Are you trying to be perfect in your interactions with your list? No one is perfect, and letting your prospects know this can be an important part of building your relationship with them over time. Show that you are vulnerable, and people will be more likely to relate to you. This must be done in the right way, so that you make the connection with your prospects you are hoping for. Otherwise, you risk creating a misunderstanding that may hurt your business in the long run.
Start out by showing your expertise in your niche. Deliver your information to your prospects by email, blog post, and teleseminar in order to give them multiple ways to consume the knowledge and become comfortable with you. You may also want to create videos with either your voice or your face. All of this helps them to get to know you as well as possible without meeting you in person.
When the opportunity presents itself, let them see that you are not perfect. This can happen in a variety of ways, such as when you are discussing something you are not an expert in. This happened for me when I began teaching technology. I was honest from the very beginning when I said that this was a challenge for me. Then I began demonstrating how to upload web pages, install blog software, and show other technical aspects of Internet marketing.
One time something I was attempting to teach did not work, and that broke the tension with the group. We all had a good laugh and everything changed immediately. I began to have fun teaching technology to non-techies, and they began to feel much more comfortable asking me questions on even the smallest things.
This led to a relationship between my prospects and I that was priceless. They finally trusted me enough to let their guard down, and I was comfortable in trying new things while I was teaching. If something did not work as it was supposed to, and that happened more often than not, everyone knew that we could start again and try it slightly differently than we had the first time. Everyone was engaged in the learning process, and we all became more creative when it came to figuring out what would work and why.
Look at your niche and area of expertise to see what you could share that would allow you to show your vulnerability. When we reveal ourselves to others in a way that makes us seem more human, we instantly build stronger relationships that can mean a huge difference in both the way we feel about our businesses as well as our bottom line.
Kathryn Merrow - The Pain Relief Coach says
Connie, it is your “human-ness” that helps your students learn. We all make mistakes and it’s always good to know the teacher can, too.
Thank you for another good article.
Kathryn