Client relationships start with honesty
Client relationships start with honesty
How dare I say that? Doesn’t everyone know that an aggressive, strategically targeted marketing campaign is the speediest way to get exponential sales?
Call me a tortoise.
Maybe, yes… for your first millions. You might hear the ching-ching-a-ching ring faster into your bank account from that state of the art infomercial aired at the Super Bowl, but at the end of the day, your customers are still a data base of statistics to be used for that next sales campaign.
So what’s wrong with a powerful database of returning customers?
Nothing… it’s great, as long as you keep feeding them more targeted products and services (more variations on the same Chicken Soup theme).Isn’t that the way you’re supposed to grow your business?
Yes, and no.
In a highly competitive marketplace with everyone jumping on everyone else’s bandwagon and paying thousands of dollars for the latest how-to ebook/seminar/workshop/retreat, suddenly you may start to realize that the water in the fishbowl is getting cloudy; the air is starting to smell stale around these used, over-used and often abused marketing strategies.
One of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received came the other day during a teleconference with a prospective client. We were reviewing costs for a publishing and marketing package I’d put together for them to review.
At a break in the conversation, the author exclaimed, “I’ll tell you what I like most about you, Carol. You’re honest. I discussed everything you said to me the other day with my husband and then we spent a long time browsing on your websites. We both agreed that you not only know your business well; you also love what you do and you’re absolutely honest and up front with us about what you can and can’t do for me.”
Wow! Did I deserve all that praise? Well… yes, I did, I told myself. I hadn’t quoted sales projections to this author; I hadn’t told her I could pull rabbits out of hats. I did tell her I loved her book because I did. I also told her it was the best book on that subject that I’d come across in a long time.
Based on those two factors, I said she had a chance to get some good sales for her book and build a loyal readership. She had a chance, an opportunity. By that time in my conversation she knew I meant she could create her own reality of top sales and a loyal, personable customer base by seizing that opportunity I had outlined for her and transforming it into her success story.
That statement was all this author needed to hear. She was ready to dig in.
She also realized that although my company may charge more than one of the many online “fast food self-publishers” for our services, we not only deliver a carefully customized package that surrounds the product with sensible, economic ways; we also work personally with each client to give them our knowledge, experience and support whenever possible. And if we can’t do it ourselves, we contact someone who can.
We build a solid foundation for each of our clients and then offer them a diverse marketing and promotion menu. Based on their budgets, time constraints and goals, our clients know we’re introducing them to the latest production and delivery trends from which they can choose their own add-ons.
Be honest, first with yourself and then with your clients. The intangible rewards will probably far outweigh the tangible ones… and you may still end up owning six houses and a stable of horses, if those are your goals.
My online publishing business is growing almost faster than I can keep up with it; I just finished developing a new hard copy/ebook/marketing package for prospective clients, and I’m discovering I don’t need any sales hype to convince people it will work. Why? Because they know I’m up front about telling them I only give them the kit; they have to construct it themselves.
Client relationships start with honesty - To learn more about this author, visit Carol Adler's Website.
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For any business, client relationships are its most precious asset. They are surely more precious than the revenues you’ll receive from the current product you’re marketing through an infomercial or some other pricey market launch.
How dare I say that? Doesn’t everyone know that an aggressive, strategically targeted marketing campaign is the speediest way to get exponential sales?
Call me a tortoise.
Maybe, yes… for your first millions. You might hear the ching-ching-a-ching ring faster into your bank account from that state of the art infomercial aired at the Super Bowl, but at the end of the day, your customers are still a data base of statistics to be used for that next sales campaign.
So what’s wrong with a powerful database of returning customers?
Nothing… it’s great, as long as you keep feeding them more targeted products and services (more variations on the same Chicken Soup theme).Isn’t that the way you’re supposed to grow your business?
Yes, and no.
In a highly competitive marketplace with everyone jumping on everyone else’s bandwagon and paying thousands of dollars for the latest how-to ebook/seminar/workshop/retreat, suddenly you may start to realize that the water in the fishbowl is getting cloudy; the air is starting to smell stale around these used, over-used and often abused marketing strategies.
One of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received came the other day during a teleconference with a prospective client. We were reviewing costs for a publishing and marketing package I’d put together for them to review.
At a break in the conversation, the author exclaimed, “I’ll tell you what I like most about you, Carol. You’re honest. I discussed everything you said to me the other day with my husband and then we spent a long time browsing on your websites. We both agreed that you not only know your business well; you also love what you do and you’re absolutely honest and up front with us about what you can and can’t do for me.”
Wow! Did I deserve all that praise? Well… yes, I did, I told myself. I hadn’t quoted sales projections to this author; I hadn’t told her I could pull rabbits out of hats. I did tell her I loved her book because I did. I also told her it was the best book on that subject that I’d come across in a long time.
Based on those two factors, I said she had a chance to get some good sales for her book and build a loyal readership. She had a chance, an opportunity. By that time in my conversation she knew I meant she could create her own reality of top sales and a loyal, personable customer base by seizing that opportunity I had outlined for her and transforming it into her success story.
That statement was all this author needed to hear. She was ready to dig in.
She also realized that although my company may charge more than one of the many online “fast food self-publishers” for our services, we not only deliver a carefully customized package that surrounds the product with sensible, economic ways; we also work personally with each client to give them our knowledge, experience and support whenever possible. And if we can’t do it ourselves, we contact someone who can.
We build a solid foundation for each of our clients and then offer them a diverse marketing and promotion menu. Based on their budgets, time constraints and goals, our clients know we’re introducing them to the latest production and delivery trends from which they can choose their own add-ons.
Be honest, first with yourself and then with your clients. The intangible rewards will probably far outweigh the tangible ones… and you may still end up owning six houses and a stable of horses, if those are your goals.
My online publishing business is growing almost faster than I can keep up with it; I just finished developing a new hard copy/ebook/marketing package for prospective clients, and I’m discovering I don’t need any sales hype to convince people it will work. Why? Because they know I’m up front about telling them I only give them the kit; they have to construct it themselves.
Client relationships start with honesty - To learn more about this author, visit Carol Adler's Website.
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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