A pivotal part of business development and growth is building long lasting relationships. Not only does a well-built relationship keep you at the forefront of your prospect’s mind, but also provides a positive impression which will help create a long lasting relationship and a possible advocate for your company.
To help you build better relationships and aid an increase in your sales conversion rate, we’ve put together a list of 7 tips to keep in mind.
1. Building customer relationships with communication & conversation
In an active sales process, it’s important to be frequent and relevant with your communications. You should be proactively reaching out to your prospects with updates and recommendations, so that they don’t have to chase you and they don’t risk forgetting you!
It’s also tempting to talk all about your product or service, but it’s more useful to first explore the client’s situation and needs – it’s not about you or your solution!
2. Be honest & establish trust
Honesty is the best policy! Putting the prospect’s needs first, understand that what they want might not necessarily be what they need. Being upfront on what you think may add value and what will not may seem negative, but your honest willingness to help will mean the relationship will be stronger in the long term as a result.
3. Build relationships with customers through empathy
Take the time to get to know and understand your clients. Showing empathy towards their current challenges will go a long way. This information will be vital to your understanding of their motivation to buy from you, and will ensure you can serve them in the best possible way.
4. Always add value
If you are adding value, you will be remembered and even recommended. Sharing your expertise and acting as a guide will get you known as a trusted resource. One way to do this is by sharing relevant content that educates your client, even if it’s not directly about the current transaction but relates to their overall goals.
5. Reward loyalty to build relationships
Sometimes customers become repeat clients or even refer others to your business – it’s nice to show your appreciation in some way. This could be through a gift or a special offer, but whichever way you choose make sure you’re saying thank you as well as just contacting your clients when you are trying to make a sale. If customers feel appreciated, they will be much more likely to stay loyal and advocate for your business.
6. Keep in touch even after you’ve finished providing a service
It’s important to think long term during customer relationship building. The relationship doesn’t need to end just because a transaction is over – the conversation can keep going! One way to do this is by keeping track of important milestones – such as six months since your last communication or the anniversary of their close date. Then you can reach out with personal touches, reminding them of your expertise and keeping you top of mind.
7. Building relationships with customers through feedback
You need to show your customers that you are actively invested in giving them the best experience possible, and that you really care about the feedback they give you. When asking for feedback, make it easy for them to give it to you. You could include a link in your email signature directing to a short survey, or ask for feedback on social media. When customers see that you are making changes based on the feedback they provided, their respect for you will grow even more.
Building strong relationships is crucial, and requires giving your customers reasons to connect with you and your brand. Beyond tools like CRM, maintaining relationships requires a balance of improved customer satisfaction and mutually-beneficial partnerships. Talk to us about our sales prospecting today to see how we might be able to help you build more relationships with your wish-list clients.
