When it comes to earning the trust of your intended clients (so you can inspire them to buy), we all know it’s important not to be an over-eager seller.
But did you know being an over-eager helper can also cost you sales?
So how do you strike the right balance between helping and selling to maximize sales?
Recently, my ten-year-old daughter, CeCe, shared her frustration about something going on between a group of friends at school. Right away, I saw a potential solution.
“You know what you could try…”
The immediate blank look on her face told me I’d jumped in too soon to offer advice. What she wanted was for me first to show understanding.
We often make the same classic mistake when earning the trust of potential clients in hopes of inspiring them to do business with us.
Broadly speaking, we can divide the process of earning a prospect’s trust into two parts.
- Likability: Show you have their best interests in mind.
- Competency: Show you can bring their best interests about.
In marketing, we often focus too much on the second and overlook the first. To show our credibility, we offer advice, share testimonials, explain our solution, answer questions, and so on.
However, someone can think you are the most brilliant or capable person in the world and still not trust your intentions.
So how do we turn the perception of competence into a sense of trust? More to the point, how do you show that you are likable?
I can sum up the answer in one word: empathy.
My daughter wanted to know I understood her before she heard my advice.
Your marketing must demonstrate the same by “entering the conversation already going on in the customer’s mind,” to quote the late marketer and author, Robert Collier. Speak their language. Show that you understand their situation better than they do.
Here’s are a few other ways to establish likability with your content.
1) Fight a Common Enemy
One of my clients is in the body acceptance industry. We often create content that tears down diet culture, the ill effects of media, and supposed medicine on people’s perception of their bodies.
2) Express Common Values
We trust those with whom we share values. Don’t be afraid to share your beliefs about what is most essential and true to you.
3) Offer New Hope
Turn the conventional wisdom on its head. Show them theirs a different way. Be their Obi-Wan Kenobi.
4) Reframe Failure
Show why their failures are not due to a fundamental flaw in them but rather an obstacle they can overcome with a different perspective or approach.
5) Established Shared Meaning
This one can be a lot of fun. Show them you are like them—someone they would enjoy hanging out with. Infuse your marketing with shared experiences, interests, and values.
Notice I used “shared meaning” in this article. Many of the people I work with are parents, too. I talked about my daughter and shared a little about my interaction with her. This is the kind of detail that makes your content resonant, helping to establish trust.
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To sum this up, your prospects first want to know that you understand them and are like them before they place confidence in your competence.
How do you establish trust with your intended customers?