What’s in it for me? WIIFM. A common question posed several times daily whether in a business interaction or helping a neighbor out with yard work. As an individual, you may not notice you are asking yourself this question subconsciously but in business it is a prevalent question thrown out on the table. Clients, when looking to build on existing or new relationships, will always resort to this question. Ever thought about what it would be like to say ‘What’s in it for us?’ It would be music to your ears.
How can you get there? Trust. The status of every relationship, whether it is good or bad, is based on trust. Your significant other won’t make a commitment unless there is trust. Neither will your client. Uh-oh! Nervous you’ve made a bad impression lately or feeling like the trust isn’t mutual between you and your client? You’re in luck. Here are nine essential rules to building customer trust:
- Always be yourself
- Cherish the relationship
- Curiosity is key
- Be consistent and reliable
- Be truthful
- Keep an unbiased approach
- Listen to your customer and create real talk
- Keep it professional
- Be honest
Now that you have the rules it’s time to implement them! These are not a ‘one time, check off my list now I never need to do it again’ sort of thing. You need to consistently practice and follow through on these rules with every current and future client. Once the trust is mutual, the commitment will follow. Whether you are an ad agency pursuing advertisers or an advertiser pursuing consumers, the rules mentioned above still apply. Trust is a vital ingredient to your client stew. If you don’t have it, the end product tastes unpleasant.
At Mediaspace, we pride ourselves on the relationships and trust we have built and continue to build. What are some ways you build trust in your relationships? Let us know below.
‘Tell me something interesting about yourself’. Uh. Um. Nothing? You cannot count on one hand how many times you have been asked this question. It is one of the most popular ice breaker and interview questions out there. So popular you would think people have an immediate answer. That’s never the case. In fact, people struggle to find an answer to this common question.
Interesting people are the ones who are remembered, the ones who make stellar first impressions (sometimes good, sometimes bad), the ones who get the job offers and the ones who can build rapport with just about anyone. Interesting people are the black sheep of society. Shucks. Are you that boring person that never gets the amazing job offer? Take some advice from Jessica Hagy and join the interesting crowd:
- Get out and explore everything
- Convey to others what you discover
- Accomplish something. Be active
- Embrace that you are weird and unique
- Start caring and others will care about you
- Lay off the swagger. Expertise > Ego
- Try anything. They say the magic happens outside of your comfort zone
- March to your own beat
- Be brave. Grow a pair
- Quit being boring and worrying about consequences
This list is a great starting point but the most important thing to remember is to be yourself. When you are yourself, you are bound to find someone with a common interest. When building rapport, consider what you enjoy doing in your free time on the weekends or your favorite past time with friends. Though some outrageous memories may come to mind, you are still showing the other individual who you are and what makes you so interesting. Just remember not to tell someone you just met about all your past endeavors. Make sure you save something for the next conversation.
A number of individuals feel they are not interesting nor have unique qualities that differentiate them. That is bogus. Everyone has something unique about them. It is just a matter of discovering what it is that differentiates you from others.
For more on building rapport and the power of relationships, be sure to check out the ultimate super connector himself, Keith Ferrazzi, and learn from his crack team of relationship experts at myGreenlight.
Think you are an interesting individual? Prove it. Share something interesting about yourself in the comments section below.
While trying to gain new leads and build a business by acquiring new clients, companies can neglect clients they have or forget who pays the bills. During hard these economic times, companies are becoming more selective on who they partner with. As a recent example, SC Johnson ended their 50 year relationship with DraftFCB brought their business to Ogilvy & Mather and BBDO. Click hereto read more on the SC Johnson/DraftFCB break-up.
Building relationships is important; it should be more than just a simple business transaction. Customers are less likely to focus on price alone if they have a personal relationship with a company.
You can develop a relationship by doing the following:
At Mediaspace Solutions we maintain contact by scouring the newsletters and industry publications to send our clients articles or information they have an interest in. We consistently strive to provide our client’s regular added-value. For us this includes executive briefings, case studies and white papers.
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Use different mediums to contact them. With all the different methods available for communication, be sure to utilize them all. E-mail is a quick and dirty way to get in touch with someone. And a well-crafted e-mail can really make someone’s day. Unfortunately however people get bombarded by emails all the time. Send a handwritten note, pick-up the phone or engage them in a non-typical manner in order to strike up a conversation and make your interaction with them more memorable.
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Make your message personalized. Write out a personal thank you note, or get them a meaningful gift that ties into the business relationship. Be sure to listen to what your clients say regarding their business and personal life. This process helps develop rapport and makes your relationship more enjoyable.
Mediaspace has some great partnerships and relationships with our clients. Some of our clients and partners receive personalized MaxBats which include handwritten “Thank You” notes personally from our CEO Scott Jagodzinki.
Be prompt with inquires. Everyone likes it when they have questions answered immediately. It helps make their experience with the company more enjoyable. Look for ways to turn any potentially negative situations into a good one: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/20978/Responding-to-Leads-Within-an-Hour-Generates-7x-the-Conversations.aspx
Mediaspace has an acronym we follow in order to ensure we are constantly creating new partnerships and strengthening our relationships with our current clients.
RAD is:
Retention
Acquisition
Development
We focus on acquiring new clients, and once we have them, retention needs to be top-of-mind so we never lose a client based on performance. Development is our ability to expand our relationship with that client to increase the benefit they recognize by working with us. Mediaspace Solutions values its relationships and will continue to work to make them last.