Would you attend a training course run by someone with no experience of the subject? Would you continue to buy from company who previously let you down? Or, would you recommend a business or professional who didn't consistently keep their word?

Chances are you'd answer "NO" to all of these questions. If you're going to invest your time, energy, and enthusiasm with someone, you want to be sure that person is credible and worthy of your trust.

No matter what your role or position, credibility is something that you have to earn. It takes time, patience, and consistency to build it. If you want to build trust and credibility with your customers, and hold on to them for life, follow these 5 important tips: 

1. Avoid selling a solution that isn’t in the customer’s best interest.

There are some people that are in business strictly to make money and will try and sell you anything. Sometimes you just don’t have the right solution at the right price. If that is the case, it is always best to be honest with the customer, instead of proposing something which you know will not fully deliver the outcome the customer is looking for.

2. Never misrepresent the features, advantages and benefits of a product or service.

Customers don’t want a product or solution that only comes close to meeting their needs, or that usually functions properly. Give them the whole, unvarnished truth, and let them decide if the proposed solution will work for them.

3. Don’t promise anything you can’t deliver.

Some sales professionals find it very difficult to say no to the customer about anything. Telling the customer that a certain solution with specific features and benefits will be delivered by a specific deadline, when you know you can’t deliver, is a recipe for disaster.

4. When problems develop after the sale, don’t make excuses and don’t place blame; fix the problem.

You are the face of the company; it is your duty as the professional to deliver on the promise you made.

5. Don’t withhold bad news.

If you think the customer will be upset when you tell them the bad news, just imagine how much more upset they will be when they find out you knew the bad news three weeks ago and hid it from them.

Remember, trust is built on credibility, and credibility comes from acting in others’ interests before your own…

Blogs Vs. Newsletters: What’s the Diff?

We’ve published several posts about newsletters recently, including how to put one together and grow an email list. This past week, one of our IU friends, Jacqueline Hopkins-Walton, contacted me in regards to the differences between blogs and newsletters. The basic question posed was “Can they be the same?”

It’s a great question. We spend a lot of time with our blogs and newsletters. Wouldn’t it…

We were going to write a blog on Friday to get the month off to a good start with some news about things that are continuing to fall into place but something changed….our viewers and interactions!

It is interesting to note that in today’s business…