One of the necessary evils of running a clientele-based business is the client’s initial mistrust of you. No matter how upstanding your business and your policies may be, the fundamental nature of your relationship to the client will initially be based on getting them to part with their finances; naturally, this means that they’ll most likely have their guard up when you first meet them.
Focus on Your Top Line, Not Your Bottom Line
You’re interested in making money, and your client already knows that from the get-go. Don’t act as though your client isn’t aware of the fact you aren’t doing what you do for free. Pressuring your clients into making a purchase as quickly as possible is a very good way to scare them off, and even if they do choose to spend money after all, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll be back again.
Your mission should be to dispel any assumption they may have that your interest in them is of the predatory kind. You need to put them at ease, empathize with them, and foster a relationship that’s based on rapport and not just out of necessity. Just subconsciously making a point to approach a client as a welcome guest, and not a talking wallet, will have a subtle effect on the way you interact with them and make it easier for trust to emerge.
Advanced Customer Relationship Management Solutions
Cloud-based technology can streamline the fluidity of communication between you and your customers even further. In addition to the conventional techniques for building rapport, invest some time into exploring innovative customer relationship management solutions. Automated platforms from places like Solutionreach remind your clients of appointments, collect data from client reviews, and offer a host of other CRM services.
The Double-sided Mirror Technique
You must always emit the same kind of energy that you want your clients to feel when they interact with you. People are emotional creatures, and the way that money comes and goes is directly tied to that. Your client’s state of mind has a direct impact on their internal forecast for doing business with you, and it’s your job to make that forecast as sunny as possible.
The answer isn’t to tell lies or over-promise, but simply to build an emotional foundation that’s conducive to your client’s optimism. Begin by simply thinking positive thoughts, and repeat them in your head until they’re second nature.
Find small things to be grateful for, imagine your own smiling face, and your facial muscles will follow suit. Your clients will be able to receive a higher rate of activation energy from your positive aura, which will make them far more eager to say “yes” on impulse.
In addition to encouraging your client to mirror your positive energy, you can take it a step further my finding subtle ways to mirror your client as well. Take note of their body language and speech patterns. Simply by injecting subtle snippets of their personal mannerisms into your own, they’ll feel much more comfortable when interacting with you and develop a personal attachment to your business; this is how first-time customers become repeat customers.
