As a business owner you’ve probably encountered the potential client that professes loyalty to their current vendor. To the untrained and poorly groomed entrepreneur this may be seen as a roadblock, a lost opportunity to convert, or even worse; justification for accepting failure and ending the pitch.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
Others make a different mistake. They instinctively seek out opportunities to attack the competitor, or to out-do them, but this strategy is hardly effective. In fact, it can reveal or imply a very poor character trait on your part, which will only serve to sour the prospective client’s subconscious perception of you, your offering, and won’t result in any benefit.
This is bad for business.
Again, this is generally an instinctive trait which should be first identified and then neutralized when pursuing new business. Effective self management pays great dividends.
Exude Positive Energy & Verbal Articulations.
Always maintain a positive tone to any message you articulate to a potential new client and you’ll notice a far more welcoming and loquacious attitude among your prospects. Once you get them talking, they’ll unknowingly let you know everything you need to know in order for you to craft a strategy to gain their business though it may take some time.
Be Patient & Listen.
Once they’ve finished telling you all the stories about how their current vendor “came through” for them and how much of a love affair they have with “the competition,” your next move should be to humbly compliment them on their relationship with their current vendor. Yet be thankful that you’ve ran across a potential client with a capacity for being loyal to a business. It also helps to tactfully compliment the competition while steering talks in the direction of what you have to offer.
Let’s be honest, we would all like to have loyal customers, and we can benefit from studying them. At the end of the day, loyalty is a rare commodity which has poorly understood properties.
How Do I Gain The Loyal Customer?
You may not be able to gain the loyal customer from the competition. So you’ll probably have to wait for them to come to you.
Eventually their current vendor will fail them, or your target customer’s needs will change. It’s inevitable. At this point they may be looking for either a new vendor, or a back up vendor. Granted that you’ve maintained a high level of ethics, non-aggressive rapport with the target client, and have maintained and/or advanced the quality of your offering. Now you are in perfect position to convert this potential-client into a real-client.
