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Today’s marketing tip is all about gaining customer confidence. What is THE most important element in marketing your service-based business? Your customers, of course! Think about it: How can you have a business without customers?

Why, though, should you spend precious marketing hours gaining the confidence of someone who hasn’t hired you yet? It’s true that, as you build a relationship with a paying client, your reliance on each other will grow. But the foundation of trust must already exist BEFORE they decide to hire you.

Remember: The most important element in your marketing is your customers. Those of you who know me, have heard me emphasize the importance of building the know-like-trust factor in you and your services. If potential clients DON’T know-like-trust you or your service, you WON’T get clients and you WON’T succeed in your business. When marketing, always keep them in mind.

You need to answer these questions correctly:

• What do my clients really want?
• What’s most important to them?
• How can my services address their individual and unique needs?

Here are 3 ways to help prospective clients have trust and confidence in you:

1. Highlight your successes. If you’re new in business, this could be challenging, but don’t let that discourage you. Here are 2 suggestions you can use to highlight your successes, even if you’re just starting off.
   • In anything and everything you do where you get positive feedback — whether you got paid for it or not — ASK for a written testimonial. A testimonial is tangible proof that you’ve helped someone real in your field, it’s not just theory or hearsay.
   • Use your blog and newsletters to tell a story; describe the typical client experience. Descriptively tell your audience what sets YOU apart from all the others.
2. Be image conscious. You never know who’s watching, so be acutely aware of how you present yourself in every situation. It’s entirely up to you to project a sincere, positive image of professionalism, expertise, masterful proficiency, reliability, customer satisfaction, responsibility or other values you hold dear. If you’re not sure what message you’re sending, ask someone you trust to give you honest, constructive feedback.
3. Clearly communicate the advantages of doing business with you. Give them solid, tangible reasons to do business with you. Let them experience what it’s like working with you — no strings attached. Do this by offering an introductory session, by regularly following up, by sending referrals, by offering solutions, ideas and resources. (A note about follow up: Don’t settle with sending emails every once in a while; pick up the phone and call them — let them hear your voice, your enthusiasm and your sincerity.) Be proactive in any ways you can think of. Another means of communicating your advantages is by productizing — or packaging — your services. Let’s face it, services are a hard sell. You’re asking your clients to pay for something where they’ll only know the end-result of AFTER it’s been done. By productizing your services, the benefits are more easily perceived, they become more tangible and your clients will know EXACTLY what they’re getting and for how long they’re committed to.

These are just 3 ways I could think of to increase your clients’ trust in you and your services, but I’m sure you can come up with more. Remember, if your marketing fails to inspire confidence, and doesn’t help establish yourself as a trustworthy, credible service provider, they’ll be hesitant to commit, and be more inclined to check out your competition.

What do you think? What’s worked for you? What hasn’t? What mistakes should entrepreneurs avoid? Are you facing challenges in the confidence-building area of your business?

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Today’s success tip seems like such a simple thing, but is highly underrated. It’s really easy and the best part is, it makes everyone around you feel good. I’m referring to the power of charm!

Let me preface this by saying I’m NOT advocating dishonesty or hypocrisy. By using the 5 points found below with sincerity and honesty, you’ll achieve the goal of making others feel special and inciting them to get to better know-like-trust you. If you’re insincere or too attached to the outcome, it’ll be transparent and you’ll raise feelings suspicion and mistrust.

Rule #1: Be sincere and honest.

The formula is simple and is referred to as the 5 As, based on The Power of Charm.

• Acceptance. The authors define acceptance as “unconditional positive regard.” You show acceptance by smiling with genuine happiness at seeing someone. Think back to the last time someone gave you a glowing smile and warm handshake as soon as they saw you. Didn’t you feel happy and esteemed? Those are the feelings you’ll stir in others by your acceptance.
• Appreciation. When you appreciate someone, their self-esteem increases. Showing appreciation is as simple as an expression of gratitude or thanks, and goes a long way to making that person feel capable, valuable and noticed.
• Approval. The easiest way to show your approval is by offering sincere praise for something a person has done. When you show you approve someone non-judgmentally, they’ll see you as a very perceptive person, highly likeable and — yes — extremely charming.
• Admiration. Admiration is demonstrated by offering a genuine compliment. This is easier than it sounds, because when you’re looking for something positive to compliment, you’ll find it each time. No matter how big or small, offering sincere kudos is a sure way to appeal to others.
• Attention. Some ways of giving your attention is by active listening, direct eye contact and body language (nodding in agreement, tilting your head when they speak, mirroring, etc). Nothing makes a person feel more important than when you’re giving them your undivided attention.

When using charm, remember to be:

• sincere
• honest
• selfless
• transparent
• free of ulterior motives
• free of expectation
• unattached to the outcome

In conclusion, use charm — the lost art of persuasiveness — to improve your business and personal relationships, to win the support of others, to improve your negotiating skills and to get more of what you want.

Join the conversation on my blog and let us know what you think about using the power of charm to make others feel good and attract more people to you.