Archive for February, 2009

• Quantum Builders LLC – The Power of having a great team in Investing http://aweber.com/b/1t.f7 #
• @davidbullock , Hey Dave, you good in reply to davidbullock #
• @TynishaThompson fast busy, no calls, you are having phone troubles good luck in reply to TynishaThompson #
• @TynishaThompson strange things with phones 2day. Mine accepts calls but doesn’t ring in reply to TynishaThompson #
• @colderICE that was the exact problem. sometimes smart gene takes a break. Or why doesn’t the damn phone just know to turn up the volume in reply to colderICE #
• If you need a team for philly real estate investing checkout this video http://tinyurl.com/am9abe #
• @colderICE I’ll send a few over, you can have them I’ve been growing them on my farm in reply to colderICE #
• @themediamogul still tweetdeck, using on my mac now in reply to themediamogul #
• RT @Szetela: RT @davesnyder: Hotel code for IM Spring Break, http://zi.ma/dabc13 , is “SEO” .. please retweet #
• RT @Taiwriter: just posted Dare to Be Brilliant – Drop the Excuses http://tinyurl.com/dmwtby #
• RT @colderICE: ICEism: “Adding Value” is one of those psychobable B.S. terms & means NOTHING…”Make a difference” to get repeat customers #
• @ron)hudson We on for this Thursday? Ican send call info #
• Trust Me…Your Customers Don’t Trust You..How to Build Trust in Your Business, thoughts from @colderice interview. http://ping.fm/IvjO9 #
• @Taiwriter Like bumping heads, thanks for the bm, looks like your doing good work in reply to Taiwriter #
• Build your business by giving people what they want Black Genius Network , Jennifer Dent The Money is in the giving http://bit.ly/hHeu8 #
• @colderince, nice job on new live show http://www.wednesday114.com/ http://bit.ly/WCZ9p #
• @SacredGlo Could not AGREE more, in reply to SacredGlo #
• RT @SacredGlo: THE CARTOON IN THE NY POST IS DOWN RIGHT UGLY! THE NY POST SHOULD APOLOGIZE TO ALL AMERICANS #
• RT @Szetela: RT @andybeal: We just posted: Google Analytics Integrates Telephone Leads and Live Chats http://snipurl.com/c512y #
• RT @TynishaThompson: do “how to attract leads” at 1pm EST 2/19 w @suzannefb. 1st time i’m revealing this content. http://is.gd/k7m0 #
• memorex #
• RT @Ron_Hudson: Mastering Influence Tip #11: It’s not about what you’re getting in life, it’s about who you are becoming. #
• @zhodgins, @lornefade, @Ron_Hudson thx for ther tweet love, look forward to an amazin interview with @ron_hidson #
• Reviewing a powerful interview with Monique Caradine, coming on Monday 2/23. http://www.blackgeniusnetwork.com #
• Reviewing a powerful interview with Monique Caradine, coming on Monday 2/23. http://ping.fm/yYc0x #
• RT @JuletteMillien: Be proactive. Decide 2take no offense 2day. Nothing 2 4give tomorrow. 4 2day, give EVERYONE benefit of doubt #
• @JuletteMillien I’m gonna live this today in reply to JuletteMillien #
• RT @MoniqueCaradine: GM! IChicago? Watch my show on My50 WPWR at 9a CST. We’re breaking down the Chris Brown/Rihanna- Violence fiasco. #

In todays world nobody trusts anything, right now banks don’t trust other banks and they damned sure don’t trust you.Democrats don’t trust Conservatives, Muslims don’t trust the US, basically distrust is running rampant in the world today making the peace process difficult and economic developement impossible.

There is little reason for your customers to’t trust you and frankly many business owners  haven’t done a great job of creating any reason for them to trust. After all, many of us treat customers like transactions, we take their money and let them leave with barely a thank you. No wonder they don’t trust us. (it’s like a one night stand, wham bam, ok I went to far)

In this post, I’m revealing some of the things I will be doing in my business to build “a reason to believe“. Now I’m under no illusions, I know it is going to take some work to create the “reason to believe” but in this tough times I need an edge and building trust is an additional edge. Here is what I plan to do.

1. Get testimonials and tell the whole story. This is an easy one to understand but more difficult to execute, I am going to literally ask every client to tell me honestly what they think about my services and as afraid as I am, I’m going to post the good, bad and ugly and here is why. We don’t do everything perfectly, so showing only the good doesn’t tell the whole story. I want my prospect to know the  the whole story,  good and bad and I hope that helps build “a reason to trust“. I am also going to fix the bad and see if I can get the same customer tl tell that story as well. You should too.
2. Guarantee – scares business owners. One of my clients is afraid to guarantee their services and thats a mistake. It’s a tough economy and my clients want to know that I stand behind what I do, so I am going to be working on an results based ironclad guarantee, no results no pay.
3. Show the Data and Demonstrate the Service. I’ve got the great numbers, I can prove my results, so I’m gonna show them. I;m going to demonstrate that I know what I’m doing and provide proff of the results.

Thats my start at showing proof and building trust. In my real estate business, we show proof of great rehabs on Youtube (as far as I know nobody does this) in my marketing consulting business we show results of conversions (actual leads generated) not click thru. Thats how I hope to create a “reason to believe“. What are you going to do in your business.

In todays world ALL of your customers are mystery shoppers. Here’s what I mean. I recently went to a new steak restaurant in my neightborhood. To set the stage, where I lve is not known for fine dining. Up until recently,great restaurants where typically family owned affairs but recently we’ve seen an influx of larger restaurants and some chains.

On Sunday, I decided to try a new restaurant named Flemings Steak House. I sat at the bar ( I was alone) and  ordered a shrimp appetizer, a filet and a salad as well as a single malt and a lager. As I was waiting  I was using my Iphone to write a review on http://www.Yelp.com and once the appetizer arrived I was well into the review.

The appetizer tasted good but it was slightly cold and kind of gooey but I ate it (it was spicy and I like spicy food) anyway. When I finished the bartender Jason, asked how I liked the dish and I mentioned that it was cold. I was getting ready to write my review when the restaurant manager came over and asked me how I liked the dish. Again I hemmed and hawed but told him the dish was cold. He immediately took the dish of the bill and offered a sincere apology. They went above and beyond normal service to ensure I was happy and turned a OK review into a great review (see my Yelp.com review of Flemings SteakHouse).

The point is in today’s world all of your customers MAY be mystery shoppers. They all can (and more often will) review your business online and expose your warts to the world. If you’ve got shitty products, the world could know, if you have great service the world will know. The question for you is “CAN YOU CONTROL THE PROCESS”. The answer is a resounding MAYBE, but doing something is better than doing nothing.

Discover what to do NOW, Discover HOW you can influence your customer reviews.