Let me ask you a quick question!
How likely are you to marry the person you are standing next to in the queue at Costa JUST because they have told you they are single and looking to get married??
I am sure most of you are scoffing or pulling a face right now as if to say “That is bonkers! Of course, I wouldn’t marry a total stranger from Costa”
…and you would be right! The chances of that blossoming into an amazing relationship are pretty slim….not impossible (!!) but slim!
So why then, when we set up our new businesses or launch a new product or service, do we assume that just because we are now ‘available’ and have handed out a few flyers or done a Facebook post announcing it, that we should have customers banging on our doors, filling our diaries and placing huge orders…. and if we don’t have an inbox full of customer enquiries we have failed?
Think about things from your ideal customers point of view. You may know you are trustworthy and capable and friendly, but with no experience of you or your business, how do they know they can trust you or that they even need your service?
THIS is why building relationships is so important.
By establishing and nurturing relationships with people you meet, you will start to build your reputation, you are building trust and it works both ways. Not everyone is our ideal client and by spending time investing in initiating relationships, you can sift the people you meet into potential customers and people who can lead you to potential customers. EVERYONE falls into one of these two brackets!
So how do you do this without being too ‘salesy’
First things first!! You MUST identify your ideal or ‘Golden’ client and then find a way to get yourself in front of them (In this blog we are thinking about face-to-face interactions, we will talk all about the online world in a future blog!) For example, your business makes the most amazing burgers. Booking a stall at a Vegan market is going to garner you zero business and you may well upset a few people. However, booking yourself at the ‘BBQ Fan Club Summer Picnic’ is likely to be a much warmer reception!
Find out where your ideal customer is…and be there too!
If you are in the company of people who are likely to ‘buy’ from you at some point, chances are they will be interested in what you have to say about your product or service and they will want to hear anything you have to say!
Then what….
Interact with them like people not potential clients!!! By getting to know people on a personal level, that will have them tuned in and engaged on what you have to say to them, whether that is there and then, in a month or in a year. Keep in touch with them, check in every so often, add them to your on line social networks and continue with the connection there and before you know it, they will be wanting to buy from you (or recommend you to someone else) whether you have given them ‘the pitch’ or not.
Building business relationships is just as important as building personal ones…and many would say they are one in the same. You may have heard the phrase ‘People buy People’ and this has never been truer and by actively finding new contacts and adding to your network, your business will grow stronger, healthier and more profitable.
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