Relationship Marketing Works!Relationship marketing is the new buzzword and that’s just what I’ve been talking about the past several years. It’s all about opening relationships with your clients rather than closing the sale. “If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right”. Jerry Seinfeld tells George Costanza during the eighty sixth episode of Seinfeld. Doing the opposite is the general theme of The Contrarian Effect by Michael Port and Elizabeth Marshall. I enjoyed reading this book because it is an affirmation that everything I have been doing and teaching is on the right path. This book tells us that the old sales techniques of door-to-door and used-car salesmen are passé. In today’s market the client has control over what he is exposed to. Your potential client can simply delete your emails without reading it or worse, they can send it to spam. She can check Caller I.D. to screen your calls and delete your phone message without returning it. He can put your carefully crafted direct mail pieces in the circular file. At the click of a button, your potential client can easily research your competition. What’s the answer? It’s really quite simple. To attract clients, you must remain relevant and create relationships. People like to buy from those they know, like and trust. The best way to increase your trustworthiness and likeability factor is to show that you understand the challenges and concerns of your clients. Use any or all of these three techniques to create relationships with potential clients by providing value upfront: 1. Keep in touch with an ezine. An ezine is an easy way to regularly keep in touch with your current and future clients. Be sure to provide relevant information that your clients can use in addition to any offers you make. The customer will buy on their own timetable and it takes up to ten contacts before that happens. 2. Blog. Be sure to keep it relevant and up to date. I use mine as a place to post my ezine articles which enables prospects to read them before they decide to subscribe to my ezine or work with me. It helps them to get to know me and get a ‘feel’ for my style. 3. Workshops or Teleclasses. Many people offer a free session to prospects. Instead, think of offering a free workshop or teleclass to several people at one time. They will quickly get to know, like and trust you. These are easy ways to establish yourself as the resource to turn to for answers. By taking the opposite approach to the hard sales practices of the past, you will be seen as the expert in your field. As a result, your phone will be ringing off the hook! Relationship marketing is that powerful!
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