The question "How do I get customers to choose me over the competition" is an age-old question.
From the time of Cleopatra to the present business owners and sales people all wonder the same thing.
Why is it that some people never have a lack of customers and others seem to struggle for every single one? Is there a magic spell or ritual that they use to "bewitch" customers? Were they just born with a special talent, or maybe they are just lucky.
Well, the answer is yes to all of the above.
But it's not what you think...
There are a set of skills and actions you can take to become "one of those people.
" Some people were lucky to learn them early on in life, while others weren't exposed to them until later.
The bottom line is by learning these skills and actions everyone can be one of the "lucky" ones and have customers come to them in droves.
The most important piece to the puzzle is you.
Are you trustworthy? Are you credible? Do you live up to your word? People choose to work with people they trust.
People who make them feel secure.
People they know they can count on if something goes wrong.
You may look great on paper, have all the experience and credentials, but if your customer doesn't get a warm fuzzy feeling from you, he or she will go elsewhere.
Remember, people claim they make decisions based on logic, when in reality they make decisions based on emotion and then justify them with logic.
How much time to you spend developing who you are as a person? Have you taken a good look at your level of self-confidence? Do you believe in yourself? Do you follow through on what you say? You can snow people for awhile, but deep down their gut will tell them you're a fake.
Take time to work on developing yourself.
Find out who you really are and who and where you want to be.
So many people are operating on autopilot.
They are doing what they think they should be doing or what someone else told them to do.
Unfortunately, many times it is not what they truly want to do.
The saddest part is that they are miserable and they have no idea why.
Take the time to get to know your true self and them progress from there.
Once you are true to yourself and you are doing what you like, your customers will have a higher comfort level with you and your business.
Make each and every customer feel special.
Remember little things about them and take care of them.
The more you engage with your customer and become a trusted resource the less likely they are to go elsewhere.
Just remember, you're not trying to become their best friend, just a very trusted resource.
This is much easier now with CRM programs and computer sales records.
You can keep track of things you learn about your customer on the computer so you don't have to keep everything in your head.
For example, a Happy Birthday message is almost always welcomed by customers, even if you haven't done business with them for awhile.
This will keep you on the top of their mind when a need for your products or services comes up again.
Finally, stay relevant.
Make sure your knowledge and skills are current with the market.
Invest in extra training or read trade magazines or books.
Schedule a few minutes every day to increase your knowledge base, it can be as little as 15 minutes.
Just do it! This is another attribute that your customer will appreciate and will put you ahead of the competition.