Connecting with Your Clients

Building Connections to Drive Success

Nowadays, running a small business is more about cultivating and building connections with customers and clients than inventing the next big product. With new advances in technology, society as a whole has lost some of the magic of open, face-to-face communication and can sometimes have small business owners communicating from behind a computer screen. Even though this makes communication easy, it is vital to remember the importance of truly connecting with others, especially in the business world.

Begin at the Social Level and Connect through Your Personal Strengths

When communicating with customers, or really anyone in the business world, there are generally four different levels of communication. The first of these levels is the social level – this is the level where every conversation begins. Conversations at the social level usually include topics such as information about the business, products and services that are offered, the weather, how the customer is doing today and other small talk. In order to build deep customer connections, it is important to briefly touch on this level and move on.

The second level of communication is connecting with others through your personal strengths – every small business owner has strengths and personal knowledge that can help push them past the first level of communication. This is an opportunity to tell the customer more about yourself, your business, your professional strengths and your passion for the business. By opening the conversation to these topics, customers get an idea of the type of person and type of business they may be purchasing from – if a small business owner uses and expresses these strengths, customers are more likely to buy in as well.

Drive Every Conversation with Intent

Great communicators do not just fall into conversations that seem to be going nowhere – these individuals have mastered the art of shaping the conversation with a customer into a specific outcome. This can be accomplished using different techniques, specifically by using the proper tone and action verbs. This combination creates intent for the conversation and moves it into a certain direction. It is important that conversations have a purpose – no small business owner wants to waste their time or the customer’s time on meaningless conversations.

Conversations Go Further with Energy and Passion

Once the intent of a conversation has been established, it is really time to strut your stuff with clients. Injecting passion and energy for the cause or business helps small business owners to share deep connections with the customers and it is this energy that helps to drive further business. When small business owners do not have these qualities, or do not express them during conversation, customers will be less convinced that they are making an investment with the right person or company. Passion is also vitally important in cultivating meaningful connections with colleagues and team members within the business.

As we have been so often told, communication is key! Having great communication skills and the ability to create connections with the people around you is a powerful tool for achievement in business and in life. By building on the levels of communication throughout a conversation it is easy to start making these connections with customers and colleagues and these connections are what will help drive success throughout the business overall.

Do you think your legitimate home business can benefit from having a small business mentor like Stacy O'Quinn? Stacy can teach you how to better connect with potential customers and more importantly, how to close the deal! For more information, click here.