By Susan Friesen
Have you ever dealt with an overhyped salesperson that made you feel like they were a car salesman? I know I have.
They make you feel like the biggest thing they care about is not helping you, but about making their sales commission.
Our biggest goal as business owners who have an online presence is knowing how to build trust fast with prospects.
How can you convey that you are a trusted solution to solve their problems? Keep reading for solutions that will help you build trust fast with prospects online.
1) Encourage Reviews and Testimonials: When I go to buy something from a new vendor, I love Googling "Reviews from VENDOR" online.
It's great to hear honest words from people who have tried their products and services as to the results they have achieved.
Ask your happy clients and customers to share reviews on Yelp, Amazon, or your Facebook page. You want to make it easy for prospective customers to see that your offerings work and deliver results.
And don't forget your website should also display testimonials throughout depicting how beneficial your products or services were for them.
2) Show How You Solve Problems: One of the biggest selling points is showing how your competitors or others have tried to deliver results and failed and how you succeeded in helping those people get positive results.
If you can show that you hung in there, listened to their issues and resolved the problems that were plaguing them with competitive solutions, it goes a long way to show you are a trusted source.
3) Demonstrate Consistency: If you can show how you consistently get results, it builds trust.
Show how you have achieved customer satisfaction rewards year after year. Let them see you have achieved consistent 5-star ratings on Amazon.
Add a direct link to your Yelp profile where customers consistently sing your praises.
4) Deliver Outstanding Customer Service: If the media, or awards or customer reviews show that you are a top provider, then maintain that top-level service.
When you do what you promise and go the extra mile, customers are happy to come back for continued service and talk about you to their friends and colleagues.
Be someone worth of referrals.
5) Prove Yourself to be a Giver and not a Taker. Give major value in your blog articles, social media posts (especially videos) and when meeting new people at events.
Show how you are helping your community. Offer freebies that solve problems for your audience.
6) Share Real Life Customer Success Stories. If you made a major impact in a customer's life, share it with your audience.
Show what situation they were in before, what actions you recommended they take, and the results they achieved afterward.
There's nothing as powerful as real-life results that help people believe you are the answer they have been searching for.
7) Showcase Outside Validation. Has the media interviewed you? Have you received an award? Have you gotten an incredible customer review? The more you can show how others find you a valuable, proven solution in your industry the better.
Seek and feature these accreditations to build credibility. Share posts on your social media. Write blog posts showing your honours. Highlight great customer reviews.
Trust is the biggest key to building sales online. Incorporate these tips into your business marketing strategy and they will help you create and highlight the credibility factors for your business.
Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.
If you are new to Social Media and online marketing or find it overwhelming and confusing, my monthly group coaching program, AMPLIFY! Business Academy http://amplifybusinessacademy.com/ is a perfect way for you to incrementally learn the best strategies and tactics to help you grow your business online.