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Client relationships start with honesty

Written by: Carol Adler

Article Overview: Selling your widget to a faceless public may deliver a (faceless) data base, but what if you want more than money from your business experience? More than money? Did you hear me correctly? After all, what is the purpose of doing business?

Client relationships start with honesty

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.

Related Articles
  Honesty Speaks Loudly in Many Languages
  Customer Relationships The Key to Sales Prosperity
  Effective Ways in Building Trust
  Outcomes to Seek When Building Workplace Relationships
  Building Your Client Relationships

Article Tags: bandwagon, business client, chicken soup, ching ching, ching ring, client relationships, competitive marketplace, fishbowl, infomercial, launch, marketing campaign, marketing strategies, precious asset, prospective client, sales campaign, seminar workshop, teleconference, thousands of dollars, tortoise, workshop retreat



Related Forum Posts
Re: How do you earn trust with an online business? - [quote="Kevin Lee":2wddn7w1]Hi Ros, When dealing with customers directly, sure honesty is the best policy. However, do you think you should actually make it a point to list the cons on your online business? Or will that deter too many customers/leads? For example, to earn trust, would it be better to post images of a paycheck for "$20" or "$50" for newbies? I mean most online marketing businesses will try to lure in conversions by posting pictures of successful people's monthly paychecks ("$10,000" earned in a month) and then have a tiny print stating "individual results will vary". To me, that's not really being "honest" and that's just selling hype.[/quote:2wddn7w1] Whether dealing with customers directly or on the internet, either way honesty is the best policy and if you are only telling half the story e.g. the up side of the business and then after joining the customer discovers the downside, not only have you lost them but you have hurt your reputation as well. If after hearing both sides they decide not to join, at least you still have your reputation intact. In fact you have probably strengthened it as you are proving your honesty and integrity. MichelleJ
Re: How do you earn trust with an online business? - Be as transparent as possible. Let people know who you really are. Don't hide behind your website. Make yourself known. This builds trust. And I agree, honesty is a must. While letting people know who you are certainly helps with credibility and establishing a relationship with others, honesty really goes a long way. When I write reviews for a product or program, I provide both the pros and cons. There's always going to be cons, so there's no point in sugarcoating something. You're just going to damage your reputation by making something sound better than it really is. No one likes a liar, and in the end, you're only lying to yourself. A blog really helps because you can be more personable and "talk" to your readers on a personal level. I have a picture of myself on my website and blog, and I provide contact information with my name, so people know who I am and know how to contact me.
Re: What would you be willing to do for a million dollars? - Forget a million dollars... I recall one of my marketing teachers telling me that everyone he knew in his MBA program had lost their relationships during the process. The time commitment required from a full-time job and studying for an MBA had put so much strain on those people's relationships/marriages that they just fell a part.
Re: Building an Advisory Board - Steps 5 & 6 - [quote="TheRainmaker":2iirlscv]6) Ask for Honesty. while honesty to me, should not be something you have to ask for, in some cases it pays to be really really clear about what honesty means to you and to the others in your group. you have to allow everyone to express their thoughts and ideas, openly and frankly. this is no time to take things you dont like personally. I like to ask my board members what their mistakes on a certain topic were. It helps me learn from them and not have to face it the hard way on my own. If you foster open communication and honest feedback, focussing on problem solving and resolutions (not defending the mistake etc.) you will get further ahead than you even dream possible. Remove the EGO's from the room if you can. And always remember, the board came together because they believe in you, your business and your integrity. Capitalize on it![/quote:2iirlscv] Hi Jude, How do you interpret "honesty"? By that I mean, let's say you ask your advisory board if they like or dislike your new product and someone says "yes, I like it". While that person maybe telling you the truth...how do you go about deciphering the true meaning behind the comments made in an orderly fashion? Saying "I like it" could mean multiple things like: a) That advisory board member personally likes the product and would buy it, and thinks your target market will love it too. b) That advisory board member personally dislikes the product and would not buy it, but thinks your target market will love it though. c) That advisory board member personally likes the product, but not enough to buy it, yet he/she thinks your target market will love it though. etc. There's no time to ask each advisory board member more probabing questions to get out the complete "truth". So what do you recommend?
Re: Defining ones self! - Welcome Howard! In all honesty, from the most successful entrepreneurs that I've met and profiled, most of them don't care about their titles - it's more about building a and a high quality team than it is worrying about what to call yourself. Just some food for thought.


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