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How to create Long Term Business Relationships?:

Customers are good for business, because without customers there would be no business. Life long customers are especially good for business. Which would cause you to sleep better at night, a one time sale when you have to continue to promote discounts or develop a relationship so that your clients trust you for themselves and their friends? If you understand the benefits of the cumulative value of every customer, you would want to build a relationship for life.

Let’s define the cumulative value of a customer. It is the total amount of business that the customer gives to you over the life of your relationship. This translates into the longer the relationship, the more value. So of course, it’s in your best interest to hold onto every customer for as long as possible. This can also include additional benefits such as the referrals, and the customer’s willingness to promote you without compensation.

In order for you to begin developing this relationship and create this lasting income resource, you have to give your customers a reason to return, and always make it easy. This means from the very first introduction, you lead your customers to the next level in the relationship. Imagine keeping the customers coming back. How do you think your business would look in just a short amount of time. It certainly would cause you to do something different other than putting their name in a file and out of mind. Here’s a rule, if you forget about them, they will forget about you.

So what are the first steps to begin developing your massive business based on long term relationships and how do you determine the value?

Here is a starting point:
Gather as much information as possible, answer these questions
Who are they
What are their needs
When will they require the need to be fulfilled
Why are they interested in what you have to offer
Where will they apply your product or service
Focusing on the customer builds trust
Keep in Touch with your customers
Keep your customers informed of things they can take advantage of
Develop an image of being the authority in your area of expertise
Develop your relationship, but don’t base it on sales, base it on trust.

Make it easy and convenient to deal with you.

Pretty fundamental, however the challenge is that knowing what to do and actually doing it are two very different things. What makes it such a challenge? These techniques take time, effort, organization, creativity, and a host of other things that TAKE YOU AWAY from your actual selling time. Most of us are working on income producing activity and don’t do what needs to be done to develop relationships.

Get a System:
Sure, building a customer relationship looks easy on paper, but it takes a commitment on your part. Commitments are supported by developing a system, a way to remain accountable. It is the little things that mean a lot. There may not be a direct correlation between taking the time to call a customer to wish them a happy birthday and your weekly sales numbers, but the intangible effect is there. Retaining a customer takes a small fraction of the cost of obtaining a new customer. If you make the effort and pay attention, you will find that your current customers are also your best leads. Having a system and strategy will empower you to build a strong relationship.

Reconsider Your Clients
Consider everyone as a lead. Sort through those old business cards, filing cabinets, and gather names from every source you can think of. Categorize them, group them, and start to reconnect with them.

Differentiate Yourself from Others
You can still send email, an occasional card or letter, and even call them. With all the email spam, junk mail, unsolicited phone calls and other interruptions in your customers lives, you can be different. More importantly, in the mind of your customer, your correspondence will be placed into a totally different category. To the degree that people Know, Like, and Trust you they will buy and refer business to you. You must think long-term and you can’t build a strong foundation on the desire for the quick sale.

Think Long-Term
It is common to hear things like it’s a buyers market or sellers market. Really, it is just a market that either a buyer or seller can take advantage of. Too often professionals consider what they have everyone should buy. Really this is a quick sale and isn’t long term. Educating your clients and prospects that what you have may fill a need they have creates more trust and confidence. This also leads to less stress on your part, because you are communicating with power to an audience who is interested in what you have to offer. Considering long term effects makes you and authority and people are willing to listen.

The Relationship Has Only Just Begun
Big marketing firms use it, why shouldn’t you? Marketing is a formula of Range and Frequency, the more impressions you receive, the more likely you will think of them when you are ready to buy. Their formula is based on not having as strong of a qualifying audience. Your audience has engaged you and given you permission to communicate, so therefore your relationship is better. So the only thing you have to work on is frequency. If you’ve ever heard the term Top of Mind Awareness (TOMA), you probably understand why it is so important to make sure your customers remember you. Later we will discuss TOMA and give you some clues into how it can work for you.

If you need help managing all those prospects and keeping in touch with them on a regular basis, talk with us! Keep-in Touch is the most versatile and easy-to-use customer contact and follow-up system on the market, and it’s virtually hands free. Just put in the data and Keep-in Touch does the rest. Spend only a few minutes each month to build strong relationships based on trust with past, current, and future customers.