Include Your Customers in Your Projects

When doing research for my book, Romancing the Sale, I invited readers to allow me to interview them in exchange for an advanced, free copy. The response was tremendous and enabled me to frame the book around the specific problems real people wanted to see addressed. 

 

Offline, I interviewed people at Starbucks, the mall, my hair salon, etc. for their feelings and opinions of how they wanted to be treated as customers.  The on camera interviews became part of a video promoting the book, and the off camera interviews became one of Romancing the Sale's chapters.

 

The most important thing I learned as I spoke with both the business people and the customers about building and maintaining customer relationships was that they had four basic needs: support, validation, appreciation and security.

 

Customer Relations is About Romance

 

Your prospects may or may not have an immediate need for your product, service or business opportunity.  But they are looking for something or they wouldn't have wound up on your site.

 

It comes right back to the fact that your prospect wants you to make them feel like their problem is the only thing in the world that matters to you. Not your sales quota, not your product, not your business opportunity, but THEM.

 

Customer Retention Happens When You Consistently Meet Those Four Needs:

 

Support: Give them information to help them move toward their goal. Put tools in their hands to solve the problem they are dealing with.  Do anything you can to make life easier for them.  This is what attraction marketing is all about.

 

Validation:  Let them know they are not alone in the problem they are facing.  Whether it's a skin rash or massive credit card debt, your client may feel a little embarrassed or even ashamed of their predicament.  Letting them know you understand and that you've helped other people with the exact same problem is extremely reassuring.

 

Appreciation: This is the fun part!  Celebrate your clients. Find ways to reward them, acknowledge them -things like remembering birthdays, letting them post photos of themselves, and having contests all make your clients feel appreciated.

 

Security:  When you steer a customer to a less expensive option, or to a competitor who has a particular product better suited to them, you build trust.  Being able to trust you allows your prospects to turn over some of their worries to you.  This builds security.  They know you are looking out for their best interest and that's not always easy to find nowadays. 

 

In the long run, sending them to another resource for a particular solution won't hurt your personal sales.  Why? Because even though the fit isn't there this time around, the fact that you base your recommendations on what will best serve them gives them a sense of security and they will be back.  

 

Romancing the Sale

 

Romancing the Sale takes you step by step through the process of romancing your customer from first meeting to building a mutually profitable relationship. Help your customers come to know you, like you and trust you.

 

It includes the ABCD Time Productivity Formula and outlines an effective autoresponder campaign.

 

But most importantly, it takes the stress out of this most important side of your business.  Building and maintaining customer relationships can and should be fun!  And it will be when you know how to do it in a way that takes away the fear of rejection.  All it takes is a little romance.

 

Let the romance begin!