Contributed by Mary Tucker

Sales and Marking professionals use the terms Know, Like, and Trust to describe the steps of evolving business relationships. Good sales and marketing campaigns, costing thousands of dollars, focus on these steps, to create a successful sales relationship. This is what the social media craze is all about. Powerful programs are built on reaching out to companies and people that don’t know us and creating a relationship where they not only know of us, but, have a reason to like us. When these sales and marketing programs are successful they produce prospects that trust us. Trust is the first step in making a new sale.

I will delve deeper into the topic of selling to a customer base during a webinar with three other revenue turnaround specialists on November 8, 2012 entitled, “What to Fix First When Revenue Flattens,” sponsored by Cerius Interim Executive Solutions.   Here’s a snapshot of what I’ll cover.

Consider how to apply the concept of Know-Like-Trust when you sell to your existing base of clients. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on advertising, tradeshows, new brochures, website design, email marketing campaigns, lead generation and a new Facebook page. Your existing base of customers already know you, like you and trust you with their current purchases. You have the relationship that you need to create successful sales.

Current customers create a faster path to new sales:

• You have first hand knowledge of your clients and how they use your products.
• You are an approved vendor.
• The quality of your products has been demonstrated.
• Your claims about superior customer services are well understood.
• Decision makers and purchasing cycles are established.

Your time and resources can be focused on discovering new opportunities. By having established clients that know, like and trust you, traditional sales cycles can be cut in half. Join me on November 8 to learn more.