customer will understand and consider purchasing your product. I do not believe that the number of “touches” required for a sale is that high for the general public, but let's assume it is.
How do you “touch” your customer that many times?
The first step is to be patient. Trust is built over time. Your target customer may not be ready to buy right now… and that's OK. Maybe they won't be ready next month or next year. Take the time to build a real relationship and treat the person like….A PERSON. Keep the dialogue going and keep the faith. It WILL HAPPEN.
The second step is to consistently utilize social media, regularly send out quality content to your newsletter peep's, call them, email them, and follow up with them to see what questions they have and how you can support their business. Share your expertise in networking meetings, online groups that you belong to, make videos to post on your blog. Speak up, be accessible, be visible and be patient.
Put it into action:
Write down 3 ways that you can build trust with your current and potential clients THIS WEEK. Please share them in the comment section below and DO THEM. Your business success depends on it!
Learn 3 easy steps to more clients,
more impact + more cash!
Krista, I love how you define what it means to be late. We only have a certain amount of time on this earth and to be late and disrespect that time is the ultimate insult. One of my businesses is a transport business and we have a client who actively fines transport companies that are late. Careful scheduling means we don’t pay fines :), yet other companies moan about them instead of planning!
A great read, will share it.
Thank you Sarah! I like the idea of avoiding fines! 🙂
Excellent tips to be authentic and consistent. I used to get upset and offended over unsubscribes to my email list, but now I actually get happy because I’m weeding out those who are not ideal clients anyway. I don’t want to send email out to those who have no interest in my business or what I have to offer.
So true! I agree with you, Lisa! It’s a much more powerful perspective when you look at that way!
Moving in your life filled with authenticity and consistency makes things so much easier. Very well said!
Bobbi
Thank you Bobbi 🙂
Thank you so much Krista for reminding me of these simple truths. I think we try to make things too complicated but you are so right; clients respond and show up to do the work when they are met with compassion and care, which they pass along in their own way long after your work with them is done.
Yes, it’s so important how we show up! I agree with you Tracy.
Great article Krista!
You’re right too. Trust is a huge factor in whether people will buy from you, or in some cases even sign up for your newsletter! Being late is a big deal as well; I have a funny story about that too.
About a week ago one of my pro bono clients was meant to be meeting with me and his fiance. Both of us were already there waiting but he hadn’t shown up. Whenever we called him it was always “I’ll be right there” or “I’m on my way”. He finally showed up two hours later.
I remember feeling completely disrespected as far as time goes and chalked it up as a warning flag – about a week later the cut off contact and I can only assume the project is on hold.
Goes to show, being on time equates to respect pretty closely.
What a valuable lesson! Thank you for sharing Heather.
Great blog Krista – I especially like your comments on being Authentic. I used to cringe when someone unsubscribed but now I know it’s only making room for more of those that want to hear me 🙂
Susan, you are so right! You have so many gifts to offer this world and they can only be given when you are your most authentic. If some people don’t like that or aren’t drawn to that, that’s OK! The people who are, though, will become your loyal followers and clients. Best of luck to you! 🙂
Ugh, “on time is early” would bug me, too! It always makes me wonder, if people don’t show up on time how organized/dependable are they?
Megan
Founder
Photorelli – Mobile Phone Photography Tips
http://photorelli.com/
Megan, you are so right. In my opinion, if someone is always late, they are sending me a very clear message: their time (in their mind) is much more important than mine. That’s not a recipe for a successful relationship!
I love the reminder to “give it time” Krista. In our fast-paced society we often forget that things have their own time frame for working out and evolving. Thanks for this great information.
Karen, isn’t that one of the hardest things to remember? I have to remind myself constantly that things don’t happen immediately and to be patient. 🙂
Great reminder of the parts of my business that are the most important and should receive more of my focus.
3 things I believe I can improve on:
– Create a standard follow-up process and get it implemented
– Create a format for my first newsletter and get it out
– Schedule time each day that is dedicated to ensuring I don’t have any clients that are waiting on an action from me.
Peggy Lusk
Financial Coach – The Geek with a CPA
http://Abundance-by-Design.com
Peggy, I love these action items! They are so powerful and will yield you tremendous results!
I love the comment about “on time” is early. I would like to put that into practice this week.
Stacy Harshman-Career Coach
http://www.Fulfillinglife.com
When I’m early, I always feel much more at ease, don’t you, Stacy? It allows me to be relaxed, prepared, and authentic. I hope it goes well for you as you implement that idea!
Great post! I too am a strong believer/follower of the ‘Know-Like-Trust’ manifesto and it is both easier and harder these days to achieve those key stages. There are so many potential touch points with our prospects, ways to reach them, content necessary to educate them and draw them in. It can be hard to remember that all the little things add up too – so don’t let things like schedules, timing, correspondence and general kindness slide. Thanks for those reminders!
Trust can be a major killer in personal relationships as well as in business. My motto is to treat people how I’d like to be treated. Great article.
Thanks Krista! I’m a big believer in giving people lots of opportunities to learn to trust you. Great ideas on ways to build trust!
Kathleen
>Family Nurse Practitioner, Health Coach and Yoga Instructor
>www.kathleenloucks.com
>www.facebook.com/KathleenLoucksWellness
>www.twitter.com/kaloucks
You are so right. If they aren’t willing to buy (yet), it’s a perfect time to build that trust factor! Thank you for sharing, Kathleen.
Thank you for the reminder that on-time is early. It is very disrespectful of people’s time to keep them waiting if an appointment time has been agreed upon, and if it’s a business meeting, it definitely gives lots of info/feedback to you about how they will be interacting with you in the future. Great post.
Krista,
Integrity driven message, I like that. Would love to have you on my Radio Show . . . reach out if you’re interested.
Pam McCall
Time Engagement Expert and
Women’s Small Business Resource
http://www.pammccall.com
I’m so glad to see you are putting video into your marketing strategy. I tell my clients all the time that video helps build the know like and trust factor.
These are great tips, Krista, delivered in a kind and no-nonsense way. We KNOW it’s all about know/like/trust, but we don’t always DO what it takes to earn it from our clients and future clients. Wonderful reminders- thank you!
Thanks Beth!
My favorite way to build trust with potential clients is to “lead with the give” – that’s why I’m hosting a video interview series which is a ton of work and I love every second of it. Because sharing all that great info is such a huge, wonderful gift to my people. Thanks for the great post Krista!
Dropping by from List-a-Palooza. I love the way you cover some of the areas we need to cover in order to establish and nurture relationships with our clients and our prospects. The old way of doing business no longer works. High pressure sales are out. But, maybe… We’re going back to the old OLD way of doing business, back when we lived in the same village as the keepers who shops we frequented.
I shared to my Scoop. Topic Heart Centered Business and have it scheduled to share in my social media spots. 🙂
Thank you for sharing!
Dawna Kreis
Heart Centered Virtual Assistant
Creative Horizons Business Services
Dawna, thank you! It’s amazing to think…we could actually pick up the phone and talk to a client? Wow. Craziness! I think you are right…high pressure is out and more client, heart centered is in. 🙂 I will check out your VA business!
I like the satisfaction guarantee. I include a 30 day money back guarantee to my coaching plans.
Love the part about being authentic.
My mission in life is to teach people to be who they really are and not worry so much about what everyone things, so I’m happy to see you spreading the word!
Chris, we’re on the same team! Hooray for us! 🙂
Sometimes I get impatient, I am glad that you mentioned to “give it time”. This helps to reaffirm that it is okay to be patient!
I’ve heard this advice so many times now. Seems so simple, but is not. Have had a list for 2 years where no one has become a customer or client. I admit I’m not consistant with the social media thing, email has been more my thing, but not getting results.
Suzanne
Suzanne, that’s a great thing to notice and see what you think might be going on. Do you send out regular enewsletters? Is your list growing? Do you promote your services within your newsletter and/or free offers with quality content? You CAN do this! Good for you for observing, assessing, and then seeing what can change. If you’d like to connect, please send me an email and we can discuss how you can build your business buy-in. Maybe a survey would be beneficial so that you can ensure your offerings are inline with your target market… Let me know if you’d like to connect!
Juliana – you and me both! I’m not the most patient person to walk this Earth… 🙂
Krista this was definitely dome great advice and i really appreciate it. It’s sad to say that its hard to reach customers here in my small town, so I look outside my perimeters.
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