The building of relationships is one of the most important foundations for your business to be built on.
Without strong, nurtured relationships you will find it difficult to make sales and grow your business.
Building relationships takes time to:
Sometimes, this will happen quite quickly but other times it will take longer.
I have been in front of a lot of prospects who I have ‘clicked with’ almost immediately. But then every now and then I meet one and think this person is going to be a hard nut to crack.
Do I think to myself they’re probably not going to buy? Absolutely not! These are the people I spend more time understanding and nurturing. By doing this, quite often I am able to turn it around because I’ve taken the time to put them at ease and built trust. The client feels safe in the knowledge that throughout the process I will be by their side doing what is best for them.
I had one client who told me the moment I walked through the door that she wouldn’t be buying that day!
I had been stuck in traffic and was two hours late for this appointment. So things really weren’t boding well. I was already at a disadvantage.
It was 7.30pm and I was tired because I had been on the road for ten hours.
I still spent time getting to know this lady and began to understand her fears, due to past experiences with sales people. I went through everything with a fine tooth comb. Constantly checking she understood and being patient with her every step of the way.
At no point did I push her for the sale. There was no point, she had already told me she wasn’t going to buy today. But then the most unexpected thing happened…
She said “Sam I have never been someone who goes ahead with something immediately. As you know I’ve had my fingers burnt quite badly. But you have been so patient, understanding and knowledgeable that I feel I can trust you. You could have quite easily re arranged our appointment because of how late it will be for you getting home. But you didn’t. I would like to go ahead with you now”
I was gobsmacked yet felt honoured that the lady felt she could trust me enough with her money.
This lady called the office the very next day to sing my praises. She also gave the company a glowing review!
We all know that. But that doesn’t mean that your time has been wasted. Sometimes far from it.
What I mean is this – I have nurtured business relationships in the past that haven’t resulted in a sale. But they were so impressed with how I ‘came across’ that they referred me to others that did result in sales.
My advice is this, don’t see a prospective client in terms of a sale or as a pound sign. You do that and most of the time it’s game over. You’re going to come across as desperate and trust me; they will see it a mile off. Will they want to do business with you? Not a chance!
As I said at the beginning, take the time to get to know the client. Show them you understand what they’re saying and what they need. Build the trust and mutual respect so they feel safe doing business with you.
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