“Promises promises”
We’ve all said that in a doubtful voice right? Or remember the voices of our parents when we were young – fibbing about little things we were avoiding doing?
We’re all a bit cynical. Even the most positive of people has a built in guard to avoid being hurt or let down. It’s a primal instinct.
Since time began, we’ve traded on the core principles of promise. An exchange, a transaction, which only takes place if we know the person in front of us can be trusted with their side of the deal. They’ve made a promise, they need to keep to it, or we will be very hesitant to deal with them again.
In primitive times this might have been an exchange of labour for food or lodgings. As time has passed, trades have evolved to become more elaborate, products and services more sophisticated, the chain of events and reliance on others longer. We’ve seen the introduction of wages and insurances and all of the other adjuncts to modern business… but the principles of trust remain.
We are all familiar with the journey of ‘meet, know, like, trust’ before a sale can be secured.
In the current climate, despite recent advances in online technology, it’s difficult to ‘meet’ and get to know & like people remotely. We usually use all our senses to get to know someone. We like to see the whites of someone’s eyes to truly engage, seek reassurance and feel trust, and a physical handshake to cement an agreement is hard to replicate online. For an adult businessperson, the handshake is the equivalent of the child’s ‘pinkie promise’. We therefore need to be crystal clear on our offering and prove that we won’t break our promise.
Now more than ever people are seeking reassurance. Your ideal client needs to know you’ll be around to deliver your goods or services – and in a safe way! They need to know your business is stable, reliable and not going anywhere. That you’ll be there to support their journey, especially now their journey might have changed. What are their new needs? How can you help them get results?
With great change there will always be opportunity, new competition moving into your space, and other businesses fading away. However you move with the changes, whatever your new normal is, the key to your longevity now more than ever is TRUST.
Demonstrating your reliability and value is vital. I’ve blogged previously about ‘standing out from the crowd’ and the principles of consistency, visibility, personality and value. In these fluid times, it’s imperative to get some discipline and deliver trust. Keep your promises. Deliver on time, every time. Turn up and follow up when and where you say you will, because the truth is – and herein lies the opportunity – that most of your competition won’t bother!
If you’d like some support on your sales activity, as an individual or helping your team, reviewing your processes or improving your pipeline – get in touch. I am currently supporting business owners in their recovery planning in both a 1 to 1 and group format.
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