Every once in a while, life hands you a lesson about something you teach your clients every day...

Over the past few weeks, I had been cataloging all my training audios and webinars, thinking about how I can add more value to these products for you.  One thought has been to have them transcribed, so not only will you have the audio or webinar available in audio/video form, but also as text.  I've been keeping a look out for someone who I can trust and rely to transcribe them for me.

A funny thing happened last week when I noticed a post on Facebook, where a friend mentioned that he recently had an interview transcribed by a contact of his.  Bingo – I’ve found someone to contact in relation to transcribing these into the written word.  It was a recommendation from someone who I not only respect, but trust.

It also made me think about this; How do we make purchases?  Now, I know there is a complete theory around the buyers’ journey (which I will be presenting to the North Sydney & CBD Athena Network in Feb ;-)). For now however,I'm going to keep this simple and ask: "Do you buy from people you trust, know, and like when you have a specific need?"

Let’s have a look at three ways in which people will buy from you….

1)  Current client.  If you are already satisfied with the service and experience you currently receive, you will buy again.  And you will most likely continue to buy as long as you stay satisfied. 

As the supplier of this service it is up to you to make sure that your current clients are in fact satisfied. I would take this one step further and encourage you to look at the experience your current clients are receiving.  As you have no doubt heard me say many times before, your clients will stay with you because of the experience they receive from you. It’s important to make this experience worth staying for!

2)  Referral source. This is what happened for me when I was starting to look for someone to transcribe my programs!  Normally, if I have a need for something, I will ask those within my immediate network that I trust, if they know of or have used someone suitable.  I may also send it out on Twitter or Facebook, which usually takes just a few minutes to give me a number of names I can follow up with.

A question to ask yourself:  "Are you on the top of people’s recommendation list for your industry?  If not, what can you do to be at the top of this list?"

3) Have a relationship, but have not yet purchased.  You may belong to a networking group, where other members may like you and trust you, but they have not yet purchased from you. This may be fine for the moment, but when they do have a need for your particular service, how can you make sure you are the first person they think of calling?

These are only three ways in which people may purchase from you, and I know you may have more ideas about this.  What I like about these three methods, is that there is already a level of trust involved in the purchasing process, as well as an established relationship. You can cut through many buyers' objections when you have this level of trust in your relationship.  And for me, I would much rather spend the time to develop strong, trusting relationships when doing doing business...

What do you think?