Follow-Up – The Key to Trust in Business and Relationships | Buffini
If you want your business to stand the test of time, you have to build trust with your customers. Trust doesn’t magically happen overnight – it takes time and care. If you consistently make deposits in the trust account with your customers, you’ll enjoy the compounding effect and the bonds of your relationship will strengthen. But, if you break trust, the account will quickly deplete and the relationship could be damaged beyond repair.
Trust erosion
A study found that 24% of customers will continue to seek out a business for 2 years or more if they have a good experience. In contrast, if they have a bad experience, 39% will avoid that business for 2 years or more. When you make a promise to a client but you don’t keep it, you immediately break trust and empty the precious trust account. It’s very easy to create doubt in a customer’s mind over a seemingly small issue, but it often has a knock-on effect and the doubt grows. When trust is lost, it can be impossible to rebuild. Remember; if you want to be a profit-maker, you have to be a promise-keeper!
Become a trusted advisor
As a small business owner, building trust between you and your customers is non-negotiable. To become a trusted advisor to your clients, you must consistently show them that you respect and value them, you’re personally invested and you’ll always go the extra mile, not just during the transaction, but beforehand and afterwards too. Every small interaction you have will either increase or decrease the trust between you.
Follow up consistently
In today’s business environment, if you can follow up consistently, you’ll be a shining star in the marketplace. Statistics show that 48% of salespeople never follow up with a prospect -they speak to someone once and that’s it. Incredibly, however, 80% of all sales are made on the 5th to 12th contact! Reaching out and following up doesn’t have to be complicated; small gestures can mean a lot:
- Asking ‘Can I be of any help?’ demonstrates your willingness to assist.
- Saying ‘I want you to know how much I value our relationship’ shows you’re relational, not just transactional.
- Reminding people ‘Oh, by the way, I’m never too busy for any of your referrals’ is appropriate when you’ve consistently been of valued service.
Trust is the most critical factor to the success of relationships, in business and in life. To build it with your customers, you must demonstrate your character and competence, consistently show them that you care and then deliver rock-solid results. And above all, remember that the relationship doesn’t end when they sign on the dotted line – it’s only the beginning!
To learn more, listen to the latest episode of “It’s a Good Life.”
