A single voice can be a powerful tool, and in sales, the strongest voices belong to your customers.
According to MarketShare’s “Quantifying the Role of Social Voice in Marketing Effectiveness” whitepaper, offline word of mouth has a direct impact on financial outcomes, even more so than social media or traditional marketing. That means that vocal advocates for brands influence sales — period.
As a great salesperson, you need to build a foundation of brand advocates who will provide you with referrals. The result: more loyal customers and more sales. But you can’t pay for advocacy — it will only devalue your brand, and it’s unethical. Instead, you have to build strong relationships organically with your leads and clients through personal, healthy relationships.
Connect With Leads on a Deeper Level
The process of building brand advocates starts with establishing meaningful connections with your leads. Keep in mind that every salesperson is vying for potential customers’ attention, so you must make a memorable impression to stand out.
That being said, rather than viewing leads as potential sales, view them as real people, and act accordingly. Be friendly and personable; ask questions to learn more about them on a personal level, and share things about yourself that they’ll remember. Knowing your leads — their habits and preferred ways of doing business — will eventually turn them into your best clients because they’ll know that you view them as more than just another source of revenue.
Once those leads become your customers, go through your client list and identify your all-stars. These clients are passionate about what they do and have strong business ethics. It’s also important to pay attention to clients who contact you with great feedback and questions. After all, they care about your business enough to help you improve your business practices.
Turn All-Stars Into Advocates
Once you’ve identified your all-star clients, encourage referrals by letting them know how much you appreciate them. Here are a five ways to inspire your clients to advocate for you:
Ask for their opinions. Let your best clients know that their opinions matter by asking for constructive feedback. Whether you’re testing a new product or service or trying to improve current processes, gather input from your clients. This will not only help your business, but it will also forge stronger relationships because they’ll recognize that you respect their input.
Acknowledge them. Publicly acknowledge and honor your advocates in email newsletters or on social media. You can even feature them on your website. These clients will know they’re valued and will be more willing to refer you to their network.
Spend time with them. As you work to build deeper relationships with your best clients, it’s important to spend face-to-face time with them. Take them to lunch, host exclusive events, or invite them to spend time with your company’s leadership. Face time with your best clients will build your relationship and increase loyalty (and their willingness to refer you).
Provide them with early access and sneak peeks. Keep your advocates in the loop by letting them in on company news in advance. Sneak peeks and early access to new services and products can go a long way in making clients feel valued and important.
Give them exclusive discounts. Honor your top customers’ loyalty by giving them price breaks and exclusive discounts. This will encourage them to continue doing business with you and motivate others to become top-valued customers because of the associated perks.
Turn your clients into advocates by making sure they feel a sense of ownership when they interact with your products. Building solid relationships with your top clients by spending time with them, providing exclusive information and discounts, and asking for their input will increase brand loyalty and encourage them to become your biggest word-of-mouth salespeople.