People Buy From People

You may have heard it said that people buy from people and what is especially true is that people will usuaslly only buy from someone that they like, know and trust.

“usually” rather than “always” is because there are always exceptions and perhaps someone has to make a grudge purchase for something they’re desperate for (or obliged to buy),however that’s not what we’re usually talking about in the case of relationship selling within the managed services landscape.

Let’s look at those 3 components : Like, Know, Trust.

Making people like and know you is certainly helped with regular communications and offering regular value. In terms of trust, there’s one way that you can accelerate trust right off your website because your prospects are much, much more likely to believe what other people say about you than what you say about yourself. That’s why websites need Google reviews and case studies and testimonials and all sorts of social proof like that.

However, not all social proof is created equal and much of communication is not so much about what is said but about how it’s said. That’s why it can be so powerful to show pictures of you and your team and your clients and even your suppliers on your website.

If someone is looking at a list of dry testimonials, a video testimonial (i.e. a really compelling one) will literally do the selling for you. It doesn’t have to be Disney quality but it should certainly be authentic because that is what will motivate people to trust you.

It is widely believed that verbal communication only accounts for around 7% of the overall communication. The remaining 93% is made up of nonverbal cues such as body language, tone of voice, facial expressions, and other forms of nonverbal communication – this is why videos and video testimonials can be so powerful. This type of social proof gives a real window into what you and your company are like can be really motivating to not only potential customers but job applicants and suppliers too.

And best of all – do it properly and they’re free of charge and likely the best adverts you can use on all sorts of of your marketing collateral, not just your website