Have You Given Value Today?

The economy is built on sales and this is true regardless if you are in the service sector, manufacturing, retail, education or training. We are continually inundated with sales pitches from every possible media. The level of competition for business is staggering. However, at the end of the day, people still want to buy from the people they know and trust. So, this begs the question: How do I initiate a relationship with the customer I do not know? The answer is really quite simple. You must give before you receive and you must create worth for your prospective customers before they will buy from you.

You craft the potential for influence with your customers when you look to do what they value first. You may not think it is noticed, but people do pay attention when you do small things for them and, when this occurs, you gain a small bit of influence. People need and want information but their time to find this information on their own is often limited. Offer them what they are looking for first and gain their confidence before you offer them a product or service. Is one or more of your customers hurting in some way and can you assist? To paraphrase a line from Field of Dreams: ease their pain.

Jeffrey Gitomer (www.gitomer.com) encourages his readers to do four things:

1. Serve your customers beyond their expectations.

2. Help your customers beyond their expectations.

3. Look to increase your present wallet share (sales volume) with existing customers.

4. Work you butt off.

Gitomer argues that if you do the four things above and do them well only then will referrals begin coming your way because you have earned them.

Note: Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Little Red Book of Selling and eight other business books on sales, customer loyalty, and personal development.