Building
a Strong Business Relationship
by J.Conners
When it comes to business and sales, building
a strong relationship is critical. The stronger your relationship
is with your customer, the more likely they will be to refer you
business.
Every day, make an attempt to build on the relationships
you have with your customer. Don’t just say hi as they walk
in and goodbye as they leave.
The last thing you want to do is make your customer
feel like a statistic.
Let them know that their business with you is
appreciated. Talk to them, strike up a non-business conversation
with them. It could involve just about anything, such as the weather,
sports, a movie, pets, etc.
Non-business conversation puts your customer at
ease and gets them talking. The more they talk to you, the more
they will open up to you, opening the door for more sales opportunities.
Or, you can keep it simple. For starters, get
to know you customers by name, than address them by name. Say things
such as, “how’s it going today?” Or “how
was your weekend?” Or “is there anything I can help
you with today?” Make your presence known and felt.
Your customer wants to be appreciated, so take
a few minutes of your time to show them that you care about them
as a customer.
Another way to strengthen your relationship with
your customer is to keep a Rolodex handy with a list of all of your
customers birthday’s, anniversaries, and special events. Keep
your eyes and ears open for when customers talk about up coming
events in their lives. Such as children’s birthdays and graduations.
When the appropriate date approaches, send your
customer a card, wether it is a holiday card, a birthday card, a
graduation card, or a congratulatory card. Just send it.
Your customers will appreciate the fact that you
remembered them on their special day. This will only strengthen
the relationship you already have with them.
There are many reasons to build a strong relationship
with your customer, but two of the reasons remain to be key.
One main reason is that
customers value and appreciate good customer service. They
want the piece of mind of knowing that if something ever happened
with their product or service, that they would have you to turn
to as their go to person.
This is extremely important because your customer
will have this in mind when your competition moves in to take them
away.
And believe me, your competition will try to take
them away. As long as you provide excellent customer service, your
customer will stick with you.
There is no substitute for excellent customer
service.
Customer service is the most important thing to
a customer, even more important than fees’.
The second reason building
relationships are so important is because of the referral process.
A customer that is treated with respect and provided
excellent customer service will most assuredly refer their family
and friends to you. Why wouldn’t they?
Your most important asset is your customer, so
build and strengthen the foundations you have with them. Buy building
strong relationships, you will be building your sales. Good luck.
This
article may be reproduced by anyone at any time, as long as the
authors name and reference links are kept in tact and active.
|