“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated” – William James.

Are you looking for new leads or working on retaining current customers? Of course, you are. Customers are such an important part of any business that a big amount of time and money are spent on them. And don’t waste time and money when you get new customers, just to forget about them after they’ve bought your product or service. Keep them interested and loyal to you. Let’s learn how.

In order to generate more leads and, ultimately, convert them to more sales, you should build strong trust and loyalty, both of which are very important.

Build A Strong Company Culture

Let’s take a look at a natural leader, Genghis Khan, and see what we can learn from him. He advocated loyalty to the group first and foremost. This focus on his people’s well-being is what made them so strong as a clan. As it is in business, you should do the same. Focus on the people you work with first and they in turn will treat customers differently. In psychology, it’s called the trickledown effect.

But how do you do this? One way is to give appreciation where it is deserved. As people, one of our most important needs is to feel appreciated. Let an employee know he’s doing a good job. Encourage an atmosphere of positivity and growth instead of one of stagnation. Compliment someone based on their merit and you will have built a strong bond between you and them.

Empathize With Your Customers

Think about your customers first. Think about their needs and wants. In one of my sales jobs, I had attended a company meeting to discuss sales and strategies. One of the most important points I learned was about buyer archetypes.

Given the different variety of customers who walk in to your store, it is important to filter out who will be the most likely to buy and who won’t. The way to do this is to group customers by certain traits, and these traits would be our way of approaching them.

It’s easy to dismiss this when it’s widely taught, but it’s very important because this acts as a cheat sheet to know what the customer wants and their way of thinking. Letting the customer know that you understand them and their priorities is what builds a relationship with the customer. In turn, it builds loyalty and retention. Ultimately, this leads to sales conversion.

Related: Proven Ways to Utilize LinkedIn to Generate New Sales Leads

Don’t Hold Back The Truth

When you have to tell a customer something unfortunate, tell them. If you do, they will know you’re being honest with them, because who wants to be the bearer of bad news? If you don’t, you run the risk of them finding out later and that leaves a very bad impression.

Another point about telling people the whole truth is they will see you as someone who is looking out for them. Even if they don’t like what they hear, they will feel good knowing you’re not hiding anything from them. This ties back to feeling appreciated, mentioned above.

Always Go The Extra Mile

This applies to everything. Listen to the customer when you’re talking with them. Take down notes on each customer so the interaction becomes personalized. Ask for and say their name once or twice. Ask questions about the customer and try to teach them something new. Give them something of quality whether it is content or product. A good example is to give insight about your competitors or peers. You’ll be seen as an expert in your field and someone everybody can go to for advice.

These things add up, and even if the customer doesn’t know it, they’ll come to trust you. 

Relationships Are More Important Than The Sale

Remember, relationships come first and then the sale. Always build the bond between you and the customer. Do this by following up with them over the phone or email. Another way can be mentioning something that was previously brought up in conversation. Like I’ve mentioned before, all these details add up.

This does two things:

1. It allows the customer to feel important. The more important they feel, the higher they’ll hold you in similar regard.
2. It builds repetitiveness in their mind each time you connect with them. Repetition allows you to stay on their mind. The customer will likely remember you after you’ve chatted with them on an ongoing basis.

Do this at least two or three times. How do you know when you’ve built a trusted relationship? A good indicator is when they ask you for advice on their problems. But when you have this trust, be very careful not to break it.

When broken, it is extremely difficult to get back.

Conclusion

You must start from within and build a sense of community focused on loyalty and wellness. Then you can focus on your customers and getting to understand them. Next, you be honest with customers and never hide details from them. At the same time, you do what you can to go above and beyond! Lastly, follow up! Let them know you value the relationship between you and them more than the sale. Do this and you will see your customer base and sales increase!