You wouldn’t buy a car if you didn’t think it could get you
home. And you wouldn’t purchase it from a dealer you thought
was robbing you blind on the price and might not stand
behind it if the engine fell out as you drove it off the
lot.

Before making a purchase from you, buyers need to trust that
your products and services will do what they are supposed
to. Does your marketing help establish the trust necessary
to convince prospects to buy from you? If you’re struggling
to attract clients and customers, use the following tactics
to convert prospects to clients.

1. GET TESTIMONIALS
No matter how great your credentials are or how much
experience you’ve had, people pay more attention to what
OTHERS have to say about you.

Pick up the phone and call your customers to ask what they
thought of your product or service, what they liked about it
and how it was helpful. Edit their comments, get their
permission to use the comments and then feature these
testimonials in your marketing materials.

2. USE ARTICLES INSTEAD OF ADS
We have come to distrust ads and to believe what we read in
published articles. Invest your time in writing articles to
establish yourself as an expert. If you run ads, include
testimonials in them.

3. GIVE SOMETHING AWAY
When you give something to people, regardless of the cost,
they are more likely to trust you and return the favor by
buying something from you. Use an ebook, article, workshop
or free demonstration to build trust.

4. GET REFERRALS
When you need a new doctor, lawyer, plumber, carpenter or a
place to eat you ask a friend for a referral. You trust the
recommendations of people you know, and in fact, that’s how
the majority of people find jobs. Don’t wait for the
occasional referral to come in spontaneously; implement a
proactive system to generate referrals.

5. EXCHANGE ENDORSEMENTS
Team up with a business you trust that also targets your
market. Get them to include an endorsement of your products
and services in their marketing and do the same for them.
While a personal referral is ideal, an endorsement is a
close second. This tactic can double your marketing reach at
zero cost.

6. GIVE EXAMPLES
Tell a story instead of making impersonal and dramatic
claims of what you or your product does. Use case studies to
tell what you did for whom and the difference it made in
their life or their business.

7. PERSONALIZE YOUR MARKETING
Its a common misperception that to sound credible your
marketing should be dry and impersonal. People do business
with people. You need to help prospects get to know you and
trust you. Let your passion and personality come across in
your marketing as well as your professionalism. Include a
picture of yourself, with a smile, in a prominent place on
the first page of your marketing materials.

8. REDUCE PERCEIVED RISK
Buyers’ biggest concern is how well your product or service
will perform. Providing a guarantee may help, but in most
cases its not going to make the sale. Clarify the value you
provide and state your commitment to seeing that your
clients are not only happy, but ecstatic about your product
and services.

9. MAKE CONTACT EASY
If you want clients to get in touch with you, show them how.
Put your phone number at the top of your marketing materials
and tell them to call. When you call them, give them your
phone number again at the end of the conversation and tell
them to call. If you have a web site, put a contact form at
the bottom of your home page.

10. STAY IN TOUCH
The people you see and talk to on a regular basis are
usually the ones you trust the most. Communication isn’t the
only ingredient for developing trust, but it is a critical
one. If you sell services or high end products, a personal
phone call is one of the best ways to answer prospects
questions, and to establish trust. Contact your prospects
and clients regularly and get feedback on what they are
concerned about.

You want to convert prospects to clients and clients to
repeat clients. Use these ten marketing tactics to build
trust and you’ll find more prospects buying your products
and services.