In a recent coaching session with a client, I noticed that the client was concerned and worried about how she was going to generate sales by first wining the trust of prospects buying from her company.
This may have happened to you too- You know that you have a great product or services and you are absolutely confident that it will serve your customer’s best interest, but you are worried about the doubts and questions prospects are having towards your company. Questions like, “Can I trust this person or this company?” “Can I believe what this company is saying about their products/services?” “Is he telling me the whole truth about what the company does?”
These and many other questions are in your prospect’s mind and if not addressed properly, it can cause fears that can stand in the way of a successful sales to your company.
The fears should anticipated and solutions to them prepared.
They should be quieted before they become a problem and kill an otherwise good sales.
Here is what I recommend and teach my clients in this regards.
Use third party endorsement or testimonial to quite these fears. Many times a person will believe what a total stranger will say about you, your product, services or company.
There are several types of endorsement of testimonials:
First: The third party introduction by telephone call or written letter, note, or business card.
Second: A photograph of you with your customer and the product or service showing his acceptance and happiness.
Third: A recorded audio message on a cassette tape or mp3 file that you can place on your website.
Fourth: A Letter of testimonial written on the customer’s letterhead. Last year,
I had my local Chamber of Trade, the Bournemouth Chamber of Trade and Commerce, Southwest England, sponsored me to host a business growth seminar. I prepared very well, gave it my best shot, and eventually wowed my guests. Luckily, the Chairman of the Chamber participated in the seminar. He was blown away with my content and performance. A week afterwards, I emailed him requesting for a letter of testimonial written on their letterhead paper, and he did without excitation. Three months afterwards, I secured anther well paid speaking gig using that testimonial to promote my expertise and establish my credibility.
Ask your customer to answer the four following questions in writing and you will have a letter of testimony that is powerful, persuasive and will get the job done for you:
I. Why did you do business with me, or my firm, or with my product or service?
II. Specifically, what benefits did you gain? Or how did I help you? Or what did we do for you?
III. Would you recommend me or my company or my product to other individuals or company? May I have anyone call you to verify the truth of this letter? From my experience and working with clients, I can testify that very few people ever call.