Well would you? Do you want to push the wagon or pull it? Would you prefer to chase the puppy or have him run up to you? Do you prefer to have to call those who owe you money or have them just mail it to you? I think the answer to all of these is obvious.
I was thinking earlier about the way we have always chased our customers. As a third-generation entrepreneur I have been involved in one form of business or another from about the age of 5. Think about how the average business owner tries to get new clients.
They run specials and give away free stuff which actually ends up devaluing their product in the eyes of the consumer.
They will take anyone on as a client as long as they are breathing and can pay which means a lot of times they end up working with people they really don't want to. They get to the point where they dread the phone ringing because it might be them!
Their marketing consists of newspaper and phone book ads. And although these do have their place in marketing they are only a piece of the marketing pie.
So if there were a way for you to present your business so that your “ideal” clients were lining up to work with you wouldn't you be interested.
It might take a little bit of a mindset change on your part but there is definitely a better way.
Remember, push the wagon or pull it?
Here is the secret – it's all in the relationship! Do you want customers coming to you who are ready to buy or do you want to drag them to you kicking and screaming?
Build a relationship! It is important to understand that people buy from those they know, like, and trust! Think about it – aren't you more willing to buy from someone when you already know them, like them, and trust them.
How do you build that relationship? Well, I have a 7 step RESULTS program that I take my clients through but in a nutshell, it involves knowing exactly who your client is, understanding what it is that keeps them awake at night, showing them your uniqueness and that you are the “go-to” person to help them and then making sure your programs and products are exactly what they want and need to fix their problems.
There are things you can do in your business right now to start building a relationship with your potential ideal clients. From creating surveys to make sure you are speaking their language to having a Facebook Fan Page and Twitter presence and lots of things in between.
