Very few folks these days are formal in their thinking or their lives. Most of us just aren't comfortable in that kind of setting.
Answer this question: Which would you prefer . . . a night out with your spouse at a coat, tie and heels high society banquet and symphony, or . . . a laid 
back evening with your spouse and your best friends - maybe a steak barbecue in the back yard and later a new release on the big screen?
It's no secret: our society appreciates comfort, relaxation, companionship of close friends, and enjoying one another's daily lives. The vast majority of us prefer jeans to tuxedos and tee shirts to suits and ties.
In a formal situation, most of us feel like fish out of water. We can't wait to kick back in our own element.
We dread the thought of taking time to get dressed up, fight the traffic and parking hassles to make our way downtown, and then only to be placed in the awkward setting of having to meet total strangers and sit through events that we wouldn't choose to attend (normally) on our own.
Let's get back to story-telling now. The very best way to engage and interest your customers, in this friend-to-friend business-to-customer relationship, is to talk to them as if you were talking to a trusted friend on your front porch swing.
How do we talk to our close friends? We tell each other stories, don't we?
We tell each other about things we both like to share, crazy things that happened to us today, the weird behavior of someone we both know, the great purchase we made at a clearance sale, the idiot that nearly caused a wreck last night, or how junior made the winning hit at the Little League game this week.
We like to share gossip, fun places we've been, stories about people, and our pets, our favorite sports teams, the boss we hate so much, and our favorite TV show.
Engage your customers in stories - just like you would your best friend. Don't just list for them the features of your service or the top ten reasons they should consider joining your yodeling membership web site.
Tell your customers how your product has helped you and how it will help them. Tell them stories and share real-life examples about your niche subject (your passion) and how your business will help them personally just like it helped you.
Draw your customers (friends) into a personal and trusted relationship. You will sell your clients on your sincerity, your willingness to be a friend, and there will be no competitor that will be able to tell the same story.
Here is a HUGE and important business secret: You will soon learn to sell by simply recommending a solution you have found and tried (that worked for you) and that you think would be helpful for your customer as well.
Don't give your customers the traditional hard sell . . . just treat them like a friend and suggest what you have already learned.
There is great power in the business owner that learns to deal with his customers as trusted friends rather than arms-length prospects for his services or products.
Remember that trusted friends communicate by telling each other stories.
 |
Post#150 |
.jpg)
