The Importance of Relationship Building – Establishing Credibility and Building Trust

You don’t buy from people or companies you don’t feel you can trust. Nor do you refer your friends, co-workers, or fellow business operators to service providers you don’t believe can meet their need in an appropriate and reliable manner. Correct me if I’m wrong!

As a business owner, to establish credibility you must first ensure that the service or product you provide is delivered in a confident, trustworthy, and consistent manner. The bottom line is that you need to convey that you will do what is expected of you and that the quality of what you provide can be counted on.

IDEA GUIDE FOR ESTABLISHING CREDIBILITY

Entertain

Every business owner wants to talk about what they do, as you do. Be friendly, charming and sincere – build a relationship – ask questions about what they do, why they do it, and what their needs are. And listen closely to their answers – there will be a pop quiz at a later date, you can bet on it.

Questions you might ask include:

What are your primary concerns?
What have you done to address these concerns in the past?
Tell me about what has worked, and what hasn’t.
What difference will addressing these concerns make to your business?
What is it that keeps you from addressing this need?
Is this a priority for you?
How soon would you like to make these changes?
What sort of time and budget do you have to commit to making these changes?

After they’ve had a chance to communicate some of their concerns, don’t be afraid to let them know what solutions you can offer specifically to them and their situation, then explain to them how these services differ from your competitors.

Educate

Let them know who you are and why your services stand out from the rest. This does NOT mean you have to call the competition down. There are many ways to communicate that your product or service is superior, simply by making the differences apparent.

It is critical to demonstrate how you can solve their problems. By having benefit-rich marketing materials on hand like business cards, short testimonials and a promotional offer, you will be giving them the tools rather than a sales pitch.

And on the the topic of testimonials – do be specific in how you ask for them when you are collecting from your clients. Testimonials will be much more effective if they address the benefit that client experienced by working with you rather than just stating that it was pleasant experience.

People are interested in the results of what you offer, a good example of this is; “Where did you get your hair done?” A hairdresser doesn’t gain clients without a client. He/she will undoubtedly gain a plethora of referrals by simply putting their product out there in the form of a good hair cut or color.

Allowing your clients to speak to a potential client by way of testimonial or demonstration can be one of the best ways for you to show what you do.

Energize

Be excited about what you do! Nothing is more intoxicating then meeting someone who has a genuine fervor about how much they want to do business with you and how hey can help you make more money or gain more clients, etc.

Use analogies; if they’re a hairdresser tell about them about the portfolio you did for a stylist, if they’re a restaurant owner let them in on the menu you designed, for musicians how about the sound clips you’ve put on websites to help promote up and coming shows.

Not only will these micro-testimonials give your prospect insight into what you do, but it’s assigns a value to what you do. And in turn will give your potential client a better idea of how much they need your services.

Provoke

If you’ve made a good impression, and you’ve succeeded in gaining a measure of trust, it will naturally progress to the potential client actually giving you the opening to deliver your call to action. Be ready to deliver it, since this is the opportunity you’ve been working toward!

Lastly, solidify the relationship in it’s infancy by giving them something tangible to remember you by…be imaginative and unique. To find out how we can help you increase your memorability factor, visit our website at www.catchthis.ca

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