Build Trust By Coming Clean About The Weak Spot In your Business

You can learn a lot about the content you put on your business website from Hollywood trial movies.

I know because I love them:

Especially the part where the client didn’t tell the attractive and trim trial lawyer something which undermines her credibility before the jury.

Witness: “I saw Harrisonamy at the late night Karaoke bar just before the man collapsed with bleeding ears… here are the photos as she sang Bat Out Of Hell…”

Sexy Trial Lawyer: (Whispering to client) You said you were nowhere near the Karaoke Bar

Harrisonamy: “I didn’t think it was important. It was Meat Loaf, it’s not like I was trying to pull off Celine Dion – that girl can sing (Happy Canada Day folks).”

Sexy Trial Lawyer: “But now the jury don’t trust you, we’re going to have to spend a lot more time together for me to fix this and we may have to spend many late nights together as well just to prove that you’re no killer.”

Harrisonamy: “Dang…”

It worked out for me, but if you jeopordise the trust with your potential customers, you might not get a second chance to put things right.

So if you’re hiding something, come clean.

What kind of thing you wonder?

It’s the tiny little worry spot about your business that you hope your customers won’t find out.

Things like:

• Not having enough testimonials
• Feeling like people won’t like your prices
• Worrying about being a one-woman operation
  
• Being shy about talking on the phone
  
• Being shy full-stop
• Feeling like no one will hire you because you’re not the biggest expert in the world ever at what you do

If you have one of those concerns you know that they can take up time and energy in worry that could be much better spent on improving your business.

I understand, I’ve been there.

In the past I’ve worried about all of the above. Some of it has been helped magnificently by kick-ass life-coaching, but all of them can be dealt with as well just by:

Using your web content to turn your worries into selling points.

Disclaimer:  This only works if you are good at what you do and are providing an honest service. If you’re trying to hoodwink your customers then this will not work.

Here’s what to do:

Understate It

Let’s say you’re worried you don’t have enough testimonials to impress your clients. Acknowledge it but don’t apologise for it. Instead create a testimonial page with a few examples (or samples) of your work and include a phrase like:

“If you can’t see the style of work you’re looking for, contact me and let me know. I can provide you with a free sample tailored to your needs within a couple of days.”

You’re acknowledging that they might not find what they’re looking for, but you’re not treating it like a problem. As a result you have a better chance of your customer feeling it isn’t a problem as well.

Communicate It

If you are pushed on your worry spot, then you need to communicate to your audience why it ISN’T a problem.

For example, if you think customers will balk at your pricing then you need to explain why you charge what you do, and in terms that are beneficial to them.

Don’t say:

“Well of course I’m expensive, Geez, I took the penthouse office and I am paying through the teeth for my rates. This place is huge and there’s only me…”

Do say:

“I can honestly tell you that you’re paying for quality. Our products are made from the finest materials and come with a lifetime guarantee so you’ll be making great savings by never needing to replace it”

Demonstrate It

Your customer needs to feel confident that you can do the job they are thinking about hiring you to do. You need to demonstrate that your perceived weakness doesn’t actually hold you back on the job. So if you’re not a big fan of the phone, make sure you not only explain that on your website (showing the benefits – helping you work better) but also make it as easy as possible for customers to email you and also make sure you’re excellent at communicating via email!

If you can understate any perceived challenges, communicate the benefits of your “quirks” and demonstrate that you have the skill for the job, the jury is pretty much going to acquit you of death by singing client is far more likely to have confidence in you and hire you.

Now over to you, let me know if you have had any worry spots that you’ve overcome by coming clean. Or do you have one and need a positive spin put to it? Let me know in the comment section below, and make sure you give it some comment luv and let us know what you’ve been writing over at your blog.

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