We all struggle with who we should Trust vs. those who aren't worth the Risk.
We all buy from the brands that we trust, and people buy from those they know, like and trust. That gives us our first hurdle... how do you get people to know who you are? Of course you have contacts and current customer, but how do you get in front of that new long-term customer?
One step beyond that we find the question, "how do I get my current customers, vendors and friends to start thinking of me when they are in a conversation with someone who could use what I do?" Friends buy from friends who refer. There is a patter to relationships which cannot be rushed. People who are more familiar with you (on a consistent conversational basis) are always going to have your stories come to mind when they're talking with other friends.
Here is one key: quit shortlisting a relationship toward business, and get to know someone.
- Trust is what draws prospects to you
- Risk is what pulls prospects away from you
A good starting point is to ask some of your Raving Fans for a positive review:
Recommendations to your business or personal brand can come in many forms:
- A Letter of Recommendation
- A Review on a Search Engine (Google, Yelp, Yahoo, etc.)
- With any review, start with getting a few "five star reviews" can help offset a crazy unsatisfyable bad experience.
- It's easier to compensate for a 2-3 star review when you have a few 5 stars first
- Go to business.google.com, facebook.com, yelp.com; look up your business.
- Make sure your information shows up (which is a bigger deal than getting a review).
- With any review, start with getting a few "five star reviews" can help offset a crazy unsatisfyable bad experience.
- An endorsements on Social Media (like LinkedIn)
- Positive posts (like tweets) should be marked as "favorite" (click the star)... it helps them show up to visitors.
Or... get some software to organze your approach.
Intentional people are often more trustworthy (and less of a risk).